Need suggestion on selecting the font type for self-publishing book

Question

I just want to know what sort of fonts are appealing to the users, in book format and also in e-book format?

I did the normal internet search and found lots of information, still most of them are talking about,

Serif Sans.

I'm using open serif, still need some suggestion on selecting the font to first self-publishing book.

I knew being elegant is also bit perspective think, changes from the person.

I want to use the font which is widely used in the professional poetry book. One font for book ebook and paper book.

Answer 1

Recommending a specific font without actually seeing where it's going to be used is a lot like suggesting a wardrobe without knowing the person who will wear it.

The purpose of a font is to make text readable. This is particularly true when there's a lot of text for the reader to process. Setting the text of a book in a fonts with potential for slowing down reading speed is going to hamper readability. (Also, support for custom fonts varies between e-book platforms. Different ebook standards handle fonts differently, and what's supported in different platforms can change. If custom fonts are important to your book, PDFs and printed books can handle any font you like.)

What do users find appealing? That's extremely subjective. Different designers, who have been trained in font use, will disagree on this. In general, a font will set the mood of a page. Looking into past use of a type of font will help you predict what kind of feel a font will create in users. What kinds of fonts do other books like yours use? Knowing that will help you, whether you want to blend in and let the words do the talking, or stand out from your peers with a page that has a different feel.

Readability is a large area to explore. There are many studies and articles on which fonts are most readable, but the conventional wisdom (which has often been questioned) is that serif fonts are best for body type. Sans-serif fonts are often used to set off headlines and titles. Using no more than two fonts on a page is a good rule of thumb; without real knowledge of how fonts work together, using more than that looks chaotic and amateurish.

Answer 2

There are two competing visions in the ebook world: the embedded font vision (pushed by Adobe) where ebooks creators are expected to choose interesting fonts and embed them (generally by using Adobe InDesign).

The other vision is using the system fonts provided by the reading system/device and letting the readers decide.

Technically the early devices and reading systems have not supported embedded fonts uniformly. (It differs according to the font and the actual device). Support has improved over the years, but it still requires lots of testing.

Fortunately reading systems have increased the number of fonts already available. Fonts on apple iBooks are pretty great, and Amazon included a great font Bookerly on their Kindle devices a few years ago (which was a pretty big deal).

I guess with poetry it makes sense to choose custom fonts, but be prepared for the possibility that some reading systems won't display them or the reader may simply turn the publisher defaults off. I've encountered a lot of problems on the lesser known ebook readers on android.

I might change my way of doing this soon if rendering of embedded fonts is more reliable, but my rule of thumb has been NOT to specify a body and p font and then specifying a headline font found on the reading system in css and embedding font in special cases. Also, I sometimes use a different font for title page stuff.

Here's some good reference info: http://rogerpacker.com/how-to-choose-typography-for-ebooks/

https://bisg.site-ym.com/store/ViewProduct.aspx?id=6974109

About Georgia, of course it's a great font, but did you realize that Google Play Books doesn't include it as a system font -- which is really bonkers.

Finally, I wish there was a font foundry which in addition to selling licenses for ebook production could guarantee correct rendering on the major ebook reading systems.

Answer 3

I would suggest looking at top selling books in your genre and ones geared toward your audience (in both ebook and paperback) to see what the majority of fonts on there seem to be.

Other things to keep in mind would be:

• if the font fits in with the feeling and setting of your book. If it is a historical fiction set in the 1800s, a script font or flowing font might be more fitting than a harsher angular font

  • If the font would be clear and legible in a thumbnail picture used to promote your ebook on the internet. Like amazon store, youtube picture inserts for reviews or blog posts when marketing the book.

Answer 4

I like "Georgia" and use it in my novel, but I'm pretty sure that's simply a personal preference, where I feel that the style of the font matches the feel i connect to the story.

I do not use "Georgia" in general and have no idea how other people feel about it (notice the use of 'feel'), but to me it makes sense.

Answer 5

There is Georgia — which is just gorgeous, and I prefer it — but it may not work for all scenarios.

When you want to choose a font, you should consider the content the font represents. If my collection contains more serious works, I tend towards san-serif. If I am experimenting, cartoony fonts and cursives can come to play.

The font you use should be able to tell the feel of your work without the reader reading through.