THE INDY AUTHOR
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    • 178 - How to be a Writer if You Hate Writing
    • 177 - From Indy to Trad to Hybrid
    • 176 - Choosing the Tools for Your Author Career
    • 175 - Lessons Learned as an Author Podcaster and YouTuber
    • 174 - Choosing Your Social Media Platform
    • 173 - Don't Stake Everything on Your First Book
    • 172 - A Reviewer's Perspective on Audiobooks
    • 171 - Outside-the-Box Content
    • 170 - Creating a Winning Workbook
    • 169 - The Do's and Don'ts of Working with Book Bloggers
    • 168 - How to Write from Trauma
    • 167 - Good Habits and Accountability Groups
    • 166 - Plotting with an Unreliable Narrator
    • 165 - Strengthening Your Fiction with a Premise
    • 164 - What Writers Can Learn from Short Fiction
    • 163 - Year End: The Writing Craft And The Publishing Voyage
    • 162 - Book Marketing Lessons from Beyond the Book World
    • 161 - Choosing Your Publishing Path
    • 160 - Mistakes Writers Make about Police Roles
    • 159 - Backstory: Mountaintop or Valley
    • 158 - What Writers Can Learn from Remote Workers
    • 157 - Literary Citizenship
    • 156 - Character Development Through the Pain and Promise of Life
    • 155 - The Benefits (and Costs) of Membership
    • 154 - From Screenplay to Novel and Back
    • 153 - The Importance of a Professional Photo and Video Presence
    • 152 - The Three Stages of Story
    • 151 - Setting Your Creative Horizons
    • 150 - Hands-off Merchandising for Authors
    • 149 - Using Vulnerability to Feed your Creativity
    • 148 - Making the Most of In-person Events
    • 147 - Writing for Audio
    • 146 - Managing Writing with a Full-time Career
    • 145 - Speech to Text and Back Again
    • 144 - Reaching the Right Readers through Email
    • 143 - Getting into the Mind of Your Audience
    • 142 - A New Era for Novellas
    • 141 - The Value of Collaboration
    • 140 - Troping Your Way to a Stronger Story
    • 139 - Mistakes Writers Make about Forensic Psychiatry
    • 138 - ROI for Authors
    • 137 - Using Podcasts to Support Your Book Launch
    • 136 - Looking Forward in Indy Publishing
    • 135 - The Importance of Specificity
    • 134 - How Horror is the Genre of Hope
    • 133 - Creating an AI-narrated Audiobook
    • 132 - From Big Idea to Book
    • 131 - The Color Wheel of Characterization
    • 130 - Outsourcing Your Content Creation
    • 129 - Moving for Creativity
    • 128 - Lessons from Filmmaking
    • 127 - Mistakes Writers Make about PIs
    • 126 - Estate Planning for Authors
    • 125 - The Seven Most Common Mistakes of Non-Fiction Authors
    • 124 - The Rise of Subscription Models
    • 123 - Building Engaging Worlds
    • 122 - Using Data to Guide Your Craft
    • 121 - Story Structure and Character Motivation
    • 120 - Draft2Digital Updates: Smashwords and Print
    • 119 - Metadata Is Your Brand
    • 118 - The Martial Art of Writing
    • 117 - Tracking Sales Data and How ScribeCount Can Help
    • 116 - Creating Community, Content, and Creative Energy
    • 115 - Exploring Kindle Vella
    • 114 - Making Smart Decisions about Your Distribution Strategy
    • 113 - What Authors Can Learn from Theater
    • 112 - Being the Captain of Your Author Voyage
    • 111 - Using Engines, Anchors, and Hazards to Define Character Voice
    • 110 - Making Meaningful Connections through Powerful Language
    • 109 - Wide Retailers and Aggregators
    • 108 - Writing Non-fiction from the Inside
    • 107 - Publishing Process #7: Selective Rights Licensing
    • 106 - Publishing Process #6: Promotion
    • 105 - Publishing Process #5: Marketing
    • 104 - Publishing Process #4: Distribution
