Considering Eight Bestselling Series in Crime Fiction What authors can learn from John Sandford, Lee Child, CJ Box, and others about how to cultivate a loyal readership

[by Ross Browne]

One piece of advice authors who write popular fiction often hear is that your odds of landing an agent and a traditional publishing deal can improve considerably when your novel is conceived as (or has the potential to work as) a series. This should come as no surprise to anyone who enjoys settling down […]

By |2022-02-16T17:55:55+00:00|Behind The Bestsellers, Genre, Getting Published, Mystery / Suspense, RSB, The Writer’s Craft, Traditional Publishing|Comments Off on Considering Eight Bestselling Series in Crime Fiction What authors can learn from John Sandford, Lee Child, CJ Box, and others about how to cultivate a loyal readership

The Sad, Honorable Life of Jack Reacher Considering Reacher's future in the hands of Andrew Child

[by Ross Browne]

October 27, 2020 brought two notes of bittersweet dichotomy for fans of the Jack Reacher series. On one hand, we had a new release to dig into, always a good thing in the eyes of “Reacher Creatures.” On the other, The Sentinel is the first book in the series whose byline Lee shares with […]

By |2022-02-15T18:21:48+00:00|Miscellaneous, Mystery / Suspense, RSB, The Writer’s Craft|Comments Off on The Sad, Honorable Life of Jack Reacher Considering Reacher's future in the hands of Andrew Child

Editor’s Eavesdrop: An Intimate Conversation with Ken Follett and Lee Child Considering writing and publishing perspectives from two masters of their genres

[by Ross Browne]

One silver lining to the challenges of the writing life in 2020 is the growing number of popular authors doing online events with their fans. This gives us the opportunity to get up close and personal (if only virtually) with some of the biggest names in publishing, and in many cases pose questions to […]

By |2022-02-15T18:24:23+00:00|Behind The Bestsellers, General, Historical Fiction, RSB, The Writer’s Craft, Traditional Publishing|Comments Off on Editor’s Eavesdrop: An Intimate Conversation with Ken Follett and Lee Child Considering writing and publishing perspectives from two masters of their genres

Editorial Analysis: BLUE MOON by Lee Child Considering what works and what could work better in Jack Reacher # 24

[by Ross Browne]

Author’s note: As a reader, I’m a loyal fan of the Jack Reacher series, awaiting each release with rabid anticipation. As a professional editor, I’m a longtime admirer of what Lee Child does well and, at times, a constructive critic of what I believe he could do better. I write about Lee Child often […]

By |2022-02-15T20:28:41+00:00|Behind The Bestsellers, Book Reviews and Analysis, General, Mystery / Suspense, RSB, TED Editor Posts, The Writer’s Craft|Comments Off on Editorial Analysis: BLUE MOON by Lee Child Considering what works and what could work better in Jack Reacher # 24

What Writers Can Learn from Lee Child & Jack Reacher A lesson in handling exposition in mystery and suspense novels

Exposition: a discourse of information. (Often necessary, but also challenging to handle skillfully.)

In an earlier post for mystery writers, I talked a little bit about the value of resisting the urge to lecture your readers on what you might have learned in the course of researching your story or what you might know from your own in-the-trenches […]

By |2021-02-02T19:02:20+00:00|Mystery, RSB, The Writer’s Craft|Comments Off on What Writers Can Learn from Lee Child & Jack Reacher A lesson in handling exposition in mystery and suspense novels
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