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BookBaby Free Book Templates for Writers
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BookBaby>Book Printing>Templates

Free Templates for Writers

Save your quote to get the best book writing template for your book printing needs.

Get your template

Book cover templates

In order to receive a book cover template, you will need to price out your book in our online quoter so we can determine which interior template will work best for your book type. BookBaby will calculate your book’s spine width based on the specifications you select when configuring your book along with the number of pages in the uploaded text/body file.

If you’re having trouble getting your book cover template to format properly, our friendly staff is more than willing to help.

Publish Your Book

If you’re having trouble getting your book cover to format properly, our friendly staff is more than willing to help.

Book templates for interior text

These book templates are only for the body of your book (i.e. your book content) and do not include the book cover template.

  • Click the "download" button to get a .ZIP file that contains our Microsoft Word book layout design templates in multiple design programs.
  • Save this to your computer.
  • Then unzip to get access to the templates.

The best way to ensure your book will look great is to save your project and get a quote. Our team is dedicated to top quality book printing and will provide all guidelines for the printing process, including book cover templates, book content template, and layout.

After you save your quote and begin working with BookBaby, our specialists will make sure that your self-published book comes out perfectly. Your satisfaction is guaranteed!

Get your book into its best shape

Cover Design

Cover Design

Grab their attention so they'll grab your book.
Start your cover

Book Formatting

Book Formatting

It's what makes a book a book.
Start formatting

How to Prepare Graphic Files

How to Prepare Graphic Files

Get it right the first time.
Printing checklist

Book design templates

All are available in hardcover & softcover options

Pocket Book 4.25 inches x 6.87 inches

Pocket Book

4.25" x 6.87"

More info Pocket Book
Pocket Book is often used for romance, mystery, light literature and other fiction novels. Popular Pocket Book text paper stock selections are 50lb or 60lb Natural with black & white text printing and perfect binding.

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digest

Digest

5.5" x 8.5"

POD READY

More info Digest
Digest trim size is commonly used for digest publications such as the TV Guide, and Readers Digest, but is also a popular interior template option for poetry books. Need special book formatting for your poetry? Our sales team can help.

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us trade

US Trade

6" x 9"

POD READY

More info US Trade
US Trade book layouts are a popular selection for sporting books and other non-fiction titles.

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comic book

Comic Book

6.625" x 10.25"

More info Comic Book
This book layout style works for books with low page count & color printing, or high volume (over 1,000) saddle-stitching. Popular uses include comic books, magazines, children’s books, printed booklets and promotional literature. Gloss paper printing options are highly suggested.

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U.S. Letter

U.S. Letter

8.5" x 11"

POD READY

More info U.S. Letter
U.S. Letter size is useful for many types of books ranging from photography to training manuals. This template has the same dimensions as a piece of average computer paper.

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portrait

Portrait

8" x 10"

More info Portrait
Portrait size has many uses including text books, art & photography books, training manuals, cooking books & religious publications.

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large portrait

Large Portrait

9" x 12"

More info Large Portrait
The large portrait book template offers the same look as the portrait size only more robust, which is perfect for larger art, photography, and cook books.

Download

small square

Small Square

7.5" x 7.5"

More info Small Square
Small square book sizes are a great compact way to have any kind of writing. This format works well for all binding and text paper options.

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square

Square

8.5" x 8.5"

POD READY

More info Square
Square is matched well with all binding styles and text paper stock options. Square sizes are popular options for larger format fiction, non-fiction, photography, and cooking books.

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Large Square

Large Square

10" x 10"

More info Large Square
Large Square book sizes are a perfect way to display art and photography. All paper and binding options are a good fit for this book format.

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landscape

Landscape

9" x 7"

POD READY

More info Landscape
Landscape books make beautiful art & photography table top books and children’s books. If you’re writing an illustrated children’s book make sure to account for images and text with this book template.

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landscape ltr

U.S. Letter Landscape

11" x 8.5"

More info Landscape
Landscape books make beautiful art & photography table top books and children’s books. If you’re writing an illustrated children’s book make sure to account for images and text with this book template.

Download

landscape 12x9

Large Landscape

12" x 9"

More info Landscape
Landscape books make beautiful art & photography table top books and children’s books. If you’re writing an illustrated children’s book make sure to account for images and text with this book template.

Download

Promotional material templates

Poster 11 inches x 17 inches

Poster

11" x 17"

Download

Poster 18 inches x 24 inches

Poster

18" x 24"

Download

Bookmark 1.75 inches x 7 inches

Bookmark

1.75" x 7"

Download

Working in Apple Pages? Click here for assistance with using our manuscript template.

Using our free book templates

Get the formatting of your book looking great the first time with our free book template. Download our helpful Book Printing Preparation Checklist PDF.

Free Template Specifications:

  • We offer book templates for use with the following design programs: Adobe InDesign and Microsoft Word
  • All text files must be submitted in our book layout templates.
  • All files and images should be high resolution (300 PPI) and converted to CMYK color.
  • Save B&W images in Grayscale color mode.
  • Remove the book template guidelines before saving and uploading the final PDF design.
  • All fonts must be embedded.
  • For the majority of our trim sizes we recommend left and right margins no less than 7/8ths (0.875). Page Bleed is 1/8". To see what the recommended margins are for your trim size, please download and open your template.
  • Microsoft Word users: If you are copying and pasting text from another Word document into our Word book template page, be sure to use Word’s Paste Special command instead of the default Paste command. Using the default Paste command will change the size of the destination page to the size of your source page.

PDF Export Settings

  • Finished text files must be submitted in PDF format.
  • When exporting your final PDF for submission, we recommend exporting your PDFs using the PDF/X-4 preset available in every layout application. Learn how to export a PDF.

If you have files that are setup to a trim size not included in our standard layout templates listed on this page, please contact our customer support team for a custom quote. The book templates listed on this page represent our standard trim sizes but we do print and bind most trim sizes up to and including 9" x 12" in both softcover and casebound formats. We also offer professional in-house book cover design and text design/formatting services.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a book template?

A book template helps authors to format the interior of their books before publishing. Think about a template as the structure for your book; the best book writing template creates the foundation for you to fill in the blanks with your written words.

At BookBaby, we offer free book templates for authors who use Adobe InDesign and Microsoft Word. But besides a free template, the best way to ensure your book is professionally prepared and ready for publish is to save a quote, or contact one of our Publishing Specialists today!

What are the benefits of using a book design template?

A book template shapes the interior of your book. Depending on the genre of your book, you'd want the layout to match the content. For example, you wouldn't want your cookbook to be laid out the same as say, a romance novel – it wouldn't make sense for your readers and wouldn't show the entirety of your work. Having a template as your book's structure helps to provide an overall better experience for your readers.

What should I do in preparation of downloading a book template?

Our book templates are for use with Adobe InDesign and Microsoft Word. To prepare your book for its template, you'll want to first make sure that your interior text PDF files are in a single page format.

Your book's page numbers should also end on an even number – left side pages should be even numbered, while right side pages should be odd numbered. For more details, download our free book printing checklist so that you can ensure your files are properly prepared and your book is ready for publishing. Explore our book self-publishing services so your books can hit the shelves as soon as possible.

How can promotional material templates help with book sales?

Promotional materials can help with book sales in the same way you might think of business cards or a billboard on the highway. Bookmarks with your book's title and perhaps a slogan and website can entice readers to check out your book online and make a purchase. Posters can help to catch consumers' eyes as they walk by at a book fair. The more ways you can get your book in front of readers, the better!