by Air Force One

Question by redshirt34: What's the difference between fiction, mass market fiction, and trade fiction?

When I read book lists in newspapers and magazines it has different types of books. For example one list would be mass market fiction and another list will just be fiction.




Best answer:

Answer by Cathy S
The terms "mass market" and "trade" refer to paperback book sizes. Mass market paperbacks are the small ones (approximate 4.25 inches wide and 6.75 inches high). Trade paperbacks are usually the same size as a hardcover edition but have soft covers.

The reason to separate them in something like a b est-seller list would be that the mass market editions are cheaper than the trade editions, which are cheaper than the hardcover editions, so sales figures will be different depending on the edition. A lot of my friends will wait (about a year) for a book to come out in paperback instead of buying the hardcover.

What do you think? Answer below!