​Having a successful book isn’t just down to luck, when you look at most of the best-selling authors you realize that they have all made sacrifices and worked incredibly hard to get where they are today. So simply knocking out a book in a week and just uploading your manuscript to KDP isn’t much of a plan if you want your book to be successful and of value.

​Most authors work at their craft because they love writing, they have a need to communicate and tell something of value, it’s a passion which makes them stress over chapters, paragraphs, sentences and even individual words. All to tell a story, pass on information, help educate and speak to those who will listen, it can be beautiful, powerful and change lives. 

For some authors it is purely for the recognition and status of being ‘published’, for others it’s an income stream to which they’ll churn out quickly penned books month after month.

Now of course everyone wants to make a living from writing, and obviously you want others to read your book, so publishing is the fundamental path to doing so and being paid in return makes absolute sense.

​But, there has to be something more, do you want to be remembered as someone who brought uninspiring books to the world? Or as someone who clearly loved their craft and created great works which were loved by their readers?

Writing from a place of passion has to be the very foundation of your approach as an author, it will give you the motivation to continue when others give up, it will keep you focused when going through the editing and review stage it will also give determination when publishing.
​
It’s very simple, if you don’t believe in and love what you’re doing, it will be so much harder to make it a success.

If you’re getting a book ready for publication you will have definitely heard the term ‘Trim Size’, this comes from the process of printing and actually creating the book itself, your book being printed on large sheets of paper which are folded, bound and then trimmed to the appropriate size.

And this leads on to a very good (and often asked) question, what should the trim size of my book be?

Well, it depends, there are some rules as to what the industry expects certain genres and topics to be printed as, but in these days of self-publishing those rules aren’t followed as much as they once were.

Mass Market Books – 4” x 7”

These are books which were originally produced quite cheaply and sold in places like airports (their small size making them great for travel, you also see them in supermarkets too), the size is most commonly used for fiction. In self-publishing you’ll find that companies such as Ingram Spark print at this trim size but Amazon’s KDP do not print this small.

Trade Paperback – commonly 5”x8” to 6”x9”

The name Trade Paperback is a term used to indicate a book which is larger in size than that of the Mass Market book. Trade Paperbacks tend to be the most ‘common’ size and work well for both fiction and non-fiction. The main differential between fiction and non-fiction Trade Paperbacks being the paper color within the book itself, again, there is no set-in-stone rule, but you tend to find that most fiction is on cream paper and non-fiction upon white.

Workbooks & Manuals – 8.5”x11”

These are larger printed books and work well as they are the size of a standard letter sheet of paper, they give room for two columns of text with plenty of space for images and illustrations, they’re more likely to be printed in color and use white paper within (normally with a glossy finish).

Sizes currently on offer through KDP are:

5" x 8" (12.7 x 20.32 cm)
5.06" x 7.81" (12.85 x 19.84 cm)
5.5" x 8.5" (13.97 x 21.59 cm)
6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm)
6.14" x 9.21" (15.6 x 23.39 cm)
6.69" x 9.61" (16.99 x 24.41 cm)
7" x 10" x (17.78 x 25.4 cm)
7.44" x 9.69" (18.9 x 24.61 cm)
7.5" x 9.25" (19.05 x 23.5 cm)
8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm)
8.25" x 6" (20.96 x 15.24 cm)
8.25" x 8.25" (20.96 x 20.96 cm)
8.5" x 8.5" (21.59 x 21.59 cm)
8.5" x 11" (21.59 x 27.94 cm)
8.27" x 11.69" (21 x 29.7 cm)

For Ingram Spark the trim sizes on offer are:
For Paperback Books:
4 x 6" (154 x 102mm)
4 x 7" (178 x 102mm) 
4.25 x 7” (178 x 108mm)
4.37 x 7" (178 x 111mm) A
4.72 x 7.48" (190 x 120mm)
5 x 7" (178 x 127mm)
5 x 8" (203 x 127mm)
5.06 x 7.81" (198 x 129mm)
5.25 x 8" (203 x 133mm)
5.5 x 8.25" (210 x 140mm)
5.5 x 8.5" (216 x 140mm)
5.83 x 8.27" (210 x 148mm) A5
6 x 9" (229 x 152mm)
6.14 x 9.21" (234 x 156mm)
6.5 x 6.5" (165 x 165mm)
6.625 x 10.25" (260 x 168mm) (Graphic Novel)
6.69 x 9.61" (244 x 170mm) (Pinched Crown)
7 x 10" (254 x 178mm)
7.44 x 9.69" (246 x 189mm)
7.5 x 9.25" (235 x 191mm)
8 x 8" (203 x 203mm)
8 x 10" (254 x 203mm)
8 x 10.88" (276 x 203mm)
8.25 x 10.75" (273 x 210mm)
8.25 x 11" (279 x 210mm)
8.268 x 11.693" (297 x 210mm) A4
8.5 x 8.5" (216 x 216mm)
8.5 x 9" (229 x 216mm)
8.5 x 11" (280 x 216mm)
11 x 8.5" (216 x 280mm) Premium Color Only
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And for Hardcovers:
5 x 8" (203 x 127mm) Case Lam/Cloth/Jacket
5.5 x 8.5" (216 x 140mm) Case Lam/Cloth/Jacket
5.83 x 8.27" (210 x 148mm) Case Lam
6 x 9" (229 x 152mm) Case Lam/Cloth/Jacket
6.14 x 9.21" (234 x 156mm) Case Lam/Cloth/Jacket
6.69 x 9.61" (244 x 170mm) Case Lam
7 x 10" (254 x 178mm) Case Lam
7.5 x 9.25" (235 x 191mm) Case Lam
8 x 8" (203 x 203mm) Case Lam
8 x 10" (254 x 203mm) Case Lam
8 x 10.88" (276 x 203mm) Case Lam
8.25 x 10.75" (273 x 210mm) Case Lam
8.5 x 8.5" (216 x 216mm) Case Lam
8.5 x 11" (280 X 216mm) Case Lam
11 x 8.5" (216 x 280mm) Case Lam, Premium Color Only

Again, there are no rules that you must stick to at all costs, the publishing world is constantly changing and standards that were fixed at one point are now more fluid than they have ever been.

​However, the goal of your chosen trim size is to ensure that the reader understands what the book is, and that it makes the reading of the book a more pleasurable experience, so choose wisely.