{"id":7687,"date":"2024-04-08T05:44:43","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T05:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qinprinting.com\/blog\/?p=7687"},"modified":"2026-01-08T16:20:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T08:20:49","slug":"how-to-choose-a-book-format","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qinprinting.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-book-format\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose a Book Format for Self-Publishing: Print or\u00a0eBook?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Before you can design the interior pages and the cover of your self-published book, you must decide what format to choose. Here, we show you how to choose the right book format for your needs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Book Printed by QinPrinting<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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As an author with a completed manuscript in your hand, you’ll be familiar with all the complex choices that a writer must make from what to write about, to genre selection, to structuring the narrative flow, and so much more. Completing writing and editing a book to where you’re ready to get it printed and publish it is a tremendous achievement. So, we’d like to be among the first to congratulate you! But now what?<\/p>

Well, if you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume that you’ve decided to self-publish your book<\/a>. Or at the very least, you’re interested in giving it a shot. But before you can publish a book, you need to transform that manuscript on your desk or in your hard drive\u200a\u2014\u200aprobably both\u200a\u2014\u200ainto a beautifully printed and exquisitely bound physical book and\/or an eBook edition. Which brings you to book design. And unless you’re a professionally trained designer, it can seem a daunting step into the unknown.<\/p>

But don’t worry, we’re here to help. So, let’s take the first step: how to choose a book format<\/strong>. Because until you’ve chosen a format for your book, you can’t go on to design the cover or the interior layout, as you won’t know the size and number of the pages, the spine fit, or the overall cover dimensions. You’ll have noticed that books come in an enormous variety of shapes and sizes. Mainstream publishers take several factors into account when deciding on book formats. And self-publishers must also give careful thought to this fundamental decision.<\/p>

So, let’s dive into this vital topic. We’ll start with the broader questions and then get down to the more granular considerations. By the time you’ve finished reading this post, you should be fully aware of how to choose a book format that’s perfect for your project.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Print edition, eBook, or both?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We find it strange that this decision\u200a\u2014\u200abetween a printed book and an electronic version\u200a\u2014\u200ais so often presented as a purely binary one. It’s clear that eBooks have their uses but that most avid readers either prefer, or also buy, lots of print books, too. So, we’d usually recommend considering publishing both a printed edition of your book and<\/em> an electronic edition.<\/p>

But that decision also depends on your book. For example, there’s no point trying to format an electronic version of a coffee table book<\/a>, an art book<\/a>, a photography book<\/a>, most children’s picture books<\/a>, or board books<\/a>. All of those popular categories only<\/em> work in printed formats. There’s a certain prolific romance, fantasy, crime, or science fiction author who might choose to only ever publish eBooks. But most authors of novels, poetry, memoirs, biographies, histories, inspirational, self-help, and more sensibly opt to publish in both print and eBook formats. Let’s look at the thinking behind this.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Book Printed by QinPrinting<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What format do readers prefer, print or eBooks?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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At least two factors come in to answer the question of reader preferences: how they read<\/em> and how they buy<\/em> books. While if you only shop for books on Amazon or limit yourself to reading a certain kind of self-publishing blog, you could be forgiven for thinking that the eBook is now the preferred way that people read, the facts tell a very different story. All the scientific data from studies cited in Publishers Weekly<\/em><\/a>, Statista<\/em><\/a>, and The Association of American Publishers<\/em><\/a>\u200a\u2014\u200a<\/em>to name only a few reliable sources\u200a\u2014\u200ashows that the printed paper book still dominates the market, outselling eBooks by orders of magnitude. When we dig a little deeper into the stats, we discover that there are three kinds of readers:<\/p>