The most frequent question I get doing book signings and shows is about Large Print Edition availability of my books.   Yes, you can get large print on e-books by turning up the font size, but many avid readers still prefer print books and need larger print to enjoy them.  Pew Research tells us print book readership has gone up slightly since 2016, while e-book readership has dropped slightly since 2016, while the portion of Americans who read audio books is up from 14% to 18%. Others also echo a high interest in the large print versions of their books. 

What is a large print edition? Large–print (also large-type or large–font) references the formatting of a book or other text document in which the typeface (or font) is considerably larger than usual, to accommodate people who have poor vision.  The fonts used most often are 16 to 18 point font. Regular print text is 10 or 12 point.

With the print on demand revolution putting more of the publishing process in the author’s hand I simply had to say, Why not?  The cost to create a large print is minimal. Preparing the book for publication with standard font size (10-12) is complete. The first step was to work with my cover designer to put something on the cover to indicate Large Print. However, my biggest fear was that the large print books were going to be gigantic.  This is only incrementally true as this fear is mitigated by adjusting your formatting and layout.

The most frequent question I get doing book signings and shows is about Large Print Edition availability of my books. 

Tired Eyed People:  I am an IT professional and have been for last 25 years.  If you assume 10 hours a day at a screen, I have likely been staring at a screen for over 90,000 hours in the previous 25 years.  However, It’s not just the IT folk anymore. Today, per Nielson Research, Americans are conjoined to their screens, unable to look away for lengthy periods.  The report found that U.S. adults spend about 10 hours and 39 minutes a day staring at their phones, tablets, computers, and other multimedia devices every single day.

Travelers:  I don’t suggest that the driver should read while driving, but many passengers like to read while on a road trip.  Have you ever tried reading a 10 pt font book while traversing the potholes our nation’s highways and byways? When you hit the road for your next road trip, grab that large print book instead. 

Dyslexia: According to Brailworks, “Dyslexia affects over 40 million Americans. Sadly, many children go undiagnosed and never receive the help they need. But, a study on the effect of print size found that reading errors decrease when the print is larger. The study suggests that a stressed visual system might negatively impact reading comprehension. Having large print documents available helps ease a daily challenge for those affected.”

Providing high-quality large print books is a great boost to your readers, and it gives added accessibility.  This effort shows your commitment to an equal and exceptional experience for every reader. We are please to begin offering our books in this format with our first large print edition “Letters From Wyoming: 1880-1889” available on Amazon.