Paperback Reissues: Everything Old Is New Again
Shannon Maughan -- 7/20/98
Publishers are updating backlist covers to attract new readers
The times -- and paperback covers -- they are a-changin'. Children's book publishers, working within a traditionally strong backlist business and serving a marketplace hungry for value-priced paperbacks, are finding themselves constantly challenged to make older books appealing to today's young readers. And equally important, each publisher is striving to make its books stand out on increasingly crowded bookstore shelves. As a result, paperbacks -- from chapter books through young adult novels -- are being reissued more frequently than ever. PW spoke to a number of editors about some recent reissue programs and the effort required to keep up with the latest trends, tastes and technologies.
"The marketplace is tougher today. You need every advantage when everybody is competing for the same customer, the same shelf space," said Kate Klimo, publishing director for Random House Children's Publishing. "More than ever, the cover is seen as packaging, the poster for a book."
Klimo is not alone in her assessment. More often than not, editors interviewed for this article referred to reissuing as repackaging or branding, an indication of the increased emphasis on marketing and merchandising books over the past several years. "It's a branding-happy world," said Klimo. "That's the cause of much of the re-jacketing being done."
Perhaps the strongest brands publishers have to offer are their authors. And a spate of new paperback covers proudly announce the names of established, "brand-name" authors loud and clear. New covers that visually unify the Aladdin paperback titles of two-time Newbery Medalist E.L. Konigsburg are among some of the recent examples. Books by Puffin's top-selling author, Roald Dahl, have also been repackaged with an eye toward branding. Nine Dahl titles, including Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, were released in June with crisp covers illustrated by Quentin Blake. "We've been publishing Dahl's paperback backlist for years," said Puffin president and publisher Tracy Tang. "But because they were published at different times, the books were all handled very differently in terms of art and design. The success of the movies James and the Giant Peach and Matilda in 1996 prompted us to pull out the entire backlist, and we realized that the books looked nothing alike. We wanted to give Dahl a more unified, branded look, but we also wanted something sophisticated and fun."
Tang and her art department decided that Blake's artwork and Molly Leach's designs fit the bill. Two to three additional repackaged Dahl titles will be published per list until the author's catalogue of backlist children's paperbacks is complete.
Puffin authors Lloyd Alexander, Betsy Byars and John Bellairs have received similar treatment in the past couple of years. Bellairs's Johnny Dixon titles feature cover art by Caldecott Medalist Paul O. Zelinsky.
Paula Danziger is another author whose reputation is being touted, this time by her new paperback publisher, PaperStar. PaperStar, an imprint of Penguin Putnam (which now publishes Danziger in hardcover), recently acquired all 12 of Danziger's backlist titles, including The Cat Ate My Gymsuit and Make Like a Tree and Leave, from Dell. "Once we [Putnam] started working with Paula on her Amber Brown titles [a series of books Danziger initiated with Putnam in 1994], we established a very good relationship," said Putnam publisher Nancy Paulsen. "A lot of times an author's backlist becomes dusty. In this case, Paula wanted us to get her books back and we eventually negotiated to buy them from BDD. We have fewer authors on our list [than BDD] and were able to give Paula a different kind of attention."
The bold new Danziger covers are distinguished by her name in a prominent black-and-white lettering above the title. With variations on this design, all Danziger titles, even those aimed at different age levels, are readily recognizable to consumers. And much to Danziger's pleasure, she had a lot of input on the new cover designs for her books. "Paula was never really happy about having Marcy [the main character in The Cat Ate My Gymsuit] on the cover," commented Paulsen. After Paulsen and Danziger worked with two different illustrators on a concept for the cover, Danziger fell in love with the idea of the image of a cat running through the title's letters. This design, rendered in what resembles a black-and-white chalkboard sketch, became the book's new cover. A similar treatment appears on the cover of the sequel, There's a Bat in Bunk Five.
Simon Boughton, publishing director of Knopf and Crown Books for Young Readers, concurs with other editors when he says, "We see our authors as our brands." But he also pointed out a slightly different approach to branding. Boughton oversees the Knopf Paperbacks imprint, which was launched in spring 1997.
"The genesis of the imprint was to ensure that Knopf hardcover books would have a permanent paperback home," Boughton said. He explained that the Knopf Paperbacks imprint aims for an "author look" on its paperback covers by "selecting the right illustrator and giving the book an age-appropriate presentation." He mentioned the recently repackaged titles by Dick King-Smith and Louis Sachar as forming "strong author clusters" that have sold well in their new formats.
But Knopf takes the development of the unified look one step further by placing its Borzoi dog logo and a black-and-red design on the spine. "It's very deliberate," Boughton said. "We do catch some flak for it; some people say it looks ugly, but we wanted a distinctive spine." This way Knopf Paperbacks are branded by both author and imprint.
To Repackage or Not?