    • 103 - Publishing Process #3: Production
    • 102 - Publishing Process #2: Design
    • 101 - Publishing Process #1: Editorial
    • 100 - Becoming a Relaxed Author
    • 099 - Connecting with Fans through Merchandising
    • 098 - Redefining Indy Success through Short Fiction
    • 097 - Taking the Long View
    • 096 - Emerging Tech for the Writing Craft
    • 095 - Finding and Being a Ghostwriter
    • 094 - Debunking Writing Myths
    • 093 - Valuing the Creative Process
    • 092 - Finding a Crew for Your Creative Voyage
    • 091 - Creating Stellar Side Characters
    • 090 - Bringing a Creative Endeavor to an End
    • 089 - The Both-ness of Compelling Characters
    • 088 - How to Receive and Give Critique
    • 087 - Looking Back and Forward at Indy Publishing
    • 086 - Overhauling Keywords
    • 085 - Optimizing Your Keywords
    • 084 - Using Content Legally
    • 083 - Six Rs of Maximizing the Value of Your Content
    • 082 - Perspectives on Writer's Block
    • 081 - Human-Centered Marketing
    • 080 - The Force of a Brand
    • 079 - Making the Most of Your Short Fiction
    • 078 - Living Your Best Creative Life
    • 077 - Behind the Scenes of My Book Launch
    • 076 - BookFunnel
    • 075 - Key Book Publishing Paths
    • 074 - Perspectives on Personal Branding
    • 073 - Author Websites
    • 072 - Mentoring and Collaborating with Interns
    • 071 - Provider Side of Author Services
    • 070 - Copyright for Authors
    • 069 - Writing Memoir
    • 068 - Handling Difficult Topics in YA Fiction
    • 067 - Mistakes Writers Make about the FBI
    • 066 - From Indy to Traditional
    • 065 - X-raying Your Plot
    • 064 - Children's Books
    • 063 - Wide for the Win
    • 062 - Point of View
    • 061 - Google Play
    • 060 - Mastering Action Sequences
    • 059 - Newsletter Swaps and StoryOrigin
    • 058 - Author Newsletters
    • 057 - The Pros and Cons of Pre-orders
    • 056 - Crowdfunding for Authors
    • 055 - Costs of Self-publishing a Book
    • 054 - Futurist Trends We Can Prepare for Now
    • 053 - Learn from TV and Movies
    • 052 - Building a Resilient Indy Business
    • 051 - Podcasting as Content Marketing
    • 050 - First Responders
    • 049 - Ruminations on Book Launches
    • 048 - Protagonist and Antagonist Voices
    • 047 - Backstory and Flashbacks
    • 046 - Writing Coroners
    • 045 - Exercise
    • 044 - Using Aggregators versus Direct
    • 043 - Killing Suspense
    • 042 - The Importance of Metadata
    • 041 - Writing Convincing Villains
    • 040 - Storytelling Lessons from Investigative Reporting
    • 039 Building a Writer Community
    • 038 - Graphic Novels
    • 037 - How Cozy is Cozy?
    • 036 - Frugal Tips for Writers
    • 035 - Police Procedures
    • 034 - Connecting through Video
    • 033 - Barriers to Creativity
    • 032 - Hybrid Publishing
    • 031 - ebook Pricing
    • 030 - Common Writer Wisdom: Is it Right for You?
    • 029 - Fostering Creativity through Digital Minimalism
    • 028 - Writing the Killer Query
    • 027 - Why to Stop Blogging
    • 026 - Weaving Your Day Job into Your Books
    • 025 - Mastering Book Descriptions
    • 024 - Three Hard Truths
    • 023 - Reaching New Readers through Translations
    • 022 - SEO for Authors
    • 021 - Building Communities in Podcasts and In Person
    • 020 - Working with Libraries & Bookstores
    • 019 - Judging a Book by Its Cover
    • 018 - The Importance of Masterworks
    • 017 - Story a Day
    • 016 - Drawing Back the Publishing Curtain
    • 015 - Five Things I Wish I Knew Before I Was Published
    • 014 - Collaborating on "Taking the Short Tack"
    • 013 - Writing in Time
    • 012 - Top Firearms Mistakes Writers Make ...
