Which cover format — portrait, square or landscape — works best for each literary genre?

The book's format is the first design decision — before the cover, before the interior — and one of the ones the reader reads fastest. Before seeing the title, the hand and the eye have already registered whether that object is a pocket novel, a photography album or a children's book. The format belongs to the genre as much as the palette and the typography, and choosing it against the convention without a clear reason costs dearly on the shelf.

This article explains what each proportion communicates, the formats the market associates with each genre and the criteria for deciding when to break from the standard.

1. What the proportion communicates

Portrait (upright)

It is the format of running text. A page taller than it is wide produces lines of a comfortable length — 55 to 75 characters — without requiring columns, and the book sits well in the hand, on the bookcase and on the bookshop shelf. The reader associates portrait with continuous reading: fiction, non-fiction, essays, biography, poetry in short lines.

Square

It neutralises direction: there is no "upright" or "on its side", and the page becomes a field for images. It is the format of the book you look at more than you read — illustrated children's books, photography, design, art, some cookbooks. It is also used in visual poetry and authorial projects that want to signal an object, not text.

Landscape

The rarest and the most specific. The wide page favours panoramic images, diagrams and extensive tables, and harms running text (over-long lines or mandatory columns). It is the format of catalogues, architecture and landscape books, some children's books and portfolios. In the bookshop it does not stand upright on the shelf, which is a real display disadvantage.

The rule that almost never fails

If the book is made mainly of text, it is portrait. If it is made mainly of image, it can be square or landscape. Exceptions exist and can be very good — but they are exceptions, and they need a design reason the reader perceives.

2. Formats by genre

The sizes below are the ones used most frequently in the Brazilian and international markets; they vary between publishers, and print-on-demand platforms offer a fixed set of options close to them.

Novels and fiction in general

Portrait, between 14 × 21 cm (the Brazilian "commercial") and 15.5 × 23 cm. Pocket editions run from 11 × 18 to 12.5 × 19 cm. Larger formats signal a special or luxury edition; smaller ones, an economy or travel edition.

Non-fiction, business, essays

Portrait, a little larger than fiction: 15.5 × 23 cm and 16 × 23 cm are common; reference works reach 17 × 24 and 21 × 28 cm when there are tables, diagrams and a lot of hierarchy. The larger format communicates authority and allows generous margins for notes. On the relationship between format and perceived value, see Is it true that page format and size influence the perceived value of a book?

Poetry

Portrait and frequently smaller than fiction — 13 × 19, 14 × 20 cm — because short lines on a large page produce a lot of white and few poems per page. The square appears in visual or concrete poetry, or in projects that treat the book as an object; in those cases, the format is part of the meaning, not just the medium.

Illustrated children's books

Square (20 × 20, 21 × 21, 23 × 23 cm) or landscape (24 × 20, 28 × 21 cm) in most cases, because the illustration needs a field and the double-page spread works as a scene. Portrait appears in children's books with more text and in books for transitioning readers. Hardcover is frequent for durability.

Photography, art, design

Square or large portrait (21 × 28, 23 × 30 cm); landscape when the images are predominantly panoramic. The format follows the dominant proportion of the images — a square book makes no sense for portrait photographs.

Cookery

Portrait in a medium-to-large size (17 × 24, 19 × 25 cm) for books with a lot of recipe text; square for more visual books. The criterion is the proportion between photography and instruction.

Biography, history, journalism

Portrait, in the non-fiction formats. Very long books tend towards the larger format to avoid exceeding 500 pages and to keep the spine viable.

Comics and graphic novels

Portrait in their own proportions — the American format (17 × 26 cm), the European (21 × 29 cm) and the manga one (12.5 × 18 cm) are market codes the reader recognises immediately.

On how the cover's visual style speaks to these conventions, see How to choose the right visual style for a cover according to the book's literary genre?

3. When to break from the standard

There are good reasons to choose a format outside the genre's convention, and all of them come down to one question: will the reader perceive the reason?

• The book is a design object — visual poetry, an artist's book, a commemorative edition. The unusual format is part of the work.
• The content demands it — a novel with many double-page illustrations, an essay built on images, a non-fiction work with maps.
• The collection defines it — an imprint can adopt its own format for every title, turning the exception into an identity. See What is a book design system and how does it guarantee consistency across a series or collection?
• The sales channel favours it — books sold at fairs, museum shops or points outside the bookshop do not depend on the upright shelf.

And there are reasons that do not support the choice: "to be different", "because I saw a book like that", "because it is cheaper on that platform". In those cases, the non-standard format only signals to the reader that the book is not what they are looking for.

4. Practical consequences of the format

The choice of format has effects that go beyond the cover.

• Page count and spine — a smaller format increases the pagination and the thickness; a larger one reduces both. The spine is what the bookshop shows; too thin and it cannot be read, too thick and it costs more.
• Printing cost — formats outside the printer's standards waste paper in the trim; in POD, only the formats in the platform's catalogue are available.
• Display — books that do not stand upright (landscape, large squares) depend on a table or frontal display, which the bookshop grants to few titles.
• Online thumbnail — in the online store, every cover has the same height; a landscape one appears smaller than a portrait one and loses presence. A square one occupies less area than a portrait one of the same height.
• Ebook — the physical format does not transfer: the EPUB is reflowable and ignores the proportion. Fixed-format image books need their own treatment. On that, see Can the same layout file be reused for print and for the digital version (ebook)?

Decide the format before the final text

The length of the text, the presence of images and the sales channel define the format — and the format defines the layout, the spine and the cover. Changing the format after the interior is laid out means redoing the interior. It is one of the first conversations between author, editor and designer, not one of the last.

5. The format and the cover

Each proportion calls for a different cover composition. In portrait, the hierarchy is usually top to bottom — title, image, author — and the spine is an important part of the project. In square, the composition tends towards the centre or a diagonal, and the image takes the whole field. In landscape, title and image compete for the width, and the spine, when it exists, is short and hard to set type on.

That is why the cover designer needs the format defined before proposing anything: a cover conceived for 14 × 21 does not "stretch" to 21 × 21 without being redone. The proportion of the image, the relative size of the title and the position of the elements change. On that stage, see How is a cover mockup created before final approval?

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common book format in Brazil?

For fiction and non-fiction, portrait around 14 × 21 cm and 15.5 × 23 cm. Pocket editions sit between 11 × 18 and 12.5 × 19 cm. Illustrated children's books are usually square or landscape between 20 and 28 cm.

Does a square book work for a novel?

Rarely. The square signals an image book, and a novel in that format tends to be read as an experimental project or a children's/YA book. It only makes sense when the book is genuinely a design object and the target audience understands that.

Do landscape books sell less?

In a physical bookshop, they have a display disadvantage by not standing upright; online, they appear smaller as a thumbnail. They work when the content demands it (panoramic images, double-page children's books) and when sales depend less on the shelf.

Does the format influence the printing cost?

Yes. Formats outside the printer's standards waste paper; larger formats use more paper per page, but reduce the pagination. In print on demand, only the formats in the platform's catalogue are available, with a fixed cost per page.

Can I change the format after laying out?

Technically yes, but it means re-laying out the interior and redoing the cover. The format should be defined before the layout begins, together with the estimated page count and the sales channel.

Related articles

• Is it true that page format and size influence the perceived value of a book?
• How to choose the right visual style for a cover according to the book's literary genre?
• When should you choose illustration for the cover instead of photography or pure typography?
• How is a cover mockup created before final approval?
• What is a book design system and how does it guarantee consistency across a series or collection?

To understand every aspect of editorial design in one place, read the complete guide: Book designer: the complete guide to book layout and cover design