Tips

Hardcover dust jackets can be protected by covering them. This is often a wise choice as the jackets can take a lot of damage over the years through constant use and they tear easily.

Note: A hardcover or hardback book is bound with a thick cover that protects the internal pages well because they cannot be bent outside the cover (you can still bend them inside if you wished). There is usually a dust jacket over the hard cover that will be illustrated and named, including the author's name. A paperback or softcover has a soft cover that is easily bent and the whole format, print, and size is more compact.

You can strengthen paperback books by covering them. See How to cover a paperback book with clear plastic film for more details.

What to choose when self publishing a book

1.View the publication of your own book in a similar light to the reader's decisions for purchasing one type of book over another:

Is your book likely to be popular and used as a reference work or become a bestseller? If so, choose hardback first.

Is your book testing the waters, a first off print run, a novelty or specialist topic, or just a big unknown? If so, choose softcover first.

Are you trying to keep down the costs of your print run? If so, choose softcover first.

What are your readers likely to prefer? (You're going to have to stand in their shoes a bit for this one.)

2.Consider whether it is either viable or possible for you to print a run of both hardcover and softcover books. This might enable you to meet the needs of each type of reader. However, it's likely that your budget will be the ultimate deciding factor here as this will definitely be a more costly way to produce the book.

3.Consider producing eBooks and books for eReaders and the iPad. These are increasingly popular formats for publishing in and you might not even need to publish in print form!

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