Case Study

Norman Ollestad

Collaborative Editing Process Yields Bestselling Book and Movie Deal

Norman's Story

Ghostwriting Services, Ka-writing.com Book Writing Help, Professional Ghostwriter, Hire Editing Services When Norman Ollestad reached out to Kevin Anderson & Associates (KAA) in 2008 about his debut memoir, he had a rough draft in hand and was seeking editorial help. He was an unknown author with an incredible story, and he believed it could resonate with a wide audience.

KAA had a series of editors, of various demographics, review the book and provide feedback and editorial support through several rounds of review. Ranging from high-level review and consultation, to line-by-line editing, the KAA team and Norman worked closely together over several months until the manuscript was reader to present to an agent.

Norman successfully queried Rob Weisbach, who also represents Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser, and Ellen DeGeneres.

Crazy for the Storm was bought by HarperCollins’ Ecco imprint.

The title sold more than 100,000 copies and became a New York Times bestseller. The book has garnered notable media coverage, including New York Times, Time Magazine, and Los Angeles Times reviews. The movie rights were also optioned, with Josh Brolin set to lead, with Sean Penn directing.

KAA has helped Norman with two subsequent novels, French Girl with Mother (Counterpoint, 2016) and Gravity (Kindle Single, 2015), and is currently at work on a fourth.

Selected Media

Interview, Pursuitist:
https://pursuitist.com/exclusive-interview-with-crazy-for-the-storm-author-norman-ollestad/

Review, The Los Angeles Times:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jun-12-et-norman-ollestad12-story.html

Interview, The Book Reporter: https://www.bookreporter.com/authors/norman-ollestad/news/interview-060509

Interview, Entertainment Weekly: https://ew.com/article/2009/06/12/talking-norman-ollestad/

Feature, NPR:
https://www.npr.org/2015/08/04/429385964/these-books-amp-up-the-adrenaline-in-summer-reading

Review, Kirkus:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/norman-ollestad/crazy-for-the-storm/

Review, The Malibu Times:
http://www.malibutimes.com/malibu_life/article_9cb5d697-42dd-56e1-aee7-050f7d2a96de.html

Review, New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/books/11masl.html

Review, CNN:
https://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/06/30/plane.crash.survivor.book/index.html

Review, Telegraph:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/6022315/Crazy-for-the-Storm-by-Norman-Ollestad-review.html

Movie Coverage, Collider:
https://collider.com/sean-penn-crazy-for-the-storm/