Readers choose formats for their own reasons: price, convenience, gifting, how they like to read. Offering the right ones makes your book easier to buy. Here is what each does best.
eBook
Why readers choose it: instant delivery, a lower price, and the ability to carry a library on a phone or e-reader.
Good to know:
- It is the cheapest format to produce and the easiest to correct after publication.
- The text reflows to suit each reader's screen and font size, so the design needs to be simple and robust.
- Fiction and genre readers, who read a lot, often buy eBooks first.
Paperback
Why readers choose it: it is the standard printed book, affordable and easy to find.
Good to know:
- It is what most bookshops, libraries and book clubs expect.
- The interior needs careful design: trim size, margins, type, and chapter openings.
- Print-on-demand means each copy is printed when ordered, so you do not pay for stock up front.
Hardback
Why readers choose it: it feels durable and special, which suits gifts, collectors, libraries and books people want to keep.
Good to know:
- It costs more to print and is priced higher, so it is chosen by fewer readers, but they tend to value it.
- It works particularly well for memoirs, special editions and children's books.
- It needs its own cover files, which differ from the paperback's.
One book, three editions
Each format is a separate edition with its own ISBN. The content should match across all three. Check that the page count, spine width and cover files are right for each, and that the details on retailer pages (title, description, categories) are the same.
How to decide
Ask three questions:
- Where do my readers buy? Look at comparable books in your genre and see which formats they offer.
- What do they expect to pay? Price your formats in sensible steps rather than guessing.
- What will I use the book for? A hardback may suit gifts, and an eBook may suit a launch promotion.
Print costs and prices, in brief
Printing cost depends on the page count, the trim size, the paper and whether the interior is black-and-white or colour. Hardbacks cost more to print than paperbacks, and colour costs more than black-and-white. Platforms provide print-cost calculators, so check the cost of each edition before you set a price, then compare it with similar books in your genre. eBooks have no print cost, but readers still expect the price to reflect the length and the genre.
Our guides to trim size and paper, eBook formatting and KDP or IngramSpark cover the practical choices behind each format.
Common questions
Do I need all three formats at launch? Not necessarily. Start with the formats your readers buy, and add others when you are ready.
Will a hardback sell? Fewer readers choose hardbacks, but those who do often buy them as gifts or to keep. Price the hardback to reflect its higher printing cost.
Should the content be identical? Yes. The eBook, paperback and hardback should contain the same text, and the details on each listing should match.
Our approach
At Fable Studio we format your book for eBook and print on demand, and launch the formats that suit it, whether eBook, paperback or hardback, through your own distribution accounts. See our book formatting service for details.
Want to know where your book stands?
Submit your manuscript for a free book review: the whole book, or at least the first three chapters. We'll read it and send you our feedback. There's no obligation.