Ed: Trim sizes in this post were updated on May 8, 2012.
As soon as you get serious about self-publishing a book, you are confronted with the choice of what size your book ought to be.
For instance, if you want to get a price on how much a book will cost to print, the first thing you need to know is the size.
Some pricing on digital books is in a range of sizes rather than having a different price for every different size, but that only helps a bit.
If you plan to print offset, you’ll need to specify the exact size in your request for an estimate. So one way or the other, it’s good to figure out near the beginning of your planning.
That’s not to say you can’t change your mind along the way. You won’t be locked into anything at this stage, so as long as you’re close to what the final size will be, the figures you’ll be working with should also be close enough until later in your production process.
Traditional Trim Sizes
Book sizes are known in printing terms as trim sizes since that’s where the book is trimmed at the last stage of production.
There are very few “rules” about book sizes, but there are a number of conventions that are good to know about. (All sizes quoted in this article are width x height.)
- The only real rule is that mass market books have to be 4-1/4″ x 7″. These books are often sold through racks at point of purchase sites in supermarkets, airports, drugstores and the like and their size is an essential part of the way they are distributed. These are not usually self-published books, so you probably won’t have to worry about considering this size.
- Trade paperbacks, a pretty loose category of books, are often in the 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ to 6″ x 9″ range. This page proportion—for instance in the 6″ x 9″ size—of 2:3 has long been considered an ideal for a book page, and you can create good looking books at different sizes but in the same page proportions. Most self-published books are trade paperbacks.
- Manuals and workbooks are larger and, depending on the printing equipment being used to produce them, are in the 8″ x 10″ to 8-1/2″ x 11″ range. This size is also good for directories and instructional books with lots of graphics or detailed drawings to follow. It lends itself to a 2-column text layout which is an efficient use of space.
- Novels appear in lots of different sizes but for a shorter book I prefer smaller sizes that seem to be more intimate a reading experience. 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ is probably the most popular size, but 5-1/4″ x 8″ is also a charming size for these books. Memoirs are similar sizes. Longer novels move to 6″ x 9″ to avoid becoming overly bulky at smaller sizes.
- Short story collections or collections of essays are generally the same size as novels and memoirs
- General nonfiction titles seem to come out in 6″ x 9″ making this size arguably the most popular of all. It’s also the most widely used size for hardcover books. When more room is needed on the page, for instance for sidebars or pull quotes, 7″ x 10″ is a frequent solution.
- Photography or art books don’t conform to any particular size. They can be very small, or big and heavy “coffee-table” books. Many artists and photographers prefer books that are square or nearly square. This allows both horizontal and vertical pictures to have about the same amount of white space on the page.
Production Decisions and Trim Sizes
The decision you make on how to print your book will also affect your choice of trim sizes. Generally speaking, due to the highly automated nature of digital printing (used in print on demand distribution) you will have fewer choices of sizes.
For instance, here is the entire list of trim sizes offered by Lightning Source, the largest supplier of print on demand production:
5 x 8 inches (203 x 127mm)
5.06 x 7.81 inches (198 x 129mm)
5.25 x 8 inches (203 x 133mm)
5.5 x 8.5 inches (216 x 140mm)
5.83 x 8.27 inches (210 x 148mm)
6 x 9 inches (229 x 152mm)
6.14 x 9.21 inches (234 x 156mm)
6.69 x 9.61 inches (244 x 170mm)
7.44 x 9.69 inches (246 x 189mm)
7.50 x 9.25 inches (235 x 191mm)
7 x 10 inches (254 x 178mm)
8 x 10 inches (254 x 203mm)
8.25 x 11 inches (280 x 210mm)
8.268 x 11.693 inches (A4) (297 x 210mm)
8.5 x 11 inches (280 x 216mm)
CreateSpace, the Amazon print on demand supplier, has a similar list, but offers nothing over 8.25″:
5 x 8 inches, 12.7 x 20.32 centimeters
5.06 x 7.81 inches, 12.9 x 19.8 centimeters
5.25 x 8 inches, 13.335 x 20.32 centimeters
5.5 x 8.5 inches, 13.97 x 21.59 centimeters
6 x 9 inches, 15.24 x 22.86 centimeters
6.14 x 9.21 inches, 15.6 x 23.4 centimeters
6.69 x 9.61 inches, 17 x 24.4 centimeters
7 x 10 inches, 17.78 x 25.4 centimeters
7.44 x 9.69 inches, 18.9 x 24.6 centimeters
7.5 x 9.25 inches, 19.1 x 23.5 centimeters
8 x 10 inches, 20.32 x 25.4 centimeters
8.25 x 6 inches, 20.955 x 15.24 centimeters
8.25 x 8.25 inches, 20.955 x 20.955 centimeters
8.5 x 11 inches, 21.59 x 27.94 centimeters
8.5 x 8.5 inches, 21.59 x 21.59 centimeters
You’ll notice many of these sizes are identical to the Lightning Source sizes. Many are considered “industry standards.”