    • 011 - Making the Move to Full-Time Writer
    • 010 - Update from The Indy Author
    • 009 - Craft and Business of Short Fiction
    • 008 - Screenwriting
    • 007 - Faster Fiction
    • 006 - Importance of Storytelling
    • 005 - Image-intensive Books
    • 004 - Using Media Outlets
    • 003 - Small Press Publishing
    • 002 - Creativity Tips
    • 001 - Introducing The Indy Author
    • For Guests of The Indy Author Podcast
    • Podcast Guest and Topic Proposals
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  • Creating a Story Frame
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    • Getting Past the Fear of (First Draft) Commitment
    • Scalability
    • Professionalism
    • From Dead in the Water to Favorable Winds
  • The Voyage
    • Reading Your Work Aloud
    • Preparing to Request an Author Blurb
    • Navigating Indy
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Episode 160 - Mistakes Writers Make about Police Roles and How to Avoid Them with Frank Zafiro

November 15, 2022
I talk with Frank Zafiro about MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE ABOUT POLICE ROLES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM. We discuss the police department career ladder, the role of the police sergeant, police roles and social media, commanding a SWAT team, how communications can save the day, and how his study of best practices for writing of police reports informed his work as a fiction author.​
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Frank Zafiro writes gritty crime fiction from both sides of the badge. He was a police officer from 1993 to 2013, serving as a patrol officer, a training officer, and a detective, and leading K-9 and SWAT units. He retired as a captain. Frank is the award-winning author of over forty novels, including the River City series of police procedurals, and co-author of the Charlie-316 series. Frank also hosted the crime fiction podcast Wrong Place, Write Crime. He has written a textbook on police report writing and taught police leadership all over the US and Canada. An avid hockey fan and a tortured guitarist, he lives in the high desert of Redmond, Oregon.
"The thing that gets underplayed in fiction with the law enforcement field is how important communication is and how often communication saves the day." —Frank Zafiro
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Links

Frank's Links:
http://www.frankzafiro.com/
https://www.facebook.com/frank.zafiro
https://www.instagram.com/frankzafiro370/
https://twitter.com/Frank_Zafiro
Amazon Author Central Profile

Matty's Links:
Affiliate links
Events

I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Frank! If you’re a follower of cop shows, which of the mistakes Frank discussed do you see them making most frequently? Do you think the writers of those shows adjusted their portrayal of police roles to better support the story and, if yes, do you think they succeeded? I’d love to hear your thoughts! 
Please post your comments on YouTube--and I'd love it if you would subscribe while you're there!

NOTE: After several years of trying to cover the costs of producing the podcast with earnings from patronage and sponsorships, I finally had to acknowledge that, for now at least, The Indy Author Podcast is more a labor of love than an income stream. ​As a result, I needed to find ways to reduce my expenses, and the expense I finally decided to eliminate was the editing of the transcript. ​

However, it's valuable for me to know that you were looking for it! If you miss the transcript, please click here to drop me a note!

If you'd like to become a patron of The Indy Author, please click here.

When AI transcription improves to the point that it doesn't require the time and expense of a human edit, or once my earnings from the podcast enable me to cover the costs of a human editing, I will resume that offering!
