What's the Deal with Paperback Publishing?
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- Опубликовано: 1 июл 2024
- In which John discusses the strange history and even stranger present of paperback book publishing, and argues that readers in 2023 should be able to read however they want to read for Day 1 of publication.
Come see me in Miami for the launch of the anthropocene reviewed paperback: www.booksandbooks.com/event/i...
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Hi. If you're in or near Miami, come to the launch of The Anthropocene Reviewed paperback! www.booksandbooks.com/event/in-person-an-evening-with-john-green/ -John
I initially got excited because I thought you meant Miami University, my future home. But you will slay in a much warmer locale. Thanks for writing such soul touching works John
you looked like you were going to cry by the end of the video, but like, cry happy tears. For reasons I struggle to articulate, that also made me feel like crying happy tears. Thanks for being awesome, and have a nice day!
I'll be there! Can't wait!
Just about the only thing that could get me to wish I was in Florida…
YESSS! So excited!!!
Can't wait to hear about all the emails asking why the font is so small in the paperback.
I was just wondering if Amazon will favor this one or grandpa’s addition.
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Hahaha
There use to be😁 a PB that was called a mass market. It was a small pb that would fit in your back pocket. Most genres(SF, romance, a lot a fiction,) were mass markets. I guess there was complaints about the small print. So the Publishers increase the size of the book, the print and of course the $$$.I bought and sold books for almost 30 years here in New England...boy have things changed !!!!
I love how you didn't have the American Looking for Alaska handy but did have the Bulgarian one🤣
I would love to know how many versions of each of his books John has.
Oh man, if you're in Bulgaria you've got a ways to go before you find Alaska.
@@lindsaykat3675 John once did an accidental tour of all his books while looking for a book which partly answers this. The video is called 'WHERE IS MY NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF POETRY'
John, as I Bulgarian, seeing the Bulgarian edition of one of your books make it into a vlogbrothers video made me rally happy! :)
My Bulgarian brain couldn't compute there for a second
I had never read a large print book until I accidentally bought this edition of The Anthropocene Reviewed. It changed my life (and not just because the content was amazing). That accidental reading experience helped me realise that my neurodivergent brain processes large print better than normal or small print. I've since converted to read large print as much as possible, and it has helped me to increase my reading overall. So thank you to John for an amazing book, and to Amazon's weird algorithm for a surprisingly pleasant font size.
That's awesome! When I got an e-reader I realized I could make the font as big as I wanted and reading feels so good now! :D
Love this!
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That is really interesting! I hope that you are able to share this anecdote with other people in someway. If you are on Reddit, or are in contact with fellow neurodivergents, please share this. In my own way, your comment helped me a lot.
hardcovers in Canada run (nowadays) $30-40 and the paperbacks $15-20, it drives me absolutely crazy how insane the difference is, I thrift almost all my books nowadays and it blows my mind to buy a hardcover for $1.00 and open it to see the retail price was $34.00 CAD
I mostly agree but there are a lot of reasons for this, many of them valid or at least arguably so.
You should see the prices for hardcover and paperback large print books. A hardcover large print book can be anywhere from $35-$50 - -- and sometimes it's the ONLY large print format.
$34 CAD is about $25 USD. So more expensive, but not as much as it looks. I always have to remind myself that things aren’t as expensive as they seem when I’m in Canada lol
Very lucky to live in England hard backs aren’t gonna be more than £20 with most being between £15-£20 and paperbacks are always less than £10. In shops like the works you can sometimes new paperback books for £3
@@katiemoss7578 30 CAD is pretty close to 20 BP so not a huge difference
Was legit expecting John to say he’s starting a new publishing company that publishes all formats simultaneously
Starting a new company? Sounds like Hank to me... next video maybe? Haha, just kidding
John, I was in a long, struggling 'can't read the books' dry spell when I happened onto LFA in 2017, and it led me to read other books, yours and Hank's, but also Octavia Butler and so many others. It also led me to Nerdfighteria and so many friends and people who I love dearly now. Thank you, a thousand times! As always you brought the awesome 💖
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Any recommendations on how to meet other Nerdfighters?
@@jameswigglesworth8132 what social media platform/s are you currently using?
I finished The Anthropocene Reviewed a couple months ago, and I feel like it had a weird, silent effect on me. I didn’t finish the book and think “Wow. This book has changed my life!”, I thought “That was a good book, why didn’t the last review end with a rating? Oh wait that wasn’t a review that was the postscript.”
