The "text" is the heart of your book--the chapters, stories, poems, and illustrations that make up the bulk of your book's pages. We aren't going to tell you how to write your book, but here are some technical concerns about the words of your book. Keep these in mind as you prepare your book for printing.
Chapter beginnings
Because of the way we automatically assign more importance to the right (rather than the left) page of a publication, each chapter "should" begin on a right, odd-numbered page. If you wish to hold to this convention, you may have to make some other compromises. For example, illustrations and text may need to be expanded or reduced, and left pages may need to be left blank. The more poetic, artistic, or philosophical your book is, the more attention you will probably want to pay to the "right page first" rule. Look at books similar to yours in a bookstore before you decide. Be sure to tell your typesetter if you want all chapters to begin on the right and offer to make adjustments in the text or illustrations if needed so that this can be done.
We suggest not placing the word "chapter" before the chapter number at the beginning of each chapter because it's not needed.
Your book designer will select a special way to introduce each new chapter. Larger or bolder type for the first letter or the first words, more space around the title, and many other options are possible.
Fonts and typestyles
Let your book designer recommend a specific font or typestyle for your book. In general we do NOT want to call attention to the shape and style of the letters. A tried-and-true font such as Times Roman, Century Schoolbook, or Bookman (and many others) are highly readable and preferred by most book designers. Studies show that it is easier to read and comprehend type that has serifs (tiny "ornaments" that extend from the body of the letter) rather than straight "san serif" type such as Arial or Futura. Exception: if your book will be read on screen (CD-ROM or e-book), san serif is crisper and easier to read.
Paragraphs and sentences
For an exhaustive treatment of an involved subject, long paragraphs may be acceptable. For 99 percent of self-publishing authors, however, paragraphs should vary from 1 to 20 lines with the majority of them between 5 and 12 lines. This is a very rough rule, but the fact is that shorter paragraphs move the reader more quickly through the text. Slow reading discourages most readers. The need for short paragraphs becomes more important as time moves on and we ride higher and higher on the digital roller coaster.
The same goes for sentences. Not all sentences should be three to five words long, but no sentence should bear the burden of more than one thought. Thank your editor for suggesting shorter and more direct ways of saying what you need to say in your book.
Vocabulary and sentence structure
Keep your reader's age, education and background in the subject matter clearly in focus as you write your book. As an editor, I find that much of my time is spent clarifying and simplifying sentences. Your editor can be more helpful if you have already taken the effort to make your points simply without confusing or complicated sentences.
Let us hear from you. Everything we've learned about self-publishing we've learned from you, the energetic authors who make our work so interesting and rewarding. Call us at 800 359-9503 or 208 454-9553. Send email (hodi@mindspring.com). Let's talk.