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.

"Engaging, informative, and fascinating! Rebecca Lee's book is a whole education, drawn from her long experience of making books better." - Is That a Fish in Your Ear?

"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." - 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." - The Secret Lives of Books

"Beautifully written, unbelievably well informed and utterly fascinating - I adored it." - The Diary of a Bookseller

"Any bibliophile will find many enjoyable nuggets in this compendium of book chat" - 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" - 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