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Alliance of Independent Authors
© 2013-2023 William Kingsfield Publishers
  • Home
  • About & Contact
  • Podcast
    • 178 - How to be a Writer if You Hate Writing
    • 177 - From Indy to Trad to Hybrid
    • 176 - Choosing the Tools for Your Author Career
    • 175 - Lessons Learned as an Author Podcaster and YouTuber
    • 174 - Choosing Your Social Media Platform
    • 173 - Don't Stake Everything on Your First Book
    • 172 - A Reviewer's Perspective on Audiobooks
    • 171 - Outside-the-Box Content
    • 170 - Creating a Winning Workbook
    • 169 - The Do's and Don'ts of Working with Book Bloggers
    • 168 - How to Write from Trauma
    • 167 - Good Habits and Accountability Groups
    • 166 - Plotting with an Unreliable Narrator
    • 165 - Strengthening Your Fiction with a Premise
    • 164 - What Writers Can Learn from Short Fiction
    • 163 - Year End: The Writing Craft And The Publishing Voyage
    • 162 - Book Marketing Lessons from Beyond the Book World
    • 161 - Choosing Your Publishing Path
    • 160 - Mistakes Writers Make about Police Roles
    • 159 - Backstory: Mountaintop or Valley
    • 158 - What Writers Can Learn from Remote Workers
    • 157 - Literary Citizenship
    • 156 - Character Development Through the Pain and Promise of Life
    • 155 - The Benefits (and Costs) of Membership
    • 154 - From Screenplay to Novel and Back
    • 153 - The Importance of a Professional Photo and Video Presence
    • 152 - The Three Stages of Story
    • 151 - Setting Your Creative Horizons
    • 150 - Hands-off Merchandising for Authors
    • 149 - Using Vulnerability to Feed your Creativity
    • 148 - Making the Most of In-person Events
    • 147 - Writing for Audio
    • 146 - Managing Writing with a Full-time Career
    • 145 - Speech to Text and Back Again
    • 144 - Reaching the Right Readers through Email
    • 143 - Getting into the Mind of Your Audience
    • 142 - A New Era for Novellas
    • 141 - The Value of Collaboration
    • 140 - Troping Your Way to a Stronger Story
    • 139 - Mistakes Writers Make about Forensic Psychiatry
    • 138 - ROI for Authors
    • 137 - Using Podcasts to Support Your Book Launch
    • 136 - Looking Forward in Indy Publishing
    • 135 - The Importance of Specificity
    • 134 - How Horror is the Genre of Hope
    • 133 - Creating an AI-narrated Audiobook
    • 132 - From Big Idea to Book
    • 131 - The Color Wheel of Characterization
    • 130 - Outsourcing Your Content Creation
    • 129 - Moving for Creativity
    • 128 - Lessons from Filmmaking
    • 127 - Mistakes Writers Make about PIs
    • 126 - Estate Planning for Authors
    • 125 - The Seven Most Common Mistakes of Non-Fiction Authors
    • 124 - The Rise of Subscription Models
    • 123 - Building Engaging Worlds
    • 122 - Using Data to Guide Your Craft
    • 121 - Story Structure and Character Motivation
    • 120 - Draft2Digital Updates: Smashwords and Print
    • 119 - Metadata Is Your Brand
    • 118 - The Martial Art of Writing
    • 117 - Tracking Sales Data and How ScribeCount Can Help
    • 116 - Creating Community, Content, and Creative Energy
    • 115 - Exploring Kindle Vella
    • 114 - Making Smart Decisions about Your Distribution Strategy
    • 113 - What Authors Can Learn from Theater
    • 112 - Being the Captain of Your Author Voyage
    • 111 - Using Engines, Anchors, and Hazards to Define Character Voice
    • 110 - Making Meaningful Connections through Powerful Language
    • 109 - Wide Retailers and Aggregators
    • 108 - Writing Non-fiction from the Inside
    • 107 - Publishing Process #7: Selective Rights Licensing
    • 106 - Publishing Process #6: Promotion
    • 105 - Publishing Process #5: Marketing
    • 104 - Publishing Process #4: Distribution
    • 103 - Publishing Process #3: Production
    • 102 - Publishing Process #2: Design
    • 101 - Publishing Process #1: Editorial
    • 100 - Becoming a Relaxed Author
    • 099 - Connecting with Fans through Merchandising
    • 098 - Redefining Indy Success through Short Fiction
    • 097 - Taking the Long View
    • 096 - Emerging Tech for the Writing Craft
    • 095 - Finding and Being a Ghostwriter
    • 094 - Debunking Writing Myths
    • 093 - Valuing the Creative Process
