"Imouto sae Ireba Ii" (all good as long as we have younger sister) volume 5 by Hirasaka Yomi. This volume contains practical information including why some anime turned out the way they did, why new authors' awards are won by dubious novels, and the story behind Kaiko's underwear.
The middle of this book explained the anime production bits, where a series has been substituted to fill the time slot of another previously scheduled series, and various compromises were required to fit the reduced schedule. The producer is trying to minimize financial loss, the editor-in-chief is trying to minimize risk to the original novel, and our protagonist is doing his best to convince the scriptwriter why having four sisters is such a luxury. The scenario seem very realistic, while the resolution is more inline with the comedic spirit of this series than how things might work in practice.
Later on, we learn about how the selection of new authors awards is a much more subtle process than "most interesting book wins". There is nontrivial amount of money involved, and various branding issues to consider, and also how the selection of winners would affect future applicants. Given the choices among something typical, something original, some miscellaneous entries, and a weird topic targeting a very niche audience, we somehow end up with a choice that none of the judges liked. Once again, the scenario seemed realistic, but perhaps the comical resolution here is really how these awards work.
In the midst of these industry anecdotes is Miyako, the heroine who has a crush on Itsuki and one who has just started part time work at his publisher. It was fascinating to see the inner workings of the publishing industry from the perspective of a newcomer, especially since most things appear to not go well. At the same time, it was interesting to see all the characters develop around Miyako as she becomes more connected with the authors, including two very different confession scenes.
Oh, and there were generous swimsuit scenes. With a meta punchline.
Besides those random bits, this particular volume appears to have the best balance between realistic and comedy scenes so far, and probably the most informational volume for people who are interested in what goes on behind the scenes in light novels. I look forward to more volumes like this in the future.
Previous (2016-11-30): "Eromanga Sensei" volume 7 by Fushimi Tsukasa
Next (2017-01-08): "Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!" volume 10 by Akatsuki Natsume