Question about margins in paperback I'm formatting for KDP

[Gregg Bell]

The last paperback I formatted for KDP had the inner margin too close for comfortable reading. Both pages (right and left) had equal margins of .79 inches. This time I'd like to give a little more room on the inner portion, so on my "Right page" (the page I have Chapter One on), I have: left margin: 1 inch; right margin: .79 inches. For the "Left page" margin I have: left margin: .79 inches; right margin: 1 inch.

Questions:
#1. Is having Chapter One on the "Right page" the correct way to do it?
#2. Are the margins I mentioned on both pages reasonable?

Thanks

[alhawke]

Yes, Chapter one should be on the right page.  Your copyright page, if you create one (I always do), can be on the left page preceding Chapter one. The title page would precede all of this as your very first page, again on the right side.

The inner margin I frequently use is .875 inches. That's standard on Vellum and it's worked well. Outside margin standard on Vellum is 0.625in. I pretty much stick to that, but I've played around with lengths in the past when trying to fit more per page on a large book.

Most of my books over 100 pages are 5.5 by 8.5 inches in size. Smaller tend to be 5 by 8 and real large books are 6by9.

[Bill Hiatt]

I second alhawke's margins.

When I've tried to use the ones Amazon recommends for books of a particular size, I always feel as if the text closest to the inner margin is harder to read. Bumping the recommendation up by at least one notch is the absolute minimum I'd go with.

Vellum is having a sale, by the way. If you have a Mac (or access to one), it makes doing paperback layout so much easier, faster, and better. (I'm a PC guy but keep a Mac laptop around just for Vellum. It's that good.)

[R. C.]

I use the 'Zon Cover Calculator and let the template tell me what the margins should be.

However, using an MS Word template I refined over the years, the formatting parameters rarely vary from:

Page Size: 5.5 x 8.5

Multiple Pages: Mirror Margins

Margins: Top .75, Bottom .75, Inside .7, Outside .5

Start Sections: Odd page

Different Odd/Even: Checked

Different First: Checked

From Edge: Header .32, Footer .32

Using these settings and then saving the file to a PDF for loading to 'Zon always gives me the pages where I want them to appear.

Also, echoing Al, "Chapter One is on the right page. The copyright page is on the left preceding Chapter One. The title page is on the first page, on the right side."

R.C.

[Lynn]

Generous margins in a trade paperback make it feel professional. Anything too tight is uncomfortable, especially in a print on demand book where the covers are stiffer and the spine is often weaker. I don't go with anything less than .6 inch margins on the left and right of the spread, and .8 in the gutters (inner margins at the spine). My margins change based on the length of the book and the thickness of the spine. A .5 margin is too narrow anywhere IMO. Even the gutter margin of .8 is for shorter books with thinner spines.

[Gregg Bell]

Yes, Chapter one should be on the right page.  Your copyright page, if you create one (I always do), can be on the left page preceding Chapter one. The title page would precede all of this as your very first page, again on the right side.

The inner margin I frequently use is .875 inches. That's standard on Vellum and it's worked well. Outside margin standard on Vellum is 0.625in. I pretty much stick to that, but I've played around with lengths in the past when trying to fit more per page on a large book.

Most of my books over 100 pages are 5.5 by 8.5 inches in size. Smaller tend to be 5 by 8 and real large books are 6by9.

Thanks A.L. My paperback is 6X9. Thanks for the margin suggestions. For me the temptation is to cut down on the margins so I can make the book less expensive. But overdoing it makes no sense if it hinders readability.

[Gregg Bell]

I second alhawke's margins.

When I've tried to use the ones Amazon recommends for books of a particular size, I always feel as if the text closest to the inner margin is harder to read. Bumping the recommendation up by at least one notch is the absolute minimum I'd go with.

Vellum is having a sale, by the way. If you have a Mac (or access to one), it makes doing paperback layout so much easier, faster, and better. (I'm a PC guy but keep a Mac laptop around just for Vellum. It's that good.)

Thanks Bill. I'm going to bump up that inner margin a touch. No Mac. Doing everything on LibreOffice Writer. I'm finally getting used to using the Styles to format it. Still get stuck regularly though. 

[Gregg Bell]

I use the 'Zon Cover Calculator and let the template tell me what the margins should be.

However, using an MS Word template I refined over the years, the formatting parameters rarely vary from:

Page Size: 5.5 x 8.5

Multiple Pages: Mirror Margins

Margins: Top .75, Bottom .75, Inside .7, Outside .5

Start Sections: Odd page

Different Odd/Even: Checked

Different First: Checked

From Edge: Header .32, Footer .32

Using these settings and then saving the file to a PDF for loading to 'Zon always gives me the pages where I want them to appear.

Also, echoing Al, "Chapter One is on the right page. The copyright page is on the left preceding Chapter One. The title page is on the first page, on the right side."

R.C.

Thanks R.C. Yes, I've used the KDP Cover Calculator. Thanks for reminding me about it. Thanks for the margin suggestions, too.

[Gregg Bell]

Generous margins in a trade paperback make it feel professional. Anything too tight is uncomfortable, especially in a print on demand book where the covers are stiffer and the spine is often weaker. I don't go with anything less than .6 inch margins on the left and right of the spread, and .8 in the gutters (inner margins at the spine). My margins change based on the length of the book and the thickness of the spine. A .5 margin is too narrow anywhere IMO. Even the gutter margin of .8 is for shorter books with thinner spines.

Thanks Lynn. I'm learning about page size influencing the gutter. I'm at 360 pages so I think my inner margin needs to be pretty hefty. I'm thinking 1.1. My last paperback I rushed out with equal margins and the inner margin was just too small.