A Writer's Life: February 2013

Cover for my soon-to-be published book.

I selected the cover I wanted after making a minor modification to the first cover concept sent to me by my CreateSpace team. Now I'm working with the team to finalize the interior body text font. I've narrowed fonts down to New Baskerville, and Garamond 3. Next step is to look at samples in these two fonts, at 11 pt and 12 pt, with 122.5% leading.

Leading (pronounced 'ledding') is the space between the top of one line and the top of the next line (i.e., line spacing). My feeling is that something greater than the standard 120% will make the book easier to read, even if increasing the number of pages slightly.

In order to see what the body text will look like in the actual 6 x 9 book, one has to print using the "Actual Size" print setting, not the setting that's automatically selected by your printer driver. Because most of us are printing on 8.5 x 11 paper, printing actual size will run over margins, but the text will look the way it will look in your 6 x 9 book. Thus, my initial reaction that Garamond 12 pt was too small changed when I saw it actual size. Looks okay now (although still not in love with the font itself).

The 12 pt New Baskerville and Palatino look too large. If I were to use one of these fonts, I would downsize to 11 pt.

The leading used by CreateSpace designers for the 12 pt Garamond was 14.4 (120%). I'm going to ask to see a leading of 122.5%.

According to my CS consultant, Garamond, Baskerville, Palatino, and Hoefler are the most "popular" fonts used by self-publishers. My guess is that this has more to do with what the design team offers up than what authors choose on their own.

I'm told that CreateSpace provides a resource on its web site that will help authors estimate how many pages their books will run, and that will help determine approximate printing costs. From what I was told, choosing between the fonts I mention above will not alter page count to any great extent (unless I really jack up size and leading). Thus, my primary concern is the reading experience.

In an earlier post, I wrote about embarking on a project to self-publish my novel, The Lion and the Sun. I'm using what is essentially, a publish on demand (POD) service, CreateSpace, which is an Amazon-owned company.

I choose to use the Total Design Freedom Standard publishing service offered by CreateSpace. This was my first novel, and my first experience at self-publishing, and I thought it wise to get a little experience under my belt before tackling the process on my own.

The self-publishing process using CreateSpace employs the computer, the phone, and the postal system. To date, I've used only the first two -- everything is being done digitally, with telephone conversations for added detail and/or clarification.

I uploaded my manuscript to the CreateSpace last Thursday, January 17, 2013. At the same time, I filled out an on-line questionnaire about my novel that was meant to provide the CreateSpace "project team" information to assist them in designing the interior and cover of the novel. I've reproduced the questions and my answers below.

What is your book's tone, and how do you want readers to perceive your text?

(For example, a light-hearted and easy-to-use guide to home finances, or a romantic fiction comparable to Nicholas Sparks, etc.)

The Lion and the Sun is a story of intrigue, betrayal, and regret set against the threat of nuclear terrorism. The novel will appeal to readers that enjoy books by writers such as Alan Furst, Charles McCarry, and John le Carre'.