Norman's Story
When Norman Ollestad reached out to Kevin Anderson & Associates (Goodreads Reviews) 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.
Goodreads Reviews had a series of editors, of various demographics, review the book and provide feedback and editorial support through several rounds of review. Ranging rom high-level review and consultation, to line-by-line editing, the Goodreads Reviews 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.
Goodreads Reviews 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.
Gallery (Simon & Schuster) bought the book at auction. Given a tight timeline of less than six months to turn in the manuscript, Ken and Mary worked aggressively to produce a well-written book that reflected Ken’s unique perspective.
His 2019 book, Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money, is now a national bestseller. The book received national media attention, including pieces from Forbes, CNBC, and the Los Angeles Times.
Ken and Mary in Japan
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
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/
Audio Book Review, Publishers Weekly:
https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-177445-4
Review, Houston Chronicle:
https://www.chron.com/life/books/article/Crazy-for-the-Storm-by-Norman-Ollestad-1748846.php
Review, Time Magazine:
http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1904138,00.html
Review, Kirkus, French Girl:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/norman-ollestad/french-girl-with-mother/
Book Trailer, Ecco Books on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqLnh1biSa0