Ronald Cotton, Lesley Stahl, Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, and Erin Torneo at the Picking Cotton book party March 9. Photo by Sascha Paladino.

Writing a memoir can be a daunting task. Writing a memoir on a true story involving mistaken eyewitness testimony and wrongful convictions can be even more challenging.
Erin Torneo, co-author of Picking Cotton, shares with us how she helped construct this true story of hope and forgiveness and provides her personal experience on how she has dealt with the recession as a writer and her next step:

Can you explain your recent book project, Picking Cotton. How would you describe the process?

Picking Cotton is the true story of the unlikely friendship forged between a woman and the man she misidentified as her rapist and sent to prison for eleven years. I worked on the book with the two people it is about, Jennifer Thompson Cannino and Ronald Cotton. The case, State of North Carolina v. Ronald Junior Cotton, is frequently taught in law schools as an important example of the dangers of eyewitness testimony. One of main things we hope this book does is educate people about the relationship between mistaken eyewitness testimony and wrongful convictions, and increase awareness of reform measures needed throughout the United States. But beyond that, the human interest element of the case--the incredible ordeals of Jennifer and Ron and their extraordinary reconciliation--made it the kind of story a writer dreams about. You just couldn't make up anything better.

After the jump: advice for breaking into publishing and life after 60 Minutes.

How are you dealing with the economy? How has the current recession affected your career?

Being a writer in New York meant I didn't have that far to fall. I was never making a lot of money by New York City standards, and like many other people, I had some rocky times after September 11th, when publishing first contracted. I never thought writing was going to be the most lucrative path. My goal was really being able to pay rent and do work that engaged me. If I could do that, I was happy. I'm not saying I'd ever want to go back to the really scary time of not having health insurance, but I can live cheaply if I have to.

In the past few years, however, I've been fortunate enough to receive alternate sources of funding. It's something I'm going to be discussing on a panel at the upcoming American Society of Journalists & Authors Conference next month. The NYFA Fellowship really helped carry me through some of the initial months of research. And last year, when Jennifer, Ron, and I received the Soros Justice Media Fellowship from the Open Society Institute, it was just a terrific boost. It really allowed us to finish the project in the way we wanted.

With a People magazine feature and an appearance on 60 Minutes, what's the next step for you?

I'm thrilled with the publicity the book is getting and I've had a couple of potential projects come my way recently, but I haven't made my final decision about what I'm going to commit to for the next two or three years. I have always loved nonfiction and would love to continue working on long-form narratives. Helping Jennifer and Ron get their story out there was one of the most gratifying things I've ever done, so the bar is set pretty high now.

--William Battaglia

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