june-july History is in the details By Brian Thornton Book Expo America History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it. - Winston Churchill Let me tell you, having read both Churchill’s memoirs and some of the “history” he wrote, the guy wasn’t kidding about history written by him being kind to him. And while Churchill’s fictionalization of history was equal parts intentional and unintentional, there is a growing group of authors who intentionally blend not only history and fiction, but history and crime. These writers of “historical mysteries” include such literary lights as Steven Saylor, Anne Perry, Jacqueline Winspear, Jason Goodwin, Steve Hockensmith and Louis Bayard (the first two are past Edgar Award winners, Winspear is a 2004 Edgar nominee and the last three are 2007 Edgar nominees). Whereas research has always played a large role in mystery writing, historical research can be a different animal altogether. I recently asked several historical mystery writers to name their favorite internet research tool, the one that most readily accomplished the twin goal of saving them time and giving them a maximum return on their investment. Hockensmith (Holmes on the Range, On the Wrong Track) Chuck Zito and Bill Bryan greet their fans. (Photos by Margery Flax) points to an overlooked sector of internet research: Yahoo groups. “For my latest book, I needed a ton of material on trains and railroad lines of the 1890s,” he says. After checking “literally dozens of train books” out of the library, Hockensmith still wasn’t getting what he needed, so he joined several Yahoo groups that catered to railroad enthusiasts and hit pay dirt. “There are a lot of people out there with extremely arcane knowledge on obscure subjects, and they’re usually quite happy to share what they know,” Hockensmith recalls. “I figure most of them have already been told ‘Enough about the trains!’ by their families, so they’re pretty thrilled when someone pops up who’s actually interested in what they have to say.” And let’s not forget email discussion lists. Aside from the terrific Crime Thru Time and Historical Mystery Yahoo discussion lists, there are more period-specific ones as well. These include the historical “-L” lists, populated mostly by academics whose families apparently don’t differ much from those of the railroad junkies listed above. Priscilla Royal (Justice for the Damned), singles out the Mediev-L historical discussion for particular praise, Meredith Anthony attempts to kidnap Margery Julia Pomeroy and Chris Grabenstein plot murder Continued on Page 5 Flax's husband, Steve. and mayhem. The official newsletter of Mystery Writers of America ISSN #1535-9034 Published 10 times per year MWA National Officers PRESIDENT: Nelson DeMille EXECUTIVE VP: Daniel J. Hale At the June 6 meeting, the MWA National Board approved changes and clarifications SECRETARY: Frankie Y. Bailey to the qualifications for active category members. (See Page 6) TREASURER: Bob Williamson For books, authors must receive a minimum advance, royalties, or combination of both to equal $1,000, and print runs for a work of fiction or non-fiction must be at least 500 The Third Degree Staff copies. Authors of short stories must receive a cumulative amount of $200, with only TTD COMMITTEE CHAIR: Sandra Balzo payments of a minimum of $25 counting toward that total. EDITOR: Beth Tindall Playwrights or authors of screenplays or teleplays must receive a minimum payment ASST. EDITOR: Annie Chernow commensurate with the standards and practices of the Writers’ Guild (film/TV) or Dramatists ADVERTISING MGR: Jeffrey Marks Guild (stage plays), and the work must be produced. · Executive Vice President Dan Hale mentioned that the Board of Directors of the EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS: Mercantile Library, where the MWA national office is located, may be near accepting an E-MAIL: [email protected] offer for the building. The board will be monitoring the situation and how it affects our For terms of submission please see: office space. www.mysterywriters.org/submit · Book Expo America was a rousing success, with MWA hosting 50 member author signings. Twenty-four new libraries and 24 bookstores were added to the MWA databases, THE MARKET SUBMISSIONS: which can be purchased for a nominal fee. E-MAIL: [email protected] · Finally, it’s membership renewal time, so get those forms in! ADVERTISING SUBMISSIONS: --Sandy Balzo Jeffrey Marks 5470 Asbury Lake #27 Cincinnati, OH 45247-6973 REMINDERS TEL: 513/481-4449 The user name and password for the regular members only section FAX: 513/481-1198 is the same word — type this word in both fields of the pop-up E-MAIL: [email protected] window (lower case in both fields) — the word is: member ADDRESS CHANGES AND OTHER MEMBERSHIP ISSUES: Watch for the names of the next MWA