Book Categories
Today, most of the books that shape our culture are adapted to other media, which expands their influence. Magazine serialization put Ronald Reagan’s memoirs in more hands than did the publisher of the book. More people saw Carl Sagan on television than have read his books. Stephen King’s thrillers sell spectacularly, especially in paperback, but more people see the movie renditions. Books have a trickle-down effect through other media, their impact being felt even by people who cannot or do not read them. Although people are more in touch with other mass media day to day, books are the heart of creating the culture and passing it on to new generations.
When most people think about books, fiction and nonfiction aimed at general readers come to mind. These are called trade books, which are a major segment of the book industry. Also important are textbooks, which include not only schoolbooks but also reference books and even cookbooks. There are countless ways to further dissect books, but textbooks and trade books are the major categories.
Trade books
The most visible part of the $24 billion a year that the U. S. book publishing industry produces is trade books. These are general interest titles, including fiction and nonfiction, that people usually think of when they think about books. Trade books can be incredible best-sellers. Since it was introduced in 1937, J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit has sold almost 40 million copies. Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 Gone with the Wind has passed 29 million. Most trade books, however, have shorter lives. To stay atop best-seller lists, Stephen King, Danielle Steel and other authors have to keep writing. Steel, known for her discipline at the keyboard, produces a new novel about every six months.
Although publishing trade books can be extremely profitable when a book takes off, trade books have always been a high-risk proposition. One estimate is that 60 percent of them lose money, 36 percent break even and 4 percent turn a good profit, and only a few in the latter category become best-sellers and make spectacular money.
Textbooks
Although the typical successful trade book best-sellers can be a spectacular moneymaker for a few months, a successful textbook has a longer life with steady income. For example, Curtis MacDougall wrote a breakthrough textbook on journalism in 1932 that went through eight editions before he died in 1985. Then the publisher brought out a ninth edition, with Robert Reid bringing it up to date. This gave MacDougall’s Interpretative Reporting a life span of more than 60 years. Although textbook publishers don’t routinely announce profits by title, Interpretative Reporting undoubtedly has generated more income than many trade book best-sellers. Textbooks, the biggest segment of the book market, include reference and professional books, college textbooks, and elementary and high school textbooks and learning materials.(https://www.daowen.com)
Professional and reference books Dictionaries, atlases and other reference works represent about 10 percent of textbook sales. Over the years the Christian Bible and Noah Webster’s dictionary have led reference book sales. Others also have had exceptional, long-term success that rivals trade books. Even after Benjamin Spock died in 1998, his Baby and Child Care, introduced in 1946, kept on selling. Total sales are past 50 million. Next on the list: The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.
College textbooks College textbooks sell in great numbers, mostly through the coercion of the syllabus. Although textbooks are written for students, publishers pitch them to the professors who order them for their students. Students, although the ultimate consumer, don’t choose them, which may partly explain the hard feelings students have toward textbooks.
El-Hi books Learning materials for elementary and high schools, known as the el-hi market, have unique marketing mechanisms. In most states, school districts are allowed to use state funds to buy books only from a state-approved list. This means that publishers gear books toward acceptance in populous states with powerful adoption boards. If the California adoption board is firm on multiculturalism, textbook publishers will take that approach to win California acceptance. Multiculturalism then becomes a theme in books for less influential states in the adoption process.
Words & Expressions
serialization：连载
thrillers：恐怖小说（或电影、戏剧等）
paperback：平装书
atlas：地图集，地图册
coercion：强制，强迫
syllabus：教学大纲，课程提纲