BOOKS: FROM WRITER TO READER

Young people thinking about a career in publishing or just curious about how a book is made will be well served by Greenfeld's careful outline of the process, from the writer's blank pages to his promotional tour (effective only with certain special authors). Actually, though, the author and the process of writing (and later the process of illustrating) don't get the close examination Greenfeld gives to what goes on in between. Even the literary agent gets a chapter, as do warehouses and bookstores at the end, and within the publishing house the work of editor, copy editor, designer, production supervisor, and compositor are surveyed rather in the manner of Grannis' What Happens in Book Publishing (1957). Greenfeld is well versed in all of this and reasonable at every step (our only question concerns whether editors really read all unsolicited manuscripts), and there are helpful chapters on printing, including color processes, which without getting too technical provide an orienting, informative overview. Illustrated throughout with sample manuscript pages, cost estimates, type face, etc., and with illustrated book pages (all from Crown) at various stages, this is a far more serious and thoroughly researched survey than any of the other juveniles on this or related subjects. And it's a handsome book as well.