Several Questions about the Genre

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.

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.

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.

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.

Monkey said:

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.

Click to expand...

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 - 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.