How to Write About True Crime

Ann Rule, Vincent Bugliosi and Aphrodite Jones are just a few authors who have made it big by writing books detailing the horrors of true crime. Working within this specific genre takes a reporter's inquisitiveness coupled with a novelist's talent to capture the story behind brutal events. Writing a true-crime book is thus a challenging prospect, but one that can be skillfully accomplished by following a basic formula.

Instructions

1. Perform background research, including a thorough reading of court transcripts if the crime went to trial. Also gather newspaper clippings and any magazine articles regarding the event you are writing about. Check your sources for contradictions and try to resolve them. Keep an organized file of all your source materials and make sure to date them.

2. Set up in-person, phone or email interviews with the principal players in the case. Relatives, neighbors and friends of victims and perpetrators are great sources of information. Anyone accused of the crime is also, of course, a great interview if you can get it. Record all your interviews, date them and keep copies along with your notes. Ask permission for follow-ups as needed.

3. Organize your source materials and begin planning your book. Determine if there are any gaps in your research and expand as necessary. At this point, you need to decide approximately how long your work will be and begin researching markets in which you will pitch your story.

4. Create a timeline of events for your book. While your rendering of the story in book form will probably not be chronological, you need an accurate timeline to refer to when you begin writing. As you begin considering your plan for how the book will unfold, consider the "formula" used by many true-crime writers: Begin with the incident itself (without revealing the perpetrator, if possible), then give background information about the area where the crime occurred, the victim and the alleged perpetrator (including details from their youth and about their families). Skip ahead to the events leading up to the crime, introduce the investigators and any attorneys involved, cover the trial proceedings (if there was one) and end with information on how the families and community are faring following the crime.

5. Set up a schedule for the writing of your book. Be realistic regarding what you can accomplish per day. Begin by summarizing what you plan to include in each chapter of the book. Give yourself flexibility, but at the same time, hold yourself to getting the project done in a reasonable time. With certain stories, you need to strike while the iron is hot, rather than waiting until someone else covers the same crime in a timelier fashion.

6. Complete your first draft of the book. Enlist a copy editor and proofreader to provide you with feedback. Let those you trust read the manuscript, and ask for their comments to make it better. Take a little time away from the project so you can come back to it with fresh eyes and begin revising. Polish your work to get it ready to be marketed.

7. Shop around for publishers or hire an agent to do the legwork for you, and perhaps garner you a better deal. Be ready to help "sell" the book as well. Consider self-publishing if you cannot get a publisher interested in the work, or if you simply want to do it yourself.

Tips & Warnings

• Pictures of the principal players and the crime scene make excellent additions to your book and will aid in its marketing.