typography Archives - Speakipedia https://speakipedia.com/tag/typography/ The Presentation & Storytelling Encyclopedia by Dave Bricker Mon, 01 Jul 2024 16:41:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 https://speakipedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/cropped-puzzle-globe-60x60.jpg typography Archives - Speakipedia https://speakipedia.com/tag/typography/ 32 32 Book Design Basics: Choosing a Book Font https://speakipedia.com/choosing-book-font/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:18 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=105508 Selecting a book font seems simple enough, but important subtleties and fine points of typography are not obvious to the average writer. This article offers insights into fonts suitable for book typography. Though it won’t turn the average author into … More ☛

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]]> Rethinking Book Cover Design https://speakipedia.com/rethinking-book-cover-design/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:18 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=153918 Book cover design tells the story of the story. It must convey the spirit and intentions of the author authentically, and it also has a few practical chores to perform. If a book cover design is to accomplish these things … More ☛

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]]> Publishing Advice – Practices & Principles https://speakipedia.com/publishing-advice/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:17 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=292615 The following publishing advice is based on my own experiences and those of my clients. I hope you find it valuable and encouraging, even if it changes your expectations. I’ve written and published 12 books. I’ve guided many remarkable people … More ☛

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]]> Book Design Basics: Quotation Marks and Primes https://speakipedia.com/quotation-marks/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:16 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=4753 Writers often ask about the difference between “straight” or “dumb” quotation marks and traditional printers’ quotes, commonly referred to as “smart quotes” or “curly quotes.” Add in the need to distinguish between left single quotes and apostrophes, and the primes … More ☛

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]]> The Perfect Book Sales Page https://speakipedia.com/perfect-book-sales-page/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:15 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=4531 Tom Morkes published The Perfect Book sales Page on his blog. I’m usually the first person to reject formulaic approaches to book marketing. Many well-written books are horrible products. But what I like about Tom’s template is that it forces … More ☛

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]]> Tabs, Indents, and Margins: How to use the Tab Ruler https://speakipedia.com/tabs-indents-margins-how-to-use-tab-ruler/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:12 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=4239 This article explains the tab ruler found on every word processor and typesetting application. Understanding the simple and elegant split ruler and tab functions opens up a world of formatting opportunities. Digital typesetting and word processing inherited a number of … More ☛

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]]> Simulating the Appearance of Traditional Print https://speakipedia.com/simulating-the-appearance-of-traditional-print/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:11 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=4084 Digital typography offers capabilities that printers working with hot lead type and wood type could only dream of. Digital type can be stretched and resized infinitely, justified within unusual boundaries, or wrapped around almost any shape. And yet, traditional letterpress … More ☛

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]]> Book Design Basics – Use Hyphens for Justified Type https://speakipedia.com/book-design-basics-hyphens-justification/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:10 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=3955 Hyphens are an important contributor to elegant, easy-to-read typography, especially when text is fully justified as is the convention in book typography. This article explains how justified text works, and how proper hyphenation improves the legibility of your type. Text … More ☛

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]]> Book Design – Revisiting Classic Layout for Print and EBooks https://speakipedia.com/book-design-classic-layout/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:09 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=3389 Book design has changed since publishing became a gigantic industry. Typesetting was once performed by trained craftsmen who apprenticed to masters before inking their own plates. Phototypesetting arrived in the 1960s and by the late 1980s, digital publishing transferred the … More ☛

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]]> A Manuscript is Not a Book: Ten Tips for Manuscript Preparation https://speakipedia.com/a-manuscript-is-not-a-book/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:09 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=284 In my work with writers, I come across many common technical problems with manuscripts. These usually spring from the best of intentions as the writer attempts to create the feel of the finished book within the manuscript. Though they’re trying … More ☛

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]]> Not Selling Books? Did you do the Math? https://speakipedia.com/selling-books/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:08 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=3363 You threw a grand party but nobody came. Your novel is so good but you’re not selling books. What happened? You were supposed to appear on Oprah’s show. Terry Gross isn’t calling you for an interview. You may be an … More ☛

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]]> Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover – Part 3 https://speakipedia.com/judging-book-cover-design-3/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:06 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=2960 This third installment of Judging a Book by its Cover looks at great book cover designs that won the 2012 Design Observer 50 Books-50 Covers award. Part 1 explored how most book design rarely rises above “competent.” Part 2 looked … More ☛

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]]> Blogging to Build a Speaker or Author Platform https://speakipedia.com/author-platform/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:05 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=2818 How can speakers, indie writers, and self-publishers use a blog to build a platform? This article explains how to publish online content to build community around your books. Build a Platform: Set up Your Blog A blog (short for web … More ☛

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]]> Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover – Part 2 https://speakipedia.com/judging-book-cover-design-2/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:05 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=2893 Part 1 of Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover critiqued “professional” covers taken from Amazon’s Editor’s choice list. Read that article first as it provides background for this one. The article looked at design elements that worked … More ☛

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]]> Book Cover Typefaces and Cover Design Horror Stories https://speakipedia.com/book-cover-typefaces/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:04 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=2594 I recently responded to a question in a writers’ forum from an author who was in the process of designing a cover for her novel set in a swamp in New Orleans. “I chose a ‘swampy’ font that hangs down … More ☛

