ReadInk publishes two lists a year. Four books on each.
The Spring List publishes on the first Tuesday in April. The Fall List publishes on the first Tuesday in October. Every book on a list is released on the same day, and its authors launch together.
Four slots. Submissions close January 12, 2027. Publication is April 6, 2027.
La Lista
We are a small house. Four books a season is not a limitation we apologise for — it is the reason the imprint means something. We decline far more manuscripts than we accept, and we tell you why.
What your book gets
- The ReadInk imprint on the cover, spine and copyright page — not “Independently published”
- Three professional formats: paperback, hardcover and eBook
- Cover design and print-ready wraps for both print editions
- Interior layout and typesetting throughout
- Metadata, subject codes, keywords and categories written properly
- Amazon KDP and IngramSpark set up in your name, so bookstores and libraries can order it
- A Library of Congress control number
- A printed proof, and one round of corrections
- A place on the list, a shared launch, and a launch kit
What you keep
- Your copyright. Registered in your name. We take no film, television, audio, translation, foreign or subsidiary rights. Ever.
- Your ISBNs. Bought in your name, on your own account. You are the publisher of record.
- Every dollar. Your retail accounts are yours. Amazon and Ingram pay you directly. We never take a royalty or a share of your income.
- The right to leave. Thirty days’ notice, no fee. You take your print-ready files, your cover source files and your ISBNs with you.
Guidelines
Most of what follows is about whether your manuscript is ready. Being honest with yourself here will save you a season.
Your manuscript must arrive
- Professionally edited, with your editor named. Not read by a friend. Not self-edited. This is the requirement people most often try to talk us out of, and the one we never move on.
- As a single .docx using Word heading styles, not manual bolding and centring
- Final. Not “final except chapter nine.”
- Under 120,000 words, or we quote separately
- With images at 300 DPI, supplied separately, with written permission for every one
- With your front and back matter written — dedication, acknowledgments, author biography, back cover copy
We decline outright
- Unedited manuscripts
- Anything requiring rights clearance we would have to chase
- Books whose subject we would not want on our spine
How a season runs
Submissions close twelve weeks before publication. We reply within two weeks of the closing date, whichever way the answer goes. Accepted authors receive an agreement, book a twenty-minute setup session, and go into production. Proofs ship five weeks before the season date. Everything releases together on the day.
What is included, and what never is
Included
- Production and release under the ReadInk imprint
- Guidance obtaining your own ISBNs, in your name
- Interior layout and typesetting, all three formats
- Cover design and both print wraps
- Metadata, subject codes, keywords, categories
- Amazon KDP and IngramSpark setup
- Library of Congress application
- One printed proof, one consolidated round of corrections
- Your place on the list, the shared launch, and a launch kit
Never included
- Developmental, line or copy editing
- Proofreading
- Ghostwriting or rewriting
- Indexing, permissions clearance, or legal review
- Individual publicity or advertising
- Audiobook production
- Any second or later round of revisions
- Any promise about how many copies you will sell
We do not edit. Your manuscript must arrive finished. We are not a service that will fix your book — we are a publisher that will produce it beautifully once it is ready.
What it costs
Every cost you will bear, published before you submit. This is the whole list. We will never present you with a charge that is not on this page.
What you pay ReadInk
| Amount | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Reading fee | $95 | With your submission. Credited in full against your fee if we accept you. |
| Publication fee | $2,600 | In four installments, below. |
The four installments
You are never charged for work we have not done. Each installment falls due only when its stage is reached.
| Stage | Compartir | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| At signature | 25% | $650 |
| When your accounts and ISBNs are set up | 15% | $390 |
| When your interior and cover go to proof | 45% | $1,170 |
| On publication day | 15% | $390 |
What you pay other people
These go to third parties of your choosing, not to us. We take no commission, markup or referral fee on any of them.
| Cost | Paid to | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| ISBNs — three needed | The ISBN agency, on your own account | About $295 for ten |
| Professional editing — required | An editor of your choosing | Market rate |
| Copyright registration — optional | U.S. Copyright Office | $45 |
| Proof and author copies | The printer | Printer cost |
| Advertising — optional | Whoever you like | Your discretion |
| Library of Congress number | — | No charge |
| KDP and IngramSpark accounts | — | No charge |
What we never charge for
- Royalties, or any share of your income. You keep one hundred percent, paid to you directly.
- Annual, renewal, maintenance or listing fees
- Any fee to leave. Thirty days’ notice and you go, with your files and your ISBNs.
- Author copies. We do not sell books to our own authors.
- Marketing packages, ad management or publicity retainers
- Commission or markup on anything in the table above
Enviar
Submissions for the Spring 2027 List close on January 12, 2027. Four slots.