Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of typesetting that, well, indicates an amateur at the controls. One of the biggest errors is the inappropriate use of indented first lines for paragraphs.
What is the purpose of that first-line indent, anyway?
It’s used to indicate clearly a pause (greater than that indicated by a period), break in specific topic, or change in speaker. If you prefer, you can accomplish the same thing by using a bit of extra leading between paragraphs. However, the latter should be used with caution since it can make a printed page look more like a typical web page.
But please — please — don’t use both an indented first line AND extra leading. Nothing spells amateur much faster than that.
How much should the first line be indented? That depends on many factors, but generally a minimum of one en space up to two em spaces. Rarely should more be required. The selected width of the indent should be based on how many characters in the book’s standard line length and the font size used. Microsoft Word tends to default to a 0.5″ indent, which is usually way too much.
Should every paragraph have an indented first line?
Certainly not.
Remember that the indent is intended to create a pause. If the paragraph is the first one in a new chapter, there is already a sufficient pause built in. If the paragraph is immediately preceded by a heading or subheading, that also provides an ample pause. In both instances, drop the first-line indent and align that first line flush left. If you use a run-in subheading (also called a sidehead), don’t indent the first line. Leave it flush left, assuming you have applied a style that clearly sets off that run-in subheading from the following text.
There are other cases in which a flush left first line just looks and flows better — e.g., an indented blockquote usually looks better without that indent.
The above is certainly not everything you should know about the use of indented first lines, but it’s enough to help you avoid the most common errors made by beginning typesetters.
Remember, having the professional tools for typesetting is not enough. You really need to spend some time studying the art and accepted wisdom of the craft. I recommend you buy or borrow at least a couple of the books listed in my Books on Book Design blog post.
Learn the “rules” and understand why they’re accepted before you start breaking them!
2 Comments
November 13, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I’m seeing this in some books, but not the majority (at least not the majority of ones I’m reading anyway). Do you see the major houses adopting this soon?
Helen
Straight From Hel
November 13, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Helen,
I’m not sure what exactly you’re referring to. I was not suggesting that major publishers are using the first-line indent plus extra leading between paragraphs.
However, many self-publishers (and some micro-presses) who typeset their own work have been doing just that. Excessive first-line indents are also common in those books, many times due to typesetting in MS Word and accepting Word’s defaults (shudder).