Worth Reading: How a book is born

Have you read the hot new debut THE ART OF FIELDING by Chad Harbach? Even if you haven't, there's a wonderful story in this month's Vanity Fair detailing the long journey Harbach made from writing to publication in only ten years!

Yesterday, I discovered an expanded version of this article is available as an e-book on Amazon for only $1.99. Here's the link.

From Amazon: The highly anticipated novel The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, has just been published. But what is the riveting story behind the story—and what does it take to make a bestseller these days? As author and n+1 co-founder Keith Gessen reveals in this 17,000-word e-book (expanded from the article appearing in the October issue of Vanity Fair), the passage from MFA classroom to national book tour is its own treacherous, absorbing—and wildly unpredictable—adventure. Harbach, Gessen’s friend and colleague, was a struggling writer who toiled relentlessly for ten years on The Art of Fielding, before it eventually hauled in a $650,000 advance.

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This article is a fascinating study of all the different elements that go into the birth of a book - from inception to cover design and all the steps in between. It's a must read for writers.