There are many factors that go into the decision to repackage a book. Whether it began life as a hardcover or as a title in an original paperback series, almost any backlist book that has shown steady sales over a substantial period of time will be considered for a facelift. And most editors agree that each book with repackaging potential is judged on a case-by-case basis. "Generally speaking, a title that has been backlisting well might get a boost from a relaunch," said Craig Walker, v-p and editorial director of trade paperbacks at Scholastic. "We cannot repackage something that appears to be dead in the water, because it d s not make sense financially. But any valuable property deserves to be remade. It's a way to keep the rate of sales a book already has, and if you boost sales, that's a bonus."
According to Beverly Horowitz, deputy publisher and editor-in-chief at BDD Books for Young Readers, evaluating which books to repackage and how is a key component of her job. "In a year, we repackage 40 to 60 individual titles," she said. "It happens every week. We've got to get the kid, the teacher, the librarian and the bookseller to pick up the book. So we have to appeal to many visual expectations simultaneously."
The most oft-cited reason for repackaging a book is to freshen up a cover that has become stale and dated. This also applies to series with numerous titles like Sweet Valley High or the Baby-sitters Club, which both were repackaged, in stages, several years ago. "It's like tending the garden," said Klimo. "Books die out, then you bring them back newly pruned."
"It's amazing how quickly art looks old," Walker commented. As a case in point, he referred to his company's forthcoming repackaging of R.L. Stine's four Baby-sitter YA horror titles. "Style has changed so much for teenagers," he said. "The older covers were painted from models and look really dated. We wanted to give these books a more contemporary look and give teens the kind of graphic image they're now used to looking at."
Responding to the same teen horror trend, BDD also recently repackaged Lois Duncan's backlist following the box-office success of the film adaptation of Duncan's novel I Know What You Did Last Summer (published by Pocket/Archway Books). The new BDD Duncan covers sport chilling film-noir-inspired black-and-white photographs. "If kids are going to recognize Lois Duncan's work because of the film, this look helps them find her books," Horowitz said.Horowitz also noted the recently reissued editions of Caroline B. Cooney's The Face on the Milk Carton, Whatever Happened to Janie? and the paperback release next month of a third companion book, The Voice on the Radio, as a repackaging program that boosted sales of an already popular author by appealing to teens' and preteens' appetite for suspense. Original artwork for the first two books had featured Janie, the protagonist, on the cover. Horowitz and others felt that the more emotional, character-driven approach was perhaps limiting. The new covers are more representative, with no people, and they play up the thriller aspect. Feedback has indicated that this new look has more cross-gender appeal.
Dusting Off the Classics
Contemporary books are not the only ones that are being retooled. The covers of many children's classics have also been spruced up. One notable example is the four Mary Poppins books by P.L. Travers, which were reissued last October in Harcourt Brace's revamped Odyssey Classics paperback line (the hardcovers were simultaneously reissued in the Young Classics line). The covers feature Mary Shepard's original drawings and, for Harcourt Brace editor Michael Stearns, there could be no other choice. "You can't separate Mary Poppins from Mary Shepard," he said. "They just go together."
When it comes to well-established titles, Stearns said, "If a cover has been out there long enough, the eye passes over it as something known. With classics you need to jog people's attention now and then. If you can change the look and give books bright new packaging, people will look at them anew." In addition to the Travers books, Stearns is responsible for giving the Odyssey imprint its current look. "I believe in letting the books be the books," he said of his design approach. "We're trying to be truer to the content and less to the series. Before, the series was ascendant." On the imprint's new covers, the Odyssey name and logo appears in a small black box in the upper left-hand corner, allowing for a "more fluid design, which d sn't force conformity," Stearns said. He mentioned the recent Borrowers covers, featuring new art by Marla Frazee as a successful reissue, as Frazee's jaunty ink-and-watercolor images complement the original interior illustrations by Beth and J Krush. Future projects include new covers for titles by Edward Eager coming in spring 1999.
Sometimes repackaging becomes a necessity when an individual book or group of books takes on a life of its own. The ability to repackage can also present editors with the opportunity to rethink and adjust their initial expectations for a book. Klimo of Random House recalled that Barbara Park's beginning-reader books about Junie B. Jones originally were in Random House's Stepping Stones line. But when Junie became such a popular character, she warranted her own branded series and, consequently, new covers.
As another example, Walker of Scholastic noted that while the four books in Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles were always steady backlist performers, they needed a more focused emphasis. New covers feature a sophisticated fantasy art style, with a medieval setting, which makes them "more collectible," according to Walker. "The more focused packaging encourages readers to look for similar titles in the line."
Another way to focus attention on an author's previous work is to bind several titles into a single volume. This was recently done with Francesca Lia Block's five novels about Weetzie Bat, which were combined and released as Dangerous Angels in May. Similarly, last September five novels by Daniel Pinkwater were published as 5 Novels by Farrar, Straus &Giroux.When film adaptations of books hit the big screen, publishers often quickly repackage titles with movie tie-in covers. Recent examples include Babe, Harriet the Spy, Matilda and The Borrowers. But the books continue to be printed with their regular trade covers as well.
