40,000 words is about 184 pages at 5" × 8"
Set as general fiction in 11pt Times on 1.3 leading, with the margins a conventionally typeset paperback uses. Likely between 140 and 232 pages depending on how the book is set — change any of that below.
- Estimated pages
- 184
- Likely range
- 140–232
- Words per page
- ≈ 230
- Spine width
- 0.414"
Change the type, trim or genre
The calculator below starts on this book's settings. Switching to a dialogue-heavy preset or larger type changes the page count, because both change how much text a page carries.
Your manuscript
Choosing a genre sets the type size and leading that genre usually uses. Change either afterwards and your choice sticks.
40,000 words · 5" × 8" · 11pt
184pages
Likely between 140 and 232 pages, depending on how the book is set.
- Body text
- 176 pages
- Front & back matter
- 8 pages
- Words per page
- ≈ 230
Amazon does not publish a words-per-page figure. This is an estimate derived from your trim size, type size and leading, shown as a range because the final number depends on how your book is typeset.
Take this page count further
Both links use 184 pages, the middle of your range. If your book sets longer or shorter, change the page count on either page.
How this number is worked out
| Step | Working | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Inside (gutter) marginKDP-published | KDP minimum for 151–300 pages, plus 0.375" for a typically set book | 0.875" |
| Text blockOur assumption | 5.000" − 0.875" − 0.750" wide, 8.000" − 0.900" − 0.900" tall | 3.375" × 6.200" |
| Lines per pageYour input | 6.2″ × 72 ÷ (11pt × 1.3) = 31.22, rounded down | 31 |
| Characters per lineOur assumption | 3.375″ × 72 ÷ (11pt × 0.46 average Times New Roman character width) = 48.02, rounded down | 48 |
| Words per lineCorpus figure | 48 ÷ 6.09 characters a word (4.79 letters + 1 space + 0.3 punctuation) | 7.88 |
| Words per pageOur assumption | 31 × 7.88 × 0.94 — the share of a full page fiction (general) actually fills | 229.7 |
| Body pagesKDP-published | 40,000 ÷ 229.7 = 174.2, rounded up to a whole leaf | 176 |
| Front & back matterOur assumption | Title page, copyright, contents and closing pages for fiction (general) | 8 |
| Total | 176 + 8 | 184 pages |
The 140–232 range is this same calculation run twice more: once at compact margins with the least whitespace this genre loses, and once at airy margins with the most. It is not a percentage added to the figure above.
The same manuscript at other trims
Trim size moves a page count more than almost anything else an author chooses, because it changes both how wide a line is and how many lines fit. The same 40,000 words:
- 5.06" × 7.81" — 188 pages
- 5.25" × 8" — 172 pages
- 5.5" × 8.5" — 152 pages
- 6" × 9" — 122 pages
- 6.14" × 9.21" — 116 pages
What a 184-page book means for the cover
A paperback spine is the stacked thickness of its pages, so at 184 pages on white stock the spine comes to 0.414". The full-wrap cover with bleed is 10.664" × 8.250".
At this thickness the spine can carry text: KDP allows spine type above 79 pages, and this book is past that, so the title and author name can go on it.
On Amazon.com a 184-page 5" × 8" paperback with a black-ink interior costs $3.21 per copy to print, which sets a price floor of $6.42: below it a sale would earn a negative royalty and KDP will not accept the price.
Amazon does not publish a words-per-page figure. This is an estimate derived from your trim size, type size and leading, shown as a range because the final number depends on how your book is typeset.
SmartKDP is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon. Amazon, Kindle, and Kindle Direct Publishing are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
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