Paperback originals

[steve]

Good article on The Stigma of Paperback Originals

Granted, the paperback original is hardly a new concept. In Europe, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, it's the industry standard. In the U.S., it's long been the default choice for romances and other genre fiction. In the '80s, Gary Fisketjon, now an editor at large for Knopf, created Vintage Contemporaries—publisher of the iconic "Bright Lights, Big City" by Jay McInerney—as a launching pad for young writers who would subsequently move up in class to hardcover.

HOWL by Allen Ginsberg is the most famous US paperback original I can think of.

[Mira]

That's really interesting. I wonder if things are going to change with e-books. I wonder if paperback originals may become less stigmatized because at least they aren't e-books.

It's so interesting that stigma develops in direct proportion to economic gain. Hardcovers make more money, so they are a 'better' product. It just makes you wonder who gains from the stigma and how the stigma gets started.

Personally, I dislike hardbacks. I don't like hauling them around, they are hard to hold up - I much prefer paperback.

[Nathan Bransford]

Jane Dystel had a great follow-up post to this: http://dglm.blogspot.com/2010/09/curse- ... rback.html

[cheekychook]

Now I can't get the lyrics to Paperback Writer out of my head.