How Words Get Good

Reviews / Votes

Engaging, informative, and fascinating! Rebecca Lee's book is a whole education, drawn from her long experience of making books better. -- David Bellos, author * Is That a Fish in Your Ear? * Inject this straight into my veins! -- Lucy Mangan A revelatory account of how books get made, and a delightful hymn to human collaboration. No really: you'll be entertained on every page! -- Rebecca Gowers, author of 'Horrible Words: A Guide to the Misuse of English' Bibliophiles will really enjoy this ... Rebecca Lee takes you on a journey - a book's journey - and there's never a dull moment. She moves skilfully back and forth between fascinating book-making history to delightful modern-day anecdotes from both her own experience and other experts in the book-publishing profession. -- Hana Videen, author of 'The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English' A bibliophile's paradise, a trove of inside stories and fascinating facts. The journey made by words, from the mind of an author to the printed page, is surprisingly complex and often hilarious, and Rebecca Lee is the perfect guide. -- Henry Eliot, author of The Penguin Classics Book Everything you could want to know, and a whole lot more you didn't even know you wanted, about the history and process of writing. Fascinating stories, secrets and nuggets of advice from inside the belly of the publishing beast. You'll finish this book wanting to get started on your own, and knowing exactly how to go about it. -- Edward Brooke-Hitching, author * The Madman's Library * A book full of good words about how words get good. Drawing on wide reading and long experience, Rebecca Lee shines a light on the talented people who work behind the scenes to bring the best possible version of a book to its readers. Revealing, readable and fun. -- Tom Mole, author * The Secret Lives of Books * Beautifully written, unbelievably well informed and utterly fascinating - I adored it. -- Shaun Bythell, author * The Diary of a Bookseller * 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 * Many enjoyable digressions ... An engaging guide to the behind-the-scenes work involved in getting a book published ... Insightful * Independent * From ghost writers to grammar, from translation to typesetting, she proves a lively and engaging guide to the long process of making a book, tracing its history from the ancient world to the modern day. ... A funny and illuminating peek into publishing below stairs. * Mail on Sunday * Excellent and much-needed ..... I am not sure I have ever read anything as good on the process of getting a book into print. ... A straightforward masterpiece. * Daily Mail * A very amiable, freely digressive omniumgatherum of book-related bits and pieces ... Interesting and unexpected -- Sam Leith * Times Literary Supplement * Cheerful, clearheaded * Buzz magazine * Chock-full of the kind of anecdotes that are catnip for booklovers * Financial Times * Book-nerd heaven * The Times *