Selling printable puzzle books on Etsy

Etsy's file rules

Etsy lets you upload up to five digital files per listing, each up to 20 MB, with names of up to 70 characters. PDF is one of the allowed types. One PDF per edition is simplest for buyers: for example a Letter print version and an e-ink version as two files in the same listing.

"Made or designed by you" and AI

Etsy's "What can I sell" page says digital items in your shop "must be made and/or designed by you, the seller" and that you can offer your original design as a digital download. Reselling someone else's PDF, a bought bundle or a PLR pack as your own does not fit that. The same page says sellers must disclose in the listing description if an item is created with the use of AI. Read Etsy's Creativity Standards as well; they are the detailed version.

Etsy does not say exactly how a puzzle book made with a puzzle tool fits "designed by you". Choosing the reader, the puzzle types, levels, layout, title and edition is design work; describe it honestly and keep the licence of the tool you used. See AI disclosure.

Answer keys belong in the same file

Sellers on Etsy's forum report buyers who download only the first file and miss the solutions. Put the answer key at the back of the same PDF. For e-ink editions, link every puzzle to its solution so the key is one tap away.

A listing that sells honestly

• Photos: real inside pages, one puzzle close up, the answer key, the contents page of an e-ink edition. No mock-ups that show pages the file does not contain.
• Title: the puzzle type, the reader and the format, for example "Killer Sudoku printable book, 60 puzzles, Letter and A4".
• Description: number of puzzles, levels, page size, number of pages, whether solutions are included, which devices an e-ink version was made for, and how to print or load it.
• Licence: say it is for personal use and not for resale.
• Price: check similar listings; buyers compare puzzle counts and quality.

Print and e-ink editions

A printable PDF should be US Letter or A4 with margins that home printers can handle. An e-ink PDF should be shaped like the screen and linked. Offering both in one listing gives buyers a choice. See Kindle Scribe puzzle books and reMarkable, Boox and Supernote.

In Gridbinder

The licence in the subscription covers PDFs you sell on Etsy, Gumroad, Payhip or your own site, as well as printed books, with no royalties and no credit to us. It does not allow reselling the puzzles as a pack for others to republish. Make the print version (8.5 x 11 in or A4) and the e-ink version with the same puzzle settings and book code to get the same puzzles in both; compare the first and last puzzle of each to be sure. Start with the free sample.