OneWeb Book Update Vol. 11

A publisher, a title, and new progress milestones.

Me in 2019 interviewing OneWeb founder Greg Wyler inside the Guyana Space Center’s Jupiter Control Room after OneWeb’s first launch.

Hello readers!

I’m excited to share a set of news developments regarding the OneWeb book.

First, with the help of my agent at SJGA, the OneWeb book has a publisher! Columbia University Press, the book publishing arm of NYC-based Columbia University, has purchased the rights. I’m thrilled to work with CUP to bring the book to physical and digital shelves once fully written. Special shout out to my agent Zoe Sandler who helped make this possible before stepping away to focus full time on her family.

Second, the OneWeb book has a name! CUP accepted the book under the working title “Web of Ambitions.” This title plays off the company name, the magnitude of its goals, and the challenges that came with striving to turn a vision into reality. The name was well received in spot testing with colleagues and a handful of former OneWeb employees. And while nothing is permanent until printed in ink, I plan on referring to the OneWeb book as Web of Ambitions from here on.

Third, as of May 2025, the draft manuscript for Web of Ambitions is 60% complete. I’ve written 60,000 words, bringing the long-held target of 100,000 words within striking range.

In the past, I’ve described 100,000 words as a 250-page book, but recent conversations with CUP and other writers taught me that my ratio of words to pages was off. While the typical page in a nonfiction book of this class may have 400 words, this doesn’t account for page breaks at the end of chapters, room for photos, trim sizing, and other variables.

The more accurate rule of thumb is 250-300 words per page, which means the Web of Ambitions manuscript now has 200-240 pages written, and a projected final length of 333-400 pages. That final length is comparable to books like Chris Miller’s Chip War (351 pages), astronaut Scott Kelly’s autobiography, Endurance (365 pages), or The WeWork book The Cult of We, by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell (398 pages). Note these page counts exclude sections for acknowledgements, indices, and notes.

At this point, I can’t give a specific publication date, but readers subscribed to this blog will get notified as soon as pre-orders are possible.

Lastly, an interview update. While interviews with new sources is no longer a primary goal, I have spoken to some new people since the last post, bringing the total number of sources to 225 people. Slightly over half of the new sources spoke with me on the record, meaning there’s a good chance you’ll see their names in the book. The remainder were anonymous. As is common, some of these sources spoke with me several times, bringing the cumulative number of interviews conducted to 393.

When I started this book effort two years ago, my goal was 100 sources. It’s incredible to have more than doubled that target thanks to the generosity of the people who have spoken with me both in giving their time and sharing their own connections. At this point, most interviews are planned with past sources to fact check details as I write the manuscript. My primary focus is on writing.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next update!