But ever since reading it, maybe it’s just because I watch you two almost everyday now, but I feel like I think about it all the time. It’s made me think about things important to my life in the context of the anthropocene, which is really weird!
I checked it out from my local library, but I want to get a copy to own as well. It is a great book.
Hi John! I just wanted to say I LOVE your tuberculosis facts so much, they’re so fascinating and I just can’t wait until whatever project you’re working on is finished and I get to see it!!
Yeah I guess that project is T.B. Continued
@@ToriKo_ this shouldn't have made me laugh as hard as it did, but here we are.
@@slightlysmall thank you for ur comment! I needed it today, however small
I always love a video where john talks about books
The entire reason I've moved to mostly eBooks is because I viscerally hate hardbacks but I also don't want to have to wait years for an anticipated book to come out in paperback. If you wanna talk about some wacky profit margins, let's talk about how eBooks cost nothing (individually) to produce but are priced the same as the hardback!
As a kid I would always wait for the paperback versions of different books to come out, not because I couldn't afford them but because I'd rather buy two books with my allowance money than one book that happened to be hard.
please be careful and diversify, or have a plan. A company that rents movies in my country, cause they have cinemas all over LATAM called Cinepolis Klik just went under and send an email saying that you have to watch the movies you BOUGHT before they are unavailable. I also have ebooks and like 10 physical books, but I also do audible and docs and pdfs. I am sure Amazon will not go the same route but you never know. DFTBA
Modern consumer economics based on artificial scarcity, you say?
I would be okay with it if the Author made more per copy from ebooks. (do they actually?)
You know that writers are paid for their work, right? No? So I guess you don't know what "royalties" are either.
I just realized I don't know if I've ever seen a hardcover copy of looking for Alaska, that felt weird
Yeah me neither
I’ve seen them at the library, but I think those are special library editions, not the traditional hardcover. I could definitely be wrong about that though.
I Just lent my copy of turtles to a friend to kind of give her a vague intro understanding of what being in my brain and having OCD was like, and it ended up helping her realise that the thing she had also been suffering with her whole life had a name. It sparked a really lovely and beautiful conversation about mental health 5 years after publishing. Your work always has and always will mean so much to so many people.
(Also, she was so honoured I let her borrow my signed copy, but I think with so many signed copies of John green books being out there and also in my possession I forgot that was a big deal 😅. It definitely made me appreciate the copies more!)
This is so wonderful. I'm glad Turtles brought you and your friend closer and that she enjoyed the signed copy. It's so sweet!
In the Netherlands, where I live, most foreign language books don’t even come out as hardback, because of international shipping considerations. They’re published as a trade paperback, and then a pocket version later on. Consequently, I have very few hardbacks on my shelves. Which is great, because I prefer paperbacks anyway.
I think you've just answered the question I commented! I was always so confused why I could usually just get a paperback at release, when the authors always said the paperback comes out a year later
@@nataszamazurkiewicz I was super confused as well and did a double take of my shelves because I definitely read this book in paperback (and in English too so probably a UK or international version)
hmmm do i need a fourth copy of TAR? i DO love paperbacks....
I was wondering about the difference between paperback and hardcover publishing the other day, so thank you for a very succinct explanation! (From a longstanding nerdfighter!)
"The hardcover has a secret review on the last page-"
I ABSOLUTELY BOLTED FOR MY COPY LIKE MY LIFE DEPENDED ON IT-
Polo!
John is one of the brightest, nicest, smartest, most sensitive, intelligent, talented men in the world right now. He and Hank are very special people. I love to hear anything he has to say about this world.
John, as someone who works in the production department working on books that come out sometimes in simultaneous HC and TP, this is a pain! It seems like it should be an easy transition, but there is a lot of work that needs to go into it with the different cover treatments, often different printers and sometimes even needing to have different page numbers and most especially if there is exclusive materials in different editions. Basically it would mean we could publish fewer books in a month if we have to put more work into a simultaneous release. It can and does happen, but I don’t think it is sustainable for every book (at least not yet)
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Very informative. Can you help me understand what kinds of readers prefer to buy one format over the other? What John says seems to me like it's mostly just price discrimination, where people who have more discretionary spending on books prefer hardcover?
