Tag Archives: Genre

Interior Design – Fonts and Genre you Write

Nothing is FREE when you publish independently unless you’re a tech expert and know everything. EDITING, INTERIOR DESIGN (Formatting) BOOK COVERS & MARKETING, etc. Can you do everything? I know I can’t which is why I use CONTRACTORS for my manuscripts and developed a business to help other Independent Authors.
 
I’ve seen so much BAD INTERIOR DESIGN, it makes me want to leave reviews with one, two or three stars. Never mind the lack of flow and EDITING in stories I try and read, along with BOOK COVERS. The worst part is, most of these books could be saved with some professional help. 

This post is about INTERIOR DESIGN, something I love to do. In fact I’m pedantic with formatting books, be it choosing a paperback size, a FONT for headings and Chapters, INDENTS or an image to use as a break between paragraphs. It all makes a difference and those little STARS used as breaks are—in my opinion about as unprofessional as you can get.

FONTS

The fonts an author uses for Titles, Author Name and Chapters can be hard to choose. However, I like to look into the genre of a manuscript when making a choice with my own work and I advise my clients what may work for their story. 

When writing romance I’d chose a type of Calligraphy with swooping curves that draws the reader to the book cover, catches the eye though readable. Some of these fonts can be over the top and unreadable. Leave those well alone. For Romance I like Tangerine. Not overly fussy like some Scripts and is FREE for commercial use.


For Horror, Thriller and Ghost Stories who want something that looks a bit scary. One of the ones I like is Chiller, though if you look online you can find plenty to use. Make sure the fonts are FREE and can be used Commercially or you could be sued for Copyright Infringement.

             

Murder and Mystery fonts can stay with the romance or thriller fonts there again, what about the age group you’re writing for? What would you use for a book aimed at Teens or Young Adults? Something simple or…Scooby Do…ish? Like the one below.


How about this one?

There are so many different fonts to use in your writing which could attract readers to your work. Think carefully before you choose what to use. Talk to your graphic artist about the font to use on your book cover (if you’re contracting out to someone), they know the ropes on what to use. Some of these can be used in the interior in the front matter of the manuscript as well as Chapter Headings. Think outside the square and be daring. 

All the above fonts are for commercial use and downloadable at 1001 FONTS. 

FONTS FOR BODY TEXT!

Nothing is simple, though the body of the text is much easier to decide. It has to be readable to the literacy age of the person you’re marketing your books to – better known as your audience. Most authors of adult books use Times New Roman size 12. It’s generic and usable in most books. Some in the book industry tell you not to use this font, ever. However, like everything with Independent Publishing, it is up to you, the writer. Always do your research and ask others who have been publishing for advice. Everyone has an opinion. Some authors decide to blend their Title and Chapter Fonts with the body text, this can mean decided the line spacing is different as well.

I use Garamond size 12 at 1.08 – 1.15 cm spacing. When it’s an indented line I use 0.3 – 0.5 cm indents, this is decided on the size of the paperback you are making, the smaller the paperback size the smaller the indent. Putting it mildly it looks ridiculous with large indents in a pocket book. I find Garamond is easy to ready and goes with all the Title and Chapter Font’s I use. However, children’s books are totally different.

Childrens’ books should always have a bigger font size, so as they learn to read they can follow the words with a finger underneath the sentence. This also means your spacing can be bigger. There is one font I love for childrens’ books and it’s close to how children form their letters when they first learn to write. Comic Sans size 16 (at least) with spacing at 1.15 – 1.5 cm. The spacing depends on the literacy age of the children or even the adult who is learning to read or reading a new language, after all, English isn’t everyone’s first language and it is a complicated language to learn due to word usage.

Remember to do your RESEARCH and have fun with your creativity!

FIVERR and the Pros and Cons of Editing

FIVERR and Editing

Once again, I have seen New Authors get caught up in messes with supposed Editors from FIVERR. I know there are many good ones out there, like with anything else, it’s a matter of finding them. RESEARCH every part of building your book. This is why our MOTTO is ‘Building Books One Step at a Time’ we will look for the best fit for you, your manuscript, and genre. Even Editors prefer to work with a genre they enjoy reading. It also means they have experience with word usage in your manuscript and can assist YOU to build a better book.

