More people are buying the author's books/she's making more money, and therefore she can step up a level to hardcover books, which sell for a higher price and give more profit to her and her publication company. Be happy. It means she's going to be writing more. Also, her books are now considered "good writing" BECAUSE they are hardcover. Ever notice that those old crappy romance books with Shakespearean dialogue are ALL paperbacks? Usually, publishers make an author's first few books paperbacks, but if they receive great critical success or public sells, then they produce them hardcover. Take Stephenie Meyer for instance; Twilight used to be made paperback, but now all her books are made hardcover.