Five New Questions for Book Designers
August 1st, 2012
- Print or ebooks?
- Does the new wave begin and end with self-publishing or is POD the final destination?
- Is interior page design really of little concern to many self-publishers and is it because self-publishers are focused mainly on ebooks, which they consider merely containers for their words?
- What new typefaces do you like for body text; and are any of them open-source or public domain?
- What new books about book design have you added to your reference library?
Entry Filed under: book design
6 Comments Add your own
1. Dick Margulis | August 2nd, 2012 at 6:12 am
1. Yes
2. No
3. I don’t care about the “many” self-publishing authors who are unconcerned with interior design. Their success or failure is irrelevant to me. I care about the ones who are smart enough to understand the importance of what we do. They’re my market. The others are not.
4. I begin with the text and the context. Those drive my typeface choices. I don’t begin with fashion, which is fleeting, in an effort to stay fresh. Freshness is overrated.
5. None. I’ve added old books.
2. admin | August 2nd, 2012 at 7:01 am
“Yes” to both, I take it? Which is to say there’s a time and place for making books that are themselves potential objects of art and then also for jusr containers?
“No” to both? So is the outcome of the move to self-publishing, do you think, a steady erosion of traditional publishing or will they continue this uneasy coexistence where self-publishing is almost certainly for authors to be published the first time and for the occasional superstars who wants more of the proceeds of book sales, while traditional remains for a small group of tried and true authors?
I agree that–in a sense, at least–self-publishers who have no interest or understanding of the point and benefits of interior page design are not really of interest to me. On the other hand, there are potential jobs there when we can educate the self-publishing author who doesn’t get it but isn’t close-minded … no?
Yes, text and context are of prime importance. I almost always start by looking at types I already have. Old Style, Garalde, to be exact. Their lines and quality call out to me. But I’ve been so struck lately how every article I see on great new fonts is mostly about sans serifs, I got to wondering whether anyone sees new, serif, text faces that are interesting.
Old books? Do tell? Like back-to-Guttenberg old or, say Marshall Lee’s Bookmaking old?
Thanks for taking the time, Dick.
3. Dick Margulis | August 2nd, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Steve, what I’m trying to say is that there are no general solutions. What’s a book? Is it a romance novel? Is it a family history? Is it a technical treatise? Is it a political thriller? Is it a biography? A history? A coffee table extravaganza?
Self-publishing authors exist in all those categories and more. Some minuscule number may go on to sell millions of books, but in the meantime a heck of a lot of them are going to make as much money with their self-published books as they would have had they gone the traditional route. Others will fail. That’s the nature of book publishing. All we can do is provide the highest possible level of service to the clients who come to us. And that means figuring out what is needed for the particular book in front of you, consistent with the client’s marketing goals, plans, and budget.
4. admin | August 2nd, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Okay, I see what you’re saying. I guess I see some room for more of a general conversation, but maybe that’s just me.
5. Chris Collins | August 2nd, 2012 at 7:41 pm
1. Both. The client wants what the client gets. Print for enjoyment and creative endeavour for me, though.
2. It’s obvious that a huge sea-change is currently taking place in publishing. But for all that, there will still be a place for everything we’ve known so far – it’s just the emphasis that will change. More ebooks will mean less going to print but more self-publishing will also mean more POD.
I find this idea of ebooks being the death of print a bit irritating, actually. E-readers are great but don’t suit every purpose – while the swings may not go as high as they have in the past, we may find that the roundabouts will go faster. And then it will all change in yet another way.
3. I kind of agree with Dick on this, although I woudn’t say I don’t care about these people, just that some of them are now less likely to care about me. Most authors are creatures of vanity to a greater or lesser degree – it’s difficult to imagine them having no regard at all for the vehicle that contains their carefully-crafted prose. We’re not that different from car salesmen – if we have a good vehicle, it’s our job to at least try to sell it to them. And if that particular conversation has already started, it demonstrates that the interest is already there.
4. All typefaces are particularly suited to something – it’s just a matter of finding out what and where. I’m a bit of a fan of stretch’n'squeeze, though. Open source or public domain? Yes, please. If it looks good and helps keep costs down, then I’m all in favour.
5. I don’t do books on book design. I don’t find them utterly pointless but I do think that they’re more of a distraction than anything.
Design books are a bit like books on childcare – they tend to serve to undermine what you’re already doing and tell you there’s a much better way without ever really demonstrating it.
There are still many, many people out there who want and need our services – they just don’t know it yet. They may, in fact, never know it but in the meantime, all we can do is concentrate on whatever comes our way. And here in the UK right now, pickin’s, as I believe you have been known to say over there, is mighty slim….
ps Out of interest, Stephen, how do you pronounce your surname? Piano or P&O?
6. admin | August 3rd, 2012 at 12:27 pm
Thanks for responding, Chris.
You mean the client gets what the client wants? Or that you do what you do and then explain/convince the client it’s what best serves them?
Well, as much as I agree that the idea of ebooks killing print books is irritating, I still worry it’s a possibility. Problem, as I see it, is the willingness to accept books as mere containers for the author’s words.
I, too, find that there’s a definite type of person self-publishing who, as far as I can tell, sees self-publishing as more of a do-it-yourself craft project. One size fits all and typefaces don’t much matter.
I was asking whether anyone’s found any interesting new serif typefaces lately.
By last names Tiano–”T” as in “tarantula” and then “iano” as in “Piano”. If that makes any sense.
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