Cathryn Jakobson Ramin: Crooked

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover: Crooked

CROOKED:
OUTWITTING THE BACK PAIN INDUSTRY
AND GETTING ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
Cathryn Jakobson Ramin
HarperCollins, May 9, 2017, $27.99
ISBN-10: 0062641786; ISBN-13: 978-0062641786

Ramin reports:

After years of struggling to resolve my back and hip pain, I decided to take a serious look at what passed for treatment in the U.S., and globally. There was very little evidence for most of what patients were being offered. Worse, “conventional” treatment could be harmful. In early 2009, my agent sold my proposal to the Crown trade imprint. The offer I signed required me to produce a manuscript in 18 months.

When I didn’t deliver in 24 months, having barely dipped my toes in the research, Crown cancelled my deal. I kept working.

Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, photo by Howard Schatz

I did almost all my interviews (about 500) in person or on Skype, maintaining audio recordings, which usually had to be transcribed. I talked to sources in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Crooked is a hybrid of investigative reporting and “guinea pig” journalism. The narrative structure took a long time to reveal itself. I used WorkFlowy software, which bills itself as a tool “to organize your brain.” It’s a searchable outlining tool that helped me make sense of my notes. It took dozens of drafts of each chapter to arrive at the style and tone I was after, which I call “Hold my hand while I walk you through some incredibly complex science, and make you like it.” I used Dropbox and the filename method of Chapter Number- Name-DayMonthYear (e.g., Chapter 3-Hazardous Images-02132016), which I learned from an ex-paralegal colleague.

I assembled a team of fact-checkers, researchers, copyeditors, and endnote managers. One of my fact-checkers, for legally complex aspects of the book, was attorney Rob Liguori, whose business is called The Verificationist. Because these are litigious times, I bought an insurance policy with Chubb, called Mediaguard.

After repaying my advance to Crown, I regained rights to the manuscript. In 2016, we sold Crooked to HarperCollins, in a deal for a finished manuscript that netted about 40 percent more than the Crown deal had.

What I wish I had known? Do not think you can rush complex investigative reporting. And never think you will remember where anything came from. Maintain sources like your life and livelihood depend on it.

Contact info:

Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, 415-710-2479, cjramin@mac.com
Book website: https://www.cathrynjakobsonramin.com
Publicist: Heather Drucker, 212-207-7468, heather.ducker@harpercollins.com
Agent: Michael Carlisle, 212-922-3500, x213, michael@inkwellmanagement.com

NASW members: will your book be published soon? Take advantage of this opportunity for shameless self-promotion. Submit your report for Advance Copy.

Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you began working on your book, or had done differently.

See https://www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines.

Thinking of writing a book? If you are a NASW member, you may access a list of more than 150 books and online resources to help you craft your book proposal, find an agent and funding sources, negotiate your contract, learn about self-publishing, publicize and market your book, and more at https://www.nasw.org/article/write-book.

Send book info and questions about book publishing to Lynne Lamberg, NASW book editor, llamberg@nasw.org.

Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.