Writing crime fiction

What's your vision of a writer. Someone who spends lonely hours immersed in their own world waiting for the muse to strike and then dashing off words? The real world of writing is not like that at all.

Writing is NOT an art but a craft which anyone can master. It has rules and conventions as do all areas of life. If you follow them, you will be onto a succerssful winning carreer. Ignore them and you will just be another of those "Oh I'm trying to write a book" merchants.

Before you actually decide to write a book , examine your motivation. Why do you want to write? This is the most important question you will ever ask youreself if you want to be a writer. Without knowing your motivation you will never be a success.

Here are the common motivations for being a writer.

I want to make loads of cash. Good motivator money. It keeps you going when you need a primary goal.

I want to be famous. Wow, another great one.

I believe that people want to read what I have to say and that I can tell a good story. That is a good motivation to become a writer. The problem is that yoiu'd be wrong on all counts if these werte your motivations and here's why.

Simply wanting to be a writer is not enough. You have to know how to write for the market that you are aiming at. This lens focusses on Crime. The number one best selling genre in the world.

So you have to be motivated. I regard writing as a business like any other in this world and the number 1 rule of any business is.

"Give the customer something that they need or want and do it better than anyone else."

So your first task if you want to write crime is to find out what the readership wants from its writers. This is the first piece of resaearch you need to undertake. get hold of books by best selling current authors and take them apart. chapter by chapter, line by line. What makes this book so special? How does it satisfy the need that I have to be entertained?

There are two ways to enter this world. The natural way or the ceaserian way. That's it. If you know of any more then they are probably the realm of the science-fiction writer. Alien being a prime example.

There are many ways to leave this world though and when it boils down to it, humans are one of the few species on the planet that are aware of their own mortality and are able to rationalise it. The human tries to understand death.

1 out of 1 people die. Rich, poor happy, sad, desperate it comes to us all.
So why are people so fascinated by death in all its myriad forms? Why do people need to read aboout the violent deaths of others?

If you are planning to write murder fiction then this is the main thing you need to understand. People are fascinated by murder because they can die without getting hurt themselves. They can live through death and come out of the other side.
That is why books on true crime sell. We all believe in luck. If it has happened to the victim in this book then the chances of it hapening to me are lessend goes the thinking.

The second reason goes deep into the roots of human psychology. Without getting into the arguments of whether Darwin was right or not, it is obviuous that man is a competitive creature. We have to be superior to our fellows. One of the ways we do this is to problem solve. Take the crossword for instance. "Oh so and so does the 'Times' crossword in 6 and a half minutes on the train to work every morning' whether they do or not, the fact that others think they do gives them satisfaction and a feeling of pride. The human loves clues to a greater mystery and that is why crime fiction is so popular. The reader is taken on a vicarious journey where in their own minds eye they actually become, even for a short space of time totally identified with one of the characters of the work they are reading. Can you solve the clues and guess the identity of the murderer before the last page?

Write.

That's the secret of writing crime fiction. Don't edit. Write. Editing comes after you've finished writing. Too many stuggling writers edit as they go and that is a surefire way to fail.
You need to tell the story first. Get it down. that is your primary concern when writing a first draft. Sure, it's not going to perfect. But no novel, even from the stars of the genre is perfect. there comes a point where you just have to say stop. Get it as good as you can. too much tinkering can take away the pace of a novel by getting into too many intricasies. Once you say "that's it, then you can consider selling your novel to an agent or publisher.

That's what you have to do. SELL your novel, so you have to be somewhat of a marketeer too. Agents and publishers need to know that you will do the lion's share of promoting the book, personal appearences and so on.

Approaching an agent.

RTFM as far as submission guidelines. If it says purple ink on the back of postcards (it won't) that's what you must do.
If you don't know what the agents guidelines are, phone or email them. DO NOT try to pitch your book there and then. It won't go down very well, just ask them if they are accepting new authors and what their guidelines are. An agent will send you them by post, email or point you to a website.

Make sure they accept the type of work your offering. It's no good writing crime fiction and then sending it to an agent who deals mainly in romance. They won't know the crime fiction market and they will refuse to even consider it.
research the market.
You are looking for agents that specialise in crime fiction. If in their bio, crime comes first send it to them. Consider others later.

Most agents guidelines are in the Writers and Artists Yearbook. if you haven't got a copy buy one. It is a worthwhile investment.

When submitting

100 gsm paper NOT CHEAP COPIER. If you won't spend the extra on decent paper an agent will know your not really serious.

Number every page and do put your name and the novel title in the header of your work. Agents take work home with them to read and its surprising how many times manuscripts get knocked from coffee tables.

If your manuscript comes back it may not have been read beyond the first page.

this is not a critisism of your work. There are two reasons for this.

1. The agent is very busy and has 50 manuscripts to get through.

2. Your "hook" is not strong enough to keep the agent's interest. If you keep getting rejections and it looks like your manuscript isn't being read then look again at your opening, it may be too weak.

Before sending your manuscript out into the wild blue younder again, replace any pages that have become dog-eared. You need your manuscript looking the best that it can.

DO NOT TIE OR STAPLE OR BIND YOUR MANUSCRIPT IN ANY WAY.

Instant rejection.

Fonts.

At one time, agents and publishers insisted on courier as a font as it looked like typeface. Unless the agent states otherwise, use courier or arial or times, 12 point DOUBLE space and leave plenty of margin around the work. If an agent does decide to accept your work then the editor or proof reader will need to use the space for proof marks etc.

Covering letter.

Imagine the back dust jacket of your book. What will it say. This is your synopsis. It needs to be less than 1000 words if possible.

Author bio.

What is your eriting experience? If none, put down any writers clubs you belong to.

Is there anything that makes you stand out in the crowd?

Are you in law enforcement? Insurance? Are you a villain? (if you're on the run, give yourself up or don't give them your address obviously)

DO NOT.

Put things like:

This book is copyright John Smith and any attempt to reproduce....etc

If you want a rejection, this is the best way to get one. You are casting aspersions on the agent's character.

Every word of this book is true.

Unless you are writing true crime, the agent won't care. The agent's sole purpose in taking a book is "what market can I go for and what publisher would get me and the author the best deal."

Please publish this because I'm poor and need the money.

Laughing all the way to the slush pile. Plus they'll tell all their friends. Agents want people who want to write. What this statement says is. "As soon as I get the advance, you aint gonna see my ass for dust."

Put every contact detail you can on the bottom of the letter. Except stuff like, "if I'm not in, you can ring my neighbour because I'm too mean to buy an answering machine." You may laugh but these are actual things that agents have received on covering letters.

BEST OF LUCK.

If you want to join a community of crime writers, you are very welcome to check out the crimewriter network using the link below. We'll be pleased as punch to see you and who knows, we may offer you a little glass of something too. I hope you like the taste of almonds.....