Toby Young Toby Young

The books I couldn’t get written

And the one I could

[Getty Images/Fuse] 
issue 12 April 2014

There’s nothing quite so burdensome as having a book to write. Maybe it’s not so bad when it’s your first book, but after that it’s a terrible chore. The publishing industry doesn’t help by paying authors up front. The temptation to pocket the advance and not deliver the manuscript is overwhelming.

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