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]]> How Many Spaces After a Period? Ending the Debate https://speakipedia.com/how-many-spaces-after-a-period/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:03 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=2660 Few subjects arouse more passion among writers and designers than the debate over how many spaces should follow a period. If you adhere to a style manual, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one that doesn’t specify a single-space. Chicago and … More ☛

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]]> What’s a Professional Editor Worth? https://speakipedia.com/whats-editor-worth/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:03 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=2729 What do you think a professional editor’s pay scale should be? Assume that a proofreader would be at the bottom of the scale and a developmental/line editor would be at the top. An examination of the work editors perform sheds … More ☛

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]]> Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by Its Cover – Part 1 https://speakipedia.com/judging-book-cover-design-1/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:12:02 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=2803 Nothing screams “amateur” like a poorly crafted book cover. The standards for book design aspired to by trade publishers are not all that high, but self-publishers routinely fall short of them. If you want your book to be taken seriously, … More ☛

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]]> Proposed Standards for Book Typography https://speakipedia.com/book-typography-standards/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:59 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=2283 The word processor has placed new burdens on writers to understand how to use italics, big and small capitals, dashes, hyphens, initials, etc. Writers who do their own typesetting often produce mediocre results. Likewise, trade publishers sacrifice typographic aesthetics when … More ☛

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]]> Self-Publishing: Art or Business? https://speakipedia.com/self-publishing-art-business/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:57 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=172 The very idea of "book marketing" is vague. It's like subsuming advertising and fine art sales into a single realm of "image marketing." And in tacking marketing on as the de facto second phase of writing a book, a lot of worthy artists' resources are placed in jeopardy.

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]]> Book Design Basics – Drop Caps and Initial Impressions https://speakipedia.com/book-design-part-6/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:56 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=1848 NITIAL CAPITALS have historical roots in the early days of book design; their use predates the printing press and the invention of moveable type. Today’s initial caps are not as fancy as those carefully rendered in gold leaf in ancient … More ☛

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]]> Book Design Basics – Dashes, Hyphens and Dots https://speakipedia.com/book-design-part-4/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:53 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=1281 This section on dashes, hyphens and dots goes beyond typographic aesthetics to explore how we can communicate more effectively as writers. The subtle intricacies of hyphens and dashes affect all authors whether they typeset their own books or not. Knowing … More ☛

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]]> Book Design Basics: Small Capitals – Avoiding Capital Offenses https://speakipedia.com/book-design-part-5/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:52 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=1460 Use of Small Capitals—uppercase characters designed at lowercase scale—is one aspect of writing and book design that isn’t taught in grammar school. We all know every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. We all should … More ☛

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]]> Book Design Basics Part 3: Running The Numbers https://speakipedia.com/book-design-part-3/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:51 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=1018 Part 3 of Book Design Basics explores better ways to present numbers on your pages. Numbers (called figures) look simple at first glance, but they present interesting typesetting challenges. Many digital typefaces offer several number styles but few designers know … More ☛

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]]> The Single Most Important Contribution to Publishing https://speakipedia.com/publishing-contribution/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:51 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=1094 Many readers still love to feel the subtle emboss of letters stamped on paper with metal type. I was rummaging through the garage and came across an old copy of The Progressive Road to Reading Book 2 by Georgine Burchill, … More ☛

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]]> Book Design Basics Part 1: Margins and Leading https://speakipedia.com/book-design-part-1/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:50 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=826 Book design is a lost art. Though book design discussions usually focus on covers, consider how much more time a reader spends staring at the text. An elegant book block is just as important. Decades ago, professional tradesmen practiced the … More ☛

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]]> Book Design Basics Part 2: Optical Margins, Indents and Periods https://speakipedia.com/book-design-part-2/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:50 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=930 Part 2 of Fundamentals of Book Design explores optical margins, paragraph formatting and spaces. Read about margins, layout and leading in Part 1. The self-publishing revolution is (aside from the Internet) the greatest thing ever to happen to freedom of … More ☛

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]]> Book Typography: The Crystal Goblet by Beatrice Warde https://speakipedia.com/crystal-goblet-beatrice-warde/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:49 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=1067 Designers, writers and publishers will benefit from Beatrice Warde’s eloquent perspectives on the craft of typography, the power of type and the importance of the printed word. “The Crystal Goblet” was an essay included in Beatrice Warde’s book of the … More ☛

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]]> Tips For Book Cover Design https://speakipedia.com/on-book-cover-design/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:11:47 +0000 http://theworldsgreatestbook.com/?p=143 Most book designers make the same errors. One sore spot for me and with many of my university design students, is typography.

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]]> Sound Advice for Writers & Publishers https://speakipedia.com/writing-publishing-advice/ https://speakipedia.com/writing-publishing-advice/#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2022 15:00:26 +0000 https://storysailing.com/?p=3361 The following advice on writing and publishing is based on my own experiences and those of my clients. I hope you find it valuable and encouraging, even if it changes your expectations. I’ve written and published twelve books, and I’m … More ☛

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]]> https://speakipedia.com/writing-publishing-advice/feed/ 1 Don’t Hire Experts and Tell Them What to Do! https://speakipedia.com/dont-hire-experts-and-tell-them-what-to-do/ https://speakipedia.com/dont-hire-experts-and-tell-them-what-to-do/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2020 15:00:30 +0000 https://storysailing.com/?p=2845 Too many professionals buy the story that expertise is a commodity: Hire an expert, tell them what to do, and get the job done. Experts are experts because they know more than you do about their professional discipline. Experts are … More ☛

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