formatting for print in Vellum

[IW Ferguson]

I am *this close* to publishing, and perhaps a bit frazzled/crazy/dehydrated/tuckered, and have a couple questions about formatting. I don't know if the Brads are here, or even if Brads were a real thing at The Other Place because they might have been a dream.

Anyway, I'm wondering about the options in Vellum Press. There are some limitations, sure but there are also options, and I'm the kind of person who can't seem to be okay just accepting the default and moving on. Can someone recommend a mere time-sink (book, website, etc) for me to learn about formatting, to help me avoid a time-bath?

My questions include such things as: what are the pros and cons of increasing font size or line-spacing? Are there genre considerations when choosing one of the 8 text fonts? All of my web searches yield tons of info about *how* to make formatting choices in Vellum, but few describe why.

[Mark Gardner]

I use the font size and spacing to make the book uniform length. Since 300 pages is about $4.50, and that spine thickness allows for three books on a standard wire rack, that's my goal. The fonts also have kerning effects that can change page count. You didn't mention it, but when producing leather-bound hand stitched hardcovers, I set my gutter at an inch so that I can guillotine the spine off for re-binding. I also make an "art book" with dribs and drabs from different books with a wide gutter- I guillotine off the spine and use them as promotional material. At an event, I've even taken a short story, printed it, cut off the spine, and hid pages all over the place. Fans do a scavenger hunt to piece together the story.