Don't Murder Your Mystery [Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Book] [Paperback]

Chris Roerden (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bella Rosa Books; Nominee for Macavity & Anthony edition (April 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933523131
• ISBN-13: 978-1933523132
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I couldn't believe it! On the eve of Book Expo America 2009 in New York, my 11th book, DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION, won the Benjamin Franklin Award for Literary Criticism! The next day it won the Bronze Medal for Writing Book of the Year from ForeWord Magazine. Both are national, juried competitions.

DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION is advice from my 44 years in publishing, intended for writers in all genres -- an expanded edition of my earlier book, DON'T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY, which had the honor of:
* winning the 2006 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Book (named for the great Agatha Christie, as you might guess)
* finaling for the Anthony Award for Best Critical Nonfiction (named for editor/critic Anthony Boucher, awarded by the largest mystery convention in the world, Bouchercon)
* finaling for the Macavity Award for Best Nonfiction (named for TS Eliot's cat and awarded by the largest mystery readers organization in the world, Mystery Readers International)
* finaling for ForeWord Magazine's Reference Book of the Year
* being selected for the Writer's Digest Book Club

Authors I've edited over a 44-year career in publishing are published by St. Martin's Press, Berkley Prime Crime, Midnight Ink, Walker & Co., Intrigue, Rodale, Viking, and many other presses, large and small.

In the middle of those 44 years as an editor, I took a long break to rear two sons, write my first book (Collections from Cape Elizabeth, Maine), earn a B.A. in English summa cum laude from the University of Maine, receive the first M.A. in English awarded by the Portland campus, create the graduate student association and serve as its first president and editor of the graduate student newsletter, and be appointed an instructor at what's now the University of Southern Maine -- where I taught writing for three years.

After a family transfer to Syracuse I mentored the writing of off-campus students for the State University of New York-Rochester. Also during those "at home" years I was very active as a community organizer and trainer -- including state president of 3,000 members of a national organization. I wrote its leadership training materials and developed a simulation game, Oops'n'Options, used in Air Force officer training to reduce the number of sexual harassment lawsuits facing the military.

As many editors have done and continue to do, I made a happy transition in 1983 from busy managing editor of a rapidly growing niche publisher in Wisconsin to even busier contract editor. And after my first 6 years of steady client work I took a summer off to volunteer to teach in South Korea for UNESCO. That enriching experience resulted in my sole autobiographical book, OPEN GATE: TEACHING IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY -- of which 975 copies are in circulation. (I bought out the remaining 25 new copies.)

Of the other nonfiction titles I've been hired to write or ghostwrite, the only other book that bears my byline is WHAT TWO CAN DO: SAM & MANDY STELLMAN'S CRUSADE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE. (I bought the remainders of that book, too, an inspiring story of how the first state to reform its archaic rape laws came about.)

In the mid-nineties I was elected president of a 10-state regional trade association of 250 commercial publishers and university presses, MidAmerica Publishers Association. For 8 years I also taught night classes for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in writing and getting published, then became active in Mystery Writers of America. I served 6 years on the Southeast Regional board of MWA and received the region's highest honor for service, the Magnolia Award. I'm also a long-time member of Sisters in Crime and Mensa.

A native New Yorker, I got my first job in publishing at age 16 right out of high school -- Music and Art, now LaGuardia. Today I enjoy living in the milder climate of North Carolina, but leave it regularly when invited to present workshops on the writer's voice and its role in attracting agents and publishers. If you're curious to see the workshops I offer, please visit "writers info dot info" (no spaces).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

158 of 159 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Midwest Book Review: January 2007 Issue, January 2, 2007

By 

Lori L. Lake "Author of Like Lovers Do, Buyer... (Portland, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Murder Your Mystery [Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Book] (Paperback)

From the beginning of this immensely insightful writing manual, Chris Roerden focuses on what it takes to write novels that will survive both an agent's and a publisher's screening process. I spent a couple of years in the early 1990s reading the slush pile at two nearby publishing houses, and I can affirm Roerden's statement that the vast majority of manuscripts submitted to agents and presses are rejected because the writers fail to submit a solid, well-written, and entertaining product.

In the dog-eat-dog world of publishing, Roerden tells us publishers pick very few new writers - and only those who look like winners - and they "ignore the rest whose work reveals evidence of average writing, aka `amateur.'" She goes on to tell us: "The publishing industry cannot afford to gamble on writers who are still developing their potential, who show little evidence of having studied the craft of the profession they aspire to, or who fail to reflect the preferences that publishers and agents state in their submission guidelines" (p. 12).

