Hardcover vs Paperback: Which Should Self-Published Authors Print First?

Hardcover or paperback first? For most self-published authors, the answer is the paperback. It costs far less to print, it earns more per copy at a price readers will pay, and it reaches more shops. A hardcover is worth adding when your book is a gift, a keepsake or a reference title, or once the paperback is selling and you want a premium edition. This guide shows the difference between hardcover and paperback in plain terms, with worked print-cost and royalty examples from KDP's own published figures, so you can decide with numbers rather than a hunch.

Key takeaways#

• On Amazon.co.uk, a KDP hardcover costs about £3.30 more to print than the same paperback, because the fixed cost per copy is much higher. The per-page cost is the same.
• KDP royalties use the same 50% or 60% rate for both formats, so a hardcover needs a noticeably higher list price to earn what the paperback earns.
• KDP hardcovers are case laminate only, with the cover printed straight onto the boards. For a dust jacket you need IngramSpark.
• Each format needs its own ISBN, and its own cover file. A hardcover cover isn't the paperback cover resized.
• Print the paperback first unless your book is a gift, children's, reference or collector's title. Add the hardcover once the interior is final.

What's the difference between hardcover and paperback?#

The difference is the binding. A paperback (or softcover) has a flexible card cover glued to the spine. A hardcover, or hardback as we usually say in the UK, has the pages glued into a rigid case made of board, which is covered in printed paper or cloth.

That one change shows up everywhere:

• Durability. A hardcover survives being dropped, lent and reread. A paperback's corners curl and its spine creases with use.
• Feel and shelf presence. A hardcover looks and feels like an occasion. That's why traditional publishers often launch a big title in hardback before the cheaper paperback follows.
• Weight and size. Hardcovers are heavier, and the boards make the book slightly bigger than its pages.
• Cost. Boards, glue and casing cost more to make, so every copy costs you more to print.

For a reader buying a novel to read on the train, none of the first three matter much. For someone buying a present, or a cookbook that will live on the kitchen counter, they matter a lot.

Hardcover vs paperback at a glance#

What it costs to print each format (worked example)#

KDP publishes its print-cost formula: a fixed cost per book plus a cost per page. For black ink books of 110 pages or more on Amazon.co.uk, KDP's help pages list these figures for regular trim sizes such as 6 x 9 inches:

• Paperback: £0.85 per book plus £0.010 per page.
• Hardcover: £4.15 per book plus £0.010 per page.

So for a 300-page novel at 6 x 9 inches:

• Paperback: £0.85 + (300 × £0.010) = £3.85 to print.
• Hardcover: £4.15 + (300 × £0.010) = £7.15 to print.

The gap is the fixed cost, about £3.30 a copy, and it stays roughly the same whatever your page count. On Amazon.com, KDP's own example puts the same 300-page hardcover at $9.25, against $4.60 for the paperback. These figures were correct on KDP's help pages when we checked them in October 2026. Amazon reviews them, so check the live numbers before you set a price.

You don't need to do the maths by hand. The free KDP print cost calculator works out paperback costs for the common trim sizes, and the royalty calculator handles hardcover as well as paperback and ebook.

What you earn per copy#

KDP pays the same royalty rate on hardcovers and paperbacks. On Amazon.co.uk you get 60% of the list price if it's £7.99 or more, and 50% below that. KDP then takes off the printing cost. Here's how that plays out for our 300-page book:

• Paperback at £9.99: 60% is £5.99, minus £3.85 printing, leaves about £2.14 a copy.
• Hardcover at £9.99: not allowed. KDP sets a minimum list price so your royalty always covers printing, which for this hardcover is about £11.92.
• Hardcover at £14.99: 60% is £8.99, minus £7.15, leaves about £1.84 a copy.
• Hardcover at £17.99: 60% is £10.79, minus £7.15, leaves about £3.64 a copy.

In other words, a hardcover only out-earns the paperback per copy if readers will pay a clear premium for it. For a debut thriller, that's a hard sell. For a beautifully designed gift book or a professional reference title, it often isn't. If you're unsure where to price, the free book price optimiser suggests price points by format and genre. Printing is only one line in the budget. For the rest, see how much it costs to self-publish a book in the UK.

KDP hardcover vs IngramSpark hardcover#

This is the part most comparisons skip, and it's the one that decides how your hardcover will look.

