Understanding Trim Size, Bleed, and Margin for Self-Publishing (Amazon KDP)

About this video

Dollwet explains how trim size, bleed and margins affect a KDP paperback’s sales and profit, advising publishers to copy the standard size used by best sellers in their category rather than inventing one — he says choosing an oversized trim for his first book made it look like a textbook and hurt sales until he switched. His recommended sizes: children’s and activity books such as coloring and word-search titles at 8.5 x 8.5 inches square or, more commonly, 8.5 x 11; fiction and novels at 5 x 8, 5.25 x 8 or 6 x 9; nonfiction such as cookbooks, travel guides and self-help at 5 x 8 to 6 x 9; journals and planners at 6 x 9, while sketchbooks stay at 8.5 x 11; coffee-table books around 10 x 10; and poetry at 5 x 8. Larger pages fit more per page, lowering page count and therefore Amazon’s per-book printing cost, but he warns not to sacrifice the size readers expect. For covers, the full wrap — front, spine and back — must be sized with KDP’s cover calculator, not the trim size alone. Bleed means artwork runs to the page edge; if any page bleeds, the whole book is set as bleed, so an 8.5 x 11 page is designed at 8.625 x 11.25 inches. For margins, he works through a 100-page example in KDP’s 24-150 page band, requiring a 0.375-inch inside margin and at least 0.375 inches outside.

Key takeaways

• Match the trim size best sellers in your category already use; readers expect a familiar physical format
• Standard sizes: 8.5 x 11 for activity and coloring books, 5 x 8 to 6 x 9 for fiction and nonfiction, 6 x 9 for journals and planners
• Bigger trim sizes reduce page count and printing cost, but never at the expense of reader experience
• Size the full cover wrap with KDP’s cover calculator, accounting for spine and back cover
• If any page uses bleed the whole book is a bleed book — design 8.5 x 11 pages at 8.625 x 11.25 inches and respect the stated margins

Episode details: published November 15, 2024 · 12:59 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Sean Dollwet’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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