Choosing the best font for your story is just as important as any other design choice you have to make. Many people do not put a lot of thought into what might be the best font to write their book in, but, what is the best font to write a book in when you want to convey a certain mood or atmosphere?
To keep yourself from worrying too much about choosing the perfect font for your book, take a look at the below guide and follow some of the industry's most significant recommendations so you can become a pro at choosing your own font - from typography to typeface!
The Most Common Fonts for Books
To get a good idea of what fonts are typically received well by readers and audiences around the world, you might benefit from learning about the most common typefaces currently in use in thousands of books.
Popular fonts and styles for full-body book text include:
Times New Roman
Garamond
Baskerville
Bembo
Palatino
Janson
I know what you are thinking... They all look very similar. What's one thing all of these fonts have in common? They are all serif fonts.
Serif Vs. Sans Serif: What's the Difference?
All fonts are categorized under two broad categories: Serif and sans serif. A serif is a stroke that adds stems or "feet" to the ends of a letter. This is a decorative stroke that is used commonly as an industry standard.
By contrast, a sans serif font is one that has no stroke to finish off the edges of the letters. This kind of font is usually harder to read in published books of text but is highly recommended for online and short-form media.
Different Types of Fonts for Different Types of Books
Depending on the kind of book you want to write, you may find that a serif or a sans serif font works better. For example, the best font to write a children's book in usually is a sans serif font, as the letters have fewer strokes and are therefore easier to read. By contrast, the best font to write a romance novel might be a serif font as many readers consider it to add a touch of class or fanciness to the text.
How to Choose the Best Font for Your Book
You want your typeface to stand out without looking bad. But one of the most important places for your font to stand out is on the very front cover of your book!
According to research performed by major bookstores across the globe, customers spend an average of fewer than 8 seconds looking at the front cover of a book before deciding whether or not they are interested in buying it. Your front cover should have the largest point size of the font, but not too big that it is unreadable by passersby.
Best Font Point Size for Writing a Book
Your typeface inside the book should not be smaller than 8pt., and no larger than 14pt. Depending on the font you ultimately choose, you may want to ensure that your audience can easily read it.
Again, this will be different depending on the type of book you want to write. The best font to write a cookbook in is something with large text that is easy to read from a distance as someone works with ingredients.
The best font to write a graphic novel in is a large sans serif font since the text does not take up too much of the page.
Conclusion: Write Your Book in the Best Font!
While the final choice rests in your hands, these are just guidelines and recommendations you might want to follow.
There are some industry standards that can dictate the best font for writing a book, but there are also many other things to take into consideration.
For example, if you are writing a children's book, you may want a large sans serif font. But a traditional novel with a lot of text may require a smaller serif font. But when it comes down to it, the choice is yours!