The book setup is clever. In ten parts, she delineates 24 specific fiction-writing areas to focus upon in revisions. To start out, in Part I: DEAD ON ARRIVAL, she lays out all the reasons why writers simply must write, revise, edit, and format their novels or else they won't be published. In that section, Roerden tells us about THE JUDGES: Screener-outers - and what they look for; THE PLAINTIFFS: Writers - and what you hope for; THE DEFENDANTS: Agents and publishers - and why they do what they do; and CORRECTIONS FACILITIES: Self-editors - and how to do what you need to.

Each of the subsequent nine parts features one of the 24 fiction-writing techniques, which Roerden, tongue in cheek, labels CLUES. For instance, in Part III: FIRST OFFENDERS, she's got:

CLUE #1: HOBBLED HOOKS - Replace with high-tensile lines that stretch your holding power;
CLUE #2: PERILOUS PROLOGUES - Beware: May lead to low-tension, post-prologue, backstory ache;
CLUE #3: BLOODY BACKSTORY - To remove the evidence, slice, dice, and splice.

The advice to "slice, dice, and splice" is quite simply wonderful, and with her terrific explanations, it's easy to remember what she means and apply it to work on a manuscript. In concise language steeped in good humor and fabulous examples, Roerden reveals each of the 24 CLUES (including FATAL FLASHBACKS, TOXIC TRANSCRIPTS, DECEPTIVE DREAMS, DASTARDLY DESCRIPTION, DYING DIALOGUE, KILLED BY CLICHÉ, GESTURED TO DEATH, and many more). She systematically provides tips and techniques for avoiding these pitfalls. The 24 "Clues," when properly understood and applied, will make any author's well-told tale a winner.

She rounds out this well-written guide with an index and four "Exhibits," including: instructions for standard manuscript formatting; a bibliography of the multitude of books she cited throughout the text; a list of popular Internet crime writing sites; and recommended nonfiction in the areas of general writing, mystery, editing, character building, marketing, etc.

All too often How-To guides warn you about basic no-no's, but I've never before seen a guide that does such a great job detailing HOW TO AVOID those no-no's. Using clear-headed explanations, Roerden creates outstanding examples of poor form and uses shining examples of good form from 150 published novels, all of which provides through and easy-to-understand instruction.

Despite the title of this book, this How-To manual is *not* only for mystery writers. I would recommend it for anyone who is attempting to create a finished draft for publication. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. ~Lori L. Lake, author of the "Gun" Series, Different Dress, Ricochet in Time, Snow Moon Rising, Stepping Out: Short Stories, and editor of Romance for LIFE! and the Lambda Literary Award anthology finalist, The Milk of Human Kindness.

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Advice For Writers, October 25, 2006

By 

Louis N. Gruber "Author of Jay" (Lexington, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don't Murder Your Mystery [Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Book] (Paperback)

So, you've written a great crime novel? Before you get to appear on Oprah you've got to get your novel past the first reader at a publishing house. Guess what? Ninety percent (or more) of these great novels get tossed after reading the first page or two. Not because of uninteresting plots or weak characters. The reader doesn't even get that far. They get tossed because of "average" or "amateur" writing. Now, packed into one slim, readable paperback, are the tools you need to avoid this sad fate.

Author Chris Roerden explores the most common mistakes that scream "amateur" or "average writing" and tells you how to avoid them. It's hard work of course, but the author makes it enjoyable, understandable, and even funny. It's hard to imagine a book for writers being so entertaining, but it is. To use a cliche, I couldn't put it down. (Author Roerden has a great chapter on cliches.)

I finished this book in two days, and I know I'll be going back to it, using it for reference. It's not just for mystery writers. Anyone who writes fiction can benefit. Thank you, Chris. I recommend this one highly to all writers. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for all writers!, June 20, 2006

By 

Elizabeth Slater (North Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Don't Murder Your Mystery [Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Book] (Paperback)

Chris Roerdon is an editor with years of experience. She uses wit and real-life examples from published mystery authors, many of whom are extremely well-known. Chris' book contains a number of tips on how to get your mystery past the initial selection editor. I am not a professional reviewer, and my book of choice is fiction. However, I found Chris' book extremely easy to understand and enjoy. Her CLUEs (there are 24) are helpful not only to writers but also to readers. While I found all of the entries interesting, highlighting issues I never would have thought of on my own as a reader, I really enjoyed her entry on clichés. I laughed out loud during this CLUE - and I know that my reviews definitely suffer from killer clichés. Words of advice, though; if you never want to write a mystery because you are afraid of nit-picking the story apart instead of simply enjoying it, don't read this book. The information sticks with you!!!!