Reader’s Copies for Writers

Reader’s Copies  – a special YouCaxton service for writers.

Reader’s copies are plain, white paperback books designed for circulation among friendly critics at an early stage. Critical readers can be an enormous benefit to authors because their feedback is likely to come from different perspectives – style, structure, story-line, grammar, continuity, factual accuracy – and once a book is in a bound, printed form it is far easier for them (and you) to view it objectively as a finished product.

What is a Reader’s Copy?

A reader’s copy is a pre-publication version of your book.
The purpose is to see your manuscript in book-format and to have the book criticised at an early stage by friends and colleagues who can give you constructive feedback.
The reader’s copy will also help you to consider some of the design aspects of your book such as book-size, number of pages, type-size, typeface and margins.
Reader’s copies can also be useful as low-cost, archive copies of texts that you choose not to bring to publication.
There are three standard sizes: 6 x 9 inches, 5.5 x 8.5 inches and 5.25 x 8 inches

How does it work?

1. Send us your manuscript in Word format.
2. We check it and let you know if we’re able to produce a Reader’s Copy from it.
3. We convert the Word file to a print-ready PDF.
4. We add page-numbers and standard front-matter including title pages and contents.
5. We produce a standard white cover, printed with your book-title, subtitle and author-name.
6. We produce as many copies as you need.
The whole process takes about three weeks.

How much does it cost?

Preparation of print-ready files and printer-upload fee: £50
Note that if you subsequently decide to publish your book with YouCaxton,
the £50 fee can be credited against the cost of typesetting the finished book.

The cost of printing is 70p plus 1p per page

Example print cost for a book of 200 pages
Preparation and Upload fee: £50
+ £2.70 per copy (200 pages at 1p per page plus 70p for the cover)
+ Delivery/postage at cost

Note that subsequent orders can be placed for additional books but there is an admin fee of £10 per order

Optional extras

Add an image to the front cover – supplied by the Author: £15
Add back cover Blurb – supplied by the Author: £15

Professional services

Layout and typesetting of interior: £175
Full cover design and layout: £175
Proof reading: £8 per 1000 words
Copy-editing: £8 per 1000 words

Can I get Reader’s Copies if my book is in colour or large format?

Yes – but we would need to work out a special price for you.

How do I get started?

Just contact us by email at newbooks@youcaxton.co.uk

or use the Contact form from the Menu