Essential Typography Terms Every Self-Published Author Should Know

Typography terms are the vocabulary of book formatting — words like leading, kerning, widow, and gutter that describe how text looks and behaves on a page. Self-published authors who understand these terms make better formatting decisions, communicate more effectively with typesetters, and produce books that match the polish of traditionally published titles. This glossary covers the 20 essential typography terms every indie author should know.

What Are the Key Typeface and Font Terms?

Before choosing a font for your book, it helps to understand the basic categories and building blocks of type.

A serif is the small decorative stroke attached to the ends of a letterform. Typefaces with these strokes — like Garamond, Baskerville, and Times New Roman — are called serif fonts. They are the traditional choice for book body text because the small strokes guide the reader’s eye along the line, reducing fatigue during extended reading sessions. Most traditionally published novels use a serif font for their interior text.

A sans-serif font, by contrast, has no decorative strokes (the word sans means “without” in French). Arial, Helvetica, and Gill Sans are common examples. Sans-serif fonts feel clean and modern, making them well-suited to chapter headings, non-fiction layouts, children’s books, and digital content where screen readability is a priority.

A glyph is any individual symbol in a typeface — letters, numerals, punctuation marks, and special characters. A single character like the letter “a” may have multiple glyphs, including a standard form and stylistic alternates. Understanding glyphs helps authors appreciate the full range of a font’s capabilities.

A ligature is two or more letters joined into a single typographic unit. Common ligatures include “fi,” “fl,” “ff,” and “ffi,” which prevent awkward collisions between letter strokes. Ligatures are a subtle but important mark of professional typography, and most professional typesetting software applies them automatically when using OpenType fonts.

What Do Baseline, X-Height, Ascender, and Descender Mean?

The anatomy of letterforms: understanding these measurements helps you choose readable fonts and set appropriate line spacing.

Every letter sits on an invisible architecture. Understanding this structure helps you choose fonts and set spacing that works for long-form reading.

The baseline is the invisible horizontal line on which most letters rest. It is the foundational reference point for all vertical spacing and alignment. Letters like “p” and “g” have portions that dip below it.

X-height refers to the height of lowercase letters like “x,” “a,” and “o” — measured from the baseline to the top of these letters. Fonts with a larger x-height appear bigger and more readable at the same point size, which is worth considering when your audience includes readers who prefer larger text.

An ascender is the part of a lowercase letter that rises above the x-height, as seen in “b,” “d,” “h,” and “l.” A descender is the part that drops below the baseline, as in “g,” “j,” “p,” and “y.” Together, ascenders and descenders determine how much vertical space your lines need. Fonts with tall ascenders or deep descenders require more generous leading to prevent a cramped appearance.

Cap height is the height of uppercase letters, measured from the baseline to the top of letters like “H” or “I.” It affects the visual proportion between uppercase and lowercase text and matters when you are aligning drop caps, decorative initials, or chapter headings.

Point size is the standard unit of measurement for type, equal to 1/72 of an inch. A 12-point font measures roughly one-sixth of an inch from the top of its ascenders to the bottom of its descenders. Standard book body text ranges from 10 to 12 points — larger sizes improve readability but increase page count and printing costs.

What Are Leading, Kerning, and Tracking?

Spacing is where typography most directly affects readability. Three terms govern how text breathes on the page.

Leading (pronounced “ledding”) is the vertical space between lines of text, measured from one baseline to the next. The term comes from the strips of lead that printers once placed between rows of metal type. Most professionally formatted books use a leading of 1.2 to 1.5 times the point size. Too little leading makes text feel cramped; too much makes lines feel disconnected.

Kerning is the adjustment of horizontal space between two specific adjacent characters. Certain letter pairs — like “AV,” “To,” or “We” — naturally appear to have uneven spacing and benefit from kerning adjustments. Poor kerning is especially noticeable in titles, chapter headings, and book cover text, where large type makes spacing inconsistencies obvious.

Tracking is the uniform adjustment of spacing across an entire range of text — a word, a line, a paragraph, or a whole page. Unlike kerning, which targets specific letter pairs, tracking applies equally to every character. It is a practical tool for solving layout problems: tightening tracking slightly can eliminate an orphan, while loosening it can help prevent a widow.

Justification is the alignment of text along both the left and right margins, creating straight edges on both sides of the text block. Full justification is the standard for most traditionally published books and gives pages a clean, formal look. However, it can create “rivers” of white space — distracting vertical gaps running through a paragraph — if the software does not manage word spacing and hyphenation well.

What Page Layout Terms Should Authors Know?

Page layout terms describe how text sits within the physical (or digital) page. Getting these right is fundamental to a professional book interior.

