Editing The Hunt for Red October (section)

==Development==
From a young age, Clancy was an avid reader of naval history and sea exploration. However, he was later rejected from serving in the military because of his poor eyesight. Since graduating from high school and eventually earning an English major, he had always wanted to write a novel. He eventually worked as an insurance agent for a small business owned by his then-wife's family.<ref>{{cite web |title=PW Interviews Tom Clancy |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/59383-pw-interviews-tom-clancy.html |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=3 August 2018}}</ref>

In his spare time, Clancy started working on ''The Hunt for Red October'' on November 11, 1982, and finished it four months later on February 23, 1983.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Tom Clancy Companion |pages=3 |edition=Revised}}</ref> Contrary to popular belief that Clancy had access to top-secret intelligence in researching for the novel, he consulted technical manuals, discussions with former submariners and books like [[Norman Polmar]]'s ''Guide to the Soviet Navy'' and ''Combat Fleets of the World'' in order to maintain accuracy in describing Soviet submarines.<ref>{{cite news |last=McDowell |first=Edwin |title=AUTHOR OF 'RED OCTOBER' STIRS UP A 'RED STORM' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/12/books/author-of-red-october-stirs-up-a-red-storm.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 12, 1986 |access-date=3 August 2018}}</ref>

He then submitted the first draft of the novel to the Naval Institute Press, where he previously wrote an article on the [[MX missile]] for their magazine ''Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haglund |first1=David |title=How the Hunt for Red October Movie Revealed Classified Information About U.S. Submarines |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/10/02/the_hunt_for_red_october_movie_revealed_classified_information_about_u_s.html |website=Slate.com |date=October 2, 2013 |access-date=3 August 2018}}</ref> Three weeks later, the publication company returned his manuscript, along with a request to cut about a hundred pages' worth of numerous technical details. After fixing his work, Clancy then sold ''The Hunt for Red October'' to the Naval Institute Press for a modest sum of $5,000.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kaltenbach |first=Chris |title=Clancy invented 'techno-thriller,' reflected Cold War fears |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2013/10/02/clancy-invented-techno-thriller-reflected-cold-war-fears/ |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |access-date=3 August 2018 }}</ref>

Having recently decided to publish fiction, the publication company made Clancy's work their first published novel. Editor Deborah Grosvenor later recalled convincing the publishers: "I think we have a potential best-seller here, and if we don't grab this thing, somebody else would." She believed Clancy had an "innate storytelling ability, and his characters had this very witty dialogue".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/books/tom-clancy-best-selling-novelist-of-military-thrillers-dies-at-66.html|title=Tom Clancy, Best-Selling Master of Military Thrillers, Dies at 66 (Published 2013)|first=Julie|last=Bosman|date=October 2, 2013 |newspaper=NYTimes.com}}</ref>