tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post6816060997416956779..comments2024-03-16T07:27:27.752+00:00Comments on Novel Points of View: Looking good! Thoughts on typography by Jenny HarperRae Cowiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213969901991611348noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-46727501688308261222013-07-28T23:32:31.121+01:002013-07-28T23:32:31.121+01:00PS Comic Sans just looks ... comical!PS Comic Sans just looks ... comical!Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-59227074395404062982013-07-28T23:31:11.973+01:002013-07-28T23:31:11.973+01:00If you're using Word you can use a Search and ...If you're using Word you can use a Search and Replace to catch any teardrop quotes that might have crept in. Otherwise I think it's just sheer hard work and a lot of close attention.<br /><br />I think standards in newspapers have really dropped - many young reporters aren't even allowed out to go and talk to a source, it all has to be by phone. And it's so easy to get copy printed these days – a well-written press release is manna from heaven to a hard-pressed journo, and cutting and pasting best of all...Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-49528576343744416372013-07-28T23:27:39.261+01:002013-07-28T23:27:39.261+01:00That's what happens when you justify type, Lin...That's what happens when you justify type, Linda. The words have to shuffle about in order to achieve those straight edges. You won't find the same problem if you set it to align left - but then, most books are justified. I used to spend ages going through and adding in some manual hyphenation in order to avoid those big spaces. But you have to be careful with that as well. We were taught never to have more than three lines in a row ending with a hyphen - it looks too ugly.Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-26153558940971825972013-07-28T23:24:43.676+01:002013-07-28T23:24:43.676+01:00Thanks for dropping by, Anne.Thanks for dropping by, Anne.Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-45836832617111928592013-07-28T23:23:29.438+01:002013-07-28T23:23:29.438+01:00I agree, Rosemary - I'm afraid I've given ...I agree, Rosemary - I'm afraid I've given up on tiny print. I hadn't thought much about print which is too big, but I think I'd probably dislike that too!Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-12419009694937777602013-07-28T20:01:19.397+01:002013-07-28T20:01:19.397+01:00Fascinating post, Jenny (I so hate coming after yo...Fascinating post, Jenny (I so hate coming after you on the blog rota because my poasts never seem as interesting as yours).<br /><br />I have to say I hadn't thought about the font style in published books, though now I will be looking more closely. I hate it when someone sends me work to look at and it's in one of those weird fonts which are so difficult to read. Font size is becoming more important as I get older, though. This week I've borrowed from the library Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety which has a tiny font - even one size larger would make it so much more comfortable to read. <br /><br />When I worked on a newspaper we used curly quotes, of course, but if something was cut and pasted from an emailed press release it changed them to straight quotes so we'd have to go through checking because if the editor caught them there was strong disapproval, not only for the wrong quote marks being used but because it was obvious we had cut and pasted instead of phoning the source and getting our own quotes. Don't think they would bother now.Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-68697253705904344142013-07-28T19:35:48.153+01:002013-07-28T19:35:48.153+01:00Break it to me gently.....why does everyone hate C...Break it to me gently.....why does everyone hate Comic Sans MS? There must be a big black mark against me somewhere because I've often used it for e.mails...oh dear....the shame. <br />Something I don't like is when the spacing is changed between words, as it is automatically in our posts somehow, so you could run a rule down either side and get straight lines....gggrrrr. When typing up a manuscript we have to leave one space after commas and fullstops and semi-colons etc when we present them and then the whole flippin' lot gets altered....gggrrrrr.<br />Really good post, Jennie, I hope our FBing and Tweeting got lots of people looking in...:)Linda Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10948518126405880012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-67855934979716656432013-07-28T19:30:16.562+01:002013-07-28T19:30:16.562+01:00Hi Jenny, It's fascinating to get an insight t...Hi Jenny, It's fascinating to get an insight to the work of others. Great piece, Anneanne stenhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737658937717248241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-39177415332007844442013-07-28T15:38:24.536+01:002013-07-28T15:38:24.536+01:00Fascinating article, Jenny - and by sheer coincide...Fascinating article, Jenny - and by sheer coincidence I was just reading an article in Writing Magazine (March issue) about the dangers of using the wrong font for ebook covers! She said the same about Comic Sans.