Knopf

Knopf enters the book’s account as the publisher that acquired the manuscript’s publication rights and as the institutional home of an editorial process that reshaped it. The account presents publication not as a single transaction but as the result of extensive work on a manuscript assembled and revised over several years.

Acquisition and Publication

In February 2017, nearly three years after work on the book had begun, Tim O’Connell of Knopf considered the manuscript promising enough for Knopf to acquire its publication rights from Tyrant Books. The manuscript at that point was described as less a conventional manuscript than a plastic basket full of paper: every page had been rewritten repeatedly, there was no Word file, and the pages had been produced on a typewriter. Gian DiTrapano had taken on the task of shaping this material into a coherent whole.

Editorial Revision

Acquisition did not mean the text was ready to print. O’Connell told the author that the writing needed improvement and required another rewrite; the author nearly gave up, then began revising while studying O’Connell’s substantial changes. A phone conversation involving Matthew, O’Connell, Adeline Manson, and the author helped settle the disagreement over those edits. Manson explained that the earlier version made the protagonist seem like an asshole, while O’Connell’s version left him an asshole whom she could, in a sense, like. The author credits that distinction with resolving the dispute and shaping the character’s effect on readers.

Editorial Work and Acknowledgment

The account credits O’Connell and his assistant, Anna Kaufman, with working intensely to bring the manuscript into shape. It also acknowledges the work of others involved in completing the book: Daniel Novack offered advice the author followed, and Susan M. S. Brown corrected errors. These acknowledgments distinguish the publisher’s role in acquiring the rights from the broader collaborative labor that made the book readable and publishable.