Build KDP cover dimensions from the exact edition

A print cover is back, spine, front, and bleed

The finished wrap width combines two trim-width panels with the calculated spine and outer bleed. Its height combines the trim height with bleed above and below. The KDP template then marks trim lines, spine folds, safe areas, and the barcode region.

The inputs belong to one edition. A 5.5 × 8.5 cream-paper paperback and a 6 × 9 white-paper paperback need separate files even when their title and artwork match. Hardcover and paperback templates are not interchangeable.

• Exact trim size selected in the KDP print setup
• Final interior page count after layout and export
• Paper and ink choice used for the spine formula
• Bleed, safe areas, fold tolerance, and barcode placement

Keep critical content out of manufacturing tolerance

Background art can extend through bleed, but titles, author names, logos, and borders should remain inside the safe zones. Thin frames near a trim edge exaggerate normal cutting variation. Spine elements must stay away from both folds.

Use the template as a temporary production overlay and remove it before export unless KDP's instructions say otherwise. Confirm color mode, resolution, embedded fonts, and transparency behavior with the current cover specification and the exported PDF itself.

Create the ebook cover as its own asset

A Kindle ebook cover has no back or spine. It must remain readable as a small storefront thumbnail and meet KDP's current pixel, aspect-ratio, format, and file-size guidance. Reframe print art rather than merely cropping the front panel if type becomes too small.

Novelbound's publishing workflow generates a cover brief from title, subtitle, author, genre, tone, audience, trim, page count, paper, and spine width. It supports the handoff without pretending a cover is finished until KDP's preview and a physical proof agree.