How many of you knew, and be honest, that when you use certain fonts you are supposed to pay a fee for using it? Some fonts are trademarked, and copyrighted, and you can't use them without permission or having a license. It was something I found out today!! No, really, today!! I had zero clue or knowledge regarding the matter before this very day (in fact, about an hour ago).
I am writing another book, and I have joined several online self-publishing groups on Facebook. I know I shouldn't do that, so many people on those things are so freaking weird, but you know what, I have to put up with them, and they have to put up with me. I posted that I was looking for someone to take my Word document of 83600 words and convert it into a print-ready high-resolution PDF so I could upload it onto Ingram Spark to go into the book's exterior. I also posted that I needed an exterior cover created as well. (and both needed to be converted to eBook)
Well, I got quite a few people writing to say one of three things: (1) Some said they could do it, and they shot me a price. (2) Some said they could do part of it, but not the other part. Since I got both parts I was OK with that. (3) Some said I could do it myself. I started thinking about it, and I'm going to do that if I can. It's going to be a bit difficult for this old dog to learn that particular new trick, but I'm absolutely ready to learn.
So, one guy who wanted me to use his company shot me a price of $999. (I laughed) I laughed because I already had four other offers for literally $200, $225, $250, and another for $315. Why on EARTH would I use his service for $999? He then told me I would be paying more because his company had the licenses needed to produce and reproduce all the fonts I would need for my book. That was just the weirdest and strangest thing I had ever heard -- and I laughed again. I mean, it's real, he's telling the truth; but is he?
Turns out there are licensed and trademarked fonts that if you use them you either have to be licensed to do so, or you need permission. Well, as one young man in Scotland knows, (Hi, Tex) I don't ask permission very often, if ever. I do what I am going to do. I may apologize, but I really don't ask permission. So, after digging into the matter I found that there are literally hundreds of fonts that are OPEN SOURCE and the one I'm using now is NOT one of them. I am using Georgia, but it's on this site, and this site has the license to share it. Oh, there you go. Loophole!! Well, there are a few fonts out there that are so close to Georgia that you and I couldn't tell the difference if we used a magnifying glass! I will be sure to use one of them when I download my book into the converter.
The converter has a 30-day trial so I downloaded it, and I'll use it to download this particular book. Then, I'll buy the thing and use it to download the others if I am successful with this one. If I am NOT successful with this one I'll keep reading and studying the methods because others are successful and I will force myself to learn. It makes 100% sense to me to buy a converter for $59 and use it as many times as I want to; rather than paying someone $100 to do it for me.
One woman I found told me she would do the download for $10 and the cover for $5 if I shot her the cover I wanted to use. SO CHEAP. In other words, I go to the app PAINT on my computer, upload a photo, use the tools to add text and whatever and she'll put it together in her converter and trim it up to the size I need. OK. If the new software I'm getting does that I may still give her the chance to teach me. That's worth not only my $5 but I'll give her more to train me. She's really funny too; nothing like me. We don't see eye-to-eye on any subject whatsoever except putting the screws on people who try to overprice their services. When I asked the woman why she charged so little she said she is trying to bring up her reviews, so if she can do 1000 or so books at $10 and/or $5 for covers, we'll give her great reviews. She's not wrong.
This is a side note, but it's funny: on one of the sites I was telling you about, I received two (count them, two) separate comments about my post being "aggressive" and "defensive" I was apparently "offensive" as well. Could it be the TRUMP shirt I had on in my photo? I don't know, but when I re-read my post it was "assertive" not "aggressive" and it was "confident" not "defensive". I did take a moment to explain the differences between the two sets of words. I was met with a know-it-all who tried to argue a point with me. I asked her to back off, to understand that not only am I a Southern woman, we talk differently, and I am also a Professor of English. I told her if she wanted to argue car mechanics that would be OK, but not to try to have a battle of connotation with me. It would not end well for her. I signed off with "Bless your heart" and left it at that.
Some people!! Anyway, I just wanted to chime in and ask you if you knew about the need to be licensed to use a damn font of your choice. You may want to think about it before you add it to your website. Apparently, some of these font creators are hell on wheels!! You can go about your business now, I just thought I would break in with a bit of new knowledge. You're welcome.
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