A reader recently asked me if I was "disappointed" that the US release of Secret of the Seventh Son was going to be in paperback original form rather than hardcover. It's an interesting question.

For a new author, the most important thing is getting published. Period. Beyond that, you can argue that everything is gravy. Worldwide, I'm fortunate to have 25 publishers and each is an expert in marketing and selling books in their own country. Some have chosen hardcover releases, some, trade paperback formats, some, like HarperCollins US, mass market paperbacks.

In a rotten economy, it's hard to ask a reader to fork over 20 dollars for a hardcover thriller from an unknown author. It's certainly in my best interest to get as many people as possible to take a chance on me. The German edition, Der Namen Der Toten, was launched as a paperback original and has spent 8 weeks on the Spiegel bestseller list. Would this have happened with a hardcover?

In the coming weeks we'll be able to do an uncontrolled experiment. The UK will launch Library of the Dead as a mass market paperback and Canada and Italy will release it as a hardcover. I'll let you know how it comes out.