At more specialized digital printers, the choices may be even more limited. For instance, at the color book specialist Blurb.com, you have a choice of only 5 sizes for color books:
5 x 8 in., 13 x 20 cm
6 x 9 in., 15 x 23 cm
7 x 7 in., 18 x 18 cm
8 x 10 in., 20 x 25 cm
10 x 8 in., 25 x 20 cm
13 x 11 in., 33 x 28 cm
12 x 12 in., 30 x 30 cm
These are all larger sizes, intended for full-color books.
Other considerations may further limit your choices. I often recommend a creme-colored paper for novels and memoirs, and even some self-help and nonfiction books. I find it easier to read for long stretches and with less glare than the pure white papers.
However, both Lightning Source and CreateSpace limit which trim sizes are available with creme paper. For instance, at CreateSpace only the 5.25″ x 8″, 5.5″ x 8.5″, or 6″ x 9″ are available, all other sizes print with white paper only.
Offset Printing
Offset printing has few of the restrictions imposed by the digital book printers. Although it’s handy to stay with the traditional sizes, you can print your book any size you like. Some sizes may make more efficient use of paper and consequently be more economical, but it’s possible to do almost any size. I have a book on press right now that’s 9.5″ x 11.5″, an impossibility for digital printers at the moment.
Offset book printers will also make the full range of paper stocks from many paper mills available to just about any size book. Printing papers vary widely and you can choose different weights, colors, textures and finishes if you like. There really are very few limitations other than your creativity and your budget.
Picking a Size for Your Book
Most of the books I see from self-publishers are either 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ or 6″ x 9.” They are good, readable sizes that will work for many types of books. If this is your first book and it falls into the categories I’ve listed above, there’s a good chance one of these two sizes will work for you.
Pick a different size if:
- your book is clearly in a different category, like a workbook
- if you have a functional reason you need a larger or smaller book, like for a gift book or an atlas
- if you want to stand out in your niche by having a different size than everyone else.
However, be wary of larger sizes, over 6″ x 9″ or 7″ x 10″. Why? Many book shelves—including the shelves in some bookstores—won’t easily handle books bigger than that. Unless you’re producing an art book, you probably don’t want to end up with a book that won’t fit anyone’s bookshelves.
Takeaway: Consider the genre of your book, the printing method you plan to use, and your paper choices before deciding on a trim size for your book. If possible, pick an “industry standard” size.
Image licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, original work copyright by phing, http://www.flickr.com/photos/phing/
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{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
Ah, those pesky trim sizes given in mm. They’re height by width, not width by height as in the US. When I was typesetting for a UK publisher a couple of years ago, this convention threw for a loop, plus the fact I had no frame of reference for “198 mm”.
Ah yes, those pesky “mm”s. Thanks, Maggie. Since I don’t ever use the metric measurements, apparently I no longer see them either.
Just read your comments on trim book sizes, you are quite right, in the UK, quoting height by width means the book is portrait, ie 216×138 (demy portrait)
if it is quoted width by height means the book is landscape ie 138×216 (demy landscape)
Joel -
We picked the 5.25 x 8 size for BROTHER BLOOD – our debut blaxploitation horror novel by Donald F. Glut (THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, TRANSFORMERS, GI JOE) – because it mimicked the proportion and size of a standard DVD case. Because I come from a movie marketing background that size was instrumental in my decision and led to some interesting ‘discoveries.’ Most of our readers are classic genre movie fans so we made that conscious decision to give them something with which they (and I) were most familiar. Once they see it they can imagine it on their shelf which is important to our fan base and positions our print editions as collectible.
