trade book

American  

noun

1. a book designed for the general public and available through an ordinary book dealer, as distinguished from a limited-edition book, textbook, mass market paperback, etc.

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trade book British  

noun

1. an ordinary edition of a book sold in the normal way in shops, as opposed to a de luxe or mail-order edition

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Etymology

Origin of trade book

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Three-quarters of trade book revenue last year derived from hardcover and paperback sales, according to the Association of American Publishers.

From Washington Post • Dec. 19, 2022

Ramsey: It's been eight years since I've done a major trade book.

From Fox News • Jan. 18, 2022

The first government report published as a trade book was the Warren Commission’s 1964 report on J.F.K.’s assassination, which sold more than a million copies.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 1, 2019

One point of uncertainty, they added, was what Barclays was going to do with its trade book.

From Reuters • Dec. 5, 2016

Those reasons may partly explain why separate data from Nielsen, which tracks only print trade book sales, looks so different from the publishers’ numbers.

From New York Times • Sep. 23, 2016