This, plus the challenge of managing inventory for various print editions “competing” against each other in the market, at a time when paper and shipping are expensive and booking printers for reprints is challenging. Not to mention audiobooks are a totally different scope of work that require different equipment, skills, and expenses from print editions. Larger presses can strike the balance more easily for big name authors who are likely to have sales across all editions, but it’s definitely harder to sustain for new/less well-known authors or small presses. It’s always more complex than it seems! (Signed, another publishing person)
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there's tens of us!
The audio book of the Anthropocene Reviewed has been deeply soothing to me during a difficult time in my life. Thank you for creating it and sharing it with us.
A video I'd love to see is one on what it's like getting a novel translated. I'm very curious as to the intricacies of trying to translate meaning in novels far beyond just the words themselves. Do you get multiple revisions? Do you have to rely on multi-lingual people to review it? Have you ever had a reader in another country contact you because of the translation? It's something I never thought of but now I'm beyond curious about.
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Print-on-demand services for lower-demand books seem to be changing this landscape, too. My academic-ish book came out in hardcover, softcover, and ebook at the same time, probably because the publisher wanted to get as many copies sold as soon as it released because it doesn't expect to sell thousands of copies. Also, they made the hardcover really expensive?? I wish I had more power to control the pricing decisions.
Academic book pricing is criminally high. And of course we have to pay astronomical prices for scientific papers even though the scientists and peer reviewers and universities don't get any cut of the revenue. But pirating papers is allegedly somehow a bad thing. Capitalism sucks.
I'm reading The Anthropocene Reviewed right now, and it reads like a quiet storm, like soft pitter patter and petrichor. Each review makes me feel deeply human and connected. Thanks, John! We appreciate you.
That is such a beautifuly apt description. Thanks!
This is so interesting. Most books in Hebrew, including translations of all of your books, John, only come out in paperback. You won't really find hardbacks outside the children's section, except in really fancy editions made to sit on a shelf and look nice.
i prefer hardbacks (the rigidity is easier on my arthritis, and the double spacing is easier on my eyeballs), but mostly i just love getting to read stories however they come, so thank you for writing (and telling) some that have really stuck with me (in a good way).
Hi John, you'll be happy to hear I'm reading Mountains Beyond Mountains. Dr Farmer was an incredible person. ❤
I was most excited for the audiobook of TAR, because a laugh or a quiver in your voice brings so much to the experience. I waited in my library's queue for months to hear it. Also, I just missed new episodes of the podcast coming out. I will probably pick up a paperback version too, but the audiobook is lovely!
Yes, I am waiting in line for the audiobook for this very reason. This is definitely the kind of book that I want to hear the author read!
When John announced that the paperback edition was coming out, I was so confused because I just finished reading a paperback edition of The Anthropocene Reviewed. Turns out it was the UK edition of the book and that one for some reason already exists in paperback.
Most international editions are only released in paperback, presumably because shipping/differences in market.
this. i was always confused when american authors say only the hardcover is available cause international english versions always come out in paperback
Dear John! You and Hank were huge inspiration for me to finally not only write but also finish and publish my first novel. Thank you SO much! It came out 2 years ago and it goes in paperback print in a month or two. Succes!!! I wish I will be able to say in 16 years that my first novel is still in print :)
Congrats, that's awesome!
@@HelenRosemarySmith it is! :) thank you so much! :)
Now, since you shared it, let us know what the book is called so we can look it up 😁
@@silvasilvasilva thanks for your kind request! :) since I'm slovenian and the book is only avalible in my language, I doubt it would be of interest to (m)any in this comunity ;)
An Abundance of Katherines, which I read in my first semester of undergrad as a pleasure read, reignited my love of reading that had been killed off in high school like a petulant antihero. Thank you for that book; I am now reading Turtles All the Way Down and it's just as gripping. Thank you, John, for reminding me why I loved books as a kid. Thank you.
It is so interesting seeing the gap between younger and older Authors' . I started losing my eyesight at University and if it wasnt for Audiobooks and digital books I would likely read nothing. The reactions of a couple older Authors was pretty much that if a person read anything but a hardcover book then they did not want them as fans.
I didn't find the hidden review of back of book ads, I never look at them because I find that I usually always have already read/own the books being advertised.
My absolute favorite style of book to read is mass market paperback. It’s such a good form factor and it’s so satisfying to read and hold!!
