Operation Awesome

 Dear O'Abby,

I noticed Times New Roman was trending on Twitter the other day and wondered why.  I ended up wading into a debate about which font is best and started wondering why agents and publishers almost all ask for manuscripts to be submitted in Times New Roman.  Personally, I prefer writing in Calibri, but always change the font before submitting.

Do you know why Times New Roman is the industry standard font?

Best,

Font-anelle

Dear Font-anelle,

Fonts are such a personal thing, aren't they?  I feel like different fonts almost have different personalities and reading the same text in different fonts can create different reading experiences.

Times New Roman was developed for the Times newspaper in England and quickly became popular because it is very readable at most point sizes and in itallics.  The spacing also makes reading easier and allows more text on the page because it is on the narrow side.

Until relatively recently Times New Roman was the default font for most devices including personal computers so was the one people tended to use.  It is probably because of this that it became the industry standard - everyone has access to this font and you can guarantee that your work will keep looking the way you want it to look on the page when using a font everyone has.

The downside of the font is that because it is a serif font, it is not as easy for dyslexics to read.  It is also now considered somewhat old-fashioned.  Your favorite, Calibri, is actually better for dyslexics as the spacing and the fact it is sans serif make it look less cluttered on the page.  Arial, another old favorite, is also easier for dyslexics.

Personally, I tend to use a font called Optima when I'm drafting, at 14pt.  In the editing stage, I like to change the font and the font size between drafts because changing these things helps me find mistakes.  Only when I'm at a final draft stage do I ever use Times New Roman because that's the font the final, submitted manuscript will be in.

Hopefully that answers your question?  You can use whatever font you like best when you're writing for yourself, but when submitting, to give yourself the best chance, and to look professional, use Times New Roman.  And don't go smaller than 12pt.

X O'Abby