Helen Pearson: The Life Project

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover: The Life Project

THE LIFE PROJECT: THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF OUR ORDINARY LIVES
Helen Pearson
Allen Lane (U.K.), March 2016, £20
Softskull Press (U.S.), May 2016, $17.95
ISBN-10: 184614826X; ISBN-13: 978-1846148262

Pearson reports:

This book grew out of a feature I reported for Nature in 2011. The story starts in March 1946, when scientists recorded the birth of almost every British baby born in one week. They have been following thousands of these individuals ever since, in what has become the longest running major study of human development in the world. Researchers also started follow-on studies that tracked thousands of babies born in 1958, 1970, the early 1990s and at the turn of the millennium. No other country is tracking generations of people in this way.

The results been prolific, shaping policies around birth, schooling, chronic disease and much more. When I wrote that first feature, I realized this was such a remarkable story that there could be a book in it. In fact, I couldn’t believe someone hadn’t already written that book.

Helen Pearson

As a features editor for Nature, I work with a lot of writers, so I spoke to several of them about the book-writing process and then talked to a handful of agents, before deciding to work with Sarah Chalfant, who really supported the idea. With her help, I wrote a 25,000-word book proposal and got a U.K. book deal in late 2012.

Researching and writing the book was a monumental task; I carried out well over 150 interviews in the end, over five years. I couldn’t have done it without time away from my day job — and that happened because I went on maternity leave. I used income from a foreign book deal to pay for an extended maternity leave of a year. After that, I worked many weekends to finish the book.

If I decide to do it again, I would better understand the huge project I was taking on. It would be nice to figure out how to earn enough from book-writing to pay the mortgage, rather than foolishly attempting to write one on top of a job and family. But of course I’m proud that I finished The Life Project — and that it has been very well reviewed.

Contact info:

Helen Pearson, +44 (0)207 843 4519, h.pearson@nature.com
Publicist: Annabel Huxley, +44 (0)20 7010 3419, Ahuxley@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk
Agent: Sarah Chalfant, +44 (0)20 7908 5900, schalfant@wylieagency.co.uk
Book website: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/195897/the-life-project/

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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.

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