Publication that invites imitation (8)
I believe the answer is:
copybook
'publication that invites imitation' is the definition.
'copybook' can be an answer for 'publication' (copybook is a kind of publication). I am not certain of the rest of the definition.
'publication that invites imitation' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'publication' could be 'book' (book is a kind of publication) and 'book' is present in the answer.
'imitation' could be 'copy' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'copy' is present in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for copybook that I've seen before include "It's used by schoolchild" , "Exemplary" , "Flawless" , "Perfect (something blotted?)" , "Standard" .)