So, first off, I am not a professional organiser, but I am a pack rat who is working on decluttering. I don't know if most professional organisers start out with a clutter problem to overcome, but I don't think I'd trust any that didn't for the same reason that I couldn't connect with a personal trainer or nutritionist that hadn't personally struggled with weight loss. Now, I know some people will say, ‘You don't have to have had a brain tumour to be a brain surgeon' and that's probably very, very true. However, this is my blog and this is what I think about the whole sorting thing: Never trust a skinny sorter! ☺

Here are some tips that I'm accumulating from firsthand experience as I attempt to get my life (and home) back into order:

• Buy a good shredder! I bought an el cheapo and while I'm getting lots of practise extricating paper from its tiny metal jaws, it's about to be one of my tidying casualties if it doesn't behave.

• Start with the big stuff, or the areas that are causing you the most annoyance. (For me, that's my office.) If you find yourself spending a lot of time on something, like looking through photos or whatever, move on to something else. Think big picture! I once read a great book on sorting, which I won't list here because I'm not getting any kickbacks (laughing), but also because I'm too lazy to try to find it in this mess. It had several categories for sorting, but since I cannot remember them, I'll share the categories that popped into my mind:

1. Destroy. Immediately.
2. Dither. If anything goes into this category, just move on or you'll get yourself into the Bermuda Triangle of tidying and no one will ever find you.

• If it's on your computer, and isn't heirloom photos or something, and you have a back-up (You do, right? One off-site too, yeah?), shred it! Right now! I know your Mum kept all of your swimming certificates and whatnot, but if you don't have kids, or don't feel anyone will care in 50 years when they uncover them as they look through 'mad old Aunt Bertha's stuff', toss them. I just shredded some certificates for Quattro Pro (pre-Excel, pre-Cro-Magnon ...) from *1993*. Man!
• If you have empty boxes sitting around, get rid of them. No ... seriously, if they're empty, that's great, but you're just tempting fate here. You will put something in them. So, before you do, take a deep breath and chuck them into the recycling bin. Go on. I'll wait.
• If you have more magazines than a dentist's office, read my note above about empty boxes. Get. Rid. Of. Them. Now. No, you're not going to read them. No, you're not going to create the amazing dolls out of corn husks on page 103. If you really can't toss them, take them to your dentist's office. Then it's his or her problem.

Only you know what's important to you so I recommend that you do the heavy lifting before calling in a professional, unless you can't get started ... Getting someone in might be the jump start you need, but remember, most of them charge by the hour. And you have a lot of stuff ... Get at it!

My title applies to life in general, but more specifically to designing book spines.

We all know the old saying, ‘Don't judge a book by its cover', but we literally do that with books (and probably with people too). Basically, unless you're a known figure, it's challenging to get your book into a bookstore as it is so you will probably not have the luxury of having a huge display with your books on it, facing outwards and languishing on silk with a fresh vase of flowers next to them. In fact, if you're lucky, you'll only have a few on a shelf with only a small piece of real estate, the spine, doing the job of selling.

If the potential book purchaser doesn't already know what book they're looking for—that being your book—if the spine isn't appealing, your chances of going home with the book buyer are about as likely as my current obsession Jo-Wilfried Tsonga asking me out for a coffee the next time he's in Melbourne (but, hey, Jo, if you're reading this blog, email me, *laugh*).

So, what can you do to make your spine sexier? Here are a couple tips:

1. First of all, please, please carefully consider the font. I'm a sucker for decorative fonts, you know the ones with the curves in all the right places, but people literally GLANCE at spines, so it has to be readable as well as enticing.
2. Think about using colour, or at least an interesting motif for part of the spine. Be really careful with your colour choice as they convey and trigger subconscious moods.
3. Most people don't have necks that tilt to the side so if the spine is wide enough to keep the writing horizontal, why not do it? My Australian Oxford Dictionary is a prime example of this principle in action.
4. Finally, and I've actually jumped ahead, as I'd start with this: Do your research. Go to a bookstore (or three) and have a look at where your book would appear. Look at spines ... really look at them. Which ones grab your eye? Which ones do your eyes slide over? Why? The insights you collect during this phase of the design process will give you some awesome insights into what works and what doesn't.

OK, I'll close for now and let you get back to it. If you have any questions, or want to share a tip, feel free to email me on renee@risingstardesigns.com.au.

Let's talk a bit about fonts since I'm working on another book design and ... also, I love talking about fonts!

If you ever decide to self-publish, you will have at least some say in the font of the book. It is what your reader will stare at for the entire time so remember that it has to be above all readable. Secondly, it should suit the tone and voice of your book.

If it's a serious topic, forget about those 'groovy' fonts we all tend to love. While serif (it has the little 'feet' on the bottom) fonts are usually deemed to be best for print, you can get away with sans serif if you're 'careful'. I know, caution is for wimps, but you do really need to exercise some willpower when choosing fonts.

Here are some other tips/guidelines:

• Do not set the vast majority of fonts in all caps. It's just ... ugly.
• Please, please do not set script fonts in all caps. Ever. Otherwise, I may have to hunt you down and torture you. That is all.
• Do not use every font you own on a project. Yes, we know you love fonts, but less is more!
• Do not underline fonts. It's so ... yesterday. Yes, I know I just did it, but do as I say, not as I do! Use italics or bold for emphasis. Apart from underlining looking repulsive, you also tend to cut off letters with descenders (like gs and ys).
• Think about what you're trying to say and pick a font that creates that 'mood'. Yep, heaven help us, fonts have moods too.
• If you cannot tell the difference between an m and an n or an l and a 1 in a font, seriously consider ditching it.
• I cannot believe I'm going to say this, but if you have to choose between a beautiful font and a readable font, go for the readable one.
• Do some research. Find a few tomes by some of the best publishing houses. Study them. They usually have the font used on the imprint page so if you get stuck, you can always do a bit of creative copying.
• Finally, have fun! You've taken the time to create a book. Now is your chance to make it shine visually as well.

Good luck! There's a wide world of fonts out there and, truly, one for everyone and every project. Oh and one final word of advice: avoid using Times New Roman, if at all possible. It's like being trapped in conversation with a boring person at a party: seemingly unavoidable, but also able to make you snooze at ten paces.