KDP prints case laminate hardcovers only. Your artwork is printed directly onto the cover boards and laminated. There's no dust jacket and no cloth binding. KDP offers five hardcover trim sizes (5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 6.14 x 9.21, 7 x 10 and 8.25 x 11 inches) and accepts 75 to 550 pages. KDP hardcovers sell on Amazon's own stores, including Amazon.co.uk, but they can't use Expanded Distribution, so they won't reach bookshops and libraries through KDP.

IngramSpark gives you more choice. Alongside case laminate, it offers a jacketed case laminate (a printed case with a removable dust jacket over it) and a cloth-look cover with or without a jacket. A dust jacket has front and back flaps, which is where traditionally published hardbacks put the blurb and the author bio. IngramSpark also lists your book with the wholesaler that bookshops and libraries order from, so it's the usual route if you want a hardcover a shop can order in. Check IngramSpark's current fees, trim sizes and discount settings before you set up.

Plenty of authors use both: KDP for the Amazon paperback and IngramSpark for wider distribution and a jacketed hardcover. Our guide to formatting a book for IngramSpark shows how to build one interior file that works on both.

When to print the paperback first#

Start with the paperback if any of these sound like you:

• It's your first book. You'll learn a lot from the first print run, and a paperback is cheaper to proof, fix and reprint.
• You write genre fiction. Romance, thrillers, fantasy and crime readers buy on price and often read on Kindle. A hardcover adds little.
• Your page count may still change. Spine width depends on page count, and a hardcover cover is fiddlier to redo.
• You want the lowest price readers will see. A paperback can sit at a price that a hardcover can't reach on KDP.
• Your book is under 75 pages. KDP won't print it as a hardcover. Paperbacks start at 24 pages.

When a hardcover makes sense (first or second)#

A hardcover earns its place when the object matters as much as the words:

• Gift and coffee-table books, such as photography, art, poetry and cookery.
• Children's books that get handled, chewed and read again and again. Many picture books are shorter than KDP's 75-page hardcover minimum, so check IngramSpark's limits for those.
• Memoirs and family histories that people keep and pass on.
• Business and professional books sold at events or given to clients, where a premium feel helps.
• A special edition for a series that's already selling, for fans who want it on the shelf.

A low-risk pattern is simple. Launch the paperback and ebook together, then add the hardcover a few weeks later once the interior is locked. You keep the same interior layout, as long as your trim size is one KDP offers for hardcover, so the second format costs far less work than the first. If you haven't picked a size yet, read how to choose a book trim size with both formats in mind.

Your cover and interior need small changes#

The interior can usually stay the same. KDP lets you upload an interior with the same measurements for both formats if it fits the hardcover's trim and page-count rules. The one thing to change is the ISBN on your copyright page, which must match the hardcover's ISBN.

The cover is a different file. A paperback cover needs 0.125 inches (3 mm) of bleed around the edge. A KDP hardcover cover needs 0.51 inches (15 mm) of wrap, the extra artwork that folds around the boards and is glued inside. It also has a 0.4-inch (10 mm) hinge beside the spine where nothing important can go. The spine is wider too. An IngramSpark dust jacket is different again, with flaps. The free cover size calculator gives you the dimensions and a template for each binding, and our guide to KDP book cover sizes explains how the paperback wrap is built.

If you're having your cover designed, say up front that you want a hardcover. Our Print Ready cover package is £297 ($377) and includes the full paperback wrap with spine, back cover and barcode placement. A hardcover jacket is a £67 add-on, so the hardcover version is planned from the start rather than squeezed in later.

You need one ISBN per format#

A paperback and a hardcover are separate editions, so each needs its own ISBN. A Kindle ebook doesn't need one, but ebooks sold on other stores usually do. KDP says plainly that you need a unique ISBN for a hardcover edition. You can take a free KDP ISBN for each print format, or use your own. If you'd like your own, a 3-pack of ISBNs covers paperback, ebook and hardcover for £97.99 ($124.99), plus VAT for UK customers. Our guide to buying an ISBN in the UK compares Nielsen, resellers and KDP's free ISBN honestly, including when going direct makes more sense.

So, which should you print first?#

If you're still unsure, print the paperback. It's the cheaper file to get right and the better seller for most books. Then come back to the hardcover with real sales and reader feedback behind you. If your book is one people will give, keep or display, plan both from the start: the same interior, two cover files and two ISBNs. Then launch the hardcover alongside the paperback or soon after.