Get the wrong Editor and disaster can strike. I know from experience how bad it can be along with helping others when it comes to the crunch. I’m not an EDITOR. I can CRITIQUE and PROOFREAD. The flow of your story is important. At this point, I’d also like to say I’m not a Planner or Plotter. I FLOW WRITE, I let my muse tell their stories. It’s not until I go back over the manuscript that errors are picked up and more information is added. This is something I do several times prior to beta or proofreaders.

My first Editor was also an Agent. I know for a fact they’d worked with other authors as one later became a friend, and they’d had a horrifying story of a supposed Trad Publisher they were guided to via this agent. This isn’t anything to do with Fiverr, which just goes to show you need to go deeper with your research than I did originally all those years ago.

This Editor & Agent worked on part of the first chapter of my first ever story, one I still haven’t published. Yes, it was a mess and a new author learning the ropes of how English had changed since I’d been at school. What this Editor did was laughable, it was obvious to anyone they didn’t know anything about English History, especially during late Regency times. The Editor didn’t understand Regency language usage. Now I’m a history researcher and I always enjoyed reading Regency books, though I thought many were too long-winded. My novel will never be a true Regency book in any shape or form. It may end up in the future with a Regency theme, who knows.
This is why I say you all need to find an Editor in the genre you write. Make sure they know the genre, ask for references, and sample edit. This is what I do for my clients. I usually ask around five Editors for Samples and send them on to a client to read through and see which makes the most sense to them as the author. So far this has worked well. It also gives me a list of Editing Contractors I can trust and contract out to again when the need arises.

The latest manuscript I’ve been asked to help with was Edited by a Fiverr Editor. Putting it mildly it was horrible. The editing that is. I’m enjoying the story. Generally, I use GRAMMARLY – though not the best, it helps as long as you have a good grasp of English. I used American English Grammar and it came back with over 2500 errors. HOLY… The manuscript didn’t flow well, it was worse than the original. I was asked to Proofread and Critique this work and though not an overly long story it has taken a while to do. I’m on the last few chapters.

Questions to Ask

1. Do you do Sample Edits?
2. Do you have references?
3. What genres do you edit in?
4. Do you have links to your work?
5. What English do you edit in? UK, USA, Canadian, Australian, etc.
6. Do you do Line Editing?
7. Do you do Proofreading?
8. What type of editing do you offer?
9. What are your charges?
10. Do you have a website?
11. Do you use a contract?

If there is a contract involved. It should be easy to read and understand. It shouldn’t be over 4-5 pages. If there is something you don’t understand, ask! Ask other authors or in Author Groups. Make sure you know what you are signing up for. Also, remember you can look at books on Amazon ‘LOOK INSIDE’ to see how a book is Edited. It can be quite an eye-opener.

GOOD LUCK AND REMEMBER TO RESEARCH.

FIVERR and the Pros and Cons of Formatting

FIVERR and those who offer Formatting, also known as Interior Book Design, through this platform can be awesome and then not so much. Authors, especially new ones, need to know how to research and get the best. It’s time for those questions again. All Authors need to know what questions to ask to find a good business to help them get the work done. The company also needs to know various things so they can get your Formatting correct without too many edits.

First thing. Remember how long it took you to write your novel!  Well, Formatting isn’t done in an hour! I honestly wouldn’t touch any business who says they can format your work for $10 in an hour. There is bound to be something wrong.

Today I watched a video about Formatting. Some useful information, and with the book open on the screen, they showed the results. It was the results which caught my attention. Two things wrong from what I saw.  First, the indents looked too big and secondly, the text wasn’t justified. Though, this doesn’t matter on eBooks, in PRINT it is a MUST…Go look at any traditional book, and you’ll see the right hand edges of the text are straight. If PRINT books aren’t Justified, they look horrible. I’m exceptionally fussy, and I won’t even read a manuscript unless it is justified. It’s the first thing I do on a clients manuscript. I will also teach a client how to do this, so they know for next time. You will also find 99% of what I write on my blog is JUSTIFIED. Those articles not Justified are usually SHARED LINKS. I think having your text makes it look nice and tidy.

If you are going to offer a SERVICE to an AUTHOR, please make sure you know what you’re doing. It’s a hell of a learning curve and, unlike many, I’m self-taught and learnt the hard way. I’ve learnt so much now that I’m updating my own books as well as past clients.

