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2d • 🧡 Publish
📚 Amazon KDP Trim Sizes: Does Size Matter?
I've been getting a LOT of questions lately about Amazon KDP trim sizes, so let's talk about it!
Your 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 is simply the final physical size of your printed book. And while there isn't one trim size that's right for every book, there are certain sizes that tend to make more sense depending on what you're publishing.
Here are a few examples:
Standard Nonfiction - 6" × 9"
Guided Workbook - 7" × 10" or 8" × 10"
Coloring Book - 8.5" × 8.5" or 8.5" × 11"
Children's Picture Book - 8.5" × 8.5"
Activity Book- 8.5" × 11"
Journal / Planner - 7" × 10" or 8.5" × 11"
⚠️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀!
Before choosing your trim size, I recommend looking at comparable books in your niche. What size does your reader expect? How much room does your content need? Will someone be writing, coloring, or completing activities inside?
But here's something else you need to know...
📏 KDP has "Large Trim Sizes" Amazon currently considers a book 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲 if it is 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟲.𝟭𝟮" 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗢𝗥 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟵" 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹.
That means:
✅ 𝟲" × 𝟵" = 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲
❗ 𝟳" × 𝟭𝟬" = 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲
❗ 𝟴.𝟱" × 𝟴.𝟱" = 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲
❗ 𝟴.𝟱" × 𝟭𝟭" = 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲
Why does this matter?
💰 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗦!
Large trim books can cost more to print.
Here's a simple example using Amazon.com's current paperback printing rates for a 𝟮𝟬𝟬-𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸-𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿:
𝟲" × 𝟵" 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗺
$1.00 fixed cost + (200 pages × $0.012)
= $𝟯.𝟰𝟬 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁
𝟳" × 𝟭𝟬" 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗺
$1.00 fixed cost + (200 pages × $0.017)
= $𝟰.𝟰𝟬 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁
That's $𝟭.𝟬𝟬 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆 just from moving into the large-trim category, assuming the same 200-page count.
Sell 1,000 copies and that's potentially $𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 affecting your royalties.
Now, that DOESN'T mean you shouldn't use a large trim size. A workbook may benefit from the extra writing space.
A coloring book might be much more appealing at 8.5" × 11".
A children's picture book may look fantastic as an 8.5" × 8.5" square.
The goal isn't always to choose the cheapest trim size. It's to choose the trim size that makes sense for the 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸.
💡 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: A larger trim size can sometimes reduce your total page count because you're fitting more content onto each page. So don't assume larger automatically means your final book will cost dramatically more. Format it and run the numbers!
Amazon has a full reference showing its available trim sizes, page-count requirements, and which sizes are considered Large Trim:
👉 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗗𝗣 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 & 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲𝘀:
And you can check your actual estimated printing costs here:
𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵, 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁. A seemingly small formatting decision can change the economics of your book!
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📚 Amazon KDP Trim Sizes: Does Size Matter?
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