From a New York Times story by Kate Dwyer headlined “How to Get Published: A Book’s Journey From ‘Very Messy’ Draft to Best Seller”:

Jessamine Chan spent five years drafting her book. It was her first — a novel about a mother who loses custody of her toddler after one “very bad day,” and then, in a surreal twist, is sent to an experimental “school for good mothers.”

Like most new authors hoping to break into the industry, Chan had much working against her.