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Fonts used in books

X

Xeon

New Member
Hi! I'm a new author self-publishing my new book, and I would like to ask if you folks have any recommendations for suitable and easily-readable fonts?
My book is about norse mythology, so it falls under the fantasy genre.

I've tried Garamond and thought that it looks quite cryptic and ugly. Georgia looks fine but any better suggestions?(free fonts)
Times New Roman and Arial is out of the question.

Thanks,
Xeon.
 
Why are Times New Roman and Arial out of the question?

You can do whatever you want with the headings and titles and such, but the text itself has to be a joy to read: fonts that draw attention to themselves are out of the question, if you ask me.
 
Xeon said:
Times New Roman and Arial is out of the question.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, pretty much anything else will make your manuscript look like a ransom note. Also, Times and fonts like it are probably some of the most readable fonts--it was designed that way if I'm not mistaken. Do what you wish, but if you go down the path of If I got the font I'm using it don't expect anyone to actaully buy the thing let alone read it.

But don't take my word for it. Pick something else fancier. Print the thing out and then sit down and read it. If you don't have a headache inside the first chapter you've got a better constitution than most folks. If you don't have a headache inside ten chapters you're probably not human.
 
Xeon said:
Hi! I'm a new author self-publishing my new book, and I would like to ask if you folks have any recommendations for suitable and easily-readable fonts?
My book is about norse mythology, so it falls under the fantasy genre.

I've tried Garamond and thought that it looks quite cryptic and ugly. Georgia looks fine but any better suggestions?(free fonts)
Times New Roman and Arial is out of the question.

Thanks,
Xeon.
Click to expand...

Ever tried Palatino, Xeon? It's a lovely font, easy on the eye.
 
I have to agree with the others in this thread that Times and fonts like it are the way to go. One of the first things I do when I pick up a book is flip it open to the middle somewhere and look at the font, line spacing, etc. Then I'll give it a little read to see if it's going to be enjoyable. If it's like some of those classic paperbacks where the font is small, jammed together, and printed nearly to the edges of the pages, I'll pass on it.

I heard somewhere that serif fonts are easier to read than sans-serif.
 
Are the font choices available to you limited by those on your computer or word processing program? What fonts do you have to choose from? Try out Palatino or Book Antiqua

If any font is available to you:
Bembo or Sabon
 
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Thanks for your reply, guys!
I'm publishing a paperback book.

The problem is that I read in an article that Arial fonts, when used in a paperback book looks like it's for kindergarten, because the font is overly straightforward. In fact, most children books use Arial as their font.

Times New Roman is good, but do most paperback books use them? They also say that Times is more of a newspaper font than a paperback font.

I'm currently using Georgia, but it seems that the font looks kind of strange and weird. I haven't try out Palatino yet, but I'll look into it. It looks very neat and easy on the eyes, however!

Garamond is just ugly, though....although it seems that lots of self-publishing authors love it.
Baskerville is also a pretty one, but it's commercial.

Say, what is usually the font used in commercial paperback books? Is it Times?

Thanks,
Xeon.
 
I don't agree with the article about Arial, because that's exactly what's on this board! It's clean and neat, and I don't think it looks overly "kindergarden-ish". Many commercial paperbacks are indeed Times New Roman. You might also look at "Book Antiqua" or "Palatino Linotype" which are older bookface fonts from when the presses were hand set. Keep in mind, though, that if you are sending this to a printer, their digital press may not be able to recognize an unusual font and will substitute a similar one -- probably Times New Roman! However, if you're printing it from your own computer, the sky's the limit!
 
The font TBF uses is verdana, which is a great font for websites if you ask me, but pretty ugly in printed form.
 
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Thanks Lies and Cathy, :)
I'm currently using Palatino Linotype and it may be just what I seek!
And no, my publisher needs me to upload my manuscript in PDF format(Adobe Acrobat), so it's what-you-see-is-what-you-get. ;)

Thanks for your help, folks!
Xeon!
 
Xeon said:
Thanks Lies and Cathy, :)
I'm currently using Palatino Linotype and it may be just what I seek!
And no, my publisher needs me to upload my manuscript in PDF format(Adobe Acrobat), so it's what-you-see-is-what-you-get. ;)

Thanks for your help, folks!
Xeon!
Click to expand...

Hmm, not quite, Xeon! If you haven't purchased the extended font file from Adobe, it doesn't recognize everything and may substitute on you. You'll also want to be careful when you're proofing the galleys (the individual PDF pages) that it didn't insert extra lines between text. It's happened to me when I've made ARCs plenty of times. Also make sure that the page numbers show up on the same line on each page, and that there is the same distance between the final line of text and the page number on each page. When it's put together in a book, it's really noticable and people will comment.

The printer will print what they get. They won't proof it for you (unless you're abnormally lucky!)

Good luck!
 
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Hi Cathy! Thanks for your helpful comments!

One more question, though : is it a must that the last line on every page must end at the same location as every other pages? This is what I see in almost every novel/story book(except for those training manuals).

Thanks, Cathy.
Xeon!
 
I don't know about the others, but it does bother me, yes, when it's not neat and nice and faultless. ;)
 
While it's not required, Xeon, unless it's the end of a chapter, it's preferred. What you're trying to avoid is the "distraction factor." You don't want to have the reader's eyes notice the formatting over the content. You can increase or decrease your left/right margins to achieve the correct top and bottom. :)
 
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