Choosing a trim size you will not regret

Trim size is the one decision that reaches into everything else. It changes how many pages your text takes, which changes printing cost, which changes your minimum price. It also decides whether the book qualifies for Expanded Distribution.

The default exists for a reason

6 x 9 in is the standard for adult fiction and non-fiction. It is the size buyers expect, it prints cheaply, and it is eligible for Expanded Distribution. Unless you have a specific reason to leave it, do not.

Reasons to leave it:

• Workbooks, journals, puzzle books — 8.5 x 11 in gives room to write in.
• Children's picture books — square or landscape formats.
• Poetry and gift books — 5 x 8 in feels more deliberate in the hand.

Two thresholds that cost money

Expanded Distribution only accepts a short list of trim sizes: 5 x 8, 5.06 x 7.81, 5.25 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5, and 6 x 9 inches. Pick 8.5 x 11 and that channel closes. For most books it is a small slice of sales, but it is a slice you cannot get back without republishing.

Large trim is anything bigger than 6.12 x 9 in, and it prints at a higher per-page rate. Black and white goes from $0.012 to $0.017 per page. On a 200-page book that is a dollar of royalty, on every copy, forever.

Fewer pages is not automatically better

A smaller trim means fewer words per page, so the same manuscript runs longer. A 60,000-word novel is roughly 240 pages at 6 x 9 and roughly 300 at 5 x 8. At $0.012 a page that is $0.72 more to print each copy — and a spine 0.13 in wider, which means a different cover.

So the smaller book is not the cheaper book. Do the arithmetic on your actual word count instead of assuming.

Before the next lesson

Commit to a trim size now and write it down. Every measurement in the next two lessons depends on it, and switching after you have laid out the interior means doing the interior again.