I've spent as much time looking at fonts as I have looking for images for my book covers. Fonts say a lot about a story. This includes the type you use inside a book and on the outside of it. They must fit the mood, tone, and voice.
Maybe I put more pressure on myself than I should when it comes to fonts. I am my own worst boss when it comes to these things. But if you look at your favorite book covers and take note of the title, you will see how much of an impact it has on your opinion of the story and the overall effect of the cover.
Here are five things to remember when choosing fonts for your books:
1) Fonts are like images. You can't use all of them without permission. Some you even have to pay to use. If you're on a tight budget, make certain you are using free fonts from sites like 1001 Free Fonts and DaFont.
2) Study book covers in your genre. You will see the majority of them use similar fonts. If you're unsure what types they are, here is an article with several popular fonts for each genre.
3) Experiment with effects. Not just the simple bold and italics. When I use Photoshop, there's a whole bunch of different font effect I can pick. Each one makes the font look so different.
4) Make certain the font is readable. No one will want to read your book if they can't figure out what the title is or if they get a headache reading the fancy script you chose for the story text itself.
5) Use a different font for the title and your name. Contrasting fonts draw the eye. Check out this article for a more in-depth explanation of contrasting fonts.
How do you choose fonts for your books? What types of fonts draw you as a reader?