The front cover art by Nik Macaluso is an example of pure blaxploitation, and could (should) have been a movie poster… Aesthetically, we’re communicating that Brother Blood and many of our other books are ” a cinematic experience on paper or Kindle.”
Further exploring that aesthetic we even gave the back cover a movie style credit block and list of the book’s “bonus features.” So far it’s worked rather well and we’re exploring something similar for our second title RADIO WESTERN ADVENTURES.
Oh what a difference size makes!
Bill,
A terrific example of playing off reader’s expectation for help in decided a trim size. I just did a collection of stories for a client in 5.25 x 8 and really like it, but never made the connection to the DVD case. Maybe that’s why it felt “right”?
Thanks for your contribution and best of luck with the book.
It looks like I’m choosing 5.5*8.5. I used a 6*9 for my collection, and had I to do it over (and one day I may), I would have knocked a half inch off either side. 6*9 is slightly to the larger side of most trade paperbacks.
Will, I much prefer novels in the 5.5 x 8.5 trim myself, both for design and for reading. But the 6 x 9 is a workhorse and accommodates longer manuscripts really well.
I hope you sell a ton!
My first ten self-pubbed books were all 6 by 9. After buying Christy Pinheiro’s 7 by 10 book, I saw that the bigger pages were much more suitable for how-to books with lote of screen shots and other illustrations.
I started formatting a new book for 7 by 10, and realized that the larger pages would make the book significantly thinner. A thinner book with bigger pages could be much better for the reader, but I thought I might have a competitive disadvantage selling the book.
If a 400-page book shrinks to 320 pages, prospective purchasers might not think it’s worth the cover price. Shoppers are more likely to notice the page count than the page size, and some bookselling sites don’t indicate the page size–and certainly not the word count.
So, for now, I’m back to 6 by 9; and all of my books fit nicely on the same shelf.
Michael N. Marcus
– http://www.BookMakingBlog.blogspot.com
– “Become a Real Self-Publisher: Don’t be a Victim of a Vanity Press,” http://www.amazon.com/dp/0981661742
– “Get the Most out of a Self-Publishing Company,” http://www.amazon.com/dp/0981661777
– “Stories I’d Tell My Children (but maybe not until they’re adults),” http://www.amazon.com/dp/0981661750
Not only that, but since a lot of your books are aimed at the same audience, you can go the next step and instead of just the same trim size, think about establishing a “brand” with its own look and feel for the line of books you’re building. Just a thought. And thanks for your input, Michael.
Really helpful post, Joel. Thanks!
Glad you got something from it, Liz.
Hi Joel,
Found your posts through @JaneFriedman. Glad you tweeted a link to an old article. Perfect timing for me. I think I will go with 6″ x 9″ because my book will not be a traditional novel and maybe it will sit out a bit more on the home bookshelf.
Regards
George
@georgeTmaxwell
This post was timely (for me), and has me convinced to step my 68Kword novel down from 6×9 (180 pp.) to 5.5×8.5, but it hasn’t yet touched on the subject of price. Does anyone know of any correlation between the price of a novel and its trim size, beside the fact that the tiny mass market paperbacks are inevitably under $10?
I’m really having a hard time deciding whether to post a price of $14.95 or $12.95 (God forbid anything have the number 13 on it, right?), and if I go with the smaller size, I don’t know if I might be pricing myself out of the market at $14.95, even though I can, and likely will, discount?
Follow-up comments much appreciated!
Nathan, I don’t think there are lower prices for the 5.5 x 8.5 trim than for 6 x 9 but I’ve never seen a formal study on this question. The manufacturing costs are almost identical, and digital printers usually charge the same for either size. This makes it even more obvious that your price has to be a marketing decision. For novels, I would definitely recommend lower pricing unless you already have a following of rabid fans who will pay whatever they have to to get your book.
I am going to be self publishing my first children’s book through Lightning Source, as a 32 page color hardcover. I believe I am going with the trim size they offer of 8-1/2″ x 11″. Will that be the actual size of the cover or the interior page?
eatrhling123, that will be the size of an interior page. Depending on how your hardcover is being bound, you’ll need to get a template from Lightning Source for either the casewrap or the jacket, and that will have the exact dimensions for your cover art.
great – thanks for the response!
