What format should your book be? That question can be answered after you have considered the following factors:
Cost - The cost of you book will be more if you decide to go with a hardcover. For softcover books, the issue is the competition within your specific subject. Another factor (which will be addressed in the next article) will be the cost to print and produce your book.
Content - Look at what's selling on the market. You will see a trend that shows what people are buying in hardcover and what they are buying in softcover. The big winners of softcover books are usual the How-To, Small Business and Self-Help. The popular hardcover books (besides dictionaries) are generally fiction titles with famous authors - Stephen King is a classic example.
Life Expectancy - This means the life expectancy of the book as well its content. As a general rule, you don't want dated material going into a hardcover book. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Softcover books work well for content that will requires editions, updates and series. You need some staying power (i.e., physical staying power) for books that you expect to stay on the shelf for a long time. They are improving the life expectancy of softcover books by using lamination processes but it still doesn't match up to the hardcover.
Personal Preference - This refers to your decision. If you have some preference for your book cover, then by all means consider it. Make sure you look at the other factors - choosing solely based on personal preference might not be your best decision.
Intended Audience - Think about the audience you are selling the book to. What is their preference? This is fairly easy to test if you just walk into a local bookstore and observe. Go to the section where your book will sit. Watch book shoppers as they browse through the books. The ones they stick under their arm are the ones they like. You want to make sure that your book is like that one!
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