To Serif or not to Serif…
February 7, 2008
For this particular post, I’m crossing my fingers for quite a bit of feedback because I have a question that I’m hoping you all can help answer and clear up my confusion.
What type of font do you prefer, serif or sans serif?
I know it’s a loaded question, because there are so many different ways to use fonts within a single book, let alone for different types of genres or publications. I guess I’m mainly asking about novels, biographies or collections of short stories – volumes that contain a great number of uninterrupted paragraphs.
Traditionally, serif fonts (like Times New Roman or Garamond) have been used for the body text of books because they’re supposed to be easier to read, especially for large quantities of text. Increasingly, though, I’ve had authors specifically request that their text remain in a sans serif font, like Arial or Helvetica. No amount of persuasion can convince them that a serif font would be better choice. Oddly, and maybe this is cultural difference I’m just not aware of, many of the authors requesting the sans serif font are from the United Kingdom.
I’m not opposed to using sans serif fonts … I use them quite often for children’s books, chapter headings (depending on the book’s subject matter) and pull quotes within chapters to help set the text off. But I still shy away from a sans serif font for, say, a novel. Am I just old-fashioned? Can a sans serif font be pleasing to the eye for large amounts of text and I’m just not seeing it? (Pun totally intended.)
Of the books I’ve purchased lately, I’ve not been able to find any that have been typeset in a sans serif font. Most seem to have set up in Times New Roman or Adobe Garamond Pro. Maybe the preference for sans serif fonts in books comes only from self-published authors while traditionally published books carry on the use of serif fonts. Does this mean our self-published authors are ahead of the curve, foretelling a change in the publishing industry when it comes to the types of fonts that are acceptable for use in a novel or collection of short stories?
Like I said in the beginning, I need some help here – let me know your thoughts, preferences and professional opinions. And let me know some of your favorite fonts, serif or sans serif, and why they appeal to you. Thank you!
Jenn
Entry Filed under: Fonts, Publishing, Reading & Writing. Tags: Publishing, font, serif, sans serif.
2 Comments Add your own
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed
1.
Lauren | February 7, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I am a writer for a publications company. I write mostly short stories and articles and use the Arial font when I do because it is the universal font for the articles the company produces.
But when reading casually, I enjoy a mix of both serif and sans serif. The serif in my mind gives off a professional, “I know what I am doing and saying” feel to a book. It presents a knowledge of the subject and is most profitable in how-to books or books on a certain subject. More expository books.
But I also enjoy reading sans-serif font books as well. They give off a more personal, “I’ve been there and gone through that as well.” I believe it is more appropriate for a children’s book (as you said) or maybe for a woman-to-woman, down to earth, story-type book. More narrative books.
Those are just some reflections and opinions I have. Hope it helps!
Lauren Goddard
2.
Barry Davidson | February 8, 2008 at 5:55 am
I think it has to do with the quality of the paper. Many POD publishers use different types of paper as compared to large presses. While Times New Roman may look okay on a parchment style (slightly yellowed) paper, it can hurt the eyes on a white paper. I guess you can say the same for all font types.
To me, Arial is more eye pleasing (depending on the size of the text) than the traditional font styles. They’re to hard, jagged, and dare I say it… Old fashioned.
I like Veranda, Bookman Old Style, Comic Sans MS, Tahoma, and Book Antiqua. The preference depends on the text size, and whether I need a lot of bold (such as with blogging).
Once the big presses start losing money to the digital age (more than they have already), you’ll probably be seeing a lot more font styles.
Another reason you’re going to be seeing a lot more people wanting different fonts is simple because people are tired of the traditional publishers. In essence, they tell people what they want to read, write, and make decisions people and authors would like to make for themselves. Look at books over the last two decades. These days the “show, don’t tell” style has gone overboard. Now, we have books which describe everything in minute detail, but has very little in the way of dialog, action, and character development.
Would Lord of the Rings have been published if it were submitted in the last twenty years? Would any of the greats have been published recently? These days, I find myself skimming through books to get to the character development, action, and dialog portions of the books. I don’t care to hear every detail (three or more pages) of the room the character is entering. Tell me that it has a large antique oak desk and stone walls, and I can mentally picture it myself.
Another part of different fonts, is that it can convey a mood. Bradly Hand ITC conveys a sense that the author/character is speaking/writing directly to the reader. Rockwell conveys an almost personal, typed letter feeling to the reader.