QUESTIONS to Ask an INTERIOR BOOK DESIGNER

1. What type of books do you format?
2. What fonts do you suggest for my genre?
3. What size fonts will you use?
4. Do you use the same font for Headings & Titles or blend fonts to work together?
5. What book size do you suggest for Paperback and hardback?
6. What is the best indent size?
7. Do you Justify text?
8. Can you do Contents pages and Linked Contents for eBooks?
9. Headings, Page numbers – Starting at Chapter One, Dropped Caps and Header information?
10. Can your format full-colour children’s books for Paperback and eBook?
11. Do you have samples of your work?

You could probably add a lot more to this list. Make sure you have a good look at the traditional books you see. They can give useful pointers in how you may like to have your text laid out.

QUESTIONS FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS

1. Font and font size are important, depending on the age of your readers.
2. Do they have experience with Full-colour children’s eBooks  and PRINT
3. Do they have experience with BLEED!  Will your book have a bleed or not.
4. How do they turn a full-colour book into an eBook and PRINT, so it comes out correct.
5. Will they check the IMAGES are 300 DPI if need be?

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

This once again depends on experience and what you want your book to look like.  It can also depend on how long the book is. Is it a Novella, Novel or Saga? Is it a Children’s book and if so, what kind?

HELPING AUTHORS.

Once again, as with assisting new authors with bad work, generally from FIVERR Businesses is something we do at Plaisted Publishing House. It can be trying and tiring work, especially if it is a full-colour children’s book. I have assisted with two of these in recent months. If you only pay small amounts, it should clue you in, they may not be as professional or experienced as you might think. I dislike seeing people ripped off, especially if they are on a budget like most Independent Authors are. We’re not all rich, and many of us have jobs outside the home to pay the bills.

Don’t complain about paying someone either. A slightly higher fee could mean better work and that you’re less likely to need someone else to do edits. Remember you pay the plumber to do their job! I have seen bad work. I’ve seen good work. Please do your homework and RESEARCH before you hire anyone.

KNOW WHAT TO ASK, WHEN TO ASK AND MAKE SURE YOU SEE SAMPLES. IF YOUR INSTINCT SAYS ‘HELL NO’ THEN LISTEN TO IT. IT COULD SAVE YOU MONEY.

BAD FORMATTING! 

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF BAD FORMATTING FROM FIVERR FOR AN EBOOK. WHEN I WENT TO HELP THE AUTHOR, I LOOKED AT THE MOBI FILE, AND THIS IS WHAT I FOUND. I NEVER DID TELL THEM…TO HORRIFIED.

 

 

 

GOOD FORMATTING! 

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT I DID TO MEND THE ABOVE FILE (DIFFERENT PAGE) AND MAKE THE IMAGE LOOK LIKE THE PAGES FROM A PAPERBACK BOOK. 

NEEDLESS TO SAY, IT CAN TAKE A WHILE TO SORT THINGS OUT. MAKING SURE IMAGES ARE THE RIGHT DPI AND SIZE – ESPECIALLY FOR PAPERBACKS.

One last thing. I’m still learning. I will always be learning my trade, updating how things are done as technology changes. I’m happy to learn the same as I’m happy to share the Pros and Cons of looking for the right contractor, be it an illustrator, editor or interior book designer.  

PLEASE RESEARCH!  NEXT TIME I WILL TALK ABOUT EDITING

Industry Standard Group for Indie Publishers

As a Independent Publisher which is a Limited Company, I always tell my author friends and clients to make sure they don’t pay first and to look at prices…some are horrendous. A deposit is one thing, full payment…Hell no… they tend to be Vanity Publishers. Needless to say if you have a set of standards for one then you need them for authors as well. Not all authors are great to work with. I’ve had some damn right nasty ones who nearly made me give up helping others.

It does cost to get published. It doesn’t matter if you go trad or Indie. Traditional take part of your royality for the life of the book, which could be millions and they will only publish you if they can make a profit from you work. Also remember they have control of your manuscript – you don’t! Indie Publishers get paid a one off amount so if you make millions you don’t need to pay them anymore.

What I would like to see is a list of or group of Indie Publishers who assist each other like Indie Authors do. They must have at least five 5 star reviews/testimonials …remember we all have to start somewhere.

In fact, I’ll start a group on Facebook of LLC companies with 5 or more positive testimonials.  Let people know and we will build this together for everyone to look at and use. 

What information I will need.

Professionalism
Proof of LLC
Proof of your reviews and testimonials.
Genre you work with
Royalty Share – if you work that way
Deposit Amount – if needed
Contact details

Companies without Reviews/Testimonals will be added as pending
when they start up.