The Public Safety Writer
Volume 1, Number 3
August 2005
Membership in New Organization
Grows
We’re very pleased to report a steady
stream of new memberships now that we’ve evolved the former Police Writers
Association into the Public Safety Writers Association. As you’ll see later
on in the newsletter, our members represent a wide range of experience in
the public safety field and come from all over the country. All have
expressed enthusiasm for the organization and are looking forward to
opportunities to share their expertise and network with other members.
Please look through this website for a lot
of updated information in the newsletter, on the conference page and on our
“tips” page. If you have any “tips” you’d like to share, please contact us.
As you’ll see from a later article about
the conference, plans are now firming up. The conference will be held in Las
Vegas March 23-26 at the Boardwalk Hotel and Casino located right on the Las
Vegas strip. Check out the Conference page on this website for details.
We’re also updating our listserve, a members-only service that you’ll be
sure to want to take advantage of. If you have questions about the
listserve, please contact our webmaster, Tim Dees at
tdees@policewriter.com.
Annual
Conference to be held in Las Vegas
Our annual conference will be
held in Las Vegas, March 23-26, 2006 at the Boardwalk Hotel and Casino. The
conference will begin with a reception Thursday evening, March 23. We’re
still firming up the exact agenda, but a tentative agenda can be found on
the Conference page of this website. At this point, we’re very anxious for
your input. What topics would you like to have covered? Are there areas of
expertise you have and would be willing to share as one of our presenters?
Although the exact schedule is still not
set, we do know we’ll be offering concurrent sessions. One series of
presentations will be intended for those primarily interested in writing
fiction. A second series of presentations will be intended for those
primarily interested in writing non-fiction. Joint sessions will present
information we think everyone will want to know: options for publishing and
how to market yourself and your writing. Additional options will include
how to create a website and/or blog and how to effectively manage your
writing as a business. There will also be opportunities to present your
work for peer review and to talk one-on-one with successfully published
writers.
Our conference bookstore will be open
throughout the conference. You are invited to bring your books to sell.
Additionally, on Friday and Saturday
afternoons, time will be allotted for conference participants to give brief
readings from their works and participate in a book signing.
The conference will include lunches on
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but all evenings will be free so you can enjoy
the sights and sounds of Las Vegas.
The awards banquet for the writing competition will be held Sunday noon.
Writing
Competition Open to All Members
Writing Competition winners
will be announced at the conference (you don’t have to be present to win,
but it would be a lot more fun if you were). The rules, deadlines and
applications for the competition are now available on this website (click on
Writing Competition) to give you plenty of time to work on your
entry.
Committees
Now Being Organized
We’re also recruiting members
willing to serve on the committees necessary to make all this happen.
Committees include: membership, conference, newsletter and writing
competition. If you’d be willing to serve on any of these committees or
have any questions about any of this, please feel free to contact Marilyn
Olsen at
molsen@policewriter.com.
The
Website is Always There for You
All members will receive a
quarterly newsletter, however a vibrant organization like ours often has
late breaking news that occurs more often than quarterly. We are fortunate
to have member Tim Dees as our webmaster. Tim and the board are dedicated
to keeping the website as up to date as we possibly can. To that end, we
will also need your help. Just published a book? Just got an article
published? Know about a new public safety organization or publication that
you don’t see listed? Let us know.
Or do you need some help with
your manuscript? Looking for a publisher? Need an agent? Just need a
little moral support when writer’s block hits? If the website itself
doesn’t have the information you need, chances are one of our members will.
Contact us and we’ll see if we can help. The website is available to you
wherever you are, 24-7.
www.policewriter.com. (Yes, although we’ve changed the name of the
organization, we still have the old domain name. We
also have the domain names
www.publicsafetywriter.com
and www.publicsafetywriter.org,
both of which point to this same site.
Please
Join Us!
Membership in the Public
Safety Writers Association is open to all new and experienced, published and
not yet published authors interested in law enforcement topics and other
public safety professionals (sworn and civilian) including fire, emergency
medical, search and rescue and related fields and those who write about
them.
Membership applications are
available on this website. Just click on Join. Please mail yours in
today!
Welcome
New and Renewing Members
The Public Safety Writers Association is
pleased to welcome the following new and renewing members:
We’re pleased to welcome the following new members:
Andrew Borrello. Andrew Borello is a 16-year
veteran and lieutenant with the San Gabriel, California Police Department.
He trains throughout California and serves as a POST Master Instructor,
mentor, seminar presenter, consultant, and curriculum designer. He is the
author of Oral Interview Dynamics and has contributed numerous
articles to magazines, newsletters, journals and websites.
George F. Breed, Jr. George F. Breed, Jr.
began his career 30 years ago working for courts in the metro Washington,
D.C. area. He was responsible for tracking and apprehension of fugitives
who had either escaped from custody or violated their release on bond,
parole or probation. He had administration and operational responsibility
for a full-service public safety/security department for the largest private
controlled access location in the eastern US, oversaw a $3+ million, budget
and direct management for a staff of 58.
