How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook by Mystery Writers of America, edited by Lee Child with Laurie R. King, is out in the world today.

I contributed a small tip to this collection of inspirational essays, so I got a sneak peek at the book, and it’s a fabulous resource for mystery writers at any stage of their writing career.

Here’s the book jacket copy:

Seventy of the most successful mystery writers in the business answering the question: What writing advice do you wish you’d had at the beginning of your career?

How to Write a Mystery continues the Mystery Writers of America tradition of helping authors tell—and sell!—their stories, from the rank beginner to the established bestseller. This all-new MWA handbook helps writers not only create timeless and compelling stories, but also navigate an ever-shifting publishing landscape. From pacing and dialogue to creating diverse characters and building reader outreach, How to Write a Mystery is a complete guide for a new generation of mystery writers. Because: “Crime doesn’t pay… enough!”

Kirkus Reviews says of the book: "Everything you wanted to know about how to plan, draft, write, revise, publish, and market a mystery, courtesy of the cheerleaders from the Mystery Writers of America. . . . A chorus of encouraging voices that mix do-this instruction with companionable inspiration.”