In the past, the only way to sell a self-published hardcover book on amazon was to publish it through ingramspark. Naturally, using a middleman would nearly decimate an author’s royalties on any Amazon sale. But in late 2021, Kindle Direct Publishing finally launched its hardcover print-on-demand service (first through a private beta).
With hardcover sales increasing year after year, you may want to dive into this undeniably cool book format. If that’s the case, here’s all you need to know about preparing your book for a hardcover edition in kdp:
You are reading: Does kdp do hardcover books
1. adjust the crop size of your book file
Unfortunately, you can’t just click a button and instantly turn your paperback into a beautiful hardcover. To meet Amazon’s specifications, you’ll need to make a few changes to your book’s interior and cover. Luckily, the inside part is pretty easy to prepare!
know your cut sizes
While Amazon offers 16 trim size options for paperbacks, they currently only have five available for hardcovers:
- 5.5×8.5″
- 6×9″
- 6.15×9.21″
- 7×10 “
- 8.25 x 11”
Hardcovers are conventionally larger than paperbacks, so you may need to go back to your word processor, formatting software, or book designer, and change the file size of your book accordingly.
Create your print-ready file for free with the Reedsy Book Editor
If you need to change the crop size to qualify, don’t worry! Reedsy Book Publisher can do it for free. You can export your book in a variety of sizes (including Amazon Compatible 5.5 x 8.5″ and industry standard 6 x 9″) with the click of a button.
reedsy’s tool will automatically fix common formatting problems, like widows and orphans (those lonely, awkward words sticking out of a paragraph). basically, it will take care of almost all your formatting needs. To learn more about its features, check out our post on the Reedsy Book Editor.
2. check the number of pages, margins and images
another difference between amazon hardcover and paperback specifications is the number of pages. while your paperback can be between 24 and 828 pages, your hard cover should be between 55 and 550 pages. Fortunately, a larger print size will generally reduce the page count, but if you’ve written a 1,000-page novel, you may be out of luck for now.
While checking the page count, you may want to make other formatting adjustments. many authors prefer wider margins for their hardcover edition as it gives them a more premium feel. however, make sure your widest margin doesn’t cause your book to exceed the 550-page limit. also check that the images look good when resized and aren’t awkwardly aligned on your newly expanded page.
double check your book files after exporting
kdp has a tool for detecting formatting errors, which we’ll mention later, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, so check your script thoroughly at this stage. it’s best to review the file after exporting to make sure nothing changed during the export process and that everything looks perfect.
once your interior is ready, the next step is to prepare that all-important cover.
3. modify your cover design for box laminate
Unfortunately, creating a cover for your hardcover edition isn’t as simple as enlarging your paperback design by 20%. for one thing, you can lose quality just by enlarging the design! here’s what you need to know about modifying your cover design for a flawless kdp hardcover.
know the rules for creating a laminated box cover
Hardcovers come with their own unique requirements for cover designs and at kdp, these requirements are very particular. this is largely due to the only hardcover style they offer: laminated case.
Laminated box covers are made of chipboard and wrapped with laminated paper. Amazon has yet to introduce the cloth cover or dust jacket option you may be familiar with. as a result, certain parts of your cover design will wrap around the edges of your cover. therefore, your design will need to extend beyond the actual dimensions of the cover (this is known in the industry as “bleeding”).
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You’ll also need to consider a few other factors. your spine will probably be thicker than it would be for a paperback, so you’ll want to keep some important items clear along the spine (the “spine hinge”) to avoid text or code distortion of bars.
raúl gil, cover designer for ricardo fayet’s how to market a book, explained how he adapted the design from paperback to hardcover. in the image below, the hardcover version required a wider “bleed” at the edges (1), wider inside margins (2), a wider spine (3), and some design elements to reposition them (4) .
The basic requirements for Amazon hardcover cover designs are:
- background should extend 0.51″ beyond the edge of the cover;
- all text and images should be 0.635″ from the edge of the book; and
- no text or barcodes must be within 0.4″ of the spine.