Micqui Miller. Micqui Miller wrote her first
novel at the age of 12, and earned her first byline as a sports writer for a
local Detroit newspaper at 15. Since that time, she has published more than
100 articles and short stories and has three novels in current release.
Micqui’s February 2005 release, Sweet Caroline, is the forerunner to
the Caroline Spring Mystery Series. The first book of the series, All in
the Game, is scheduled for release in 2006.
Eliot Sefrin. Eliot Sefrin has had more than 30
years experience as a journalist, editor and publisher for newspapers and
magazines. His wife was one of the first female police officers assigned to
the streets of New York City.
Michael Berish. Michael Berish was a supervisor
with the City of Miami Police Department for more than 20 years, 13 of which
were spent as an undercover detective. He holds a BS in psychology and a
Master’s degree in communications. He has written numerous short stories
which have been published or been accepted for publication, in Hardboiled
Magazine, Enigma, Rembrandt and Company, Low Budget Adventure Stories, and
Poetry Forum Short Stories. He has also written two screenplays and several
plays.
Michelle Perin. Michelle Perin recently
graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Justice and Social
Inquiry/English Literature. She has been a Police Telecommunications
Operator for the Phoenix Police Department, a free lance writer and is
completing one novel and beginning another.
David C. Shampine. David has more than 30 years
as a police reporter with the Watertown Daily Times newspaper. He is also
contributing writer and copy editor for The Bulletin of the Jefferson County
Historical Society in Watertown NY. He has received numerous awards for
writing.
Paul R. Laska. Paul has been Identification
Officer with the Belle Glade, FL PD, a detective in a crime scene unit, a
Sergeant in Identification, a supervisor of a Forensic Science Unit and an
Environmental Investigations supervisor. He started a bomb disposal unit
and is currently a consultant in forensic science and anti-terrorism and
works as an instructor in several anti-terrorism/bom/wmd programs. He has
had numerous articles published in Law Enforcement Technology, The
Detonator, The Journal of Forensic Identification and the Journal of
Emergency Medical Services.
Book
Reviews
Each issue of The Public Safety Writer will contain
reviews of books by our members and others we think our members might
enjoy. If you’d like to have your book reviewed in The Public Safety
Writer, please send a copy of your book to: Public Safety Writers
Association, 2024 Falcon Court, Bellingham, WA 98229.
The Publishing Game: Publish a Book in 30 Days
by Fern Reiss
Peanut Butter and Jelly Press
252 pp.
If you had nothing else to do and you never
had to sleep, it might be possible, as the name of this book suggests, to
publish a book in 30 days. Our guess is that it might take a few months
longer, but having said that, this book is still a valuable tool to anyone
who is considering self-publishing. In a no-nonsense, straightforward way,
the book offers a series of checklists that include everything from general
topics such as defining goals to specific information on how to order a
barcode. Even better, the book prioritizes all the tasks involved in self
publishing and suggests a logical order in which to accomplish them. It not
only gives ideas on each topic, but lists many options, including specific
contact information for vendors and contacts in every area of book
publishing you might need. In each section, Reiss also includes estimated
costs involved so, with your handy calculator in hand, you can quickly
determine just what such a venture might cost you before you complete step
one.
Publish a Book in 30 Days is
one in a series of books including: Bestseller in 30 Days, Find an Agent in
30 Days, Syndicate in 30 Days, and Ebooks in 30 days. For more information
on this book, click on www.PublishingGame.com.
Excerpt:
The opportunity to publish
exists as never before. Even as few as ten years ago, the only real option
for authors was to bang their heads against the establishment wall, querying
agents and publishers endlessly. Today, it is possible to publish your book
yourself, easily – design a cover, secure a printer, enlist a wholesaler,
get your book into bookstores and libraries. Anyone can do it. All you
need is a plan. This book is that plan.
Now you can not only publish yourself,
you can actually make money at it. There are over 50,000 independent
publishers in America today, generating an estimated annual $14 billion in
book sales. You can be one of them.
You can move faster than the big
publishing houses. Most big publishers will sit on your manuscript for
months, then send you a form rejection letter. Even if you could get a big
publisher to accept your book – an increasingly difficult proposition – it
would take them at least nine to 18 months to bring it to press. You can do
it yourself in a matter of weeks.
The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A
Professional Guide to the Business, for Nonfiction Writers of All Experience
Levels
Edited by Timothy Harper
St. Martin’s Griffin
314 pp.
As in any field, there are a
lot of how-to writing books, most written by successful authors who are
willing to share the secrets of their success with those who aspire to
write, publish and market their works. What makes this book different is
that it is an anthology of articles by 26 successful writers who have in
common the fact that they are members of the American Society of Journalists
and Authors, a national association of independent nonfiction writers
founded in 1948.
As a result the reader gets not just the
opinion of one successful writer, but a take on the subject by more than two
dozen writers, well known and respected for their ability to create and sell
their work. Although some articles are a bit on the philosophical side,
most get right to the point on subjects such as how to sell a book, how to
find experts, writer-editor relations and protecting your rights as an
author. The result is a wealth of practical ideas for writers of all levels
of experience from those who are just considering a foray into the business
to those who’ve been writing and selling their work for years.
