Meredith Wadman: Vaccine Race

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover: Vaccine Race

THE VACCINE RACE:
SCIENCE, POLITICS AND THE HUMAN COSTS
OF DEFEATING DISEASE
Meredith Wadman
Viking, February 7, 2017, $30.00
ISBN-10: 0525427538; ISBN-13: 978-0525427537
Ebook: ISBN: 978-1440843655

For this column, NASW book editor Lynne Lamberg asks NASW authors to tell how they came up with the idea for their book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. She also asks what they wish they had known before they began working on their book, what they might do differently the next time, and what tips they can offer aspiring authors. She then edits the A part of that Q&A to produce the author reports you see here. Publication of NASW members’ reports in Advance Copy does not indicate NASW’s endorsement of their books. NASW welcomes your comments, and hopes this column stimulates productive discussions.

Wadman reports:

The Vaccine Race was born when I came across a letter published in Science in 2012, when I was working as a reporter for Nature. In it, a biologist named Leonard Hayflick argued that HeLa cells, made famous by Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, were not alone in having an amazing history: a cell line that he created from an aborted fetus in 1962 was used to make vaccines that have protected hundreds of millions of people. Not only that, Hayflick had gotten into a lawsuit-ridden fight with the U.S. government over who owned the cells, dubbed WI-38 — a fight that raised questions about tissue ownership that persist to this day.

Lifesaving vaccines; abortion; intellectual property wars — united by a cell line from a single fetus! That letter leapt off the page at me. Soon, I was out in California interviewing Hayflick in person. He was a treasure of a source, full of clear, cogent memories and feisty opinions. By the end of that trip, I knew that this story had to be a book.

Meredith Wadman

I spent the next nine months, off and on, reporting and writing the story of the WI-38 cells as a feature article for Nature. I also found my agent, Gail Ross, who with her partner Howard Yoon provided hugely important help writing and shopping the book proposal in New York, where I signed a contract with Viking.

Crucially, Gail also suggested that I apply for a New America Foundation fellowship. It funded me for two years of full-time work, after which I completed the book during a third, unfunded year. (New America has since made its fellowships part-time.)

What do I wish I had known or done differently? I can be my own worst enemy when I go down attractive-seeming research rabbit holes, getting fascinated by non-central characters and events. Yet in the end, this was part of the joy of writing the book, even if it added time to the process. I suppose, being me, that I couldn’t have done it any differently.

Contact info:

Meredith Wadman, 703-343-3572, mwadman@gmail.com
Book website: http://meredithwadman.com
Agent: Gail Ross, 202-328-3282 , gross@rossyoon.com
Publicist: Tony Forde (Viking), 212-366-2279, tforde@penguinrandomhouse.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.