Journal
Notes from inside the press: how a book gets written, edited, designed and published.
119 items, page 5 of 6
Design
Designing chapter openers
The first page of each chapter is where a book shows its design most clearly. What goes on it, and how the parts work together.
Writing
The case for short chapters
Short chapters are often dismissed as a thriller trick. They are a tool for pacing, emphasis and trust, and they suit more books than you might think.
Editing
Beta readers and editors do different jobs
Beta readers tell you how a book feels to read. Editors tell you why, and what might be done about it. You may want both.
Publishing
Royalties and net receipts, in general terms
A royalty sounds like a simple percentage. What it is a percentage of makes all the difference, and the terms are worth understanding before signing.
Design
Ebook design is not print design reflowed
An ebook is not a PDF of the paperback. Much of what a print designer controls passes to the reader, and the design has to allow for that.
Design
True small caps and fake ones
Small caps are one of the quiet signs of careful typesetting. Scaled-down capitals are one of the loud signs of the opposite.
Writing
Writing a character who is good at their job
Competence is one of the most satisfying things to read about. How to show a character's skill convincingly without making them dull.
Editing
Filter words: saw, heard, felt, noticed
"She saw the door open" puts a character between the reader and the door. Often, the sentence is stronger without her.
Publishing
A launch that isn't a party
A book launch is usually imagined as an evening with wine and speeches. The launch that matters is the weeks of work that make the book available and known.
Design
One colour doing all the work
A cover built around a single colour can be louder than one that uses all of them, provided the colour is chosen for the right reasons.
Design
Why most book interiors are set in a serif
The research on serifs and legibility is less decisive than people think. The reasons book designers still reach for them are more practical.
Editing
Structuring an argument across the chapters of a non-fiction book
A non-fiction book that argues something needs more than good chapters. It needs an order in which each one makes the next possible.
Editing
Chapter endings that pull the reader forward
The end of a chapter is where readers decide whether to stop. A good ending leaves them with a question rather than a conclusion.
Publishing
Keywords that match how readers search
Search keywords are one of the few pieces of metadata a publisher writes freely. They work best when they sound like a reader, not like a catalogue.
Design
Designing a spine for a shelf
In a bookshop, most books are shelved spine out. That narrow strip is often the only part of the design a browser ever sees.
Design
Quotation marks and apostrophes, straight and curly
Straight quotes are a typewriter habit. In a printed book, the right marks, and the right way round, matter more than they seem to.
Editing
Quoting other people's work: permissions and fair dealing in the UK
UK law allows some quotation without permission, but less than many writers assume. A cautious guide to fair dealing and when to ask.
Editing
Cutting ten per cent without losing anything
Most drafts carry a layer of words that repeat, hedge or clear the throat. Removing it rarely costs the book anything.
Editing
Reject all changes and get your book back
An edit you can undo in one keystroke is an edit you can actually argue with. That is the whole principle.
Publishing
Subject categories: Thema and choosing a shelf
Every book is filed somewhere before a reader sees it. Subject codes decide where, and choosing them well is a small task with a long reach.