Formats of Work

What exactly is a format of work? Quite simply, the format of work is the form a published book takes when it is completed. Generally speaking, the most common formats of work are hardcover, soft cover, and e-book. However, there may be other formats, such as audio book. Also, some of these formats can themselves consist of other formats. For example, the soft cover format may be trade book format or mass market format. The e-book format may be MOBI for the Amazon Kindle or EPUB for the rest of the world, although one may argue the format is still e-book and MOBI and EPUB are just file types.

Most people understand what the hardcover format is. The internal pages of the book are bound and glued between two pieces of hard gray board wrapped with printed paper. That’s an oversimplification, but it gets the point across so we can move on to other formats of work that may be confusing to the novice. The soft cover format, unlike the hardcover format, consists of the internal pages glued into a flexible cardstock cover. The cardstock is where the “soft” in soft cover comes from and also why this format is quite often called “paperback.” Yes, most people understand that. Where it gets more confusing to the novice is there are actually two basic types of soft cover formats: trade paperback and mass-market paperback.

The trade paperback is usually the same trim size as the hardcover edition version of the book, usually 6 x 9. Very often, the internal pages are identical. Since a soft cover is less expensive to produce, the trade paperback format is usually priced lower than the hardcover edition.

At the lower end of the scale is the mass-market paperback. This is a smaller trim size than either the hardcover or trade paperback edition of the book, usually 4 x 7. The point size of the type is smaller as well, and the paper is usually of a lower quality to make the mass-market paperback even less expensive to produce. The price of the mass-market paperback edition will be the lowest of the three print formats of the book. The mass-market paperback edition is intended to be produced at a low cost and distributed to a wide audience. This format may be called a “pocket book” due to its size.

The e-book format is not printed, rather digital. This is the format people read on their smartphones, tablets, and e-book readers. The most universal e-book format is EPUB. An e-book saved in this format will have a .epub file extension (for those operating systems that use file extensions). The MOBI format is a derivative of EPUB and was developed for the Amazon Kindle. An e-book saved in this format will have a .mobi file extension.

Tin Whiskers Publisher is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). IBPA’s mission is “to lead and serve the independent publishing community by providing advocacy, education, and tools for success.” IBPA is a not-for-profit membership organization serving and leading the independent publishing community. Founded in 1983, it is the largest publishing trade organization in the United States. IBPA members pledge to uphold the organization’s code of ethics.