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

Dori Aleman-Medina answers #13Questions in OA's Debut Author Spotlight

13 Questions shine Operation Awesome's Spotlight
on this
2022 Debut Author

Juliana Lopez is Fu*king Fire: 21 Boys Later... by Dori Aleman-Medina

1- Any exciting holiday plans this December that you can share with us?

Christmas time is my second favorite (Halloween is first) of the year! Not quite a holiday event, but we’re going to see the Beastie Boys Exhibit in Los Angeles. I love the Beastie Boys. We’re also going to see the IllumiNature at the Fresno Zoo. There is also a Las Posadas event in Barrio Logan in San Diego we will attend. We have family all over so we’ll make a great loop of California.

2- Would you please, in 160 characters or less, give a #WriteTip ?

#Createflawedcharacters

3- What emotions do you hope your book will evoke for the reader?

I want readers to have a connection to Juliana. She’s flawed, makes mistakes, creates problems by accident. I want readers to feel, “oh girl, I’ve been there, don’t do that.” I hope readers feel as if she’s someone they can relate to.

Empathy, compassion, romance vibes-I hope readers fall in love with her, understand her choices, and even become angry when she does those things….

4- How did you come up with the title "Juliana Lopez is Fu*king Fire: 21 Boys Later... "?

The truth is-she told me that’s what it’s called. I have long, involved conversations with her in my head. 🤣 Juliana Lopez is fire. It’s her mantra. She is a survivor and still believes she’s going to find her true love. It’s been a working title for so long, nothing else felt right.

5- Would you share a picture with us of your book with a pet or by a fire?

Yes! I have both-I’ll share both.


6- How do you support your fellow debut authors and have any of them supported you?

Yes, I belong to writing groups that meet here in Southern California and have author friends who trade work with me. We support each other like that. I also read indie authors who are self-published.

7- Time to double-down on social media! What's your Twitter handle, and do you have two or three writer friends on there to shout-out to for #WriterWednesday ?
Also, can you please recommend a favorite #bookstagram account profile?

I don’t use Twitter much.

Instagram:
@Read_between.the_wines
@thebookstagramcommunity
@authorkvrose


8- What is your favorite creative non-writing activity to do?

I make charcuterie boards for friends. I also run a school-based garden for children with learning disabilities.

9- In what ways are the main characters in your book diverse? diversebooks.org #WeNeedDiverseBooks

I’m Latino and write Latino romance novels. Within my stories, I try to include neurodiverse characters (ADHD, autism, and other disabilities). I also have characters who use therapy and discuss their own mental health struggles to help normalize needing outside help.

10- What's the biggest writing goal you hope to accomplish in your lifetime? #WriteGoal #BucketList #WriterBucketList

Ohhh, to quit my day job and live (in California) as a full time writer. I’d love to have time to finish writing all the ideas I have. Since that might not happen, I want to finish the work I have started. I want people to love my people as much as I do (or at least half as much-I’d be okay with half.)

11- How did you come to the decision not to send a query letter?

I decided to self publish. There are several authors I love who explained their reasons for doing so. I understand those reasons. My market can seem narrow, Latino romance novels? The romance novel market is extremely saturated. I also hit a milestone birthday this year and evaluated what is important to me. I have hit all my professional goals. I was not able to write for a long time. I have a child with special needs who needed my attention. Now that he is in an independent place, I have time for my personal goals again. My husband encouraged me to self publish. He’s a fan of Gary Vee. He’s an all in-just go for it, kind of guy.

12- Would you please ask our audience an intriguing question to answer in the comments?

What’s the worst thing your partner did, but you forgave? (I don’t mean something like domestic violence-I mean, he threw away your engagement ring by accident because he has tissues left all over the counter.) No trigger warning responses-I’m a mandated reporter.

13- Anything else you would care to share about your book and yourself?

I live in beautiful Southern California with my favorite husband, my son, a cat and a dog, all who are not allowed to read the stories I write. I grew up in Fresno, CA, in a house that was near a Vons and Holmes Playground. I did not attend Roosevelt High School. I love the Tower District and Fresno City College. I’m Latinx, but I don’t speak Spanish. I have fallen in and out of love, gone to therapy, and struggled with emotional regulation. I am educated but I feel like a fraud. I have many stories to write but worry what my mom might think. I’m just like everyone else.

Instagram: 21.boys.later
Facebook: Dori Aleman-Medina, author


Juliana Lopez is Fu*king Fire: 21 Boys Later... by Dori Aleman-Medina

December 10 is Dewey Decimal System Day

Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), commonly known as the Dewey Decimal System, was established in the US by Melvil Dewey [born December 10, 1851] in 1876 as a system to shelve books [mostly non-fiction] in a library based on subject. It was originally described in a 44-page pamphlet, but is now expanded to multiple volumes with the latest edition published in 2012. It is used in 200,000 libraries in 135 countries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Decimal_Classification

000 – Computer science, information and general works
100 – Philosophy and psychology
200 – Religion
300 – Social sciences
400 – Language
500 – Pure Science
600 – Technology
700 – Arts and recreation
800 – Literature
900 – History and geography

Each class has 10 divisions which are then further categorized into 10 sections.

Here are ALL the sections
https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/dewey/resources/summaries/deweysummaries.pdf

Other classification systems are the Library of Congress system and the Universal Decimal Classification system, which allow for greater detail and are used in academic and similar settings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress_Classification

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Decimal_Classification

Chart comparing Dewey and Library of Congress systems
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Dewey_and_Library_of_Congress_subject_classification

https://nationaltoday.com/dewey-decimal-system-day/

Our thoughts, opinions, and experiences week- NaNoWriMo!

I recently participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time ever!

I really enjoyed the experiences. It has long been a goal of mine to establish a daily writing habit and NaNo certainly helped with that. I was quite addicted to updating my word count daily.

While I initially overestimated myself, planning to wake up at 5am and write every day (spoilers- this only happened the first two days), I was able to set aside time in each day to write. And because I was focused on word count, I didn't go back and reread everything I had previously written a gazillion times, which meant I was actually creating new words.

I also had the opportunity to make some new writing buddies, and that was an unexpected perk.

Now did NaNoWriMo enable me to write a novel? No.

But I did write 50,000 words that will be the backbone to an upcoming novel I have planned for about 80,000 words. Because I didn't outline or plot at all, a lot of what I have written will end up being backstory and may not actually make its way into the book. But through this exercise, I have gained a richer understanding of the characters, world, and conflict, so I don't feel like there were any words wasted.

Will I do NaNo again? Yes!

I really enjoyed the experience, met cool people, and accomplished a lot more than I would if left to my own devices. 

I think lessons learned here for me are: 

*Daily writing does help- but you should allow for mental breaks as needed

*Focus on new words and save the editing until your at least halfway through the novel

*Setting deadlines for myself is helpful (even if they are imaginary)

*Having accountability partners really helps!

After winning NaNo, I also picked up Plottr, and I'm having a lot of fun with it. I am usually a pantser so for now I am using it to make sure I am hitting my beats and that my pacing is on point as I revise. It's also great for tracking subplots, character arcs, twists and so on. :)

Happy Writing all!!!