Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel

I am writing a romatic suspense novel, and I've found this book to be a fantastic resource for developing a deep understanding of my own characters. Now I feel like I know exactly how each of my point of view characters would act, feel, and speak in each situation I throw them in (or they throw themselves into as they've now taken on a life of their own!!). I've also really appreciated the exercises on structuring the plot to keep the readers guessing--how to structure suspect analysis (motive, lies, secrets, etc) and the supporting cast. If you're serious about structuring a good mystery (even if it's a subplot like my own), this will be a great resource.

I was pleasantly surprised by "Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel." Many how-to books try to cover too much information in one book. I feared this one would have the same problem. My fears were soon allayed. As the founder of Agile Writers (a writers group that helps the first time novelist create their first draft in 6 months) Part One was a great overview of Planning your novel. Part Two on Writing covered important writing topics such as point of view and dialog. I was pleasantly surprised by the advice given in Part Three on revising. I consider Part Four on getting published and self-publishing a welcome bonus. As I am a new independent press (Agile Writer Press) I found this advice very welcome indeed. I gave the book four stars because I got more from it than I had expected. However, to garner 5 stars it should have been 2 books: One on the writing of a mystery with more detail for Parts One and Two, and another with more detail on finding publisher and selling the book. Still, if you're going to write a mystery novel, you cannot go wrong with "Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel." It is filled with examples from popular mystery authors and novels. I felt very instructed and ready to put pen to paper to craft my first mystery. Many thanks to Hallie Ephron and her co-authors.

I undertook this book among with a few other "craft" books after completing the second draft of a mystery novel, to help clear my head and clarify what I would need to accomplish in the third draft. I found it among the most useful craft books I've ever encountered. Clear, concise, clever, and accurate. Ephron writes from experience and respects writers willing to give novel-writing a go; she does not talk down to her readers or fill her pages with useless advice such as "don't forget to do XYZ, but don't do it too much." The exercises and instructions she includes will not write a book for you, but they will help you understand what you will need to successfully accomplish to write a book of your own. I find most craft books barely more useful than doorstops - thinly veiled memoirs, for the most part - but this is a true gem among the huge number of "how to write a mystery" books you could choose from.

Ms. Ephron not only tells what plot details should be included in mystery fiction, but she shows how and when to include them. In this book she answers my questions about how to run an investigation, create suspense, and write dramatic action that flows from the story. Her book will be my go to resource while I'm writing my mystery.

Writing instruction books penned by writers are a dime per every two dozen. Most of their advice amounts to a re-packaging of every writer cliché available for free: Show, don't tell; write a character bio; use he said/she said; conflict, conflict, conflict. Rarely does anything write-home-worthy come down the pike that we haven't read elsewhere. So it is with a mix of openness and skepticism that I picked up WRITING AND SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL by Hallie Ephron. The result? A good primer for beginners, but mostly just another rehash of generic advice to the more seasoned writer. Ephron covers everything in this book: Characterization, dialogue, selecting a title, setting, plotting, suspense, revision, marketing, polishing, selling--I mean she covers it ALL. She also includes copious charts and graphs that illustrate her points for the reader's personal use. This is what makes it such a good, comprehensive tool for someone just getting into writing who could benefit from an all-in-one resource. But as much as that's a strength of the book, it's also a weakness. The book is too busy with charts, and Ephron breezes through every imaginable subject so quickly that she rarely scratches past the surface. In this way, WRITING AND SELLING is malnourished inasmuch as it's comprehensive. For intermediate to advanced writers, there are a few good chapters in here. I particularly enjoyed the ones on plotting and suspense, and Ephron's itemization of different plot twists and turns, when coupled with the chapter on suspense, is almost worth the price of the book alone. So, if you're just starting out, feel free to buy WRITING AND SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL to get your beak wet. Then go deeper with DON'T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY or SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS.

I started this book thinking I might pick up a few things like I have in most other writing books I've bought. However this book is different, at least for me. I forced myself to do every exercise in the book using the story I had loosely created in my mind and a few days later I had pages of character details, victim secrets - the book basically walked me through a deep dive of my stories details, which helped me get the writing process going. True I am a beginner, those more experienced may not need something like this but if you are learning the craft this book could definitely help.

A great basic how to book. If you're not familiar with mystery writing, or writing for that matter, and need a starting point. This a great starter.

I love this book. I don't doubt my writing talent, but when it comes to writing a mystery there is a lot to consider. This book is wonderful! The chapters are short sweet and straight to the point. I am using it to write my first mystery novel. I would recommend this book to everyone considering writing a mystery. It's great!