Posted below is a raw scan directly from the sketchbook that shows how off-kilter my initial lettering was. About a half-hour of dropping guide lines and tweaking/editing the text (sometimes individual letters along with each line and sentence) went into the final print version.
Humbly submitted as evidence that I'm frequently guilty of ignoring my own oft-repeated admonishment to students to letter as opposed to writing the text. This requires meticulous attention to detail, and focusing on how each individual character has enough visual breathing room around it, both between it and any surrounding ones to its left and right as well as above and below it on other lines, along with in turn the real estate for each individual word, sentence and paragraph, and overall how these rest inside the enclosing balloon or bubble or panel.
Individual stylistic choices aside, crowded, wonky and illegible text is commonly the hallmark of beginners. Anything that hinders or detracts from the readability and smooth communication of meaning + intent from artist to reader could result in the work being passed over... somewhat similar to trying to listen to a standup comedian who mumbles their lines: then what's the point of listening? And so given the attention spans of contemporary reading public (no doubt in turn resulting in society's abysmal literacy levels) any additional work or taxing effort on their part is often detrimental to any interest or following.
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