What Mystery Editors Are Looking For... | Sam Blake's Blood Red Ink

What Mystery Editors Are Looking For…

Posted by Sam Blake on 14 January 2012. 1 Comment so far.

This is an excellent post on the Penguin Book Country Business Blog (now that’s a mouthful), that is really useful for aspiring mystery writers.

Book Country is a Penguin initiative where readers and writers of genre fiction come together to read original fiction, post work or comments, and make a name for themselves. They say, ” Our free community is a creative and supportive space where fiction writers and readers can give and receive constructive criticism, discover new and entertaining books, discuss and share tips and experiences, and learn about the publishing industry. Book Country aims to be useful, egalitarian, and merit-based while fostering an atmosphere of encouragement and creativity.

Book Country also offers a convenient and affordable way to self-publish eBooks and print books. With a variety of services available, we want you to be able to put your book on the map. As Book Country grows, we will continue to offer additional features and services we think you will appreciate.”

The good news for authors is that several books have been picked up for publication by Penguin after being uploaded to Book Country!

So back those mystery writing tips:

What Mystery Readers (and Editors) Are Looking For

Hear it from the pros…

Mysteries can be a mystery! NAL and Berkley editorial give us an inside look at the mystery market: what works and what they’re looking for.

In this second installment of “Giving Readers (and Editors) What They Want,” we’re shifting the focus from romance novels to mystery novels, an intriguing and timeless genre with a number of popular subgenres. With so many different kinds of mysteries on the shelves, it can be confusing to figure out what exactly it is you’re writing and if it’s what a particular publishing house is looking to acquire.

We’ve once again turned to the experts at New American Library (NAL) and Berkley Books to give a quick lesson about the mystery genre as a whole, what’s hot right now, and what they’re looking for:

“When it comes to writing a mystery that fits into the current market, first get back to the basics to make sure you’re book is categorized correctly. It’s easy to confuse a mystery component of a novel with a mystery novel itself. A “mystery” refers to novels whose plot revolves around a crime, typically a murder, and the search to figure out who committed it….

For the full article, click here: http://bookcountry.com/Industry/Article.aspx?articleId=121590

One Response to “What Mystery Editors Are Looking For…”

Sally Clements says:

17 January 2012 at 11.27pm

Sigh, I’m really not supposed to be reading this…not supposed to be thinking about my mystery novels, but I couldn’t resist!

Reply

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