Typophile

Looking for some good fonts to recommend for novel length romance books

coreenm

Good morning, everyone!

I'm a freelance graphic designer. I currently work with a small publisher, doing all of their typesetting for their romance titles. I have been using Adobe Garamond Pro, and have been pleased with the results. It is readable and relatively neutral looking.

I'm now working with a second publishing house, also romance novels. They are currently using Book Antiqua for the body of the novel. I personally think this is an awful choice. I want recommend some alternatives, but I don't want the books to end up looking identical to the ones I design for the other publisher. Some font choices I have been considering are Kepler, Berling, and Caslon. I'm looking for a Pro font that is very readable and relatively neutral in appearance, particularly for the quotation marks (one of the things I hate about Book Antiqua). I also don't want anything that stands out as very modern, because many of the books are historical romance (which possibly explains the Book Antiqua choice...)

So, are there any recommendations? What is your favorite font for setting long pieces of text?

Nick Shinn

The danger in going with classic book faces is that they start to look more like literature (or history) than romance.
How about Dante? With its large x-height it will set quite big, and still have a traditional appearance.

coreenm

Dante was a great rec. Thanks!

William Berkson

If you are considering a Caslon, check out my Williams Caslon Text. It will look classic, but have warmth. The swash caps might work to add a note of romance to headings. For titles you can pair it with Big Caslon, which a number of people have done.

John Savard

I'm not sure, though, why Palatino looks terrible for the body of a romance novel. Although, I'll admit that while I have seen Palatino used in fine printing, it has generally been used in nonfiction works.

Dan Gayle

Palatino/Book Antiqua is like using a slightly fancier version of Times New Roman. Nothing horribly bad, but nothing horribly eye-catching either because of overuse.

I'd think of something Vendome-ish, personally.

coreenm

I went with Dante Pro for the historical romance lines. I took a look at the Vendome, but it is a bit too fancy for my needs. I really need a font that will blend into the background and not seem dis-synchronous with the text, KWIM? Dante Pro seems to fit the bill.

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