The Hunt for Red October 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. 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". Three weeks later, the publication company returned his manuscript, along with a request to cut about a hundred pages’ worth
The Hunt for Red October novel as "the most satisfactory novel of a sea chase since C.S. Forester perfected the form". Due to an extensive marketing campaign by the Naval Institute Press for their first published work of fiction, which was initially aimed on the military, the book sold 45,000 copies by March 1985. Clancy said in a 1991 interview: “I thought we’d sell maybe five thousand or ten thousand hardcovers and that would be the end of it. I never really thought about making money.” After Reagan's endorsement, "The Hunt for Red October" topped the national bestseller lists, particularly "The New York Times". It