“Type is a beautiful group of letters, not a group of beautiful letters.” ― Matthew Carter
In our last post, we talked about the importance of editing, whether you’ve written a full-length novel or a page-long poem.
You might think that after editing, the next logical step is publication. But you’re not there just yet.
Now that you’ve perfected your content, you also need to make sure that the content looks good on the page.
Messy content is the easiest way to distract your readers from the actual words written on the page and is the fastest way for your message to get lost in translation.
So, what’s the secret to a better reading experience?
It’s all about typesetting.
But what exactly is typesetting?
Simply put, typesetting is the act of arranging words on a page. Things like margins, font typeface, font size, and chapter headings are different aspects of typesetting. When done well, work together to visually communicate your book or other written media to your readers.
If you haven’t thought about typesetting before, it’s not surprising. Most readers never notice it because it’s usually done right. The only time you really see it is if it’s not done well.
So, here are the key things you need to focus on when typesetting any document: trim size, page margins, illustrations, font sizes and font typefaces.
Some of these are easier to handle than others. For example, there are standard trim sizes for books. However, the trim size you choose will affect how your publication looks and can also affect printing costs, an essential consideration if you’re self-publishing.
A professional typesetter will work with you closely to ensure the typesetting correctly reflects your genre and that the reader has a smooth reading experience.
So, if you need help or advice with typesetting your next project, get in touch to find out how we can help!
Contact us on (0191) 482 5042 or email production@tech-set.com.
