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pictures or illustrations

magic15magic15
edited June 2008 in - Writing Problems
Hi I am just going to start writing soon and I have a query reguarding the use of pictures or illustrations that I was thinking of adding to my work to emblish it, also pref. some realistic sounds that will come from microsoft clipart online.

I just would like to know what do other novice writers feel about using pictures and other such mediums to embelish thier work.

Phil.

Comments

  • dorothyddorothyd
    don't.
    As an editor I detest fancy things that come attached to a manuscript. Send it plain, simple, clearly set out as per the instructions of the magazine/publisher you are aiming for. If there are illustrations, say for a children's story or something, say you have them only if they want them. Mostly people use their own illustrators. If it is an article and there are relevant photographs, send copies. Otherwise, don't add sound, or anything. Your work must stand on its own.
  • CarolCarol
    Agree with Dorothy. As those TB's who are also illustrators will tell you, publishers usually have their own band of illustrators.
  • FionaFiona
    Where is this going to be published? If it's on your own website (how else would you be able to get 'sounds'? or am I missing something?) then embelish away, it's a matter of personal taste. But if you are sending it to someone else's site or print publication, I agree with Dorothy and Carol - pictures as embellishments put editors off. As do: enlarged font headings, coloured fonts, fancy script fonts (Ariel, courier or Times Roman are considered the norm), borders, caps within the text, coloured paper, stickers etc. Keep it plain and simple. However, if it is an article that requires photographs as part of the package (many magazines expect a pic / word package these days for non-fiction articles) then relevant photos are essential - but no clip art! I just received an article today with green ink, 24 pt heading, a pretty but illegible cursive-type body text and a mix of caps, italics and underlines within the text for emphasis. I was sorely tempted to bin it and if I hadn't had my first cup of coffee I just might have!
  • dorothyddorothyd
    Fiona, that sounded perfect, all that green ink and mix of caps and all ... livened up the day and should fit well in the bin!
  • LizLiz
    Would add that courier wastes paper, and makes your manuscript much more bulky...

    We had loads of talks by agents and publishers and without fail they told us not to send pictures unless we were qualified illustrators who were illustrating their own picture book manuscript.

    And also without fail they told us of manuscripts arriving with biscuits, presents, on pink scented paper, with dots around the edges, yes ,in green ink, and silly typefaces. They were all thrown in the bin, because subconsciously you are saying 'My writing is not good enough on its own, I have to make it stand out by making it pretty'. Manuscripts like this are thus filed in the bin.
  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    edited June 2008
    So Courier's out? Mind you, I do change to Times Roman if I've ended up with an orphan line on the final page. Quite of lot of my submissions are by e-mail, so I'm not sure whether it makes any difference. Obviously, if someone says what to use, then I'll use that.
  • dorothyddorothyd
    Courier has always been a bad font, I wish someone would destroy it, dump it, throw it out of the window or something! It's a comic-y font, too rounded and bulky. We print all our books in Bookman and I use Book Antiqua for my magazine, a standard font throughout, apart from headings. There I limit myself to Formal Script and one other, so as not to make the magazine look a mess of different styles.

    Of all the fonts Times Roman is the clearest and best to use for publishers.
  • FionaFiona
    Courier's still 'in' for script. Times Roman or Ariel for prose. Are you a courier man, Jay?
  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    The fonts I don't like are the ones where you're wondering if it's someone's handwriting.
  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    Yes, I admit it: I'm a Courier fan.

    If it's a long story, I might want to save paper, so then I'll print using a smaller font.
  • NephNeph
    edited June 2008
    i tend to use Ariel as I just dont like the look of Times Roman, but would probably change it if was sending it somewhere. I never print anything out unless I really have to so doesn't really matter how I save it.
  • CarolCarol
    I like Bookman. My son is getting a website put together for his photography, and the main text is going to be Bookman.
  • LizLiz
    I adore Amasis, but you have to buy it.. I downloaded a free ordinary font in it though.

    However, if you are writing poems you can't change it all at the last minute. It would take forever, 80 - 100, with every poem being a different document...

    Don't you have to change page/numbers/titles etc though N-c if you change font?
  • magic15magic15
    ok everyone thanks for your comments please keep them coming!
    Phil.
  • RosalieRosalie
    Courier for scripts - that's interesting, Fiona. Is it actually preferred for scripts?
  • Mike CoombesMike Coombes
    "I like Bookman. My son is getting a website put together for his photography, and the main text is going to be Bookman."

    Please advise him not to. It's not a web-friendly font. If you want a serif font for web use that you can be sure won't look like crap on other people's browsers, or be replaced with something else if they don't have it installed, use Georgia.
  • CarolCarol
    Thanks for that Mike, I'll pass the info on.
  • JanJan
    Arial is recommended by such as the blind and dyslexic organisations. Preferred text size is a minimum of 11point.
  • LizLiz
    For leaflets and websites it's 14pt...
  • CarolCarol
    Yes, I found 14 point looked better.
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