Several Questions about the Genre

[Monkey]

I got an interesting E-mail today.

A former FBI Operative who spent years deep undercover and eventually brought down a major criminal operation would like to write a book about his experiences. The only problem is that he's not really a writer.

Of all people, he has contacted me. I told him that I'm not that experienced and that I usually do fantasy, but he feels that I can do the job, and I agree.

So here's my questions:

I've heard that with non-fiction you can begin querying agents before the manuscript is complete. How far into the project should I begin to query?

Is this person's platform strong enough?

Is it acceptable to write this sort of story from first person POV? He has provided me with some of his own writing, and while there are problems with the grammar and such, the POV makes the story quite strong.

Right now, we are planning to co-author this book. Are there any problems with that?

So far, I'm pretty excited about the project.
:e2bear: :e2bear: :e2bear: :e2bear:

[aka eraser]

Sounds intriguing. :)

Read the stickied post at the top of this board about learning with Momma Jenna. I think you'll find most of your answers in there.

If any questions are left over, re-post away!

Good luck.

[Monkey]

I've read the sticky.

:Hail: Jenna

:Hail: AW

I'm going to get a few chapters done and then begin querying, I think.

It wasn't really covered, but I'm assuming the POV is fine...

Co-authoring seems relatively common.

I still have a bit of problem with platform, but it seems that I'm not alone there. My previous works include fiction and RPG's. They are all scheduled to be published within a year or so, but I don't have anything out yet. I don't have any media ties or a popular website. *sigh*

One thing that I am still curious about...
Jenna's thread said that 70,000 words is a good starting point for a non-fiction work. This will probably be a blow-by-blow of the inside workings of a major criminal act, culminating with the arrests and convictions of the participants and a short "where are they now". For this kind of book, is 70,000 really the minimum? Honestly, at this point, I have no idea what the final word count will be, but it seems a slimmer tome may have more shelf-appeal in this case.

[Jaws]

To directly answer the question(s):

(1) The platform is strong enough. However, you must ensure that there is no nondisclosure agreement, protective order, or the like at issue. In particular, if the law-enforcement guy is still on the job, he may be prohibited from engaging in profit-making private activities related to his employment. He needs to consult counsel who understands his employment situation.

(2) For a work of this nature, 60,000 to 70,000 seems to be the low end; most "true crime" these days comes in at novel length, 80,000 to 100,000 words.

(3) As far as "when" goes, books of this nature are almost always done on a full proposal package, consisting of an annotated table of contents, a sample chapter, a narrative market analysis, and short bios/cvs of the author(s). In particular, if you can get a letter of cooperation from the FBI, that absolutely should be mentioned (and probably included along with the bios). These submissions absolutely should not be unagented in the current market — even experienced true-crime writers are having trouble.

Best of luck.

[aka eraser]

I don't think you need worry overmuch about your platform. Although a co-author, it seems to me that you're really working on an "as-told-to" type of story that's a nonfic/memoir hybrid. It's the FBI agent who wields the cachet.

I agree you should write a few chapters first. I think it's always wise, especially for a relative unknown, to have a goodly chunk of the book written - if only to reassure yourself that you do indeed have a story here and that you are indeed the writer to tell it. Agents/pubs prefer to be able to assess your chops based on more than just a query/proposal. It lessens their risk.

Once you do get down to the actual writing and planning out of chapters, it'll be easier to guesstimate the length. I wouldn't worry about that now. Trimming or padding is part of the process.

ETA: I'm glad Jaws weighed in on those pesky legal aspects. ;)

[Monkey]

Thanks, guys.

He is no longer with the FBI and has assured me that he can tell his story, so I think the legal aspect is probably handled. I'll talk to him about it again.

My last question for this thread (at least, I hope it's my last) concerns colorful language. So far, my co-author has been writing down some of the conversations he had with the criminals in question. The language is not pretty, and neither is the subject matter (quite a lot of cracking heads). He tends to edit like this: Then he said, "F#$@ you, you..." I feel that in a story like this, we shouldn't censor.

Who is correct here?

[aka eraser]

You don't want to lose the realism and if that's how he talks....

If/when you get to the publishing stage, if language is an issue, you and your editor(s) will kick it around and come to a consensus. Be aware though, that too much of anything (maybe esp. cursing) can be off-putting to some readers. Most folks like a sprinkle of salt, not handfuls.

[Sassenach]

This will probably be a blow-by-blow of the inside workings of a major criminal act, culminating with the arrests and convictions of the participants and a short "where are they now". For this kind of book, is 70,000 really the minimum? Honestly, at this point, I have no idea what the final word count will be, but it seems a slimmer tome may have more shelf-appeal in this case.

A compelling NF book is NOT a "blow-by-blow" account. On the contrary, it includes the important stuff that tells the story, but it's not a comprehensive report.

[Monkey]

OK...

See, this just shows my inexperience with the non-fiction genre.

Perhaps this is really more of a Memoir than a True Crime. Do memoirs sell? Would people want to read this sort of memoir?

[Monkey]

Oops, I just found the right spot for that kind of discussion...sorry.

[aka eraser]

Monkey - you have the bones of an interesting tale to tell. Just start telling it. Later on, you and (hopefully) your agent, can decide what shelf it'll fit into at Barnes & Noble. ;)

[Monkey]

Well, guys, reading about nonfiction and memoirs has taught me one very important thing: I don't know squat about it.

Furthermore, I just got a fab job doing something I *do* know about - designing an RPG.

So I'm going to ask around and see if someone else would like to take on this guy's story. It's a good one, really, I'm just not the one to tell it.

PM me if you think you may be interested.