Repackaging a book can also be championed by an editor as a labor of love. Such was the case with the Song of the Lioness Quartet and the Immortals Quartet, eight titles by Tamora Pierce that were repackaged in paperback by Random House Children's Books in 1997. Assistant publishing director Mallory L hr said, "I had read the books back in the mid- to late '80s and had loved them." The Song of the Lioness books had been previously published in the Bullseye imprint and were out of print, and the Immortals books had never been published in paperback. When the opportunity arose to consider the rights for all eight books, L hr became their biggest supporter. "It was purely coincidental that this project landed on my desk," she said. "I was able to convince our people to take a risk, especially selling them on the idea of a strong female character. We gave the books a consistent look, which bought us presence in the bookstores. And the books have done really well for us so far."
L hr continued, "That's one of the nice things about publishing. You can try to revive books you remember from when you were a kid." Stearns of Harcourt ech d that sentiment: "It's nice to come across a book that you love and be able to put a new face on it and introduce it to people who can appreciate and enjoy it."
Requests from readers, teachers and librarians can provide the extra push to repackage a title. "Our Three Investigators series [first published in 1964] really suffered when Goosebumps came out," Klimo recalled. "We let them go out of print. But we got tons of letters asking us to bring them back. Now we've begun reviving them four at a time."
Timing Is Everything
Once the decision has been made to repackage a book, the question of when to do it becomes an issue. "We try to time it for maximum exposure," Boughton said. He mentioned the future release of Philip Pullman's third book in the His Dark Materials trilogy as a possible time to repackage paperbacks of the earlier The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife.
Other editors related similar examples of timing a backlist repackaging effort to a new frontlist release. Klimo pointed to the publication of a new series, Young Black Stallion, by Steven Farley this fall as the opportune time to repackage the classic The Black Stallion and The Island Stallion by Steven's father, Walter Farley.
Birthdays of authors, characters or books are often celebrated with a repackaging effort. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton last fall, Puffin repackaged the hardcover as well as the Puffin paperback edition and another Hinton title, That Was Then, This Is Now (BDD publishes other Hinton backlist titles).
To honor the 35th anniversary of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, in May BDD repackaged her Time Quartet titles (and An Acceptable Time) in two different editions. The Yearling digest format for middle graders features art by Caldecott Honor illustrator Peter Sis, and the Laurel-Leaf rack-size books sport cover art by popular SF illustrator Cliff Nielsen.
The editorial and art departments are not the only ones to tackle reissuing programs with gusto. Those in marketing and publicity also must find ways to generate fresh attention for repackaged works. Peggy Guthart, publicity director for Puffin and Warne, explained, "For a major grouping of reissues, we spend the same money and time as we do with new, original titles. It helps to have something to hang it on, like an anniversary." A relaunch can include everything from a tour to activity kits, floor displays and advertising. "For certain authors and projects, we pull out all the stops," Guthart added.
Crunching the Numbers
Like most other publishing decisions, no decision to repackage a book is made without carefully considering the potential financial profit. All editors note a fresh "sell-in" effect whenever sales reps present repackaged books to their accounts. But a substantial jump in sales is rare, and subsequently rarely expected by an editor. "You can't depend on sales spiking," said Walker of Scholastic. "Anyone who thinks repackaging will push books back onto the bestseller list is kidding himself."
Tang of Puffin agreed. "Most of what you reissue is already a strong steady backlist," she said. "There is somewhat of a blip, but then sales usually level out maybe a little higher than they were for the original book. But it's not all that significant."
One example of a big sell-in blip is the repackaged Lois Duncan titles from BDD. Earlier this year (Feb.-May), when the first five Duncan titles were rereleased, they sold a combined total of 75,000 copies. The same five titles sold a total of 36,000 copies during the same period in 1997.
Booksellers also keep their expectations for reissues in check. In general, booksellers have observed that reissued books do improve sales, but not by any substantial margin. Steve Geck, director of children's books for Barnes &Noble, remarked, "There have been lots of nice examples of books that have been given a new life because of new jackets. But on the flip side of that, if it's a book we've been carrying, we see it as the same book, likely to have the same sales record it did before."
Geck also believes that a unified look for books by a certain author or in a particular imprint d s help sales. Children's bookseller Marilyn Dugan of A Likely Story in Alexandria, Va., commented, "On something really classic, a new cover d sn't boost sales a lot. But it d s jog me to order a newer, fresher supply of the books."
According to Tina Moore of the Blue Marble children's bookstore in Fort Thomas, Ky., "A new cover certainly can help sell a book. Most of the time new covers do make a book more attractive to a kid. The new covers on the Lloyd Alexander Chronicles of Prydain books are very attractive. They have helped us sell that series better. And I think any time you can give classics a fresh exciting look, that's good for the books."
Whatever the approach taken, one thing is clear: repackaging backlist titles is a concept that publishers are exploring more frequently. As Klimo reminds her colleagues, "If you can't keep your backlist in business, you have no business."
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