I buy books for the library I work in and the hardcover/paperback debate exists because of the price difference. Due to budget constraints, I often have to decide what format to buy. I'll often choose paperback so that I can buy more copies and therefore more readers can check out the title. But when there's the long time in between the hardcover and paperback release, I may buy 1 hardcover book and wait to buy 2-3 paperbacks. It may mean that the wait list for the hardcover is longer, but in the long run, it's the cheaper option. Having multiple formats available at the same time allows us librarians to ensure we can get people the books they need in their preferred format, which is what we strive to do so that they can enjoy the experience and read more.
How topical. I just finished reading Looking For Alaska last night and I loved it. I plan on binging the series next week during spring break. I'm super excited and just wanted to share, as you and Hank are both huge reasons why I've gotten back into reading books.
Btw, I love when your videos show you turning off the camera. Idk, I just find the 1-2 seconds of silence at the end so cool and powerful.
I once read a prolific author who I can't remember now once discuss that when his ebook came out alongside his paper versions, sales plummeted compared to all his other works. I know we all like to say piracy doesn't exist, but it seems some friction does entice people to spend money. But too much, and nothing will.
Just finished Looking for Alaska for the first time two days ago. It was incredible! Thank you for the stories you tell.
Exactly! As a reader and book collector, I much prefer paperpacks, especially because the covers in most hardcovers are just a paper that gets easily damaged. This prevents me from buying a lot of books when they come out and I end up having to wait (and pray) for them to get a paperback…
"Basically the same thing, with different letters" is truly a quote that really can be used in a wide variety of situations. Mostly for amusement and comedy.
I've always loved reading, but Looking For Alaska is the first book I remember truly being emotionally invested in as a young teenager. LFA made me shed real tears and I remember staying up late at night unable to put it down. Hard to believe it's been 18 years since then.
i am in a constant struggle with myself because I want to buy books and read them when they come out but I really really prefer the reading experience of paperbacks. @ publishers, I would buy more books if they came out in paperback sooner
I like the books when they're released. I'd be more than happy to pay hard back price for a paperback of a new release.
It's so easy to curl up and read a paperback
Hard back books are just uncomfortable and pointy.
There is a used bookstore for the benefit of a historic mill that is in my town. Books are donated, and then sold at nice prices. $1-2 (Canadian dollars) for paperbacks (mass markets $1, trades are $2), and $3 for Hardcovers. I went there with my nana once about a week ago (we go over twice monthly and always get lunch after at our favourite spot in town) and found 4 brand new paperback copies of Looking For Alaska. Idk if whoever bought and donated 4 literally brand new copies of this book might read this comment, but if you are, thanks for that, I got to enjoy Looking For Alaska for a Toonie
Thank you. Your content is easy to watch when I'm not feeling well, and I sometimes don't feel well in many dimensions. It's not upsetting. In fact, it's uplifting or delightfully interesting most of the time. I couldn't fully appreciate all the details of this one this time, but I know it must have been elegant because when I do have the bandwidth, you always are. Thanks so much.
I love the overall message of this video (as usual) because the only reason I could read The Anthropocene Reviewed is because I was able to rent the audiobook from my local library! I also rent ebooks but the premise stills stands that reading is reading, no matter what edition you do it in, and I love that so much. It’s helped reading feel so liberating for me since finding it again at the end of December 2022. Reading all of John’s books around the time TFiOS movie came out was the last time I really spent time in a book and I missed it so much, truly so thankful to have found Libby.
The thing I most enjoy about reading your books is the way you invite us into discussions through the way that you write. I gain something new in rereading one of your books and they reward me for my curiosity and attention. You write books that need longevity because while the text does not change, I do, and I get to see what new interpretations are revealed in the process. DFTBA, and congratulations on the paperback!
Hi John! As much as I was enjoying the new format, I gotta say- the return to form had a surprisingly calming effect on my mind this morning!
Thank you for The Anthropocene Reviewed. I'm listening to the audiobook of it right now. I'm going through some difficult times and this book is carrying me through. Really. Thank you.
I read a lot of SFF series and this is a problem that I have. I sometimes start a series in mass-market paperback format and by the time that I catch up, the most recent book in the series only comes out in hardback, and I have to wait another year or so to read in the edition that I want. I think in these cases particularly it makes no sense to have only the hardback be available. If the first few books in a series sells well, then you can assume the continuations will too.
