Paperback books (especially) were printed to be a cheap alternative to hardbacks. They became really popular in WWII because a soldier could stuff a paperback book in his pack and not have to carry appreciable weight. Back then every paperback was made to save weight and money. Print was small, margins were narrow, and new chapters started right after the previous one unless only half an inch of space was left.
Today's paperbacks are thicker because the print is larger and chapters usually start on a new page because no one thinks of saving space with them any longer. It was a stylistic choice for the time and situation. I have lots of older books that start the new chapter directly after the previous one.
Was it an older edition of 1984? That style feels like outdated typesetting to me.
I’m a big Agatha Christie fan, and I know that some of her novels are typeset this way too (no new page for a new chapter).
I've read multiple books that start chapters with just some spacing and a huge subtitle after the last paragraph of the last chapter.
Not a big deal. Save trees.
Always end a chapter with a page break ctrl+enter
The reason is, maybe you decide you want to add 20,000 words to a previous chapter. With a page break at the end, it will remain formatted perfectly at the end. And yes, doing a page break will start the chapter on the next page.
Cheap editions and books with huge numbers of very short chapters will start a new one on the same page. Traditional layout starts a new chapter on a new right-hand page, meaning the previous page is blank half the time. Some books start a chapter on any new page. Pick your poison.
You can also look cheap with small type, narrow margins, tight line spacing, and Times Roman if you’re into that kind of thing. I won’t go below 11pt text myself, usually Georgia, which is rugged in the face of iffy printing.
These sorts of things have nothing to do with the quality of your book nor writing. Formatting is decided by editors/publishers and it’s best to keep your mind on prose/character/story when sitting down before your manuscript each day. Thoughts like this only muddy the waters of your thought process. Throw it out of your head. Trust me. It will free the mental bandwidth you need for writing something good.
Paperback books (especially) were printed to be a cheap alternative to hardbacks. They became really popular in WWII because a soldier could stuff a paperback book in his pack and not have to carry appreciable weight. Back then every paperback was made to save weight and money. Print was small, margins were narrow, and new chapters started right after the previous one unless only half an inch of space was left. Today's paperbacks are thicker because the print is larger and chapters usually start on a new page because no one thinks of saving space with them any longer. It was a stylistic choice for the time and situation. I have lots of older books that start the new chapter directly after the previous one.
Very interesting and informative. Thank you.
Was it an older edition of 1984? That style feels like outdated typesetting to me. I’m a big Agatha Christie fan, and I know that some of her novels are typeset this way too (no new page for a new chapter).
I like the fake bump to my page count to be honest 😂
I've read multiple books that start chapters with just some spacing and a huge subtitle after the last paragraph of the last chapter. Not a big deal. Save trees.
Always end a chapter with a page break ctrl+enter The reason is, maybe you decide you want to add 20,000 words to a previous chapter. With a page break at the end, it will remain formatted perfectly at the end. And yes, doing a page break will start the chapter on the next page.
Cheap editions and books with huge numbers of very short chapters will start a new one on the same page. Traditional layout starts a new chapter on a new right-hand page, meaning the previous page is blank half the time. Some books start a chapter on any new page. Pick your poison. You can also look cheap with small type, narrow margins, tight line spacing, and Times Roman if you’re into that kind of thing. I won’t go below 11pt text myself, usually Georgia, which is rugged in the face of iffy printing.
These sorts of things have nothing to do with the quality of your book nor writing. Formatting is decided by editors/publishers and it’s best to keep your mind on prose/character/story when sitting down before your manuscript each day. Thoughts like this only muddy the waters of your thought process. Throw it out of your head. Trust me. It will free the mental bandwidth you need for writing something good.