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One of the things that I’ve seen over and over again in self-published books, (and in books produced by some larger houses) is bad typography and layout. For some reason, folks think that if they have the margins set right, and they don’t make any misspellings, that they have produced a “good” page. THIS IS NOT THE CASE! Just because a book can be read does not mean that it is well set.
Good typography involves a lot of factors: Choice of typestyle, text block proportions and postioning, leading, justification, and a host of other things. These all combine to make a book easy and pleasant to read.
Before you publish a book, even if you are using an Instant Publisher, you would be well advised to read one of the classic texts on Book Design and Typography. The ones that I’ve found helpful through the years are:
1. “Bookmaking” a text on the design and manufacture of books. It’s been in print for thirty years or so.
2. “The Form of the Book” by Jan Tischichold. It’s the “bible of good form”
Finally….. never… never…. EVER use any “San-Serif” type for text. A lot of folks use it nowadays, but study after study have shown it to be annoying and hard to read.
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Aug 17 6:30 AM 2005
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