Precise tools for independent authors
USA Book Studios makes free tools for authors who publish their own books. Measure, format, price and publish with confidence.
Who it is for
Independent and self-publishing authors, and the people who help them: cover designers, formatters and small presses. If you are turning a manuscript into a printed book or an ebook, these tools are for you.
Why it exists
Getting a book ready for print means a lot of small, exact numbers. Spine width, bleed, trim size, page count and print cost all depend on each other, and each printer publishes its own rules in its own help pages.
We wanted one place where those numbers are calculated correctly, shown with their sources, and free to use. No signup, no email wall and no uploads.
How the tools work
- Every tool runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to our server.
- Estimates are labeled as estimates, and where a tool uses a rate, you can change it.
- Results can be copied, downloaded or shared as a link that keeps your settings.
Hands-on help from the studio
The tools are free and will stay free. For authors who would rather hand a step to a professional, USA Book Studios also offers studio services, from editing and cover design to formatting, publishing setup and marketing. Every project starts with a free quote.
How we verify specs
Printer and retailer specs, such as spine width per page, bleed, trim sizes and page limits, come only from each printer's official help pages and guides. We store every value with the page it came from and the date we last checked it.
- KDP: 4 official pages
- IngramSpark: 3 official pages
- Lulu: 2 official pages
Specs for KDP, IngramSpark and Lulu were last checked on . Each tool lists its sources and their dates at the bottom of the page, for example the KDP cover calculator sources.
Printers do change their specs. Always check the printer's own pages before you order a proof, and if you spot a number that has changed, please tell us.
Independence
USA Book Studios is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Amazon, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), IngramSpark or Lulu. We use their names only to describe which printer a tool works with.