Writing Bestselling True Crime and Suspense: Break into the Exciting and Profitable Field of Book, Screenplay, and Television (Writing Guides) [Paperback]

Tom Byrnes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 1997 | Series: Writing Guides

True crime and suspense stories make a killing at the box office, on bestseller lists, and on TV. Both new and experienced writers have found that they can master the special skills required to make crime pay — in book and movie contracts. Writing Bestselling True Crime and Suspense shows how you, too, can:

• Find and develop compelling true crime stories from everyday sources
• Dig out the facts and put them on paper
• Fashion your story for books, TV, or movies
• Market your story for maximum profit
• And much moreAs a special bonus, author Tom Byrnes has included in-depth interviews with true crime movers and shakers including writers, publishers, and Hollywood producers.

Writing Bestselling True Crime and Suspense will show you how to craft gripping accounts of the dark deeds that dominate the news and sell them to publishers and beyond.

About the Author

Tom Byrnes is the author of the national bestseller Madame Foreman: A Rush to Judgment, about the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial. He is also an award-winning editor and a journalist whose work has appeared in national newspapers and magazines.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

True-crime writing is at a crossroads. Ever since Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (published in 1966), there has been a market for deeply researched, literary true-crime hardcovers that are usually several years in the making. But because of the proliferation of tabloid television, made-for TV movies, and "insta-books," it is increasingly difficult to whet the appetite of an already saturated readership. This primer on writing true crime, by Tom Byrnes, reflects just that schism: while the book's focus is on the writing of lengthy, novelistic true crime, the editors interviewed lean decidedly toward those books written and published seemingly overnight.

Still, Writing Bestselling True Crime and Suspense is a fine introduction to the genre, with advice strewn throughout from the likes of Ann Rule (The Stranger Beside Me), Harry MacLean (In Broad Daylight), and Jack Olsen (Son: A Psychopath and His Victims). True crime takes a certain type of writer, one willing to face years of research, hundreds of interviews (some with psychopathic murderers), hours of tedious testimony, plenty of hanging around waiting for people to say something interesting, and possible death threats (but, hey, they're usually from people already on death row). And the writing itself is complicated. "No matter how bad the crime was or how bad the criminal was," says author Jaye Fletcher (A Perfect Gentleman), "describing the crime itself only takes four pages. So what do you do with the other four hundred?" If you can figure that out, you'll find, as Byrnes says, that "crime does pay--especially if you are a writer." --Jane Steinberg

Review

Crime Does Pay!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Prima Lifestyles (October 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761510265
• ISBN-13: 978-0761510260
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,288,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True Crime CAN Pay, April 23, 2001

By 

Teraisa J. Goldman (TrueCrimeFanatic.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writing Bestselling True Crime and Suspense: Break into the Exciting and Profitable Field of Book, Screenplay, and Television (Writing Guides) (Paperback)

True Crime sells, and you may as well be the one to write it. Writing Bestselling True Crime and Suspense is the best tool on the market today for future crime writers. Tom Byrnes--the author--shows you how to get a story, decide if it's right for you and for the Reader, then leads you to finding more information and ultimately to writing the story. But wait! There's more (no, not Gingsu Knives)... he goes even further and tells you how to sell it. If that weren't enough, the back of the book has passages from other well known True Crime writers/producers. You get the picture, now buy the book!

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking Up, December 30, 2011

By 

Mary J Sinnett (Lawrenceburg, KY, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Writing Bestselling True Crime and Suspense: Break into the Exciting and Profitable Field of Book, Screenplay, and Television (Writing Guides) (Paperback)

Screenplay and TV writing is something I would like to do, maybe on my bucket list. In my humble and unlearned opinion of this field of writing, I believe this book gives a nuts and bolts direction for that goal. I would recommend it to anyone who is seriously considering writing bestselling true crime and suspense.