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How Books Are Made @HowBooksAreMade

A podcast about the art and science of making books – @arthurattwell speaks to book-making leaders about design, production, marketing, distribution, and tech.

Joined August 2020
  • Tweets 106
  • Following 17
  • Followers 79
Photos and videos
Ever wondered what goes into a successful crowdfunding campaign? In our latest episode, @arthurattwell speaks with @aaronareed, who’s crowdfunded several books and games, including *50 Years of Text Games* and *Downcrawl 2E*. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

What does it take to crowdfund a book?

The allure of crowdfunding is that you can sell your book before it costs you any money. But that's harder than it looks!

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New episode! Children’s publisher @bookdash makes beautiful books in a single day, then gives them away. And their method is catching on around the world. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

How Book Dash makes beautiful books in a single day

Children's publisher Book Dash makes beautiful books in a single day, then gives them away. And their method is catching on around the world.

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Big honour that we're a South African Podcast Awards finalist! Alongside four exceptional nominees. sapg.co.za/awards-finalists
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New episode! Arthur speaks with Graham Moss, master printer, history teacher, and founder of Incline Press, which works with poets and artists to make limited-edition books with hand-set, metal type on vintage machines. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

The fine-press printer’s art of not forgetting

At the heart of everything book-like is a printer, standing at a hand-powered press, turning paper into pages.

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New episode! Today we’re talking fonts with type designer @ThomasJockin. We find out how typefaces can make it easier for people to understand what they read, and what variable fonts mean for type design, for reading, and for society. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

Fine lines in type design

Everything we read is coloured by its typeface. And humans read a lot, so font choices probably affect more people than any other field of design.

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New episode, with Griffin Shea, about running one of Joburg’s most beloved bookshops, Bridge Books. We cover sourcing books, setting prices, connecting booksellers, the highs and lows of the inner city, and judging SA’s most prestigious non-fiction award. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

Risk, reward, and reality for indie bookstores

There is no place more universally loved than a good bookstore. For its owner, achieving that is not as simple as it seems.

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New episode! Behind every great author is a host of unsung editors – often ghostwriters, too. By convention, they don’t get their names on books. What are they doing behind the scenes? howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

How editors and ghostwriters make books better

Behind every great author is a host of unsung editors. By convention, they don’t get their names on books. What are they doing behind the scenes?

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New episode! ‘Building tools for creative communities’—Librivox and Pressbooks are book-making platforms with vibrant communities, created by @hughmcguire. What does it take to build a tool that creative people gather round? howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

Building tools for creative communities

Creative communities can be a powerful force for good. Online, they grow around tools that let people be creative together. What comes first, the tools or the community?

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In today’s new episode, Arthur speaks to Emma Barnes about managing metadata and technical literacy, and we catch up about Snow Books and children’s publishing service Make Our Book. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

Managing metadata for drama-free publishing

We take for granted that books contain no mistakes, but the absence of mistakes is no small achievement. It takes care, commitment, and very, very good processes.

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New episode! We talk to book-tech leader Dave Cramer about creating standards, making ebooks, using CSS for print layout, and the dilemmas of digital-first vs InDesign-based publishing. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

How do ebooks work at all?

Would you believe that the entire ebook marketplace – including Kindle, iBooks, and thousands of ebook stores – depends on the volunteer work of about a dozen people?

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New episode! Why are book clubs so transformative? My guest @BleedingInkAndy works with book clubs and writers who are in or have been in prison, and has seen the positive effect of reading circles on people who are rebuilding their lives. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

‘Books beg to be discussed’

Why are book clubs so transformative, and can they change the world?

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In today's new episode, Arthur talks to literary agent Aoife Lennon-Ritchie about what agents do; do's and don'ts for getting an agent; evaluating contracts; and crossovers between writing for page and screen. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

What is an agent and how do I get one?

Good agents are the fairy grandparents of page and screen. They get writers; and they get writers paid.

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How Books Are Made retweeted
Central European University Press@CEUPress
10 Jun 2024
Executive Chair of @CEUPress, @francespinter talked to @arthurattwell about maintaining quality in #publishing, the impact of #openaccess on COVID research, and what it takes to start a new publishing #business today. Listen now! 🎧tinyurl.com/PodPinter @HowBooksAreMade
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How Books Are Made retweeted
Global Book Alliance@thebookalliance
14 Feb 2022
Who gets published? Whose stories and ideas are shared? How can we ensure books reflect a wider array of perspectives? To learn more, listen to @arthurattwell's wonderful podcast @HowBooksAreMade about the art and science of making books howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

Who gets published?

The biggest decision in publishing is ‘who gets published?’ Whose ideas, world views, and idioms get added to the great library?

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How Books Are Made retweeted
Andrew Rhomberg@arhomberg
25 May 2021
Replying to @HowBooksAreMade
and we currently have a very limited number of A/B cover tests (Value £695) with readers available for publishers in UK, Ireland, Australia and South Africa for @HowBooksAreMade podcast listeners or @Bookmachine members. Hurry though,this offer is only available until 31 May 2021
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Amazing book covers here. We had a fascinating conversation with @arhomberg last year about measuring their effectiveness. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

Measuring reading for smart marketing

Arthur speaks to Andrew Rhomberg, the founder of Jellybooks, about how publishers use smart ebooks to measure what readers think of a new publication, and to figure out whether it could be a bestse...

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Arthur Attwell@arthurattwell
25 May 2021
These book covers just knock me off my seat. What 2021 book covers would you add to this list? printmag.com/post/30-of-the-… 1/3
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Our conversation was about book covers in general, not these specific ones, of course. Andrew explains how "we A/B test covers, and see how the reaction of people differs, especially for books where the publisher was unsure what the audience reaction will be …"
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"who is the audience for this book? Really understanding how to match a book to the audience has become much, much more important."–@arhomberg. howbooksaremade.com/episodes…

Measuring reading for smart marketing

Arthur speaks to Andrew Rhomberg, the founder of Jellybooks, about how publishers use smart ebooks to measure what readers think of a new publication, and to figure out whether it could be a bestse...

howbooksaremade.com
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How Books Are Made retweeted
Joshua Tallent@jtallent
18 May 2021
Replying to @HowBooksAreMade @arthurattwell
Arthur has interviewed some pretty cool people, too: @nickbarreto, @glecharles (who joined me for BookSmarts episode 3: booksmartspodcast.com/2021/0…), @arhomberg, and @John_Pettigrew.
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How Books Are Made retweeted
Joshua Tallent@jtallent
18 May 2021
I just found a new podcast to follow: How Books Are Made (@HowBooksAreMade) with Arthur Attwell (@arthurattwell). If the trailer is any indication, this is going to be great! howbooksaremade.com/

How Books Are Made

Arthur Attwell speaks to book-making leaders about design, production, marketing, distribution, and technology. These are conversations for book lovers and publishing decision makers.

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