The process of setting text on a page is known as typesetting. The typesetter organizes the book’s interior to provide the best reading experience during this stage, which happens near the end of book production. Among other things, the typesetter will:
- Decide on the size of your margins.
- The beginning of the chapter should be styled, and
- For the content, choose the appropriate font type and size.
Typesetting is fundamentally about visual communication. Underestimating the importance of typesetting is a mistake since it will damage your book’s readability, which will harm its sales.
Differences Between Typesetting and Typography
Typesetting is not the same as typography. The “art” of text production is typography, which includes the selection of fonts, the use of space, and the inclusion of additional decorative elements such as drop shadows and embossing. On the other side, typesetting is merely the “process” of setting text on a page.
What is Typesetting?
If you’ve recently discovered you don’t know anything about typesetting, there’s a good reason for that: typesetting works best when the reader is entirely unaware of it. So let’s pull back the drapes and see it. A variety of elements influence the interior design of a book, including:
- size reduction
- margins
- illustrations
- sizes and kinds of fonts
After a decision on these components is taken, the typesetter will begin the process of setting the text and pictures on the page. The devil, as you know, is in the details — and now is the moment to confront him, because there are a lot of things that may go wrong at this phase. So, let us see in detail what does a typesetter does.
What Exactly does a Typesetter do?
A professional typesetter will devote their efforts to determining the following book specifications:
- Trim Size: The dimensions of a document after it has been printed and trimmed down to its intended width and height from a bigger sheet, but before any folding.
- Illustrations
- Specifications for margins
- Subheadings, chapter headers, title, and so on should all have the same font size and typeface.
It also provides the following specifics:
- Word stacking – When successive rows of text begin with the same word, the text becomes repetitive. A typesetter prevents this from happening.
- Tables and footnotes
- Drop caps – The initial letter of each chapter’s opening paragraph must be stylized.
- Character spacing can be adjusted.
- The colour of the text
The typesetter will begin the process of setting the text and pictures on paper after all of these elements have been completed.
Importance of Typesetting
Consider typesetting as a desk drawer for essential documents. They’re in the file much more cleanly than they would have been otherwise. The same may be said for your book. Your reader will be turned off after the first paragraph if the content is a confusing and clumsy mess.
It is important for a variety of reasons:
- A well-designed content has a direct impact on how readers perceive the article or book. Design mistakes will distract a reader in the same way that typos and grammatical problems do.
- Even small design mistakes, which digital designers and typesetters are skilled at detecting, are rarely taught to authors.
- The font and typesetting work together to give a book its distinct look.
How to Typeset your Book?
You can typeset a book in one of two ways:
- You may either hire a professional typesetter or,
- Do it yourself using DIY Typesetting software
Which option is the best? That depends on the sort of book you’re writing and how much focus you put on producing the greatest possible result.
If you’re publishing a book with a lot of illustrations, for example, we strongly advise you to hire a professional typesetter. If you are looking for the best results, then hiring a professional is advisable.
DIY Typesetting
Latex:
This is a free typesetting program that works well for nonfiction books and documents. Since LaTeX is an open-source system, you should have some coding experience.
Adobe InDesign:
Use Adobe InDesign, a software used by professional designers, if you have even a basic understanding of design. Get it for as little as $24 a month.
Professional Typesetting
Professional typesetters are skilled designers who specialize in typography as a medium. However, it’s essential that you choose the appropriate typesetter for your work, which is why we’ve included some suggestions below.
- Find a typesetter who has worked on books in the same genre as yours. Subliminal messaging is used in typesetting and design in general, as each genre communicates something distinct yet contributes to the text. A typesetter who has already dealt with the romance genre, for example, will have a better understanding of what type of font will not be too heavy on the reader when reading about love.
- As a reader, evaluate the typesetter’s work. Request a sample of their work and read it as if you were a reader. Is it pleasing to the eye? Do the words seem to flow well? Inquire about the essential issues.
- Examine samples of their work without first reading the book. Pay close attention to the font, colour, and background, among other things. To be a competent judge of this, you should first learn about the nuances of typesetting.
- Designers, particularly book designers, are among the nerdiest individuals you’ll ever encounter. Taking an interest in what they do may make a huge difference in the relationship between the author and the designer. Inquire about the designer’s approach and the judgments they make while putting together a book. You’ve probably hired the incorrect designer if you can’t get a straight response to your inquiries regarding book design.
Conclusion
For a book interior that is polished, clean, and enticing which encourages readers to dive more into the book, you should opt for the second option, that is, hiring a professional typesetter.
We provide typesetting services at an affordable price. Different kinds of typeset formatting are done by us, including, kindle formatting, E-book formatting, Print formatting, and children’s book formatting. We have various pricing plans just for you.
-Isabell S.
