What Is the Best Trim Size for Your Book?

Trim size, simply put, is the finished size of your book’s interior pages. Book printers print multiple book pages on large sheets of paper, then fold and gather (stack) these pages in order before “binding” them to a cover. On softcover books, the cover and interior pages are trimmed together to the desired size. Hardcover book pages are trimmed first, then affixed to boards that extend slightly beyond the page size.

It's essential to determine your trim size before starting cover and interior design, so your designers are aware of the available space.

But what trim size is best for your book? What factors should you consider when making your selection? 

Let’s explore . . . 

POD vs. Offset Printing

Trim sizes vary across print-on-demand and offset printers. Offset printing usually has more options, though the trim sizes offered by POD printers such as IngramSpark and KDP have increased over the years.

Wherever you plan to print, familiarize yourself with the printer’s offerings so you don’t design your entire book using a trim size that isn’t supported.

Pro tip: Using a common trim size like 6” x 9” or 5.5” x 8.5” can make it easier to change printers in the future should you need to.

Binding and Paper Selection

Depending on where you print, the available trim sizes may also be impacted by whether your book will be printed in color or black and white, as well as your desired binding style and paper weight.

When choosing a trim size, consider all the formats you plan to offer now or in the future and confirm that your printer offers your chosen size in those formats. For example, if you release a hardcover first and a softcover later, double-check that your printer offers this size in both formats so the same interior layout can be used. 

Estimated Page Count

Similarly, not all trim sizes are available for all page counts. In general, a typical book page has roughly 250 words per page, so you can create a rough estimate of your page count by dividing your final word count by 250. Check this total against the available trim sizes and page counts at your printer. 

A larger trim size may help reduce the page count slightly, as it would allow more words to fit on each page. However, certain trim sizes simply won’t work well for your specific book. See below . . . 

Genre and Content

The genre and content of your book should play a large role in determining your trim size. For example, different genres have a different feel, and certain interior elements require more room. Trim sizes that work well for unillustrated fiction may not work for, say, an image-heavy textbook.

If your book has a lot of pictures or graphs, think about how large you’d like those images to appear. How much breathing room do you want between lines of text and other elements? What elements do you want to appear on the cover? You should look at similar books in your genre to see what trim sizes worked for them.

Amazon and other retailers usually provide the size info for their books, so do your research. Just keep in mind that not all books were produced the same way or have the same overhead. Also note when the book was published, as trends change over time. A trim size that worked for one author might not work for you after all, once you consider all factors.

You should still keep your trim size as close as possible to the majority of books in your genre, especially if you plan to distribute to bookstores. You don’t want your book to look like it doesn’t belong on a shelf beside other books of your genre. This can make your book look amateurish, and if it’s much smaller than others, it might get lost on the shelf.

Font Size

If you want to use a larger font size than normal, such as to create a large print book, you should usually use a larger trim size to accommodate this. Otherwise, you could vastly increase the page count (and thus the print cost) and create a product that just looks awkward. Your text should fit comfortably on the page for the best reading experience.

Printing and Shipping Costs

Larger trim sizes can help decrease the cost to print your book, since they may reduce the page count, but they often increase the cost of shipping the books.

You can use IngramSpark’s publisher compensation calculator and KDP’s royalty calculator to see what your book may cost to print. These calculators also show what trim sizes are available.

To estimate shipping costs via IngramSpark, use this calculator. 

The best trim size for your book will depend on the factors above and your specific preferences and situation.

Like other aspects of self-publishing, selecting your trim size can be daunting, and revisions can be costly should you wish to change your trim size after production begins or need a different trim size later. An experienced book designer can also recommend appropriate trim sizes based on printer requirements, industry trends, and the best way to present your content.

However, 1106 Design can help. All our services come with our signature hand-holding, and we’re happy to answer all your questions along the way. Contact us today to learn more about our offerings.