Book reviews are critically important. Have you ever read a book hoping it would get better, only to find that it never did? And how do you tell if an independently published book is any good? So many are poorly edited and primitively designed, but writing off the entire self-publishing establishment amounts to closed-minded literary prejudice. Good online reviews drive purchasing decisions by separating out the Shinola—whether it’s trade published or offered by a vanity press.
In today’s digital world, consumers interested in most any product quickly look for the appraisals of early adopters. Considering a book? Or a new stereo? Or one of those “new” Jimi Hendrix albums? Smart consumers always check user reviews before clicking the “buy” button.
But if the average book takes ten hours to read and the average review takes an hour to write and post, you’re asking for eleven hours of a reviewer’s time. So how do you get people to review your book? Continue reading →
NITIAL CAPITALS have historical roots in the early days of book design; their use predates the printing press and the invention of moveable type. Today’s initial caps are not as fancy as those carefully rendered in gold leaf in ancient scriptoriums, but their association with classic book design remains strong. Initial Capital letters are often referred to generically as “drop caps” though a drop capital is actually a specific style of Initial Cap.
