Jagshemash! I really should be working on my dissertation right now but Tokyopop has a magical allure that's inversely proportional to the days until uni deadlines XD! I found this on the main page which is a really useful article by Coral Peterson on getting down to business with RSOM: http://www.tokyopop.com/528.html (still don't know how to hyperlink in body text...if anyone does please message me T_T!). These tips are focussed on typography and how to effectively letter your comic. This is a crucial but often overlooked finishing touch.

1) Alignment
The most common 'ouch' factor are bits of text that aren't shaped in accordance to the speech bubble. In most cases, a speech bubble is round so you should centre-align your text. If you left-align it, it creates a straight edge inside a round frame which is a design faux-pas worthy of public flogging. Once centre aligned, break up the words so that the overall shape of that piece of text is round. Don't have a triangular shape where the lines get successively longer and then suddenly end abruptly leaving a mysterious white space below.  But don't sacrifice the legibility of the text over layout...this includes breaking up words using hyphens (use only if absolutely necessary).

2) Fonts
Most appropriate comic fonts are designed to be capital by default (Digital Strip, Komika, MarkerMan etc). Try to avoid using the caps-lock...if you do then it probably means that the font you chose shouldn't be used for a comic anyway!  Also don't use serif fonts...serifs are the tiny wedge shaped 'bits' that stick off ends of letters (eg Times New Roman). Those are designed to facilitate reading large chunks of writing such as those in books or newspapers...and not 'free floating' single lines in comics. Try to avoid 'boring' fonts such as Arial or Helvetica...those are utilitarian and flattens your work. And always remember: COMIC SANS IS THE ANTI-CHRIST.

3) Installing Fonts
There are many sites that offer free fonts for private use (www.dafont.com, www.blambot.com). Using rare fonts create visual appeal and gives your comic it's own identity. Once you download a font file, unzip it and simply drag the *ttf files into the Font Folder on the Control Panel. This automatically installs it onto your computer and is accessible from Photoshop, Word and other applications. For Mac, drag the font file into the FontBook on the Dock.

4) Text Size
Keep an eye on the ratio between your text size and the speech bubble. When in doubt, make the text a bit smaller with room around it to 'breathe' rather than filling up the entire bubble.  If you look at professional mangas, many will have a huge speech bubble for a small amount of text.  But quite obviously, don't make your text so small that it becomes illegible. Especially if you're aiming for RSOM it's useful to make a test print at TP standard size to see if everything is clearly readable. (Having said that, text is much more legible in print than on screen so you might get away with something smaller than you had imagined).

5) Spell Check!
A manga is a finished piece of work so make sure you use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. Don't write in l33t or txt speak unless you are deliberately creating the most obnoxious character know to man (ga). It's advisable to write everything in Word and then copy/paste rather than typing directly into Photoshop. PS doesn't have a spell-checker or automatic correction so typing an entire comic dialogue is a disaster waiting to happen.