Looking on Amazon, I see a lot of paperback books around the size of 4.2×7.5 or 4.2×7. Wondering why there are no “industry standard” sizes this small? Seems the smallest “industry standard” size is 5×8…
Userx_21, the size you are seeing is “mass market” paperback. These are the paperbacks you see in racks in supermarkets or at airports. If you look through the books you’ll see slight variations in size, but they are all within the same range to suit where they sell.
This is great information and I am going to write books that need to be within these trim sizes which you’ve mentioned. However, my first book needs to be a “mini” book and therefore I’m wondering what the “standard” trim size on one of those is. If I originally type my material in an 8 1/2″ X 11″ size page format, approximately how many pages will each one of the orginal pages translate to in the mini book?
Thanks for your help!
Back in the early days of composition we always had to cast off a manuscript to find the number of pages to estimate the costs.
So, find out how many words in your book, multiply by 6, this gives you the number of characters including the space in your manuscript.
Now decide on your page layout for your mini book, ie pica width or mm width by the number of lines per page excluding headline and folio. Choose your typesize, the best way is to find a book you like with the face and size you like and count how many characters per line fit your desired measure, multiply this by the number of lines gives you the number of characters which will fit on the page, devide this by the number of characters in the manuscript gives you the total number of pages the mini book will make, allow a half page per chapter and add this in, plus the number of prelims.
To recap
Total manuscript characters (we call them ens) devided by the number of ens in your desired layout = number of pages
Add 1/2 page per chapter
Add your prelim pages
Gives total pages for your book
You may need to add blanks at the end to make the extent correct for imposition
If you do not want blanks you maybe able to extend the prelims
It is sometimes better to run your prelims in roman numerals to do this without affecting the pagination of the text especially if you have an index
John, thanks for your succinct lesson on casting off. I get a request for a cast off about once a year, and decline. With the equipment we have now, there doesn’t seem to be as much need as in the old days, when casting off was a lengthy mathematical process with only uncertain results. It’s one part of typographical history I for one am glad to leave behind.
Hi Joel,
I’m writing my first book and am self publishing. The trim size is 5.5″ x 8.5″. I would like some of my images to take a full page because they are crowd scenes. If those images are on a page with another image, will it be too small for the reader to recognize anyone? I sent all the images in TIFF format, but the formatter won’t change the size unless it’s in Vector format. I talked to a computer instructor who said she would try to help. I don’t know what to do. Can you help me? Thank you so much.
Ann,
It’s a little difficult to figure out your question. You can re-size TIFF files with no problem, you just want to make sure that the resolution at the final reproduction size is 300 DPI for print books. You can’t change a photograph into a vector file. To check what’s visible and what isn’t, scale the photo on your screen or print the page and have a look. It sounds like you might need a different book designer, because these are all very common issues. Hope that helps.
I’m getting ready to publish a parenting humour book consisting of a combination of prose introductions, quotes set up as screenplay dialogue, and the occasional illustration to back up the quotes. I’m having a really hard time trying to figure out what size would be best for this kind of content. Part of me wants to go square — maybe 7×7 or 7.5×7.5 — for the sake of full-page illustrations and for laying out the quotes, but would such a size be harder to get into bookstore and/or cost more to print?
Erin,
It’s not unusual to see humor books that are square, particularly if they are illustrated. But there are many other factors that come into play when making these decisions, like the printing method you’re going to use and how the books will be distributed and sold. For instance, print on demand vendors have few sizes to choose from, while offset printers can print almost anything you can dream up.
Hi Joel
Im a graphic design student designing a book on a topic that involves square photography, meaning the photos are square shaped. So naturally the format of the book falls into a square format, i was wondering when its heavy on experimental typographic layouts, graphics, and photos would this square format be the ideal choice? Also this is a one off book so im not worried about the distribution. your help is appreciated
thanks
axu
Since the book isn’t intended for bookstore sales, you are pretty much free to design it as it pleases you, within the confines of the printing equipment on which it will be manufactured, so make sure you know that the size you’re creating is something that can be produced economically. Having said that, I’m not a big fan of square books, so I would likely make it a rectangle since the space on the page would allow you to escape the rigidity of a whole book of squares within squares.
