A Complete Guide to Understanding Book Cover Dimensions

Understanding book cover dimensions are crucial to illustrating or designing a book to decide what works best for you. As an author, thinking more about the book’s content is more reasonable than paying attention to the front or back cover dimensions. But, in the end, those things are also important.

Book cover dimensions can impact everything, starting from the width of the spine to the typography of the titles. It is usually determined by the trim size, which is a publishing terminology for the size of the books.

In this guide, we’ll look at the standard dimensions for making a book cover in the publishing domain. This will help you choose the correct dimensions for your book.

Let’s start with learning what the recommended book cover dimensions are. Readers who are new to the domain may find the numbers a bit confusing. However, you can always contact a good eBook cover design service provider if you need help.

What are the standard book cover dimensions?

Usually identified by the page trim, the dimensions of the book cover in the US are represented in inches. However, in other countries, it is described in millimeters where the metric system is used. Here’s a list of the standard book cover size in pixels as per different genres.

Hardcover books: 576 x 864 to 816 x 1056 pixels = 6 x 9 to 8.5 x 11 inches
Textbooks: 576 x 864, 672 x 960, 816 x 1056 pixels = 6 x 9, 7 x 10, 8.5 x 11 inches
Children’s books: 720 x 720, 672 x 960, 960 x 768 pixels = 7.5 x 7.5, 7 x 10, 10 x 8 inches
Fiction books: 408 x 659.52, 504 x 768, 528 x 816, 576 x 864 pixels = 4.25 x 6.87, 5.25 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9 inches
Non-fiction books: 528 x 816, 576 x 864, 672 x 960 pixels = 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 7 x 10 inches
Trade Paperbacks: 528 x 816 to 576 x 864 pixels = 5.5 x 8.5 to 6 x 9 inches
Mass market paperback: 408 x 659.52 pixels = 4.25 x 6.87 inches
Novellas: 480 x 768 pixels = 5 x 8 inches

What are the standard eBook cover sizes?

Mainly, novice authors publish their works online. So, if you’re also a novice author who also wishes to opt for eBook conversion, then it is crucial to know about the standard eBook cover dimensions. Make sure that you know which size you are going to use way before finalizing the eBook cover.

There’s another thing that you should keep in mind regarding the cover size. While choosing the size, consider the type of eBook that you are about to publish. You’ll find the list of standard eBook cover sizes in pixels below.

• Kindle Direct Publishing

  The recommendation for KDP cover size is 2,560 x 1,600 pixels with an aspect ratio of 1.6:1.

• Audiobooks

  The standard cover dimensions for audiobooks are 3,200 x 3,200 pixels having an aspect ratio of 1:1.

• Illustrated/ Comic Books

  The illustrated or comic book cover dimensions are 2,800 x 3,920 pixels with a 1.4:1 aspect ratio. The size can also be 3,000 x 3,600 pixels with an aspect ratio of 1.2:1.

• Novels

  The novel page size or dimensions, be it for fiction or non-fiction book, is 2,560 x 1,600 pixels with an aspect ratio of 1.5:1.

How to choose the right eBook Cover Size?

Now that you are familiarized with the standard eBook and paperback book cover dimensions, you can consider a few factors that can help you choose the right eBook cover size.

• Reader size

  Readers usually employ a personal e-reader for reading new books. So, for selecting the appropriate cover size, you need to be familiar with the size of various e-readers and their display covers.

• Genre

  The size specifications may vary depending on different genres. Besides, it is also possible that the story may not fall into one genre or other. In that case, you need to decide on how the eBook will be packaged and marketed first. This will give you a clear idea of choosing the appropriate size for the cover image of your print books and eBooks.

• Word count

  While selecting the page and cover size, considering the page and word count is crucial. The different cover sizes will complement e-books of varying lengths. For instance, choosing a larger page size for a short novel may not be appropriate, so choosing a small cover size for a long book.

• Selling place

  You can also decide the correct cover size for your books by determining where you will sell them primarily. Let’ say you are now working on a printed book. Then, you need to know whether it is an academic one or a mass-market paperback so that you can figure out where to sell it.

  If you have hired a large publisher for your manuscripts, you may not have to worry about making these decisions. However, if you’re a self-publisher, you need to make these decisions yourself.

• Designer

  You can work with a designer if you need assistance making essential decisions concerning page size, image size, cover art, etc. However, self-publishers may not have the budget of hiring a designer, which is why they can take on the design responsibility themselves. So, if you’re also planning to do the same, you need to learn more about the book cover sizes and how they can affect the marketing and cost. Besides, be prepared to design cover image as well.

• Cost

  Learning about the size requirements may also help in managing the cost of publishing the print and eBooks. Self-publishers can select a small paperback size if they need to minimize the cost.

Finding the correct book cover dimensions will need you to ensure a few things. For instance, each new work you publish must have the exact cover dimensions as the other novels in the genre. Apart from that, the book cover should also be of good quality as there will always be the need to stand out from the crowd and hold readers' attention. You can consider investing in good software or hiring a professional book cover design company to receive aid.