Hardcover books feature pages that are sewn together between a cover made of thick cardboard. While the covers are usually quite plain, a colorful book jacket is used as a marketing tool. As a result of the costs of hardcover publication, book companies usually reserve this kind of release for the titles in which they have they have the most confidence.
Trade paperbacks feature pages glued together inside a cover made of thick paper. These are approximately 6 inches by 8 inches.
Mass-market paperbacks are much smaller and usually less expensive. As Elsa Dixler noted in a New York Times article, the covers of mass-market paperbacks tend to be less artistic. These books are sometimes intended for sale in places other than bookstores, including airports and drug stores.
Thanks to corporate consolidation, many of the small, prestigious publishers of the past are now parts of big companies. For example, Random House is part of the same company as Bantam and Doubleday and Knopf and Dell and Crown and others. Though these companies are leaner than they may have been in the past, books are shepherded through the publication process in much the same way. An editor (sometimes with the help of an agent) takes an interest in the book, works with the author to improve the book, sends it off to the printer, publicizes it and hopes that it sells well.
Smaller publishing houses are likely to take greater risks, bringing books to market that may or may not have a wide audience. These are sometimes run by universities, offering students the chance to learn the publishing ropes. While small press authors typically don't receive the large advances some authors receive from big publishers, they often get more input into the process, including what the book's jacket will look like.
Unfortunately, a number of factors have led to difficult times for book publishing. The Association of American Publishers estimated that $23.9 million worth of books were sold in 2009, a 1.8 percent decrease from the previous year. One reason the industry is suffering is because of increasing tendency of Americans to get their entertainment from other media. Before television, a mystery lover would pick up a hard-boiled pulp novel; today, that person is likely watching "CSI" instead. In fact, Robyn Jackson cites a Jenkins Group study that claims 33 percent of high school graduates and 42 percent of college graduates never read another book once they're out of school. Another problem is the decline in numbers of independent bookstores. While the big chains often feature a large number of titles in each store, fewer retail outlets means that those chains have less competition and more power and influence when it comes to what is published in the first place.
Electronic books, though their current sales lag far behind those of traditional books, could become increasingly important to publishers. According to the International Digital Publishing Forum and the Association of American Publishers, January 2010 e-book sales were 370 percent greater than those in January 2009.