Hi, I am somewhat new to book design. I have a client that definitely wants to go with a hardcover, so I am designing a dust jacket. Her book is a 60,000 word novel so I was thinking of recommending either 5.5 x 8.5 or 6 x 6. This would be the page size right? What would the cover size be?
Thanks for any information.
Hi Gail,
I assume you meant “…either 5.5 x 8.5 or 6 x 9”
And yes, that will be the page (or trim) size. Since the case (the hard cover) is larger you’ll need to get a template from the printer who will be printing the book. The specifics vary from one printer to another, so it’s safest to request one once you’ve chosen a vendor.
For more, check out this article that comes with a download:
Free Book Jacket Layout Template for DIY Self-Publishers
Oops, I did mean 5.5 x 8.5 or 6 x 9, yes.
A hardback book can be in two forms, jacketted or PPC (printed paper case) which has different layouts although the board size is the same. Although a standard layout should work if the design is not critical to the spine and extra bleed allowance made for slight adjustment. Some printers allowance for board hollow or square back vary so on a critical fit design Joel is quite right, check with the printer
Hi, I was hoping you might be able to help me?
I am currently in the process of writing some novels of different genre’s (not related to each other).
At the moment, I’m not looking for them to get distributed, I would just like to have a printed copy (as an actual book) to keep for myself. As I’ve never done anything like this (getting my novels published as books) I really need some advice as to: which company/website to use, what the cheapest option would be, the best size options for the book, whether the better option would be to get hardback or paperback, what I should do about the cover design, i.e, the basics.
If you could help me it would be much appriciated.
Thank you.
Producing a book can take up a lot of your time and can be quite expensive if you only want one copy for yourself. Print on demand companies require finished PDF files to work with. Some companies allow you to use a stock image for your cover and you just add the title and author. You could try Lulu.com
If you are going to try it all yourself, I suggest you go to the local bookshop or library and look at all the book sizes in the fiction section, this will give you a size which should suit. And the style. If you are going to typeset yourself, I guess you will use MS word. In page setup choose the paper size or use custom size pick the margins and typeface to suit and your text should flow to that format you could then ask the printer to PDF although be prepared for it to be slightly different we don’t normally like word files. The cover is a little more complicated you will need to know the paper you are going to print on as this affects the spine width. I think the paperback option is for you. I operate out of the UK so just google “print on demand” companies and see what US companies offer the service you require.
What would I do? I would print it out on my home printer on both sides of the sheet and ask the copy shop to bind it and trim it to size for me
John, here in the U.S. taking your PDF to the copy shop to have it printed, bound and trimmed would cost substantially more than getting a proof copy from a supplier such as Lulu.com or CreateSpace.com. Thanks for your comment.
Thank you. That’s really helped!! :)
I have a question. Does industry standard determine whether or not a book can be accepted on ipad or kindle? or distribution.
Joel:
A Great Article with lots of good follow up questions and answers. As a 77 year old grandfather, I am currenty writing a series of five books about my many adventures of survival including my time in the arctic. For a senior person, Keeping the cost down is very important, so I started by cutting 8.5 x 11 stock in half to 8.25 x 8.5 and using a small three ring binder. I was so pleased when you said that this is one of the standard sizes. It also is a size my local office supply says they can easily cut and bind for me at the lowest cost for a small run. Please keep up the fine work on behalf of us WanaBee Authors. You Made My Day.
It’s a great sunny morning and I have a sunny disposition. Am about to publish book of fiction 200 pp if traditional 6×9. BUT, I am investing almost $2k in cover art I hope will catch the eye of every critic and bookshelf passer-by.Because of that I am tempted to go out on a limb to 8 x 10 or thereabouts. Won’t fit on shelves; abnormal for straight fiction (no pics). Does this seem foolishly outlandish or worthwhile adventuresome?
Robert
Hi Michael,
Moving from a standard fiction trim size to 8 x 10 would not be a very good move, I’m afraid. Have you ever read a novel in that format? I’ve never seen one, and pushing against these conventions is not going to do you any good. Better to write the best book you can and learn how to market it, you’ll be better off. Good luck!
what size would you use for a children size book ?
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