Anthology authors, coming Margery Flax in the Aug./Sept. issue of TTD. Administrative Manager Mystery Writers of America Membership renewals have been mailed – return yours today if you 17 E 47th St, 6th floor New York, NY 10017 haven’t already! TEL: 212/888-8171 FAX: 212/888-8107 The submission deadline for MWA's Rebound Grants Program is Tues., E-MAIL: [email protected] September 4, 2007, sent via U.S. mail to the Rebound Grants WEB: www.mysterywriters.org Committee. © 2007, Mystery Writers of America, Inc. All rights reserved. The publication herein of news, advertising, seminars, classes, etc. does not imply any endorsement by or Killer Nashville 2007 recommendation of MWA. The Edgar name Killer Nashville 2007, sponsored by the SouthEast Chapter of MWA, will be held Saturday and logo are registered in the US Patent and and Sunday, August 18 and 19, 2007 at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs (700 Cool Springs Trademark Office. Blvd., Franklin, TN 37067). This two-day conference brings together New York Times-bestselling and award-winning authors, film and television writers, playwrights, as well as other entertainment industry experts, and will feature book signings, panel discussions, and workshops. The event begins with an official kick-off at 7 p.m. Friday, August 17, 2007 with a book signing and gathering. Saturday and Sunday’s TTD by e-mail events begin at 8:30 a.m. Also parts of the weekend are the If you would prefer to receive your TTD by e-mail, please let the national office Third Annual Magnolia Awards and the Guest of Honor Dinner. know. You must be able to receive large Michael Connelly is the Guest of Honor this year. PDFs (1-2M) as e-mail attachments. Registration forms and other information can be found at www.KillerNashville.com or by calling 615-554-9797. 2 and/or revisions. The Author shall have 60 days from the Author’s Book Contract Trouble Spots receipt of such a request to deliver to the Publisher a revised Work Part 4 – Manuscript Acceptance and Revision that is acceptable to the Publisher. The Publisher shall advise the Author within 45 days of its receipt of the revised Work whether or Q. I turned in my novel’s manuscript on time three months ago, not the revised Work is acceptable to Publisher. If the Work as but my editor still hasn’t “accepted” it. What are my rights? And resubmitted is deemed unacceptable, the Agreement shall be can my publisher make changes without my approval? terminated at the option of either party and neither party shall have A. As always, your publishing agreement controls. An industry- any further liability to the other. If the Author does not receive any standard publishing agreement typically gives the publisher the notice from the Publisher within the 45-day periods set forth above, right to accept, reject, or ask for revisions in your manuscript. the Work shall be deemed to have been accepted.” But keep in mind that the editor who acquired your book may not Although some publishing agreements already will have a time be the same editor limit for the publisher’s acceptance, they will require YOU to notify who sees it through to an editor and/or publication; we all an executive of the know that editors house that “failure change publishing to respond shall be houses frequently. If deemed a new editor comes in acceptance.” If so, before your manuscript make sure you has been accepted, he follow the or she might just sit specified on your book while pet procedure: Failure projects take priority. to do so will leave you in limbo. You need some assurance that the publisher: a) won’t unreasonably delay production of the manuscript or payment of your remaining Also, who gets the final say on the manuscript after acceptance? advance by never getting back to you about what changes the editor Some contracts allow the publisher to make changes “provided the wants; and b) can’t reject the manuscript outright without giving meaning of the text is not materially altered.” In whose view? you a chance to revise the manuscript. Generally, a publisher should only have the right to make copyediting changes. You should have the right to approve all material changes The solution is to insert a contact clause such as this: “Within 45 to the manuscript before publication. days of its receipt of the complete manuscript of the Work, the Publisher shall notify the Author in writing whether or not the Work is acceptable to Publisher. If the Work is not acceptable to the Daniel Steven is Chairman of the MWA Contracts and Grievances Publisher, the Publisher shall give the Author a request for changes Committee and a publishing and media attorney. This column provides general legal information; consult an attorney for application of the On August 14, I will interview five avid readers as they analyze PA’s Mystery Lovers Bookshop.