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Paperback and hardback formats

Outskirts Press publishes paperback books and hardback books with full-color or black and white interiors.

$399

Quantity: 1

Getting both formats gives you the ultimate in publishing flexibility. The paperback allows you to price your book more competitively while the hardback (we recommend the dust jacket for fiction and the laminated for children's books), provides a high quality show piece. It is like publishing two books for just a small bit more!

Paperback bindings for the Ultimate, Basic, and Economy packages are perfect bound and must be at least 18 pages in length at the time of publication. If your book is shorter than that, there are ways to make it long enough and your author rep will help you with that.
 
Paperback bindings for the Full-Color package are perfect bound for books of at least 24 pages with color interior paper, and at least 18 pages for standard color interior paper. 
 
Perfect bound paperbacks are the most common binding of books found in stores and libraries and for that reason we do not offer alternate forms of bindings like coil bindings (bookstores dislike them) or saddle-stitched which are held together with staples along the spine.. The pages of a perfect bound book are held together within the cover with a strong adhesive. 
 
Hardback books are available for the Ultimate, Basic, and Full-Color packages and must be at least 18 pages long. Full-Color packages offer two types of interior paper, standard color must be 18 pages long, and the color which must be 24 pages long. Hardbacks are available in two different formats: A laminated hardback with a full-color wrap around dust jacket, or a laminated casebound hardback available in full-color glossy or matte finish.  The laminated hardback has the title/author (space permitting; allows 42 characters including spaces) information along the spine, although it is usually concealed by the wrap around dust jacket, which is designed according to your cover selections.
 
Paperback Recommendations
 
The benefit of Outskirts Press is that you can publish any kind of book you want, but here are some general recommendations, for what they're worth:
 
The most common trade paperback size is 6 x 9, so if you don't have a specific preference, or aren't sure what to get, 6 x 9 is the best choice. The only exception is if you are ALSO getting a hardback, in which case, get the 5.5 x 8.5 so they can match sizes (it's less expensive for you that way).
 
Fiction books tend to be either 6 x 9, 5.5 x 8.5, or 5 x 8 (which is our closest size to a "mass-market paperback.") Rarely are black/white fiction books larger than 6 x 9.
 
Poetry tends to be 5 x 8 or 5.5 x 8.5.
 
Non-fiction tends to be 6 x 9, 6.14 x 9.21, or 7 x 10.  Rarely is non-fiction smaller than 6 x 9.
 
Children's books run the gamut. The most popular size for children's books is 8.5 x 8.5 and they should rarely ever be bigger than 7 x 10.
 
Hardback Recommendations
 
The benefit of Outskirts Press is that you can publish any kind of book you want, but here are some general recommendations, for what they're worth:
 
The most common trade hardback size is 6 x 9, so if you don't have a specific preference, or aren't sure what to get, 6 x 9 is the best choice.
 
Black/white fiction hardbacks are either 6 x 9,  5.5 x 8.5 or 6.14 x 9.21. Rarely larger. Do not get a laminated casebound hardback for a fiction book. Fiction hardbacks should only be published under the dust jacket option.
 
Poetry hardbacks tend to be 5.5 x 8.5 or 6 x 9.  It's best to avoid the laminated casebound choice and instead choose the dust jacket option for poetry.
 
Non-fiction hardbacks tend to be 6 x 9, 6.14 x 9.21 or 7 x 10.  Rarely smaller.  Whether or not your non-fiction hardback is the laminated casebound or the dust jacket option is a personal choice.
 
Children's hardback books run the gamut. The most popular size for children's hardback books is 7 x 10, followed closely by 5.5 x 8.5.  Children's hardback books should not publish with the dust jacket option, and should instead choose the laminated casebound selection.
 
General Recommendation
 
No matter what type of book it is, rarely is the 8.5 x 11 or 8.25 x 11 a good choice.  It's better to pick a trim size that will look like a "book" when it's done, and not like something that could be produced at your run-of-the-mill copy shop.
 

  

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