Coauthor - Crime Fiction

CRIME FICTION COAUTHOR

Mary Stone Publishing is seeking an experienced, creative remote contract coauthor to collaborate on full-length crime fiction novels. Working from detailed outlines, you’ll write compelling stories featuring memorable characters, suspenseful plots, unexpected twists, and authentic law enforcement elements while collaborating closely with our editorial team.

The ideal candidate has a strong understanding of the crime fiction, mystery, thriller, and suspense genres and can consistently produce engaging, high-quality manuscripts that captivate readers. This is a long-term contract opportunity with ongoing assignments for writers who thrive in a collaborative, deadline-driven environment.

This is a long-term, remote contract opportunity that gives you the freedom to work on your own schedule—as long as deadlines are met, communication stays sharp, and quality remains top-notch.

Successful candidates have a deep understanding of the crime fiction genre—from gripping suspense and complex character arcs to jaw-dropping reveals. If you have a sharp analytical mind, a passion for dark and twisted storytelling, and the ability to elevate a story to its full potential, this could be the career move you’ve been waiting for.

• Creative Execution:
  We provide detailed series and book outlines to serve as the foundation of each novel. You’ll have the opportunity to read the outline in advance and discuss it with the team before writing begins. While the structure, major twists, and story arc are predetermined, you’ll have creative freedom to bring scenes and characters to life in an immersive and compelling way.
  
  Your work should be self-edited and proofread before submission to maintain a high-quality draft.
• Navigating Police Procedures/Scientific Details:
  Using your knowledge of police/FBI procedures and scientific/forensic sources, ensure accuracy in protocol and document sources for future reference. Readers expect an authentic plot and procedural accuracy.
• Critiques & Feedback:
  Each novel will be approximately 70,000 words, and you’ll submit to your DE in four 17,500-word sections for review. This staged submission process allows major structural, pacing, or character issues to be identified early, preventing the need for extensive rewrites later. Your DE will provide detailed critiques and feedback at each stage, helping to refine plot tension, suspense, pacing, and character motivations.
  
  This iterative approach ensures the story stays tight, immersive, and well-structured, giving you the opportunity to adjust and strengthen the manuscript as you progress.
• Substantive Editing & Revisions:
  Once the full manuscript is completed, it will undergo a substantive editing pass by the DE, Editing Manager, and Editing Director. This is a deep revision process focusing on narrative cohesion, heightens tension, strengthens character depth and emotional realism throughout the story. The book is not considered complete until you have implemented the required revisions to the editors’ satisfaction, ensuring the manuscript meets MSP’s high storytelling and quality standards.
• Multi-Stage Editing & Final Revisions:
  After the developmental editing phase, the manuscript will move through our multi-stage editing and revision process, which includes line editing, copy editing, style editing, and a final quality control pass. Each stage refines different aspects of the book—from sentence structure and clarity to grammar, consistency, and final polish. After each editing pass, you will complete any requested revisions to further refine the manuscript.
• Maintaining Character & Series Continuity:
  With the support of your developmental editor, you’ll reference and…