Font Fanatic

[BookBint]

Got rung up by one of my authors today. He'd just received the proofs of his book (a printout of how the book will look once printed, the version the authors use to make the index). He was not happy, which sometimes happens because pictures are in the wrong place, or we've screwed up formatting, putting a long quotation in the body text style, whatever, mistakes happen, happy to sort it out. This guy's problem? He didn't like the font.

Twelve minutes he kept me on the phone (I glazed over and started clock watching) complaining that the font was too 'modern' and didn't suit the subject of the book (apparently the Battle of Waterloo should have it's own font printed in gold leaf), and that it was too small and people wouldn't be able to read it. I pointed out we couldn't radically alter the style or size of the font because it would cover more pages and would make the book too long and they are costed on length, because clearly it costs more to print a longer book. He thought it was worth the extra money. Bah. And the kicker? He said he wanted the font we had used in his previous book. After the call I went and pulled up the original document for that book. SAME FONT and 0.5 point smaller.

Why do these people think they own me? I swear, unless you are J.K. Rowling or Stephen King, publishers do not need to bow and scrape to authors. There are far more people wanting to be published than the market requires. Please, show a little gratitude that I busted a gut convincing the management to let me commission your book in the first place (no easy task in today's 'economic climate'), and then spent days reading and correcting it. If there is a valid problem, fine, but don't waste my time with this stupid stuff, I have real work to do.

Rant over. *breathe ... and rest*

[Hyena Dandy]

As far as I'm concerned, he should be able to decide what font he gets in his book. But he should tell you to start with, not wait until after you've put the damn thing together.

What was the font, anyway?

[rerant]

Could you grab a copy of his previous book (either print or electronic - I'm not sure how you guys send the proofs) and send it along with his current book with a note stating that you've fixed the font "problem"?
If he realises it's the same font he was bitching about it should, in theory, shut him up (in a perfect world) and if he thinks that you've actually changed it he'll feel that smug sense of satisfaction and you'll know well and good that he's just a moron.

[RayvenQ]

Sounds like the kind of person who'd join in on the argument about Ikea's font change in their logo.

[Broomjockey]

As far as I'm concerned, he should be able to decide what font he gets in his book.

If he wants that, he can be the bloody designer then. You know how much those guys get paid? As far as I'm concerned, he can make suggestions. Authors can barely write, I dunno what makes them think they're half-way capable designers either.

[Stormraven]

I'm writing, though unpublished. (I write for my own desires, and don't keep to deadlines well, so I doubt I'll ever be published.) If I were, though, I wouldn't bitch about fonts, at least, not for the overall font. If I had a specific font I wanted used in certain portions of the work, I'd request it ahead of time.

[Red_Dazes]

I'm writing, though unpublished. (I write for my own desires, and don't keep to deadlines well, so I doubt I'll ever be published.) If I were, though, I wouldn't bitch about fonts, at least, not for the overall font. If I had a specific font I wanted used in certain portions of the work, I'd request it ahead of time.

I agree with you... should I ever have the honor of working with an editor for my writings I figure... I just write the stuff... these people are trained to make it look nice. As long as someone can pick the book up and READ it... I don't really care about much more than that.

[sirwired]

I'm something of a font geek, but when reading a book, the quality of the printing and typesetting is far more important than the font used.

It really cheeses me off when I'm reading a book in something like it's 20th printing and the publisher hasn't bothered to re-typeset the book since Linotype machines went out of style and they used poor-quality plates to begin with.

Okay, if this book is a recent re-issue of an old title, and this will be printing number two, I can kind of understand the drive to reduce costs. But for a popular mass-market book, you'd think once they got to the 6th printing or so, they might figure it would be worth a few bucks to get some decent plates made.

It especially cheeses me off when expensive reference works do this. "The C Programming Language: ANSI C Edition" was last revised in the early 80's, is a measly quarter-inch thick paperback, and costs $45. It is a classic programming text unlikely to fall out of print for the next couple of decades. They've never gotten around to re-typesetting it, and it shows.

SirWired

[Broomjockey]

Okay, if this book is a recent re-issue of an old title, and this will be printing number two, I can kind of understand the drive to reduce costs. But for a popular mass-market book, you'd think once they got to the 6th printing or so, they might figure it would be worth a few bucks to get some decent plates made.

Popular mass market books are reprinted because it's cheap to do so, and people will buy them anyways. They aren't made to last and be re-read. For old reference works, it's possible that the only thing they have are the plates. Files sometimes go missing for books.

As I've recently found, searching... grr... Have I mentioned I hate authors?

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Bet he wouldn't have been willing to eat the cost difference, would he?

You know the dickhead ex coworker of mine I would come over here and blow up about occasionally? (when I was employed, I didn't actually talk much about that job, but sometimes I'd just snap and have to vent)

That idiot...yeah, AJ, I'm talking about you, how about eat me...had me change the font size one point.

On a billboard.

A digital billboard.

To lay this out for you, we're talking a difference of millimeters on an enormous 72dpi screen hanging over the highway, made up of little points of light.

A five point difference would not have been noticable. I'm not sure 8 would have.

But no, the little asshead just couldn't go about his day without changing something he wasn't qualified to change.

I do not miss him.

[EricKei]

I suppose you could have always told him that you DID make the change and just submit it as-is anyway ....>_>

[Horsetuna]

i do have some issues with fonts myself... in the Warhammer books there are little excerpts and stories printed in the army books... that I can't read because they chose some fancy schmancy flowery font... that looks nice, but I can't READ it... not without extreme difficulty and it just isnt worth it.

So long as the font is simple and readable I'm fine.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I suppose you could have always told him that you DID make the change and just submit it as-is anyway ....>_>

thats whzt my boss said I should havre done. d

Got a splint on my left hand. Short or no posts for a while.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Authors can barely write, I dunno what makes them think they're half-way capable designers either.

Oh, you didnt get the memo? Everyone is sa designer. EVERYone.

The more important a job is, the less likely it will ber that an actual desinger gets to design it.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I'm something of a font geek, but when reading a book, the quality of the printing and typesetting is far more important than the font used.

I read this line and just picture a "font geek" opening a book and going "Holy cow, look at the serifs on that D! ...ooh, check out the ampersand on page 34."