How to Self-Publish a Hardcover Children’s Book

Libraries, schools and gift buyers often want hardcover picture books, and self-published authors can offer one through print on demand. The catch is that the two big platforms treat short hardcovers very differently, and the options at picture book sizes are narrower than many guides suggest. This guide covers which platform to use, the cover options and trim sizes, how to set up the files and how to price a hardcover so it earns. If you’d rather hand it over, our children’s book publishing service sets up the hardcover with the rest of your book.

KDP or IngramSpark for a hardcover children’s book

Amazon KDP prints hardcovers only from 75 pages, in five portrait trim sizes, and its Expanded Distribution to bookstores and libraries isn’t available for hardcovers. IngramSpark prints hardcovers from 18 pages and lists them for bookstores and libraries to order. So the type of book decides the platform.

Book type	Typical printed pages	Hardcover through KDP?	Hardcover through IngramSpark?
Picture book	32 (sometimes 24, 40 or 48)	No, under 75 pages	Yes, case laminate
Early reader	About 32 to 64	No, under 75 pages	Yes, case laminate
Chapter book	About 48 to 128	Only from 75 pages, in portrait sizes	Yes
Middle grade and young adult	Usually well over 75	Yes, sold on Amazon only	Yes, with bookstore and library distribution

Platform figures are from KDP’s print options page and IngramSpark’s trim size matrix and help center, as of October 2026. A common setup is the paperback on KDP and the hardcover on IngramSpark; our publishing guide explains getting into bookstores and libraries with IngramSpark. For why picture books run 32 pages, see how many pages a children’s book should be.

Hardcover options: case laminate, jacket or Digital Cloth

Print-on-demand hardcovers come in three styles, but not all of them come in every size.

Cover style	What it is	At picture book sizes?
Case laminate	The cover art is printed on paper that wraps the boards, then laminated gloss or matte. No jacket to lose or tear	Yes. The only hardcover style IngramSpark offers at 8 × 8, 8 × 10, 8.5 × 8.5, 8.5 × 11 and 11 × 8.5
Jacketed cover	A printed dust jacket wraps a case laminate or Digital Cloth cover	No. IngramSpark’s jackets go up to 6.14 × 9.21 inches, a novel size
Digital Cloth	A blue or gray cover with a textured, linen-look finish, sold with or without a jacket	No. Offered at novel sizes only

For a picture book, that makes case laminate the choice, and it suits the readers anyway: its laminated surface stands up to handling and there’s no jacket for small hands to rip. KDP’s hardcovers are also case laminate, with no jacket option. A dust jacket at picture book sizes means ordering copies from a book printer, outside IngramSpark’s and KDP’s distribution.

Hardcover trim sizes for children’s books

The trim size has to be chosen before the art is drawn, because a picture book illustration is painted to the page shape. These are the hardcover sizes that suit children’s books on each platform.

Platform	Hardcover sizes that suit children’s books	Notes
IngramSpark (case laminate, color)	8 × 8, 8.5 × 8.5 (square); 8 × 10, 8.5 × 11 (portrait); 11 × 8.5 (landscape)	11 × 8.5 needs premium color and is limited to 400 pages
KDP (case laminate)	5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 6.14 × 9.21, 7 × 10, 8.25 × 11	Portrait only, 75 to 550 pages; premium color or black ink

Pick a size both platforms print if you want the paperback on KDP and the hardcover on IngramSpark to match. Square 8.5 × 8.5 is available as a KDP paperback and an IngramSpark hardcover.

How to set up hardcover files

A hardcover uses the same interior pages as the paperback, with a few differences in the cover and the setup.

• A separate ISBN. Each print format needs its own ISBN, so the hardcover can’t share the paperback’s number. A free KDP ISBN can only be used on KDP, so the IngramSpark hardcover needs an ISBN you own.
• A case cover, not a paperback cover. A case laminate cover wraps around the boards, so it’s larger than the paperback cover and has its own template. IngramSpark’s Cover Template Generator makes one for your trim size and page count, and book cover design for print usually includes this wrap.
• Bleed and a white strip at the binding edge. IngramSpark asks for 0.125 inch of bleed on the top, bottom and outside edges, and recommends a 0.125 inch white strip at the bind edge of color pages, plus a 0.5 inch margin for text. Keep faces and words away from the gutter.
• The last page. IngramSpark keeps the last page of every book blank for its printing information and adds pages if needed. If your story ends on page 32, plan a blank page after it or move the ending earlier.
• Spine text. On a case laminate hardcover, the spine is part of your cover art, and IngramSpark’s template gives its width for your page count. IngramSpark’s help center says spine text needs at least 48 pages, so plan a plain spine, in color or art only, for a 32-page picture book.

