How Words Get Good

A behind-the-scenes tour for booklovers everywhere.

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'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.