- Create some examples of paragraph spacing.
Type the paragraphs of text, below, in your word processing or page layout software — once with double hard returns between paragraphs and again with none. Use the same font and leading for both samples. You’ll use the text without the hard returns to practice using the paragraph formatting options of your software. While you’re at it, throw in a few double spaces after punctuation and test out the script or macro you created in the Assignment for Lesson 1.{Paragraph}
Perhaps you’re starting your business part-time from the kitchen table. Maybe you aren’t planning on borrowing money to get started. Can you skip putting together a business plan? No. Business plans aren’t just for big companies or for showing to investors. You may be the only person to ever see your business plan. It may be handwritten in a spiral notebook. That’s OK.
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A business plan provides structure and discipline. It helps you focus on what’s important. It can help you determine when (or if) you’ll actually be able to make a living doing desktop publishing. It can help you find answers to all those questions flying through your head (and help you remember what questions you need to ask).
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TWO ESSENTIALS OF A BUSINESS PLAN
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You may have read a few articles about business plans that made your mind numb. Or perhaps you’ve seen long lists with items such as Description of Business, Marketing, Competition, Operating Procedures, Personnel, Capital Equipment, Balance Sheet, Breakeven Analysis, Income Projection that seemed much too complicated for your simple little startup. The thing to remember is that most of the information in a business plan is optional. It doesn’t apply to everyone or it doesn’t require as much detail in every case. Your business is unique. Your business plan will be unique.
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The essential information you need is a description of your business (what kind of business is it, what will you be doing, who is your target market and your competition) and a financial projection (what expenses will you have, how much do you need to make and how much can you make). If you keep those items in mind and start with a business plan that incorporates that basic information you’ll find the process of writing (and expanding) your plan much easier.
- Specify space after paragraphs.
Since I don’t know the specific software you use, you’re on your own here. Use the manual or help files if you’re not sure where to find the paragraph formatting options of your software. Somewhere in there should be a setting that allows you to specify the amount of space to put between paragraphs. Try out different settings. Get comfortable making changes. Note how these changes affect the appearance of your text.
- Create style sheets.
For applying different settings to a large amount of text you may find it faster to use style sheets. Again, refer to the manual or help files of your software to learn how to use style sheets and apply them to your text. You can specify many different text and formatting attributes with style sheets, not just just paragraph spacing.
- Remove those hard returns.
Whether you are the one doing the typing or you receive materials from others, you should have a plan for quickly and efficiently dealing with the removal of hard returns in your text.If you don’t already have one, create a script or macro in your word processing or page layout software programs (or both) that automatically finds and strips out hard returns. If you’ve never worked with scripting or macro creation before, this is a good time to learn. Use some of the text you created in step 1 to test out your macro. Alternatively, practice using the search and replace function of your software to do the job.
In the next lesson in this series you’ll be having fun with fonts and learning why the old saying more is better doesn’t apply to fonts used in page layout.
Found this page by accident? This is one of 12 lessons delivered as part of the Rules of Desktop Publishing free email class.