Excerpt
From Chapter 4, The Mystery of Ideas by Jack El-Hai,
author of the best selling new nonfiction book, The Lobotomist.
Ideas do us no good, and they certainly
make us no money, if they are not developed and proposed, so some writers
set aside time each day or week to hone their ideas and write proposals
based on them. Many writers devote time to thinking about ideas, and some
consider it an important part of their regular business planning. Some
ideas quickly show themselves to be right or wrong for you, and some need
time to ripen or sour. Virtually every writer who makes a living as a
freelancer has a system for jotting down ideas, gathering more background
information, and keeping track of ideas that have been pitched and the
editors who have received them. The respective lists are fluid and
ever-changing.
Carol Bly, one of America’s best writers
and teachers of fiction, once described a story as “a combination of what
the writer supposed the story would be about – plus what actually turned up
in the course of writing.” Creating good and satisfying ideas for articles
and books involves that same engrossing process of seizing your donnee and
poking at it until you have something new and mysterious that’s all your
own. You start with something you saw or heard or read and turn it like wet
clay on a potter’s wheel. The end product can surprise even you.
NOTE: We’d love to review your book in our
newsletter. Please send a copy of your book to: Public Safety Writers
Association, 2024 Falcon Court, Bellingham, WA, 98229. Feel free to suggest
excerpts.
News
from our Members
Books published:
The Con Man’s Daughter
Ed Dee, one of the
PSWA’s favorite conference speakers and writing competition judges, has
published The Con Man’s Daughter. Ed’s other books include 14
Peck Slip, Bronx Angel, Little Boy Blue and Nightbird. For more
information go to
www.eddeeauthor.com.
Bad Tidings and Wingbeat
Marilyn Meredith, award
winning author of 14 books, announces Bad Tidings the latest in her
Rocky Bluff P.D. series. Also recently published, Wingbeat, the fifth in
the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series. For more information:
www.fictionforyou.com.
Burden of the Badge
Nine-year
Saginaw PD veteran Michael East has just published Burden of the
Badge: A Year in the Life of a Street Cop. The book documents nearly
1,000 calls over a full year in the life of a patrol officer in Saginaw,
Michigan. For more information:
www.fire-police-ems.com.
A Proactive Law Enforcement
Guide for the War on Terror
Long-time PWA
member Lou Savelli has published A Proactive Law Enforcement Guide
for the War on Terror. Lou is also author of Pocket Guide to Basic
Crime Scene Investigation, Pocket Guide to Gangs Across America and Their
Symbols and Pocket Guide to Identity Theft. To find out more about
Lou’s books, go to
www.looseleaflaw.com.
The Retail Manager’s Guide
to Crime & Loss Prevention
In her new book
also long-time member Liz Martinez offers a rare, insider look at
retail theft and the strategies that effectively combat it. For more
information, go to:
www.looseleaflaw.com.
The Beach Club
In his newly
published book, Richard Paloma reveals a behind the scenes look at
the dark humor and aggravations of being a uniformed police officer. Click
on
www.publishersdrive.com/beach_club_info.html. for more information.
Pension
One of the
Association’s most prolific authors, Dennis Griffin now has six books
in print, the newest of which is Pension, a novel that features a private
investigator caught up in a case of fraud in public employee pension funds.
Other books by Dennis include: Policing Las Vegas, Killer In Par-A-Dice,
One-Armed Bandit, The Morgue and Blood Money. For more about Dennis and his
books, go to
www.authorsden.com/dennisgriffin.
Common Man Books series.
Police Writers Association Founder Roger Fulton and long-time PWA
member Mike Carpenter are collaborating on a series of bicycle and
hiking trail guides in Florida and New York. So far there are four in New
York (hiking and biking guides for the 1000 Islands area, and hiking guides
for both the Lake George and Saratoga Springs areas). There are two hiking
guides and a biking guide in Florida and soon to come a wildlife viewing
guide in Florida. For more information on these books, go to
www.commonmanbooks.com.
Tim Dees,
the webmaster for the Public Safety Writers Association, has accepted
appointment as the Editor-in-Chief of
Officer.com, a web portal and information resource for law enforcement.
Officer.com is published by Cygnus
Business Media, which also publishes the print journals Law Enforcement
Technology and Law Enforcement Product News, as well as 67 other
trade publications and several web portals. Tim's new job requires a
move from his current home in southeast Washington State to Maryland.
His new position will entail producing more editorial content for the web
portal, and recruiting subject matter experts for columns and webcasts.
The change
in Tim's status requires a departure from his former slot as the technology
editor at Law and Order. That post will be assumed by PSWA
member Kevin Gordon, who will be writing a thus-far-unnamed monthly
column.
NOTE: If you’ve recently
published a book or article, please let us know so we can share the good
news with other members. Send your notice to:
molsen@policewriter.com.
Newsletter Needs News
Since this is your
newsletter, by definition it thrives on news. Published a book or article
lately? Received an award? Have a writing-related experience (good, bad,
ugly or hilarious) you’d be willing to share? Need some specific
writing-related advice? Have a joke or story we can send through the mail?
All submissions welcome. Send them to
molsen@policewriter.com.