Picture book formatting sets up the interior to these specs for print and ebook.

Price your hardcover so it earns

A color hardcover costs more to print than a paperback, so the list price has to cover printing, the bookseller’s discount and IngramSpark’s distribution fee. IngramSpark pays you the list price minus the wholesale discount, the print cost and a 1.875% fee on the list price. It recommends a 55% discount and accepts 40% as a minimum.

Try your numbers

Hardcover earnings calculator

What you earn on each bookstore or Amazon sale of an IngramSpark hardcover: list price, minus the wholesale discount, the print cost and the 1.875% fee on the list price.

List price

$

Print cost per copy

$

Wholesale discount

40% 55%

You earn per sale $0.18

• Bookseller’s discount$8.00
• Print cost$11.44
• IngramSpark fee (1.875%)$0.37

List price	You earn at a 40% discount	You earn at a 55% discount
$19.99	$0.18	Below zero: raise the price
$24.99	$3.09	Below zero: raise the price
$29.99	$5.99	$1.49

Worked from an estimated print cost of about $11.44 a copy and the 1.875% fee; your print cost will differ. Copies you buy at print cost and sell yourself, at a school visit or a fair, earn more per book, after shipping. IngramSpark notes that in the US a discount below 53% makes a book “short discounted”, which many bookstores won’t order, and that many online retailers no longer buy non-returnable books. You choose whether returned books are destroyed, shipped back to you (US only), or not accepted.

Step by step: publishing the hardcover

1. Choose the platform. IngramSpark for a picture book or early reader; KDP or IngramSpark for longer books.
2. Choose the size and cover style. A case laminate size from the table, matched to your paperback if you have one.
3. Get the hardcover ISBN. Assign it before you make the cover, because it goes in the barcode.
4. Make the files. The interior PDF to the specs above and a case cover from the template for your page count.
5. Set the price, discount and returns. Run your numbers in the calculator above and in IngramSpark’s own.
6. Order a printed proof. Check the color, the spine and the gutter on paper before you release the book.

When to get help

Setting up a hardcover means a second ISBN, a second cover template, pricing decisions and another account to manage. At AuthorWings, our Global publishing tier at $999 adds the IngramSpark hardcover along with bookstore and library distribution. For a 32-page picture book with your own art, the Global route costs $1,947 in total, at our published prices (as of October 2026). Longer books can add an Amazon hardcover for $79. See what a hardcover adds on our cost guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a dust jacket on a picture book?

Not through IngramSpark or KDP at picture book sizes. IngramSpark’s dust jackets go up to 6.14 × 9.21 inches, and KDP doesn’t offer jackets at all. At 8 × 8, 8.5 × 8.5 or 8.5 × 11, the hardcover is case laminate, with the art printed on the cover itself. A jacketed picture book means a print order from a book printer, which you then sell yourself.

Why can’t KDP print my 32-page hardcover?

KDP hardcovers start at 75 pages (as of October 2026), so a 32-page picture book is too short. IngramSpark prints hardcovers from 18 pages, which is why many self-published authors put the paperback on KDP and the hardcover on IngramSpark. KDP also doesn’t send hardcovers to bookstores and libraries.

Do I need a separate ISBN for the hardcover?

Yes. Each print format needs its own ISBN, so the paperback and the hardcover get different numbers. The ebook can go without one on Amazon. Assign the hardcover ISBN before making the cover, because it goes in the barcode on the back.

Will bookstores stock my hardcover?

IngramSpark lists it for bookstores and libraries to order, but being orderable isn’t the same as being on the shelf. Stores look at the discount, whether returns are accepted, the cover and local demand. A 55% discount with returns makes ordering easier, but a short picture book needs a high enough list price to cover it.

Related reading

• How to publish a children’s book: the full route, from illustration to launch
• What is a picture book?: length, ages, format and its parts
• How many pages should a children’s book be?: page counts by type