This is a good point, because especially for book series that I choose to own, I want the format to match throughout the series. It annoys me a little when half of my books in a series are paper back and the rest are hardcover, but I also don't want to wait for the paperback to come out, because I need to know what happens!
I bought the paperback large print without realizing it was large print, but it worked out because this copy went to my 90 year old grandparents. They haven't been able to get out often and I thought this would spice up their day, especially the Dr. Pepper story since my grandfather was a food scientist
awww, that's wonderful!
Looking for Alaska was the first John Green book I read, and it was because around 9 years ago (maybe more) someone had purchased a brand new copy and left it on a table, on a train. I got on at Kings Cross, London - sat down, looked around and no one was near it... and no came and claimed it by the time I got off... so took it, read it and passed it on after. I cried near the end, laughed at the end and it was possibly the best freebie I've ever stumbled upon.
Thanks for this calrification. I always miss out on new releases, because I hate both hardcovers and screen reading. So, 2 years after a release, I get to finally figure out why people loved a book so much.
I completely understand the logic behind hardcover-first publishing but I also tend to prefer paperbacks. I've even waited a year to read a book because I wait to buy the paperback when it comes out. Fortunately, for the last two years I've been trying to buy fewer books and go to the library more. This has worked out GREAT because I stop caring about what format my book is in, and if I end up wanting to buy a copy because I loved it so much, it's easier to wait for the paperback because I've already read the book. I've managed to cut waaaaay down on my book-buying and actually read more books because I'm not just buying books at random, I'm putting thought into what I want to put on hold at the library, because the waitlist can be pretty long!
I have always wondered why there don't seem to be any paperback copies of brand new books, now I know! Thank you John!
The large-print version of TAR had a good run...
maybe the greatest run a large-print edition has ever had. But now the torch will be passed. -John
Interesting how Tim Urban's very new book "What's Our Problem" came out in paperback and audiobook simultaneously, and that there is NO current plans for a hardcover edition!?!
Yay for Anthropocene Reviewed paperback!
I got my preorder copy for Christmas, and it arrived RIGHT before I shipped off to work at summer camp. I devoured it, and even though there were many of us reading more and swapping books in the absence of cell signal, Anthro was the book that the most of us had copies of, and we eagerly swapped it around amongst the counselors. I have since bought and gifted multiple copies of it to friends of mine having a difficult time, and have received grateful feedback for the timely recommendation. What a lovely addition to your repertoire!
I worked at Borders around that same time and for a few years prior. I was there through the transition from friendly hangout bookstore, to mandatory email collection quotas. I was there when they partnered with a little online retailer called Amazon Books. I miss the early days but not what it turned into. Then it went away. Sometimes I'll stop in Barnes & Noble and the smell of fresh books takes me back.
Anyway, just felt like sharing. Have a great day.
John-I appreciate that, since I was a preteen, you write and create things that make me genuinely sit back and say, "Woah." Whether it's learning cool facts, facing startling revelations about humanity and myself, or just smiling for a little while, I always take something away.
I geek out on this stuff. Thanks for the video!
i am grateful for books in different formats. congrats on the paperback, John. I just bought a previously owned signed hardback of TAtWD. i wasn’t aware of your books when that was published, but now that signed copy gets to be treasured again. I was searching for 1st eds of Madeleine L’Engle books in the early 2000s…im late to most parties 😂
I know John and Hank would tell me to focus in biology class but while I was watching this my biology teacher just put one one of hanks crash course videos. Made me smile
There's also the thing of how easy the book is to carry with you on public transport, and whether it's easy to hold with one hand.
That always was the main criteria for me. Especially the holding in one hand part.
I remember when I got 3 in 1 edition of one of my favourite books (back then), that normally was a 3-part set. That edition was 1k pages long in hardback. It was incredibly hard to read. My wrist hurt like hell when I tried reading it in the bath.
Paperbacks forever!
Seeing Bulgarian writing on a book held by John Green was a huge surprise. I had no idea it was translated. I guess I should get it now. By the way, for some reason the title was translated as ‘Where are you, Alaska’, which I find quite funny.
Thanks for all your creativity and helping explore human connections. Polo
Was waiting for how Tuberculosis was involved.
hi John, i first read the fault in our stars many years ago as a teen right before the movie was released and it was your first book i had ever read. im a slow reader, so ive read since only papertown, looking for alaska, and recently finished an abundance of katherines. i find time and time again inspiration from your books. we're of different race and gender and life in general, but your stories reminds me of mine. im past your publishing age of 23, but we're not all john greens. i hope i can publish great books like yours too one day.
