[Pearson Moore]

Which font type and size do you recommend for the paperback version of Kindle novels?  I am interested in reducing page count so as to drop the cost of publishing, but I don't want to use a font so small that the average reader suffers eye strain.  I've see fonts as small as 10.5 recommended.  When I try this font size with Times New Roman, the letters seem entirely too close together, but I realise a judiciously chosen font may not suffer this problem.  What do you recommend?  More importantly, did you actually use this font and size in a published book, and did you receive any negative feedback about your choice?

I went with Times New Roman 12 pt., 8.5" x 5.5" in the first edition of one of my books (I won't say which one; I don't want to be accused of "self promotion").  In the second edition I am using Times New Roman 11.5, 9.61" x 6.69", which brought page count down from 444 to 306.  I'm looking for recommendations I can use in several books to be released this summer.

Thanks so much for considering this question!

 

[Javier Gimenez Sasieta]

I use Day Roman at 10,5, which has a terrible looking on screen but is perfect for printing.

 

[Pearson Moore]

Thank you, Javier.  I will try to find Day Roman!

I would be very interested in learning everyone else's preferences for font type and size.

 

[Pearson Moore]

I downloaded a copy of Day Roman and tried it out.  I found the letters were grey, with parts of the letters entirely washed out, making the text quite difficult to read.  Does anyone else have a favourite font style and size for paperback versions of your Kindle ebook novels?

 

[HeidiHall]

I used Perpetua 12 pt for both of my print versions with spacing at 1.5. It looks good and is not too crowded.

 

[NRWick]

I find New Time Roman to be a bit too bold for my taste. Instead, I used this font called Baskerville for my debut novel coming out in a couple weeks. It's lovely, easy to read, not too bold and looks great in 11 or 12 point font (I'm using 12 in my book, but 11 works fine too). I also keep the spacing at 1.5 because I don't like the text all jammed together. My book is a bit smaller in size though; it's a 5.04x8.41 and the perfect size. I know many people who use the 6x9, but I'm so glad I chose the smaller size. it looks great and fits perfectly in my hands to read.

Good luck!

 

[Lexi Revellian]

Pearson, I wrote a blog post on this topic you may find helpful: http://lexirevellian.blogspot.com/2010/08/typography-and-your-self-published.html.

I got very interested in the finer points of typography when I formatted my paperback.

Lexi

 

[Pearson Moore]

N. R., Ric, and Heidi,

Thank you!  I think I have Georgia and Perpetua, and I will give those a try.  I will also try to locate Baskerville and try that one out, too.  Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[Pearson Moore]

Lexi,

Excellent article!  This is exactly the kind of detailed information I was hoping to obtain.  Very useful!

 

[BrianKittrell]

I rarely go below 12 point, but it's a very subtle difference in most of the fonts I use.

For fantasy, I'm liking Book Antiqua.
For non-fiction, I'm really liking Arno Pro.
Georgia is a nice looking one, and I'm writing a vampire story with it now.
The books I've finished have used Palatino Linotype for my zombie stories (the 3 below).

 

[D/W]

Pearson, I wrote a blog post on this topic you may find helpful: http://lexirevellian.blogspot.com/2010/08/typography-and-your-self-published.html.

I got very interested in the finer points of typography when I formatted my paperback.

Thanks for the link to your blog article, Lexi. There are some very good tips there!

I'm also fascinated by typography. My interest started very young, when I used to play with the little pieces of metal type from my dad's home printing press. It's amazing what an influence fonts can have in setting the mood/tone of a book, as well as readability.

 

[Gone 9/21/18]

I haven't read Lexi's post yet, but there are forums over at Create Space that discuss these issues. Times Roman isn't considered an appropriate font for a book by most people. Georgia is one I've seen recommended. I considered Book Antiqua but settled on Bookman Old Style. For my mystery (75,000 words), I used 11, and for my romances (118,000 and 134,000), I used 10 because like you, I wanted to keep page count down. What helped the most with page count was going from the 8.5 x 5.5 size to 9 x 6. That change, leaving the font size the same, made the longer romance fewer pages than the shorter one, and I'll use it for romances in the future.

Don't forget you shouldn't use plain single spacing either.

 

[journeymama]

I think Garamond is really beautiful and very professional.

 

[Pearson Moore]

Thanks so much for all the terrific ideas!  I've tried out every font listed so far.  At this point the leading contenders are Minion Pro, Garamond, and Adobe Caslon Pro.  Garamond seems to pack in the most letters per page without becoming squeezed, but Adobe Caslon seems easiest on the eyes.  You've given me so many good choices, and I'm looking at typography as I never have before, and seeing things I never noticed.  I don't think I'll be going back to Times New Roman!