Typesetting seems simple, but it is not. Unless you have experience and the proper software, you should not typeset your own book. You put much effort into writing your book, and your work deserves a proper exhibition.

The day when craftsman placed metal blocks into presses and composing sticks is gone. Modern typesetting is done on a computer, but it remains a craft that requires time, patience, and attention to details. The typesetters of yore would measure carefully the space between each letter, positioning the blocks manually to produce neat and uniform kerning, or the space between each letter, and leading, or the space between each line. Today, the typesetter need only type numbers into textboxes to set neat and uniform kerning and leading.

That is not the end of the matter, however. Readers today expect much higher quality, and the quality of many early modern books would not meet the standards of today. If you try to typeset your own book without much experience or practice, your book will look like an early modern counterfeit reprint.

Modern standards prefer that text be justified for most types of books. How does one adjust kerning so that the text justifies without appearing awkward? Should one use em dashes when justifying text rather than relying on adjustments to kerning only? (The trim size, margins, and font size determine the number of characters in each line, and the number of characters will provide us the answer to this question).

Good typesetting should not intrude on the contents or distract from the layout of books, such as children's books and cookbooks, that require graphic design. Typesetting should be inconspicuous. If the reader notices it, that is because it is poor. You want the reader to focus on your words (or on the beautiful images of food or the drawings), not on how the words appear in print. Good typesetting should make the reader comfortable, able to concentrate on what you have written.