John thank you so much for reading my mind and talking about this. I was just discussing this recently because in a series I'm reading, I bought the first 2 books in paperback but the third is only available in hard cover until September. Not only do I prefer reading paperbacks, (they're more portable, affordable & I generally like the feel better), but now if I want to continue the series I also have to have a mismatched series on my shelf! It's a big ol bummer for me, honestly.
My children and I listened to the audiobook of the Anthropocene reviewed on a cross country road trip last summer, it was a great bonding experience; and seeded many conversations.
The hair is an entire character in this video!
The anthropocene reviewed is still in my to-read list. It was extra-long at some point last year and so I've pushed back my hold in the library. Lm check how long until I get it.
YESSSS!! THANK YOU!! I have been ranting for years about paperback vs. hard cover!! 10/10 video
I really wanted you to open the large font book so I could see that font!
I love paperbacks. So portable, so flexible, so easy to hold for my weak little hands
Thank you for writing the "Anthropocene Reviewed", I read it when I was in a dark place this winter, and it was nice to be inside someone else's headspace for awhile, and feel comfort in the similarities and bask in new revelations. I give the Anthropocrne Reviewed five stars.
I love physical books and thus am engaged in a constant battle for shelf space, so I basically *never* buy hardbacks, because they simply take up more room for the same amount of book (don't even get me started on books which include 'bonus' chapters from OTHER BOOKS at the end). It's always frustrating having to wait a year a more to be able to buy a book I want, especially knowing that I'm not really supporting the author during a critical period in the publishing cycle.
My book, Decimus: The Vampires' Curse, is only on paperback (and kindle) at the moment. I've been waiting for the hardcover version because some people have asked for it, but the publisher I've been working has been weird...
You're amazing, John, thank you for the inspiration
~Trav
For me, more formats is a wider variety of memories for these books. I first read an Abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska in paperback, borrowed from the library or friends. I read Papertowns and the TFIOS on my kindle, and Turtles All the Way Down in hardback on winter break, home from college. I can still kind of picture those first reads in all their different forms.
I just finished reading looking for Alaska for the first time and I loved it!I can't believe its almost 18 years old!
Another weird thing about delaying the paperback is that you miss a whole market of people who simply can't afford the extra $10.
A lot of us just always wait for a book we're interested in to come out PB because buying 20+ books a year at $10-20 more per book really adds up.
There's a reason terrible romance novels do so well even though they come out like every other week.... you can be poor and still get 3 of em for the cost of 1 hard back.
Hard backs should be marketed like Collectors Editions that come out at the same time, or just after PB. It just makes more sense if you want to sell more.
I got to know you trough this book ! And I knew hank for years without knowing he had an equally awesome brother ! I'm so happy 🙂
I work as a freelance book designer for independent publishing houses in British Columbia. I can't speak for the general Canadian market, but in my experience (which includes both fiction and non-fiction), less than half of new books are published in hardcover first. I've worked on several fiction titles that were only ever published in paperback. My understanding is that the paperback be hardcover decision comes down to how successful the book is expected to be (many books we publish have an initial print run of 3,000 copies or less) and the price tolerance of the particular audience.
I'm happy I clicked on the video within minutes of posting! Thanks for coming to South Florida John, the last bastion (kind of) of sanity in this ridiculous state! I'll see you in a few weeks and will strive to make all our interactions as unawkward as possible.
I'm so glad all the formats exist now. I grew up reading books on paper, but when ebooks became a thing, I got so excited about having all the books with me all the time that I switched to ebooks pretty much exclusively (except for graphic novels). Now that I have more money and know that hardcovers give money to authors, I try to buy hardcovers, but there's still something about having all the books with me that really appeals. I have a hard time absorbing books in audio format, but I keep pushing myself to do it so I can read more. It's funny how brains absorb things. That's why it's so great to have all the formats available now. Whatever way your brain works best, there's a format for you!
I know when your book just came out, I got a British edition in softcover. I really love that in Europe I can choose which type of cover I get at the release.
The Anthropocene Reviewed is an absolute ✨work of art✨ I’m currently halfway through it.. after only a day. It’s *that* good. It’s everything I didn’t know I needed.
