✏️🛠️ How This Writer Got a Book Deal From Her Narratively Story About the Socialite Who Sterilized Her Daughter
Audrey Clare Farley always wanted to write a book about eugenics, and her essay about the remarkable story of Ann Cooper Hewitt opened the door.
One of the things we’re most proud of at Narratively is how many of our authors have gone on to expand their longform articles into even bigger and more exciting projects. When Audrey Clare Farley wrote a Hidden History story about a 1930s millionairess whose mother secretly sterilized her to deprive her of the family fortune, it was a huge viral hit and Audrey knew there was a larger story to tell there.
Fast forward five years and Audrey has not only published her book, The Unfit Heiress: The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt, but that book is also in development as a scripted TV series with a major actress and producer attached. And Audrey’s second book, Girls and Their Monsters: The Genain Quadruplets and the Making of Madness in America, was named a New York Times Editors’ Pick.
Audrey is paying her knowledge forward via her Narratively Academy class, The Art of Writing a Nonfiction Book That Reads Like a Novel, an eight-week workshop in which she guides other nonfiction writers on how to make their memoir, biography or history book a page-turner that will attract attention from editors, agents and readers. The first sold-out session of this class was a huge hit. We’re kicking off round two next week and still have a few seats available. You can hear what past students thought and sign up for Audrey’s class here.
Julia Métraux spoke with Audrey about her journey from article to book deal and beyond.
Julia: How did you find out about the story of Ann Cooper Hewitt?
Audrey: I learned about Ann in a chapter of Wendy Kline’s 2001 academic book, Building a Better Race. At the time, I couldn’t believe such a fascinating, momentous case had not yet been explored in a full-length book or film. I knew I wanted to be the one to change that.
Julia: When you came to Narratively with your story on Ann, did you already know that you wanted to write a book on this topic?
Audrey: Yes, I was very keen to write a book on eugenics. I’d come to the topic while researching the discovery of insulin. I had actually tried pitching a book on eugenics and diabetes, but there was no interest from the publishing world. I had a feeling I would have more success with Ann as my entry point, and my essay for Narratively was a way of testing that theory. I figured if people responded enthusiastically to the essay, then I had a shot at landing a book contract. And once I began to compose the essay, I fell so in love with Ann that I decided to write the book with or without the promise of publication.
Julia: Could you tell me about how your Narratively story helped you find an agent?
Audrey: A few hours after the essay went live, an editor emailed to say it was so far the most-read piece of the year. It soon caught the attention of a reader who shared it with my now-agent, Marya Spence. She and I had a conversation the following day, and I explained my vision for the book, in addition to sharing a sample chapter. I could tell she was invested in the story and that she had the talent to guide me as I wrote it. There were a few other agents who reached out and made offers of representation that week, but I knew Marya was the one.
Julia: What was the process like of going from writing a story to writing a book?
Audrey: In my case, I had to do extensive research on eugenics and the story’s main figures in order to craft both intellectual and emotional arcs for the book. I wanted it to be thought-provoking and page-turning. So I read books on eugenics, in addition to books on sex, race and women’s history. I contacted various institutions for official eugenics publications, and I used newspapers from the period to learn more about Ann, her mother and her father. Since the Cooper Hewitt family was prominent, and since Ann’s mother had a tendency for scandal, the coverage was extensive. In my book, the press — and particularly the tabloids — are an important part of the story.
Julia: How did you balance writing this book with other obligations in your professional life?
Audrey: I was fortunate to be able to take a break from professional work, teaching history at a local university, so for me, the challenge was balancing writing and parenting. It’s a struggle, as I’m one to let my research questions consume me. I tend to work long hours and become lost in thought when not working, and I think my kids resent when I gravitate toward a psychic space that doesn’t include them. One of them once claimed to hate Ann Cooper Hewitt! So I am trying to draw boundaries and be more present when I should be.
Julia: What advice would you give other writers who are interested in writing articles and books which require a lot of archival research?
Audrey: I suggest that writers explore how much of the archive is available to remote researchers. I was fortunate that I didn’t have to travel for this book, as archivists were willing to scan and send materials. By contrast, my last manuscript required in-person research at institutions whose reading rooms were indefinitely closed due to Covid when I was working on it. Consequently, I had to write around a few research holes.
Julia: What other articles or projects do you have in the works?
Audrey: I have written another book, Girls and Their Monsters: The Genain Quadruplets and the Making of Madness in America. It’s about the four women behind a famous case study of schizophrenia. Because they all developed the mental illness, the sisters are often assumed to have illustrated the heritability of schizophrenia. But the story is far more complicated. They grew up in a house of horrors and were widely exploited by the public, mostly as emblems of “white innocence” in the era of Jim Crow. One of them is still alive, and I was able to interview her. I’m now working on a memoir about my childhood in a charismatic Catholic community affiliated with Amy Coney Barrett’s People of Praise.
Have a nonfiction book project of your own in the works? Join Audrey for The Art of Writing a Nonfiction Book That Reads Like a Novel. Starts next week!
To spotlight all the exciting book projects out there by Narratively contributors, including Audrey Clare Farley’s books The Unfit Heiress and Girls and Their Monsters, we created The Narratively Bookshop. When you buy any book from the Narratively Bookshop, 10% of the purchase price goes to Narratively, helping us publish lots more great stories, and another 10% goes to supporting independent bookstores.
Julia Métraux is a journalist whose work has appeared in Narratively, The Tempest, Bust and Briarpatch Magazine.
This interview was originally published in March 2021 and has been updated.