What are the best fonts for books?
By Michael Heath / selfpublishingUS.com
When it comes to book publishing, font style is something about which many writers inquire. Maybe it is a creative thing or just the fun of selecting from so many styles.
Authors often ask, when laying out their book, if they can choose the font. Our response is a bit of a qualified yes. More on that later.
First a little bit about fonts. Often you will hear about sans-serif font, or more simply sans font, and serif font. Serif means “stroke” or “foot” on a letter. A family of serif fonts would include line projections,while sans-serif fonts would not. It is believed that adding the serif makes the letters more distinctive and thus the type is easier to read. This is especially important in the body of the text where the reader may read for long periods of time. Sans-serif fonts are normally used for shorter text components like headings and captions. They are also seen all throughout the web where writings (e.g., blogs) are not so long.
There are literally tens of thousands of fonts in the world and maybe even more than that. With so many fonts from which to choose, is it that hard to decide? The answer is probably not. As mentioned before, serif fonts are normally used in the body of the text and that is what we would recommend. Fonts go through trends and there are a few that we would suggest employing, as they are the most used today:
· Garamond
· Linden Hall
· Lora
· Linux Libertine
· Linden Hall
· Caslon
· Merriweather
Some of the most popular sans-serif fonts:
· Alegre Sans
· Basic Title Font
· Bebas Neue
Garamond is our “go-to” type for most book text, including children’s chapter books. Times Roman is a good typeface used in many places, but most book designers steer away from it in part because it is so common. For children’s picture books the favorite fonts are Bookman, Schoolbook and Utopia. There is much to consider when laying out a book, so it is often suggested to have it professionally done to assure that the finer details are addressed. When it comes to choosing a typeface, you have the right to choose the one you like. Just remember that, like your cover, well-designed interior content is important to the success of your book. Heeding some of the advice here or consulting with your book designer is a good place to start.