(due in 2013)

Typography for Independent Authors [e-books]

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Michael N. Marcus

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(from the publisher) Don't just dump words onto a page!

Just as Lady Gaga never looks the same in two appearances, no two words have to look the same. Not even two letters have to look the same.
     There are many thousands of different typefaces and infinite variations including size, boldness, slant, color, shadow, embossing, distorting, outlining, filling, etc. If you wait until next week, there will probably be even more faces and modifications to choose from.
     The choices can be overwhelming if you are a D-I-Y book designer. Choosing the right faces and knowing how to arrange them artistically and effectively requires a mixture of knowledge, experience and artistic ability. Even if you've been good at painting portraits, weaving tapestries or arranging bouquets, don't assume you know enough to design a book cover or format the interior pages.
     A 2012 survey by Taleist revealed that 70% of self-publishing authors design and format their own book pages and 59% design their own covers. Lots of them look terrible.

     Just as frozen foods enable almost anyone to provide an acceptable meal, the low cost of publishing printed books and e-books has enabled thousands of authors to quickly become publishers. Sadly, many lack the skills, knowledge and experience to produce attractive books. Even sadder, many don’t know what they don’t know—and produce really ugly books that are hated by readers and condemned by reviewers.
It doesn’t have to be that way.

     This informative and easy-to-understand e-book will help your book avoid being laughed at -- or cried over. It won't turn you into a pro, but you can be better than most other amateur designers. You'll even learn tricks that some of the pros may not know.

     If you think that pica is only a mental disorder, or don't know whether an em dash or an en dash is bigger, or what a swash, virgule and fleuron are, or how to pronounce "leading" -- you need this book.

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