The Sentinel book cover design

Jacqueline Hodder’s excellent book The Sentinel is out now. She reports satisfaction with the cover design, which was a very interesting task involving lighthouses and persons in period attire. And who doesn’t like working with louring skies and dramatic storm-torn coastlines? Here is the bliurb for Jacqueline’s book:

“Escaping from a disastrous relationship, Kathleen Devine flees to an isolated lighthouse off the Victorian coastline. Taking up the position of Head Teacher to the lighthouse keepers' children, she is ensnared in the lives of those marooned on the lonely outpost and soon realises no-one can escape their past. When the fearsome Head Lightkeeper, Mr Johannsson forms an unlikely friendship with the daughter of one of the keepers, it threatens to destroy their fragile peace. Can Kathleen find the strength to survive and answer the question that haunts them all: what happened to Isabella and why?”

Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Sentinel-Jacqueline-Hodder/dp/0648899403/

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Dancing Between the Opposites — Exploring daoist Practices

Craig Mallett’s “Dancing Between the Opposites — A daoist guide to balance and self-cultivation” has just been published and is now available online and directly from Craig. The title is available at Amazon and Book Depository in addition to other outlets. An accompanying page has been set up at the author’s website. WorkingType typeset the title, with excellent illustrations and cover design by Pelin Ko.

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“Drawing on his extensive experience across traditions in meditation, Daoism, and other forms of self-cultivation, coupled with his background in Martial Arts and many other forms of physical movement and exercise, Craig Mallett brings his readers a guide that is both practical and spiritual. His approach to the Da Xuan tradition of Daoism will help those interested to engage with its ideas and practice their application. ”

Fair Use / Fair Dealing Quotations

Many independent authors believe they need to seek permission to quote sections of other works. However, the doctrine of ‘Fair Dealing” allows for quoting from other works within certain constraints. This Australian government article spells out some of the issues. The Arts Law Centre of Australia also gives some very useful information on the topic.

5 Reasons Why Book Typography Matters More Than You Think

A Guest Post kindly supplied by Desiree Villena:

Everyone knows that, if you want  your book to sell, you need to hire a great cover designer. But many people don’t think about how important your book’s interior design is, as well. I’ve seen too many books, both self-published and traditionally published, that have clearly skimped when it comes to formatting, and as a design nerd, it makes me so sad.

But there’s much more at stake than just hurting artistic souls — think of the practical considerations. You may not realize it, but typography can have a big effect on a reader’s reaction to your book, whether they consciously notice the fonts or not. So today, I’m going to break down the five most important reasons why book typography matters for every book — including yours.

1. Professionalism

While the cover is easily the first thing readers will notice when they’re deciding whether to pick up your book, the typography is the first thing they’ll notice once they open it up. So it’s important that you make a good impression. Seeing a professional cover and a sloppy interior is like meeting someone in person and realizing that their profile picture was a lie.

If you ever doubt the impact that a font can have on your professional reputation, consider this: would you be more inclined to trust someone whose resume was printed in Times New Roman, or Comic Sans?

Similarly, your book will be judged on what kind of font it’s printed in. Perhaps not consciously — not many people can point to a book and go, “Oh, that’s in Garamond,” or “That looks like Caslon” — but the wrong font will make something feel off about the book.

But what makes something the “wrong” font? That’s where the other factors come into play.

2. Genre expectations

This is one of those things that you’ve probably never consciously noticed before, but once you do, you can’t not notice it. Different genres tend to be published in different types of fonts, and you want your font to reflect the contents of the story  as much as your cover and title do.

For example, a quick survey of my personal library shows me that speculative fiction uses a lot of Palatino, whereas YA contemporaries are often published in softer, more “playful” fonts like Century Book or Bembo. You can also never really go wrong with Garamond, the most “bookish” looking font of them all. But it’s not always necessarily the perfect font, either.

And don’t forget about typography on chapter headings! Age ranges and genres follow trends here, too, with YA and middle grade among the most creative, and literary fiction setting a high standard for refined understatement.

3. Readability

Of course all fonts are technically readable if they contain all the letters of the alphabet. Unlike handwriting, the letter A will appear the same no matter how tired you are when you hit the key on your keyboard. But the truth is some fonts are just easier to read than others. It’s why we usually publish books in serif fonts instead of sans-serif, and it’s why we make the letters bigger in kids’ books than in novels for adults.

Here, it’s important to consider function over form. Font size, line spacing, and margins are all key factors to making sure that the font you’ve chosen will read well to your target audience.

Some fonts just have a natural size they look best at, but will that make your book too slim or too chunky? If you’re targeting older readers, is the font too thin and “fussy” to be read without squinting? The more you take into account, the better your book will be.

4. Fatigue

Readability plays into this, but it’s important enough that I feel it’s worth a separate mention. Because one of the downsides of poor readability is that readers are likely to tire of reading your work sooner — or even develop eyestrain.

Let’s face it: a lot of things demand our attention these days. From work to families to keeping the house in order to the sweet siren song of social media, it can be hard to find time to read at all. The last thing you want to do is make your book cause physical discomfort. There’s nothing more likely to make people to put it down — and perhaps never pick it back up again.

Good typography, on the other hand, is comfortable on the eyes, and can play a surprisingly significant role in whether readers perceive your book as a slog or a joy to read. That’s why it’s crucial to choose your font wisely.

