Short Synopsis
A collection of essays from today's most acclaimed authors—from Cheryl Strayed to Roxane Gay to Jennifer Weiner, Alexander Chee, Nick Hornby, and Jonathan Franzen—on the realities of making a living in the writing world.

Full Synopsis
In the literary world, the debate around writing and commerce often begs us to take sides: either writers should be paid for everything they do or writers should just pay their dues and count themselves lucky to be published. You should never quit your day job, but your ultimate goal should be to quit your day job. It's an endless, confusing, and often controversial conversation that, despite our bare-it-all culture, still remains taboo. In Scratch, Manjula Martin has gathered interviews and essays from established and rising authors to confront the age-old question: how do creative people make money?

As contributors including Jonathan Franzen, Cheryl Strayed, Roxane Gay, Nick Hornby, Susan Orlean, Alexander Chee, Daniel Jose Older, Jennifer Weiner, and Yiyun Li candidly and emotionally discuss money, MFA programs, teaching fellowships, finally getting published, and what success really means to them, Scratch honestly addresses the tensions between writing and money, work and life, literature and commerce. The result is an entertaining and inspiring book that helps readers and writers understand what it's really like to make art in a world that runs on money—and why it matters.

"Directly address the issue of money . . . In her introduction, Martin suggests that writers are 'yearning for any scrap of information . . . About how their own profession functions economically.' She’s right. So, she writes." ---Booklist Starred Review

"[A] compelling collection of essays on the writing life. . . . This is a book to be devoured. It's truly inspiring and worth a read for writers and bibliophiles alike." ---Library Journal Starred Review

"[A] well-organized, fascinating anthology . . . Highly recommended for both experienced and aspiring authors and for avid readers who want to learn the back stories of the contributors." ---Kirkus

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review