Placing Your Book: Which of the Nine Categories?

One of the challenges any writer faces in placing a book with an agent or publisher (or preferably both) is knowing exactly what it is she has written and how it should be identified. Even if you publish your book yourself, you should be able to categorize it.

It's important therefore that you know which of the nine categories your book fits into before you start writing. And certainly your should know before you start approaching agents and publishers. If you are not sure, they won't have a clue either. By now you have come to the conclusion that the entire publishing process is like any other process;it has its conventions and rules and guidelines.

Some books "cross over" from one category to another, but as much as possible it's best to avoid crossover problems because it's harder to market a book that doesn't fit clearly into one category.

Here are the nine categories and their characteristics:

1. The Trade Book: This is a book, either in nonfiction or in fiction, that is geared toward the general reader and the trade. It can be hardcover or paperback. The term trade refers to retail sales in stores that get a basic trade discount of 40 percent rather than mail order or book clubs or even premium sales. In fiction, this would include literary novels, romance novels, and thrillers. For nonfiction, a trade book would be a how-to, self-help book, biography, or the like; again, anything that is sold with a typical trade discount to stores. They usually have a larger trims size than mass market paperbacks but usually smaller print runs.
   
   
2. The Mass Market Paperback is usually a novel packaged as a small paperback, sold not only at bookstores but also at discount and grocery stores. When people say, "I'll wait for it to come out in paperback," they're referring to mass market trade paperbacks with large print runs. Generally mass market paperbacks are produced after a book does well in hardcover.
   
   
3. The Juvenile Book includes everything from picture books for toddlers up to young adult novels. Anything that fits into a "children's" or "teen's" area of reading is a juvenile book, although some young adult (YA) novels are fairly sophisticated. It's really the audience that matters in this case.
   
   
4. The Professional Book is aimed at members of a specific profession, often published in hardcover with no jacket. Law books, books of regulations, and professional training books fall into this category.
   
   
5. The Scholarly and University Press Book differs from professional books in that they are not necessarily aimed at members of one profession, but are based on scholarly research and are a little more specialized in their topics than general trade books. They are usually produced by faculty who teach at educational institutions.
   
   
6. The Subscription Reference Book like Literary Marketplace or Bacon's Media Guide, contains specialized, time-sensitive reference information, and must be updated or replaced each year. Physician's Desk Reference is another good example of this type of book.
   
   
7. The Elementary or High School Textbook is for younger children or teens and uses a fairly elementary language. These titles include many illustrations, examples, and graphics. They should be geared primarily toward students who are learning about this subject area for the first time.
   
   
8. The College Textbook uses more sophisticated language and are more advanced; but they should still concentrate on teaching the subject rather than just reviewing information. College textbooks are often considered "dry" reading, but it shouldn't need to be.
   
   
9. The Religious Book covers just about any book on a religious subject, from Bible studies and spiritual books by Billy Graham to books on the history of Islam or the beliefs of Judaism.