I got my hands on a hardback signed edition and I love your review of autographs; personally I’d give them four stars. To know that for one sliver of time one of my favorite authors focus was on signing that sheet is rad. Thanks for that sliver of time and alll the pieces of time you pour into your books. I give John Green six out of five stars. (the extra star is for being a great human and for showing us depressed folk that you can escape the dark cloud)
Excited to see you in Miami! Me and the boyfriend (who I introduced to vlogbrothers) are making a date night out of it!
I was only recently made aware of this when the final book of a trilogy I wanted to read only came out as a hardcover, but the first of the trilogy was no longer available as a hardcover. I've been waiting almost a year now to read the third novel, expecting it to come out a couple of months later.
I'm about 90% of the way through listening to Looking for Alaska for the first time. I'm a little bit embarrassed to say that as an avid vlog brothers and most of your other projects fan but I guess this was just the right time to start. Hope you know that your writing is touching people's lives, even for the first time, many years later. Thanks
Wow that's way different in the USA. Here in Belgium hardcovers are 30 euros, paperback from an online retailer around 7-12 euros, paperback in a physical bookstore 15-20 euros.
And I can't stand hardcovers, they're so limited in how I can hold them and not portable. My hands are in pain after reading for 1 hour.
If paperback and hardback would be the same price, I'd still buy paperback.
But paperbacks are around 1/3rd the price of hardcover here, so I bet that reflects in sales too despite the majority of readers preferring paperback (aside from price points).
Thank you so much for exciting John! I'm currently in the Lascaux cave painting chapter of the Anthropocene reviewed audiobook and I love that it was narrated by you. 4.5/5 stars 🤩😍
I’ve had a reminder for the Anthropocene reviewed paperback in my calendar for months now! I prefer paperbacks if it’s a book I want to underline or otherwise annotate, I feel a need to look after and treasure hardbacks, and I do still treasure paperbacks but in a different way!
I am currently “reading“ the fault in our stars via audiobook, and I have already downloaded turtles to “read” next. I’m very happy to have books in audio format because I can’t hold onto a book for a very long do you to chronic pain. So thank you.
might wanna pick up the audiobook soonish myself with all that talk.
the anthropocene reviewed was a special book to me, insofar as it had an unusual, hitherto unknown reading mode to me. it was interesting enough to keep coming back to, but was not a page-turner which i would be unable to put away and ruin my sleep cycle. Chapters with foot-squishing-from-above topic changes contributed. Also, it pushed a few feels-buttons, which i really liked. thanks, John :)
My copy of the Anthropocene Reviewed doesn't have that page with the ads for other books you wrote! I was deprived of a review😲
I love hardcover. It's just what a proper book feels like to me. All the more annoying that publishers often seem to decide to stick with softcover for reprints, so older books become really hard to find as hardcover. Thank God there's a second hand market for books.
J-JOHN THIS IS SO COOL AND THANK YOU FOR LOOKING FOR ALASKA I LOVE IT BUT C-COULD YOU PLEASE BRING BACK THE FORMAT? I LOVE THE FORMAT SO SO MUCH.
My favourite format for John Green novels is to have John Green read them to me, other narrations is also great. Kate Rudd did a great job with Turtles All the Way Down, added so much to the reading.
Also, as someone who's been reading a lot of PDFs lately (mostly flicking through), my preferred format is one where a PDF isn't formatted for A4 print and split in columns with text small enough that you need to zoom past 100% meaning you need to scroll down then back up again to read the same page. This issue is slowly driving me insane enough that I want to buy a 3rd widescreen monitor for my computer to have it verticle just for reading PDFs...
Part of the way I judge how successful a book is comes down to how long it takes for the paperback to be published after the hardcover released. Anytime I see a title that takes over a year, I'm always pleasantly surprised and delighted.
A very fascinating video. I remember being immensely frustrated as a child by the fact that hard copies came out first. I'd desperately want a book but have to wait for what felt like ages until it came out as a paperback before I could have a copy, hard copies being too expensive.
You should talk about your books being the first test for the little flipbacks outside of The Netherlands! I’d be interested in learning more about that.
What sucks is that I want to help support the authors I love by pre-ordering their books, but not if it means being forced to buy hardbacks I don't actually want. I'd rather have the option to pre-order the paperback version, even if getting it takes longer.