If fonts were shoes, my closet would be overflowing with them. I love fonts. There are TONS available for download and a lot of them are free. Font classifications Most font websites sort fonts into general classifications for easy viewing. There are serif (Times, Garamond), sans-serif (Helvetica, Ariel), script (Brush, Snell Roundhand) and speciality. The speciality or decorative category covers a myriad of typefaces, including grunge, foreign, techno, futuristic, retro, gothic, horror, vintage — way too many to list here. … Read More »

Online printers and publishers scan your book cover files with specialized preflight software. It checks for anything that may cause problems in the printing process. If their check detects RGB color mode instead of CMYK, the file may be rejected. Or, if it is used, your printed cover may not meet your expectations. What is CMYK? CMYK is the color mode used in four color process printing. It stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. These are the four standard … Read More »

Has your print book cover ever been rejected because an image is under 300 dpi? Websites like Kindle Direct Publishing and Ingram Publisher Services scan cover files with specialized preflight software. This preflighting looks for issues that will result in a poor quality printed product. Checking the dpi of your images is part of this process. Files containing low resolution images will be rejected. What is dpi? DPI stands for dots per inch and is referred to as the resolution … Read More »

Old sayings notwithstanding, people do in fact judge a book by its cover when deciding whether to buy it. They try out the title to see if it sparks an interest. They glance at the cover art, and if it doesn’t interest them, they move on. If the title and cover art draw them in, they may turn to the back and read the blurb. If the blurb interests them, they may open the book. If what they read interests … Read More »

Maybe the goofy image  is what made you look at this article. Images are key to attracting readers to blog and social media posts. But how many of us can afford to buy stock photos? Images abound on the Internet and it is easy to use Google Image Search or another search engine to find what you need and copy it to your own computer. But guess what. You’re probably breaking copyright law if you use images you find that way. You wouldn’t want someone taking … Read More »

In publishing lingo, a book usually contains three major sections: front matter (also called preliminary matter or “prelims” for short), the text, and back matter (or end matter). There are long-standing conventions for content, sequence, and numbering within each section. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), now in its 16th edition, is the industry source of authority for matters of manuscript preparation and book anatomy. CMOS provides a level of detail I won’t even try to match in a single … Read More »