"Mom always said not to play ball in the house..."
May 12 '01 (Updated Sep 07 '04)
The Bottom Line Remember that episode of Silver Spoons when Menudo paid a visit and Grandpa thought they were a gang and ran out of the house screaming, "My hubcaps, my hubcaps"?
What to Know When You Buy Your Books
Introduction
There are exceptions to these rules as there are to any set of rules. This is intended to be a general guide to aid the consumer in the purchasing of their books.
Mass market
Mass markets are the small paperbacks that you can find just about anywhere that sells books. They are all about the same size (usually averaging 7 x 4.25 inches) and feature current popular titles (by such diverse authors as Stephen King, William Shatner, and Anne Rice) and classics that are often required reading for school (mostly written by dead white men, except for Shatner--he's just dead from the neck up).
Trade paper
Trade paperbacks are the larger paperbacks that often confuse the inexperienced book buyer. The only differences between these and mass markets are that trade paperbacks are larger--there is no standard size for a trade paperback except that they are bigger than a mass market--and are of higher quality. The customer often asks, "Is there a difference in the text?" The answer is…no.
On a side note: For an author who has been dead for a long time, like Homer, Dante, or Shakespeare, their work is public domain: Anyone can issue a copy of the text. That's why you'll see the same work issued by many different publishers. There's no difference in the text (or there shouldn't be) in any of these editions, unless of course the work was originally written in a language other than English. Then it depends upon who translated the work since translations can and do vary. Exceptions to this rule are authors like Hemingway, Faulkner, and Steinbeck, who are obviously dead, but a particular publisher still exclusively issues their work. Why? Because, someone still owns the rights to their work, usually their children or professional midgets who resemble the deceased.
Trade cloth (hardcover)
Trade cloth is publishing industry terminology for a hardcover. Hardcovers are more expensive and cannot be shipped to prison inmates (i.e., Todd Bridges) since they can be used as a potential weapon, kind of like a Pinto.
Library binding
Library binding books are like tanks: ugly, but durable, and very expensive. These books have a heavy-duty binding to guarantee a long and happy shelf life. And you've probably seen many examples of a book with library binding: They're very ugly hardcovers sans dust jackets. So, who buys these? Libraries.
ISBN
ISBN is an acronym for International Standard Book Number. This is best described as a "Social Security Number" for books. ISBNs have nothing to do with the Dewey Decimal System or the Library of Congress Catalog Numbering System; ISBNs are used to identify a particular book's language, publisher, format, and title, and are for ordering purposes. They're a handy bit of information to have if you're out shopping at your favorite bookstore looking for that particular title. But be forewarned: ISBNs are for that particular book, that particular edition, that particular printing only. In other words, an ISBN from 10 years ago will probably be out of circulation or assigned to another book. Make sure the information you have is current.
Here's an example of an ISBN number:
ISBN 0-679-74579-3
Bonus tip
If you are giving a bookseller an ISBN number, don't read the dashes. They don't matter to a computer and it's rather annoying to listen to, especially if you are old--unless, of course, you are Gabe Kaplan. If you are Gabe Kaplan, I would like to shake your hand for kicking Robert Conrad's @$$ during a very special Battle of the Network Stars.
Release date
A release date is a legal contract that a publisher has set and cannot be broken. What's the reason for a release date? Fair business practice, my friends. When a book, especially one written by a popular author, is released, the title is first sent to the very large chain stores, like Wal-Mart. And for effect, let's say Wal-Mart receives this shipment on a Monday. On Tuesday, let's say the big bookstore chains receive their shipment. On Wednesday, the smaller, mall-based bookstores get their copies, which eventually leads up to Thursday when the Mom and Pop stores get theirs. Now to level the playing field, the release date is set for the following Tuesday to make sure that everyone has their copies so that the big guys don't clobber the little guys right off the bat.
Out of print
Out of print is an eponymous term: It means exactly what it says. An out of print book is no longer in production; it is no longer being made; and books can go out of print at any time. Why? There are many reasons for this, but mostly it's because of money, i.e., no one bought (or is currently buying) the book. And there's no profit if no one buys the book, so publishers stop producing it. You may ask, "But why can't I get it?" Well, if you had just listened to what I said, you would know, but let explain in another way: It's kind of like a Model-T. Say you want to buy a Model-T. Do you go to your local Ford dealership and ask for one? No, because Ford no longer makes the Model-T. You must obtain the Model-T through your own means. The same goes for books. You can usually start at a used bookstore, or nowadays, online, as many online booksellers, such as Amazon.com, offer services to locate decent copies of out of print books that you are looking for.
Pub order
Sometimes you may want a book that neither the store nor its distributors carry. That's when a pub order is issued. A pub order is exactly what it sounds like: It's an order placed with the publisher directly. There are several drawbacks to a pub order, one being how long it takes the book to arrive. And it doesn't matter on the size of the publisher, big or small. (Publishers can be huge, like Random House, or small, like some 50-year-old guy living in his parent's basement, printing books out of their garage.) You see, publishers don't deal with the public, so, they don't care. It's completely up to them when the book is sent. It could take just a few days or months. If Random House gets an order for 500,000 copies of the latest Oprah Book, they most likely aren't going to bust their collective proverbial asses to send out one copy of Psychic Dogs Behind the Iron Curtain: 1950-1990 just for you. I'm sorry, but it's true.
Online
And here's a little bit of info I know you're really going to enjoy: The online site (e.g., B&N.com) is not the same as the "bricks & mortar" site (e.g., Barnes & Noble). Yes, they both have the B&N name, and yes, the same filthy-rich guy owns them both, but they are run independent of one another. Why?
The online store is just one giant warehouse filled with books and has one distribution system (i.e., UPS). The retail chain is made up of 500 stores, each with its own particular distribution system (an independent distribution company, like Ingram), customized for that store. Customized: Each store is different, despite being a corporation.
Bonus tip
Here's another automotive analogy: Say you want to purchase a Chevy. Do you go to a Buick dealership and ask the salesperson for a Chevy? No! Doesn't General Motors manufacture both Chevy and Buick? Yes, but they are separate divisions of the same company, just like B&N.com and Barnes & Noble.
And why is the book usually cheaper online? The online store, as we've said, is one building, with one staff. The retail chain is made up of 500 stores that need to be built, maintained, stocked, and employ thousands of employees (who need to be paid and given benefits).
Do you always save money online? Not always. If you buy in bulk, yes. If you are only buying one title, no, and you still have to pay for shipping and handling, something you don't have to pay for in a traditional store.
Final thoughts
Bookstores usually carry books for profit, not for the information they contain. If you need to do research, go to the library. Bookstores do not have the resources or the trained personnel (i.e., librarians) to do research and they don't want to. They want you to buy, buy, buy and get the hell out. And yes, librarians are trained personnel. Librarians attend graduate school to earn their MLS (Master's of Library Science degree) and are far more capable of locating information than that semi-conscious high school student working at your local Barnes & Noble.
PS
Now get out there and support your local library! And let me get back to my tape of a Very Special Episode of What's Happening.
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