Hard cover or paperback?
Hard cover. The price of producing a hard cover book is about $2 or $3 more per book than it is for a paperback book. If you choose the more expensive "Smythe sewn" option rather than "boards" attached with glue, it will probably cost you an additional $1 or more per book. Your hard cover book can be bound with the paper cover glued or laminated to the cover. This technique is used with many textbooks and children's books and costs about the same as a hard cover book with a dust jacket. Hard cover binding is generally not available for fewer than 1,000 copies, and prices don't decline significantly until you can order 5,000 or more books.
Paperback. Most book printers will not attempt to produce a "perfect" bound (square back) book that has fewer than 64 pages. This is because the book has to have sufficient bulk for "square-backed" binding and to provide a "spine" that is wide enough for the title and author's name. If you are using exceptionally heavy paper, a book with fewer pages may be acommodated in paperback.
"O-ring" binding. A book with metal "rings" that hold the book together make it easy to open and read. Music books, recipe books, and even course guides are often produced with O-ring or some other form of binding that allows the book to open flat at any pages.
Stapled books Books bound with staples generally have fewer than 64 pages. As with O-ring books, librarians and bookstore personnel don't love them because they do not have a spine with the title on it and do not stack or merge readily with the other books. The staples can loosen and cause minor damage as well.
Trim sizes.In the US most books are 5 x 7, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 6 x 9, 7 x 10, or 8 1/2 by 11 with the binding on the "tall" side. The category of books known as "trade" or "quality paperback" are almost always 5 1/2 x 8 1/2. Books bound on the "short" side are known as "oblong" books and cost about 10 percent more. Theoretically a book can have any dimensions you want, but you need to check on extra costs to produce a book with an unusual size or shape.
Other options include embossing, matte finish, textured cover, vellum overlays, rounded corners, die cutting, varnish, high-gloss, printing on colored paper, CD-ROM enclosure, and many more. Every option costs, so be sure it adds enough value to justify the additional expenditure. And get all of your prices in advance before you make your decision.