Book update No. 17 — Part Three, baby!
Big news: I finished writing Part Three of the book. I still need to edit it, and then of course my editor will do the same, but I feel great about it. I think it’ll be an entertaining read even for people who have no interest in ballhawking because — How can I describe this? — it provides a glimpse into another world. Does that make sense? It’s like a whole new way to think about the game. Part Three, as I’ve mentioned before, is the “how to snag” portion of the book, and it’s now 29,499 words. By comparison, my first book, How to Snag Major League Baseballs, was only 23,730 words — but it’s not just the word count that’ll make a difference. The writing itself is much better.
The whole book is now 68,816 words, and I still have a lot more work remaining. My main job at this point is to write a chapter about the Rawlings factory and all the current manufacturing/testing methods. Then, when that’s done, I’ll need to fill in a bunch of missing pieces (including the ballhawk glossary, which I’m actually futzing around with this weekend, but I still consider Part Three to be finished).
Remember my last update? It looks like the title is now set and that the book is going to be called:
The Baseball: Stunts, Scandals and Secrets Beneath the Stitches
It was nearly called “The Baseball: Stunts, Scandals, Secrets, and the Madness it Inspires,” but my publisher felt that the version with “beneath the stitches” is more intriguing and marketable. I don’t think it really matters either way because ultimately, the book will simply be known as: The Baseball. FYI, there’s going to be a line of bright yellow text at the bottom of the cover that says something like, “Includes Tips for Snagging Your own Major League ball.” And speaking of the cover, my editor sent it to me last week. I can’t yet share it here because there’s one thing that needs to be tweaked, but I love the overall design. It’s simple yet striking.
That’s it for update No. 17. Here are all the old updates:
Book update No. 16 — stress & titles
Book update No. 15 — change of scenery
Book update No. 14 — stadium mentions
Book update No. 13 — possible new title
Book update No. 12 — meeting with my editor
Book update No. 11 — Hall of Fame action
Book update No. 10 — George H. W. Bush
Book update No. 9 — first round of edits
Book update No. 8 — first deadline extended
Book update No. 7 — first deadline approaching
Book update No. 6 — questions for Rawlings
Book update No. 5 — ballhawk glossary
Book update No. 4 — famous fans
Book update No. 3 — conquering the 1870s
The Baseball Collector 
Hey Zack, you probably don’t want to hear this but Gustavo Chacin just hit a HOME RUN for the Astros! Which is his first hit EVER, too! Roy Oswalt got ejected in the 3rd inning for mouthing “that’s on you” (talking about a 3-run Dunn double) and Chacin came in.
What you might want to hear though, is that the first batter he pitched to ended up walking. As sad as it may be, you may need to jinx him again Zack!
Awesome! I love the title, it has a cool mysterious flair to it. I can’t wait to read it come March!
By the way, do you know when your next game is? Just curious.
Good job, Zack!
-Todd
Hey Zack, did u see that Gustavo hit his first homerun? maybe the Hample Jinx is starting to wear off.
Noah
Noah-
it must only work for his sucky pitching!
That was Gustavo’s first at-bat in five years!