Sound like a lot to remember? don’t worry, there’s an app for that…
use a calculator to get the correct dimensions
amazon has a handy built-in calculator, which takes information about your manuscript and uses it to generate a template with the perfect dimensions for your cover design. you can then compare your design to this template to verify that your cover qualifies.
note: to use this calculator, you need to know the exact number of pages. so make sure to finalize your inner formatting and export your book file beforehand.
seek help from professionals for the perfect hardcover
To make sure your cover looks its best, you can always consult a book cover designer and make the most of their professional expertise. A cover designer can help you find the balance between following Amazon’s rules and maintaining your ideal aesthetic, as they’ll have a keen eye for composition and can deftly make the most of the fresh “canvas” that a hard cover offers.
A professional is used to working with the kind of specs we mentioned above, just give him your template and let him do it!
4. add your new metadata to kdp
Once you have the interior and cover files ready to go, it’s time to head over to the kdp control panel! you can create an entirely new title or add a hardcover option to a book you already have available in paperback or eBook format.
the processes for both are similar. If you’re adding a hardcover option to an existing book, certain fields of information will automatically carry over from your paperback or eBook editions. don’t worry if you want to switch things up a bit; you can still edit these fields if you want to configure your hardcover differently.
Is this your first time setting up a book in kdp? We highly recommend checking out our full guide to kdp. covers the entire setup process in kdp for a paperback or e-book, and you’ll probably want to cover them before moving on to the hardcover.
fill in the book details page
The next stage is very similar to the process for setting up a paperback: you’ll just need to fill in some basic information about your book:
- language
- title and subtitle of the book
- name of the series
- issue number
- author and contributors
- description
- publishing rights
- keywords and categories
As mentioned, these can be auto-filled if you’re adding a hardcover option to a pre-existing book, but you can still edit them if something is different.
upload your shiny new hardcover files
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Next, go to the hardcover content page, where you’ll upload your new book cover and interior files. Once you’ve uploaded your print-ready file, you’ll want to hit “start preview” and review your final manuscript.
Preview automatically detects any formatting errors that could cause printing problems so you can correct them before you finish your hardcover.
5. Assign an ISBN to your hardcover
The hardcover content page is also where you’ll create an isbn for your book or apply an isbn you’ve purchased elsewhere. You need a separate ISBN for each edition of your book, so you can’t reuse issues attached to your e-book or paperbacks if they already exist. Amazon will provide you with a free ISBN, but if you’ve purchased your own ISBN from a provider like Bowker, you can add it here as well.
should i use amazon free isbn?
It is important to note that amazon free isbns cannot be used outside of the amazon marketplace. Since Amazon doesn’t offer a wide distribution of hardcovers as of yet (meaning it can only sell KDP-produced hardcovers on its own website), this isn’t a problem yet. If the option becomes available in the future, you may want to purchase a separate ISBN to sell your hardcover KDP elsewhere. you can learn more about amazon isbns here, in “a note on asins”.
6. choose your printing options
Next, you’ll be able to choose from paper options, select some fine-grained settings for printing, and finalize trim sizes and page counts so Amazon knows exactly what you’re working with.
shine or not?
as mentioned above, the only option currently available from kdp for hardcover is a laminated slipcase. you will have the option at this stage to choose between two finishes, glossy and matte.
Word on the street is that the brightness option is very, well, bright. many authors favor the matte option, citing that it looks more professional. therefore, if you want to avoid too many reflections on the cover, we also suggest using a matte finish.
choose color settings and paper
You have fewer interior printing options than with the paperback. at this time, hardcover authors on kdp are limited to:
- black and white on cream;
- black and white on white; or
- premium color on white.
There is no “standard” color option like there is with paperback, so you are left with just the more expensive premium option if you want color interiors.
7. put a price on your hardcover and get it going!
you are in the final stretch! then you will find the prices & rights page, where you can select the territories you are selling in. you will also need to choose your market. Still, this part is pretty straightforward: As we mentioned earlier, there’s no expanded distribution for the hardcover yet, so it’ll only sell through regional versions of Amazon.
This is also the time to set your price. As with the paperback, amazon will suggest a minimum price that will still allow you to make a profit.
press publish!
Once you’ve uploaded your content and set a price, you should be ready to go. There will be a short delay while Amazon makes sure that all the information you have entered meets your requirements. but, if you’ve done everything right, you can take some time off to celebrate: your hardcover should be available within 72 hours!
Of course, publishing your book is only the last step in your publishing process; then you need to market it. For all the tricks of the trade, download a free digital copy of Ricardo Fayet’s How to Market a Book.