5. Reader mood

You know the genre expectations we talked about before? A big part of the reason those exist is because different fonts subconsciously convey different “moods.”

These are most noticeable in splashy fonts that you’d use more in titles than in text blocks — a futuristic sci-fi font, an elegant hand-lettering font — but even the fonts you’d format a whole book in can have an impact. Some are stuffy, some soothing, and some just kind of dull. It’s important for your designer to keep these differences in mind and understand how the font of the chapter headings works together with the font of the story, in order to create a professional product.

Remember: choosing good typography is a bit of an art, yes, but it’s also a marketing choice. And marketing is a subtle game. Everything from the layout of your local grocery store to the color of your laundry detergent bottle has an impact on people’s buying choices. Why should books be any different?

Desiree Villena is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects self-publishing authors with the world’s best editors, designers, and marketers. She's very passionate about helping aspiring authors reach their dreams, and enjoys reading and writing short stories in her spare time.

5 Benefits of Writing And Why You Should Make It a Daily Habit

A guest post kindly contributed by freelance writer Angela Johnston.

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Are you writing daily?

Writing can be a hobby that is incredibly beneficial for your everyday life.

You write to keep track of your ambitions, to improve your vocabulary, to get your story branded and published, or to maintain a journal of your day’s events or the on-goings in the world around you.

Below are some of the notable benefits of writing daily and the impact it can have in your life

1) A Wake-Up Call For Your Brain

If you have ever gone to work only to find yourself seated at your desk for several hours waiting for your mind to get with the program. That translates to lost time that you can never recover and if you are unfortunate to be forced to tackle anything, then you will have a tepid approach to handling the task.

Try and hit the ground running when you get up in the morning and prepare to head to your workplace. You can do this by sitting down and penning down your day’s agenda or playing a crossword puzzle as you sip your morning tea, coffee, or smoothie.

For instance, you can come up with writing assignment routine for your mornings in which you have topics on slips of paper that you pull out from a jar and write about what is on the selected slip

Conversely, you can subscribe to mailing lists and have a subject delivered in your inbox every morning. According to the hypnotherapist at AOTH, the objective is to get your brain’s gears turning early in the morning so that you are mentally awake as you head to the office. They explain that “by getting your mind going early, in turn, you will be able to stay focused, and you will be ready to handle anything that comes to your desk.”

2) Stream Of Consciousness Riddance

It is not common to wake up with a story to write in mind.

But you can pen down your first thoughts of the day and then work from there. It can be something as simple as “another wonderful Friday morning – the weekend loading; I am looking forward to the BBQ party this Sunday. I do hope my Saturday will set the right tempo.”

According to the relationship counsellors at Thinking Families, this can be an opportunity to vent your worries or frustrations that may have accumulated overnight. They explain that “this allows you to start your day on a clean slate. Moreover, writing down your thoughts will be an excellent way of self-exploration as you reflect on things and take a day off writing to read what you scribbled the last few days. It will help you identify some of the issues which popped up severally in your writing that you need to address so that they stop weighing your down.”

For instance, if you find that you start your day with some self-criticism, then you should put in more effort to appreciate and be kinder to yourself. Look at ways of starting your day on a positive note by thinking of positive affirmation worth writing about as you proclaim self-love.

3). Dream Recall

Your dreams may be a source of inspiration; therefore, consider keeping a dream journal by your bedside. You can then scribble down what you encountered in our dreamworld if you are startled into the waking world.

BONUS TIP: Jot down anything even if it is to state that you did not have any dreams.

Try to scribble what you can recall for your slumber’s meanderings, even if all you can remember are colours. It may help to gradually improve your ability to remember the details of your dreams and then you can start notices themes or patterns in your dreams.

4). Expanding And Maintaining Your Vocabulary

What you have but fail to use often loses its usefulness.

This also applies to your vocabulary. In this age in which tweeting and texting are the things that fuel how we communicate; people are increasingly encountering mental blocks when it comes to their word banks. It is the result of trying to condense thoughts and conversations into few words and character.

It is a culture that will birth problems when individuals must sit in a meeting, and all that comes to mind is cooked up jargon.

They most likely will ensure up using terms and phrases that are inappropriate for such a sitting. The same will be evident when they must write an assignment, and they end up spending much of their time go through a thesaurus in search of appropriate words.

Therefore, waking up to writing something down every morning can be a great way of expanding word bank and maintaining your vocabulary. You will find yourself fitting some of your words into your day’s written exchanges and leave people impressed.

5). Evening Contemplation And Relaxation

The demand of the day will have many people stress, and their minds preoccupied with how they will complete their duties. Such things will weigh us down. The only time, we get to enjoy a break from these responsibilities is when we are sleeping.

So, why not keep a journal or notepad on your bedside on which you can pen down your day’s thoughts and encounters? It can be a therapeutic platform on which you can vent, distress, and relax as you let go of your woes by acknowledging and writing them down. It will also help you enjoy better sleep.

Alternatively, you can opt to meditate or do some simple exercises or yoga poses. According to the Kinesiologists at Shen Ko Vitality, “exercise is vital in de stressing your body, especially after a long day of mental stress from work.”

In conclusion, writing daily is both therapeutic and enables a clearer mind moving forward. You’ve simply got nothing to lose with this easily adoptable habit.

If you’ve ever considered taking up this habit by writing a book, don’t hesitate to contact Working Type to help you design your book cover before getting it published!

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Written by: Angela Johnston

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