Alex writes, "I would like to know what are the preferred fonts (name and size ) for a book of short stories and short theater?" While there's no specific fonts by name that are preferred for books or any other type of document there are certainly some fonts better suited for the job. A script face, for example, wouldn't make the list. Check out the reader recommendations described in the comments and read this new (added 2013) resource:
Finding the Best Fonts for Books offers both general guidelines for font selection and lists of specific fonts that work well in most book designs.
Image includes metal type photo by Andrein; CC-SA-By 2.0 via Flickr.com
Updated January 2013
Hi I’m from Brazil.. and I use Sabon 11/15
Sabon 11/15 is excellent, though I don’t like Sabon Next, which is weird and does not print well on cheap printers. My favourite right now is Utopia (used by Apress). Also, Atma Serif is a very exotic but excellent font, especially at small sizes. It prints magnificently and has enough exclusivity about it to indicate that the author has made a careful choice of typeface.
Hey! I’m from Brazil too!! Isn’t that weird? OK! I’m working on Chapter Books and I use size 12 with Times New Roman. (It also works well with Bookmen which is a font that is MADE for writing books although not many computers have it which is why I use New Times Roman)
From what I have heard and been taught in college (graphic design in publicity), the best fonts for something that is a long piece to read, are the ones in the category of ‘san serif’ such as arial, veranda, etc. and not times new roman and other fonts that have little decorative things; although this isn’t popular everywhere…
Actually matagalpa, “sans serif” fonts are better for ONLINE readability. For books and printed matter, “sans serif” fonts (arial, helvetica, verdana) are good for headlines, but “serif” fonts (sabon, bookman, times) are better for the bulky text. The serifs (the little nubs at the ends of the letters) were designed by typesetters to ease the reader’s eye through the words. Doesn’t work very well on SMALL type, but works much better at normal readability sizes.
Visit a bookstore (or Amazon) and look at the typesetting of any current popular fiction book. They’re designed for maximum readability, and they’re all serifs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif
fontguy is so smart and so correct. thanks fontguy. you are my hero!
So do you stick with the 12 pt font? Why when formatted do the text look to small? I know it’s suppose to be small but it just seems like Roman Time 12 pt is to little for the text part. This is what i have my book of short stories formatted in. I don’t want to make the readers cross eyed. I was thinking of chosing a font that would be a little bigger but still at 12 pt. I noticed that in books already published, the fonts looks bigger. Maybe its just me
Also, the text is suppose to be single spaced right? Some books look like it is a space and a half.
Thanks in advance for the help
Yeah seriously elisha is right do want people to die of small font
I think this would be the best:
-One inch margins
-Double spaced text
-A single, clear, 12-point typeface
-No extra space between paragraphs
-An indented first line for each paragraph
-Information identifying the author and title of the manuscript on every page
-Page numbers
They always recommend Verdana but there is very little space after the ‘c’ so that it is sometimes confusing to read. I’m looking for a better font.
I use Garamond, size 11.
I believe “fontguy” is correct; when considering font choices for printing or literary outcomes, tradition dictates body text are serif typefaces and header text can vary from serif, sans serif, slab serif, humanistic, decorative, script or modern.
Also what “jaslyn” says is true but I would elaborate further on this by perhaps considering a layout/composition technique such as a page canon (used primarily for classic literary or book based material) or a grid structure (used in every aspect of graphic design from books, newspapers, on screen, web based etc).
I am a 2nd year Graphic Design student from England and I am currently trying to source iconic literary typefaces from around the world, with an aim to narrow it down to perhaps five or six for use within a visual identity, for an International Literary Festival to be held in London’s South Bank in the Spring of 2012.
So far I have looked at English type makers such as John Baskerville, William Caslon, as well as creator of Gill Sans, Eric Gill.
It is particularly difficult to find relevant source material on the use of fonts within international literature and I would be grateful for any feedback on the subject.
Kind regards
David Patterson
Also with regard to readability, there are several points to consider:
Justification
Tracking (default distance between letters)
Kerning (distance between individual letters)
Line spacing (distance between base lines)
If left unresolved, these issues will impact the entire quality of the finished product.
These issues are unique and will vary between type faces so I’m afraid there is no quick fix solution to these problems.