    • 092 - Finding a Crew for Your Creative Voyage
    • 091 - Creating Stellar Side Characters
    • 090 - Bringing a Creative Endeavor to an End
    • 089 - The Both-ness of Compelling Characters
    • 088 - How to Receive and Give Critique
    • 087 - Looking Back and Forward at Indy Publishing
    • 086 - Overhauling Keywords
    • 085 - Optimizing Your Keywords
    • 084 - Using Content Legally
    • 083 - Six Rs of Maximizing the Value of Your Content
    • 082 - Perspectives on Writer's Block
    • 081 - Human-Centered Marketing
    • 080 - The Force of a Brand
    • 079 - Making the Most of Your Short Fiction
    • 078 - Living Your Best Creative Life
    • 077 - Behind the Scenes of My Book Launch
    • 076 - BookFunnel
    • 075 - Key Book Publishing Paths
    • 074 - Perspectives on Personal Branding
    • 073 - Author Websites
    • 072 - Mentoring and Collaborating with Interns
    • 071 - Provider Side of Author Services
    • 070 - Copyright for Authors
    • 069 - Writing Memoir
    • 068 - Handling Difficult Topics in YA Fiction
    • 067 - Mistakes Writers Make about the FBI
    • 066 - From Indy to Traditional
    • 065 - X-raying Your Plot
    • 064 - Children's Books
    • 063 - Wide for the Win
    • 062 - Point of View
    • 061 - Google Play
    • 060 - Mastering Action Sequences
    • 059 - Newsletter Swaps and StoryOrigin
    • 058 - Author Newsletters
    • 057 - The Pros and Cons of Pre-orders
    • 056 - Crowdfunding for Authors
    • 055 - Costs of Self-publishing a Book
    • 054 - Futurist Trends We Can Prepare for Now
    • 053 - Learn from TV and Movies
    • 052 - Building a Resilient Indy Business
    • 051 - Podcasting as Content Marketing
    • 050 - First Responders
    • 049 - Ruminations on Book Launches
    • 048 - Protagonist and Antagonist Voices
    • 047 - Backstory and Flashbacks
    • 046 - Writing Coroners
    • 045 - Exercise
    • 044 - Using Aggregators versus Direct
    • 043 - Killing Suspense
    • 042 - The Importance of Metadata
    • 041 - Writing Convincing Villains
    • 040 - Storytelling Lessons from Investigative Reporting
    • 039 Building a Writer Community
    • 038 - Graphic Novels
    • 037 - How Cozy is Cozy?
    • 036 - Frugal Tips for Writers
    • 035 - Police Procedures
    • 034 - Connecting through Video
    • 033 - Barriers to Creativity
    • 032 - Hybrid Publishing
    • 031 - ebook Pricing
    • 030 - Common Writer Wisdom: Is it Right for You?
    • 029 - Fostering Creativity through Digital Minimalism
    • 028 - Writing the Killer Query
    • 027 - Why to Stop Blogging
    • 026 - Weaving Your Day Job into Your Books
    • 025 - Mastering Book Descriptions
    • 024 - Three Hard Truths
    • 023 - Reaching New Readers through Translations
    • 022 - SEO for Authors
    • 021 - Building Communities in Podcasts and In Person
    • 020 - Working with Libraries & Bookstores
    • 019 - Judging a Book by Its Cover
    • 018 - The Importance of Masterworks
    • 017 - Story a Day
    • 016 - Drawing Back the Publishing Curtain
    • 015 - Five Things I Wish I Knew Before I Was Published
    • 014 - Collaborating on "Taking the Short Tack"
    • 013 - Writing in Time
    • 012 - Top Firearms Mistakes Writers Make ...
    • 011 - Making the Move to Full-Time Writer
    • 010 - Update from The Indy Author
    • 009 - Craft and Business of Short Fiction
    • 008 - Screenwriting
    • 007 - Faster Fiction
    • 006 - Importance of Storytelling
    • 005 - Image-intensive Books
    • 004 - Using Media Outlets
    • 003 - Small Press Publishing
    • 002 - Creativity Tips
    • 001 - Introducing The Indy Author
    • For Guests of The Indy Author Podcast
    • Podcast Guest and Topic Proposals
  • Services
    • Services - Author Consulting
    • Services - Podcasting for Authors
  • Podcasting for Authors
  • Short Fiction
  • Creating a Story Frame
  • Resources
  • Tools
  • Affiliates
  • The Craft
    • Getting Past the Fear of (First Draft) Commitment
    • Scalability
    • Professionalism
    • From Dead in the Water to Favorable Winds
  • The Voyage
    • Reading Your Work Aloud
    • Preparing to Request an Author Blurb
    • Navigating Indy
  • For the Armchair Sailor
  • Events
  • For Libraries
  • Blog
  • William Kingsfield Publishers
  • Patrons of The Indy Author
  • Press Kit
  • Enter