>On May 24th, 2007 at 8PM EDT Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Chris Roerden, an Agatha-award winning author and editor with more than four decades of experience. Her latest book is called Don’t Murder Your Mystery: 24 Fiction Writing Techniques To Save Your Manuscript From Turning Up D.O.A. She shared invaluable tips on how not to submit a manuscript, how to work with an editor, and many classic mistakes made on the first page and first chapter that turn a possibly good book into unreadable mush. Not just for Mystery writers, this is a must for all fiction writers. | |
She’s edited authors who’ve been published by St. Martin’s Press, Berkley Prime Crime, Rodale, Viking, Walker, Midnight Ink, and many smaller presses, as well as authors who’ve self-published. Altogether, she’s had a hand in their winning 22 awards. In addition to editing, she’s written 10 books and a game, all but two of those commissioned by others. Chris received her Master’s in English from the University of Maine. The faculty invited her to stay on as a teacher of nonfiction writing. In the mid-nineties she introduced the first series of classes in publishing at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and taught in the continuing education program for 8 years. At the time Chris was also president of MidAmerica Publishers Association (or MAPA), a regional trade association for publishers founded by John Kremer. Chris also served 6 years on the southeast regional board of directors of Mystery Writers of America. |