A margin is the blank space surrounding the text block. Every book page has four margins: top (also called the head), bottom (the foot), outside (the fore-edge), and inside (the gutter). Margins frame the text, provide visual breathing room, and accommodate the reader’s thumbs. Proper sizing varies by trim size and page count.

The gutter is the inside margin — the space between the text and the spine where pages are bound. It must be wider than the other margins to compensate for the binding, which physically pulls pages inward and can obscure text near the spine. Insufficient gutter margins are one of the most common formatting mistakes in self-published books.

A widow is a single word or very short line sitting alone at the top of a new page, separated from the rest of its paragraph. An orphan is the first line of a paragraph stranded at the bottom of a page, cut off from the paragraph that continues on the next page. Both are considered marks of unprofessional formatting and should be eliminated during the final formatting pass — typically by adjusting tracking, leading, or making minor editorial tweaks to paragraph length.

What Is the Difference Between an Em Dash and an En Dash?

Two punctuation marks cause outsized confusion for self-published authors: the em dash and the en dash.

An em dash (—) is a long horizontal stroke roughly the width of a capital “M.” It indicates a break in thought, sets off a parenthetical phrase, or introduces a dramatic pause. Manuscripts that use double hyphens (–) instead of proper em dashes are a common sign of unpolished formatting. Most word processors can insert em dashes automatically (on Mac, press Option + Shift + Hyphen).

An en dash (–) is shorter — roughly the width of a capital “N.” Its primary use is for number ranges (pages 10–25, the years 2020–2025) and compound adjectives with multi-word elements (a “post–World War II” era). Confusing em dashes, en dashes, and hyphens is a frequent error in self-published manuscripts, and distinguishing them correctly is one of those small details that signals professional care. For a broader overview of publishing vocabulary, see our book publishing terms glossary.

How Do These Typography Terms Apply to Your Book?

Knowing the vocabulary is a starting point. Applying it is where the real value lies.

When choosing a font, consider the x-height and ascender/descender proportions alongside the basic serif-versus-sans-serif decision. A font that looks elegant in a heading may become tiring at 300 pages of body text. Test your chosen font at your intended point size by printing a few sample pages — screen rendering does not always reflect the printed result.

Set your leading between 120% and 150% of the point size. For a 12-point font, that means 14.4 to 18 points of line spacing. Lean toward the generous end for fiction and general non-fiction, and tighten slightly for reference works or academic texts where density is expected.

Pay close attention to your gutter margin. Print-on-demand services like Amazon KDP and IngramSpark publish minimum margin requirements based on page count, but the minimum is rarely the optimum. Add 0.125 to 0.25 inches beyond the minimum for a comfortable reading experience.

Before finalizing your interior, do a dedicated pass for widows and orphans. Page through the entire book looking for stranded lines. Fix them with small tracking adjustments, minor rewording, or by nudging a page break. This single step will noticeably elevate the professionalism of your finished book.

If you are formatting for both print and digital, keep in mind that reflowable ebooks give the reader control over font and size, which means your careful leading and kerning may not translate directly. Focus your detailed typographic work on the print edition and ensure your ebook uses a clean, well-structured stylesheet instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

What font size should I use for a self-published book?

Most professionally formatted books use a point size between 10 and 12 for body text. A 11-point or 11.5-point serif font with appropriate leading is a common choice that balances readability with a reasonable page count. The ideal size depends on your font’s x-height, your trim size, and your target audience — large-print editions typically use 16 to 18 points.

What is the difference between a typeface and a font?

A typeface is the design of the letterforms — Garamond, for example. A font is a specific instance of that typeface at a particular size and style — Garamond Bold 12pt. In modern digital usage, the terms are often used interchangeably, but the distinction matters when purchasing font licenses or specifying formatting instructions.

How do I fix widows and orphans in Microsoft Word?

Word has a built-in “Widow/Orphan control” setting under Paragraph > Line and Page Breaks. This prevents single lines from being stranded, but it can introduce uneven page lengths. For more precise control, adjust tracking manually, tweak paragraph wording slightly, or use a professional typesetting tool like InDesign or Vellum for the final pass.

Should I use a serif or sans-serif font for my book?

For print book body text, a serif font is the standard choice — the small strokes aid readability in long-form reading. Sans-serif fonts work well for headings, children’s books, and certain non-fiction genres. For ebooks, either can work since readers often override the font. Use your genre’s conventions as a starting point and test readability with sample pages.

Do typography choices affect my book’s page count and printing cost?

Yes, significantly. A font with a larger x-height set at the same point size will produce more pages than a font with a smaller x-height. Leading, tracking, margin sizes, and trim size all compound the effect. A shift from 1.3 to 1.5 leading on a 300-page book could add 40 or more pages, directly increasing print-on-demand costs.