classes -- syllabus

New Mystery Marketing Class!

Syllabus

Approaching the Mystery Marketplace
March 19 – March 26, 2008
Instructor: Kris Neri

Course Description: The mystery market always enjoys strong readership, but publication in this genre has never more competitive. Now that you've gotten your mystery novel as good as it can be, how you should approach publication? What does it take to attract the right agent, the right editor? Large presses or small ones - which is right for you? What resources will aid you in your search? This course provides in-depth lectures that address those questions and more, as well as the query letter, synopsis and general-submission procedures. With an instructor who enjoys the unique perspective of both an award-winning mystery author and a bookseller, you learn how the choices you make now will determine bookstore receptiveness toward your future book. After reading detailed lectures, students have the opportunity to submit their questions to the instructor. As the course progresses, the instructor addresses those questions of greatest relevance to the class as a whole.
Procedure & Format: We’re going to cover lots of ground in this short, fact-packed week. It’s my hope that the material provided in this course, as well as the exchange of instructor and peer insights, will not only make you better informed, that it will also help to discharge the anxieties everyone experiences as they approach publication.

Our course will begin on Wednesday, March 19, 2008. On Wednesday, we’ll share introductions, information about works in progress, as well as any publication history students may have, and their goals.

On Thursday, March 20th, I will post our introductory lectures: an overview of the current state of the mystery market and a discussion of the pros and cons of small and large presses; I will even touch on self-publication, though that won't be our primary focus, since this course will be geared to securing traditional publication. The publishing business has never been in a more challenging state and genre authors are being sacrificed to publishers' demands for blockbusters, and it’s essential that, as you prepare to enter this arena, you’re armed with the knowledge to form an effective plan. Real world material will be provided to help you realistically evaluate the publishers you might be considering.
On Friday, March 21st, I will post lectures on writing query letters & making oral pitches and on synopses, specifically focusing on what agents and editors want to see today. These contain real examples, which other authors were generous enough to share with me, of material they actually used to sell their books — examples that worked. I will also post a statement one independent press editor gave me, that details some of the more outrageous comments aspiring authors made to her, which are to be avoided.

On Saturday, March 22nd, I will post resource links related to finding and evaluating agents and small presses, as well as other recommended reference material.

On Sunday, March 23rd, I will post my bookseller lecture, in which I’ll not only share observations I’ve made from the perspective of someone who is now both a published author and a bookseller, I will also provide information that will help you determine, through the choices you make today, how receptive stores will be to your books in the future. This lecture will offer invaluable insights about bookstores that I wish I’d known before I became published.

Students should read lectures as they become available, and may begin asking related questions when the lectures appear, which they’ll post in the appropriate Discussion Board forums. I do ask that students wait until after a lecture appears before posing questions related to that topic. I will answer questions as the course progresses.

The class ends on Wednesday, March 26.