<br /><br />I like TNR but don't like Arial, and I don't think I've used CS. As for size of font - I don't even start reading any print book now where the print is too small. My close eyesight is good but I can't be bothered with the effort. If it's a book I'd really like to read then I would get it on kindle instead.Rosemary Gemmellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09311840205603508422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-23853096382189194252013-07-28T14:46:24.250+01:002013-07-28T14:46:24.250+01:00Arial IS characterless and boring, Bill. but it wo...Arial IS characterless and boring, Bill. but it works will across all platforms and is free!<br /><br />Since it has become so easy to prepare a book for presentation (and I'm not talking about the recent move to self pub bing here, but to what has happened since DTP came in), I fear the art of typography has been increasingly lost. I had one work experience girl talk about 'leading' but pronouncing it as 'leeding'. The whole history of Linotype and hot metal has gone.<br /><br />Sigh.Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-50809186327888160902013-07-28T12:11:19.519+01:002013-07-28T12:11:19.519+01:00Brilliant article Jenny and I wouldn't have mi...Brilliant article Jenny and I wouldn't have minded if you had 'bored me for hours'. I know Comic Sans is childlike but it's fun and I like it. I read somewhere that CentSchoolbookBT (what an ugly name!) was the best one to use for CreateSpace POD books so that's the one I tend to use now. And I can't imagine why Arial is so popular. It looks so characterless and boring. I'm the opposite to Gill (Stewart, not Eric) in terms of size. If it looks as if it'll give me eyestrain, a book goes straight back onto the shelf.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-76396694582546348242013-07-28T12:07:38.605+01:002013-07-28T12:07:38.605+01:00Thanks Myra. Comic Sans has its uses - just not fo...Thanks Myra. Comic Sans has its uses - just not for announcing world-changing scientific discoveries. There's a clue in the name...<br /><br />By the way, 'straight' quotes are called teardrops.Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-8586011390014763452013-07-27T22:23:23.041+01:002013-07-27T22:23:23.041+01:00I like Comic Sans! I guess that says something abo...I like Comic Sans! I guess that says something about my tastes!A most interesting article and lots to think about.<br />myraduffyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08697152063675260518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-87285413021527030702013-07-27T22:13:31.231+01:002013-07-27T22:13:31.231+01:00Thanks Gill. See my reply to Chris on printer'...Thanks Gill. See my reply to Chris on printer's quotes!<br /><br />Nowadays there are a whole lot of new considerations about font usage - is it Mac compatible? How will it look on someone else's screen? Will they even have it on their computer, because if not, it will revert to something like Courier or simply bitmap. Is it web friendly? <br /><br />But good typography is a great joy to behold. I love Gill, the sans serif font designed by Eric Gill, of the Arts and Crafts movement. It's so perfectly proportioned, and looks good in most weights (but not ultra bold). As a serif font, my favourite is probably Garamond, but there are many variants of this these days.Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-54412968928257017952013-07-27T22:09:00.358+01:002013-07-27T22:09:00.358+01:00I thought all fonts had the facility for 'curl...I thought all fonts had the facility for 'curly quotes', Chris (properly known as printer's quotes, I believe). Though Blogspot doesn't seem to offer them! Certainly it's possible to set Word to use printer's quotes.<br /><br />I could rant on for ages about line spacing and alignment and 'white space' too!Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-24772549602101522522013-07-27T20:04:43.486+01:002013-07-27T20:04:43.486+01:00So totally fascinating Jenny. I've only reent...So totally fascinating Jenny. I've only reently realised how many different typefaces there are out there and generally limit my own use to Times New Roman and Arial (or at work they suggest something else - Century?). <br /><br />Am I influenced by the typeface of what I read? To some extent, yes, but probably font size is as much of an isue, and I don't think I mind hugely about that at the moment. I can still read most books without glasses, so I'm not put off by a v. small font, but I can be put off by a very large font - do they think I'm stupid?? <br /><br />And I hate paragraphs that last longer than a page - do they think I have an attention span that long? But that's a different thing entirely!<br /><br />And by the way, what are 'curly quotes'? Quotation marks the way I used to know them, or something else?Gill Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03139563775181908912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-3212316628992563852013-07-27T17:28:54.252+01:002013-07-27T17:28:54.252+01:00I looked at a few typefaces when I published my eb...I looked at a few typefaces when I published my ebooks in paperback, and I found that the typefaces I liked didn't do curly quotes, and the ones I didn't like did, so I was forced to go back to Times New Roman, although I know it's not really a book typeface, however with appropriate space loading it looked okay. Forgot to say, I do like curly quotes, I get turned off by straight ones.Chris Longmuirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02488093821886798927noreply@blogger.com