Crime Writing

Have you ever read a book of crime and been astonished at the writer's lack of knowledge of police procedure? I have, and I threw the book down in disgust. If you want to be a crime writer, you need to do your research. You might be wonderful prose writer, but if you can't get your facts right, you won't be read.

If it's to be a book about murder, what will be the method of murder you will use in your book? Will it be gun, poison, staged accident, knife ... even if you think you know everything about the method you choose, you will still need to do your research. What about the disposal of the body? How will your protagonist achieve this and what will be the end results. Following on from this will be the methods of detection; forensics is a field that is changing almost daily as new ways of catching criminals out are discovered.

If your work is going as far as the courtroom, there will be criminal law to be researched. What is allowed or not allowed in a courtroom in the country your novel is set in?

Having an expert cast their eye over your work will help but this is not always easy, unless you are lucky enough to know a policeman, or a lawyer. However, you may be able to find a law or forensics student at your local university who would be happy read your manuscript in return for a few dollars.

The Query Letter

A query letter is an outline of your idea or story; You will send a query letter to an editor when you are writing non-fiction. You don't need to send a query letter if your work is a short piece that does not need extensive research, but if your idea will require a lot of time and effort, and is longer than 1,000 words, a query letter is a good idea. If an editor likes your idea you will be armed with a powerful tool when approaching people for interviews; you can truthfully say that "Ms X, editor of xxxx, has shown interest in this piece."

A query letter is short, formal but not stuffy, and professionally presented. It will be as polished as you can make it, and will be written so as to catch the editor's eye. Don't just rush off a letter to a publisher without first doing some research.

Will the piece you are planning fit the publication you are approaching? Why will it appeal to the reader's of that publication? You could speak about this in your query letter, and quote some of your research to show the editor that you have done your homework, and that you are a professional.