While the program remains in beta, it’s a long-awaited offering for self-publishing authors
Just in August, we reported on the growing sales of hardcover print on demand through IngramSpark. The country’s biggest distributor advised publishers of all sizes: make your books available in hardcover, even if you think your customers don’t want it or the pricing looks high. That’s because hardcover sales are up between 20 and 25 percent in the US market versus last year—and POD hardcovers at Ingram are outselling paperback editions.
Amazon KDP has never offered the hardcover format until this year. CreateSpace, the previous incarnation of Amazon’s KDP print-on-demand program, didn’t offer hardcover format either. To make hardcover editions available, self-publishing authors typically use IngramSpark or facilitate their own short print runs. For some genre fiction authors, this hasn’t been worth the trouble, given that the large majority of their sales are in ebook format. But with KDP now making hardcovers easy to produce if you have an existing paperback, we’re about to see how much money authors might have been leaving on the table by not investing in a more premium edition.
For authors who sell at festivals and conventions, a hardcover edition may be particularly desirable. We heard from author Victoria Jayne, who had a reader post a TikTok review of her new hardcover POD from Amazon. The reader said, “I bought myself a present because I’m going to RomantiConn. … Victoria Jayne is going to be there, and so I wanted to have a thing for her to sign.” The reader compliments the nice edges and thick paper. “I was pleasantly surprised. The quality of this is really, really nice.”
While it’s too soon to say what sales might be like in relation to other formats (and your category will also likely affect sales), early indicators are modest but encouraging. Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy, the author of How to Market a Book, told us he’s had a positive experience with the program. “I haven’t sold a lot of hardback copies so far because of the price ($19.99), and the fact the ebook is free, but it’s nice to have the format available for the few readers who really want it.” He’s sold seven hardcovers since making it available in late June.
If you have a paperback currently on sale through Amazon KDP, you can use the same interior for the hardcover. But you’ll need to produce a new cover file. SFF author Casey White has been active in the beta testing and told us, “The colors and such on the hardcovers have been great. For me, I like the glossy hardcovers a lot, because the glossy finish tends to bring out dark colors better. The glossy paperbacks have durability issues (IMO), which the hardcover pretty much eliminates.” However, she said, “The big downside I’ve seen thus far is a fair amount of variability on the spine and how accurate the print job is. I’ve had notably better results with my hardcovers that have a full-wrap image versus art on the front with a flat color on the spine, because if the image gets shifted a few millimeters each way with the full-wrap image, you can’t really see it.”
Author Kathryn Ann Kingsley also said she had issues with cover image alignment. “You have about a ⅛” to ¼” error in where the image is placed. Sometimes it’s squished or distorted in an odd way.” However, she appreciates that the hardcover format doesn’t “potato chip” like the paperbacks, especially in humid environments.
Trim sizes are limited to a handful of options, and your page count must be between 75 and 550 pages. Authors report an efficient and painless review process—a couple of days—which may be a relief for those who’ve experienced longer wait times and problems using IngramSpark. Amazon displays the printing cost and royalties before you publish, and you can set your pricing accordingly and by territory.
Amazon KDP’s hardcover unit costs might be more favorable for your project than Ingram’s, as with paperback. The following costs are for case laminate 6×9 hardcover. For Ingram, we’re using pricing effective on Nov. 6 this year. A few of the niggling details to keep in mind:
- If you use a dust jacket at Ingram, that will increase your unit cost. KDP doesn’t offer dust jackets as of today.
- Premium color printing is on 60# paper at KDP and on 70# at IngramSpark, but Ingram also offers a cheaper 50# paper option, as well as a cheaper—and less vivid—form of inkjet-based color printing on 70# paper. KDP offers two options for color print quality in their paperbacks but only the premium option in their hardcovers.
- As far as trim size, KDP reflects no price variation based on trim; Ingram’s pricing increases for larger trim sizes, such as 7×10, and decreases for smaller trim sizes, such as 4×6.
| IngramSpark unit cost | Amazon KDP unit cost | |
|---|---|---|
| 75p, B&W standard | $6.63 | $6.80 |
| 272p, B&W standard | $9.37 | $8.76 |
| 550p, B&W standard | $13.24 | $12.10 |
| 75p, color premium | $11.57 | $10.75 |
| 272p, color premium | $25.68 | $24.54 |
| 550p, color premium | $45.58 | $44.00 |
Read more detail on how Amazon calculates cost on hardcovers; keep in mind there are printing cost differences based on the territory of sale (e.g., US versus Europe).
Currently, Amazon’s hardcover program isn’t well suited for some children’s books or coffee-table books, since it doesn’t support trim sizes common in those markets. Its five available trims are variations on the popular 6×9 size used for novels and commercial nonfiction, with the exception of the 8.25×11 trim sometimes used for workbooks, magazines, and manuals.
Bottom line: Given how much Ingram has been touting the increased sales of hardcovers, we expect Amazon to make more trim sizes available and perhaps eventually offer dust jacket hardcovers. IngramSpark is likely to lose some amount of business as a result, especially since authors’ complaints about its customer service have been increasing over the last year, when it stopped offering phone support. For more information on KDP hardcovers, read Amazon’s documentation.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
