What's the default font size for a book? How are font sizes measured?

Question

I'm not talking about large print books, but regular paperback novels or hardcovers. I'm guessing it's between 10pt and 13pt.

Also, how are font sizes for print measured? In points? pixels?

Answer 1

Normal books usually have a font size of around 10 pt., depending on the font.



The measurement of fonts is actually kinda strange. They're measured in points, but it's not the size of the letter that is measured (think about how different fonts are radically different in size, even at the same point size--play with it in your word processing program if you don't believe me).



To understand it, you have to think back to when printing was done with moveable type. Each letter would be shaped on the end of a small piece of metal. Most of the time, there's significant space between the outside edge of the metal and the form of the letter. The needed letters would be lined up to form the lines of whatever was being printed, and they had to line up perfectly. So the size of the metal blocks (I'm sorry I can't remember the name for them) had to be the same from top to bottom. So that's what was measured--they height of the piece of type, or of the row created by lining up all those letters.



Even today, a font's point size is the size of the metal type that font's set of letters, numbers, etc. would fit on (or did fit on, back in the day, for some of the older fonts). Each font might allow for more or less space around the edges of the type.



In book publishing, the spacing between the lines is also described in points, rather than "single spaced" or "double spaced" or whatever. So a typesetter or compositor or book designer will indicate that the text is set "11/13" or "11 on 13"--meaning, 11-point text with 13 points of spacing. Or whatever the designer chooses. More than you wanted to know, yeah?

Answer 2

Standard Font Size For Books

Answer 3

Book Font Size

Answer 4

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Times New Roman font size 12 is the one used by most writers using computers. As you surely know, all novels come in different sizes. That makes the size of page differ for each book. There is no way to judge 'how many novel-sized pages' you have. Using Times New Roman font 12, with default margins in MS Word, you can average word count (if needed: there is also a tool that gives you exact word count) to about 250 a page. If you want to, count the words (remember to count spaces between words and punctuation) in a novel whose set-up you happen to like. Just count to 100. Measure result with ruler. Multiply via measurement to see a very approximate word-count on that page to compare with what you have.

Answer 5

The typefaces for a book depends largely on who is reading it. Adult books will have a small point size and a small leading (the space between lines is called "leading"). Children's books, because you want to make it easier for the kids to read, will have a bigger point size and a larger leading.



The actual font size selected is determined by the type itself. Some fonts skew small, so the designer may want to make the font a little bigger; for fonts that skew big, you make it smaller. Which fonts are used is, of course, determined by the designer and approved by the editor.



Font sizes can either be measured in points or picas. I've noticed that we do both at the publishing company I work for; UK seems to work exclusively in picas.



P.S. Elissa, I think what you're talking about are "slugs," yes? By the way, that's how the process of slugging got its name. Back in the day, the printers would run one sheet of copy, proofread it against the original, and any typos were fixed by removing the metal letters and replacing them with the correct piece. These metal letters were called "slugs," and the act of comparing one set of copy against the previous set became known as "slugging." It's the first thing I ever learned about publishing! (I can't believe I still remember it after all these years.)

Answer 6

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RE:

What's the default font size for a book? How are font sizes measured?

I'm not talking about large print books, but regular paperback novels or hardcovers. I'm guessing it's between 10pt and 13pt.



Also, how are font sizes for print measured? In points? pixels?

Answer 7

14

Answer 8

Its 12 or 13 and I am writing a book too!! ♥ I dont know how sizes are measured. Sorry. I dont know wat to write about for my booK!!