Seventeen

Summary

• The chapter opens with the protagonist, a book author, reflecting on the hate she's receiving from the internet due to a scandal and agrees that she's almost at the brink of losing her relationship with her publisher. Despite all this, she's still making a considerable income from her books.
• In a twist of fate, the protagonist has unknowingly become a cause célèbre amongst alt-right free-speech supporters, and as a result, her book sales have increased.
• Despite having a solid income, the protagonist considers quitting writing due to the heavy criticism and scandal. She contemplates pursuing a legal or business career but ultimately decides to continue writing, stating that it's the closest thing to real magic and instrumental in shaping her identity.
• She then discusses her difficulty finding a compelling story for her next book, highlighting several prospective ideas which she finds either unoriginal or too taxing to develop.
• The protagonist then decides to explore different cultures for potential book ideas. She settles on China, given her previous research that can be reused, but also contemplates expanding her subjects to Jewish or African history. However, she expresses concern about the quality of her observations, finding them bland.
• She visits Chinatown where she attempts to start a casual conversation with a restaurant worker. This triggers a misunderstanding, where they suspect her to be an undercover officer and ask her to leave. To her surprise, the waitress recognizes her as the writer embroiled in controversy, further exacerbating the situation.
• Her publisher, Brett, pressures her to consider intellectual property (IP) work as a new opportunity. He points out how this might be beneficial to move past her scandal and maintain her writing career. Brett offers a dystopian concept inspired by China's one-child policy for her to develop. She laughingly rejects it, finding it cliché.
• Two weeks later, she discovers that renowned author Heidi Steel has secured a book deal for the dystopian concept she earlier rejected.

• The character, presumed to be a writer, is offered an opportunity to write a story combining elements of China's one-child policy and The Handmaid's Tale.
• The character feels that the pitch is controversial and could be seen as offensive to multiple groups, voicing concerns about possibly being criticized for hating the People's Republic of China (PRC), Chinese people, or men.
• Despite expressing that she's not against working with Snowglobe, the company making the pitch, the character declines the opportunity, saying it's a 'nonstarter' and that she hates the given pitch.
• It is implied that Snowglobe is aiming to increase its focus on diversity and specifically tailoring its pitches to authors from certain backgrounds.
• Her agent, Brett, suggests that she at least give the treatment a look, stating that it could rescue her career.
• The character dismisses Brett's career rescue idea, arguing that controversial projects like this often mark the end of careers.
• She tells Brett to reach out if a company like Lucasfilm contacts, implying she's interested in more substantial or reputable opportunities, and reaffirms that she will not take on the current opportunity.