How Words Get Good (Hardback)
The Story of Making a Book
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A behind-the-scenes tour for booklovers everywhere
'A masterpiece' - Daily Mail
'A fascinating and funny look at what really goes into the making of a book' Sunday Times
'Inject this straight into my veins!' Lucy Mangan
'Engaging, informative, and fascinating!' David Bellos, author of Is That a Fish in Your Ear?
Once upon a time, a writer had an idea. They wrote it down. But what happened next?
Join Rebecca Lee, professional word-improver, as she embarks on the fascinating journey to find out how a book gets from author's brain to finished copy. She'll learn the dark arts of ghostwriters, uncover the hidden beauty of typesetting and find out which words end up in books (and why). And along the way, her quest will be punctuated by a litany of little-known considerations that make a big impact: ellipses, indexes, hyphens, esoteric grammar and juicy errata slips. Whoops.
From foot-and-note disease to the town of Index, Missouri - turn the page to discover how books get made and words get good.
Or, at least, better.
How Words Get Good (Ebook)
The Story of Making a Book
Buy from
Catnip for booklovers - a funny, warm and fascinating insight into the world of making books, by an expert
'Any bibliophile will find many enjoyable nuggets in this compendium of book chat' Stephen Poole, Guardian
'An engaging little eye-opener about the publishing business, full of tasty nuggets about books, writers and their editors' Sunday Times
'Enjoyable ... engaging ... insightful' Independent
Once upon a time, a writer had an idea. They wrote it down. But what happened next?
Join Rebecca Lee, professional text-improver, as she embarks on a fascinating journey to find out how words get from an author's brain to finished, printed books. She'll reveal the dark arts of ghostwriters, explore the secret world of literary agents and uncover the hidden beauty of typesetting. Along the way, her quest will be punctuated by a litany of little-known (but often controversial) considerations that make a big impact: ellipses, indexes, hyphens, esoteric points of grammar and juicy post-publication corrections. After all, the best stories happen when it all goes wrong.
From foot-and-note disease to the town of Index, Missouri - turn the page to discover how books get made and words get good.*
* Or, at least, better
How Words Get Good (Paperback)
The Story of Making a Book
Buy from
Catnip for booklovers - a funny, warm and fascinating insight into the world of making books, by an expert
'Any bibliophile will find many enjoyable nuggets in this compendium of book chat' Stephen Poole, Guardian
'An engaging little eye-opener about the publishing business, full of tasty nuggets about books, writers and their editors' Sunday Times
'Enjoyable ... engaging ... insightful' Independent
Once upon a time, a writer had an idea. They wrote it down. But what happened next?
Join Rebecca Lee, professional text-improver, as she embarks on a fascinating journey to find out how words get from an author's brain to finished, printed books. She'll reveal the dark arts of ghostwriters, explore the secret world of literary agents and uncover the hidden beauty of typesetting. Along the way, her quest will be punctuated by a litany of little-known (but often controversial) considerations that make a big impact: ellipses, indexes, hyphens, esoteric points of grammar and juicy post-publication corrections. After all, the best stories happen when it all goes wrong.
From foot-and-note disease to the town of Index, Missouri - turn the page to discover how books get made and words get good.*
* Or, at least, better
Reviews for How Words Get Good
Sunday Times
Daily Mail
Lucy Mangan
David Bellos, author Is That a Fish in Your Ear?
Shaun Bythell, author The Diary of a Bookseller
Financial Times
Rebecca Gowers, author of 'Horrible Words: A Guide to the Misuse of English'
Hana Videen, author of 'The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English'
Henry Eliot, author of The Penguin Classics Book
Edward Brooke-Hitching, author The Madman's Library
Tom Mole, author The Secret Lives of Books
Stephen Poole Guardian
An engaging little eye-opener about the publishing business, full of tasty nuggets about books, writers and their editors
'
Sunday Times
Independent
Mail on Sunday
Daily Mail
Sam Leith Times Literary Supplement
Buzz magazine