• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
      Do you know your emotional intelligence?
      Addressing racism in the workplace
      Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
      Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Addressing racism in the workplace
        Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
        Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
    • Editor’s Picks
      • The future is here
        A winding road
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        “Hold my beer”
    • On the Job
      • Legacy never dies
        Into the abyss
        A winding road
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        I brought home a dog
    • Labor
      • Differentiation in police recruitment
        Building positive media relations
        LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
        Racing with a purpose
        Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
    • Tech
      • One step closer
        New Jersey school district first to adopt AI gun detection and...
        Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and...
        The future is here
        How local police departments can combat cybercrime
    • Training
      • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
        Unlocking innovation
        Training dipshittery
        Police Academy 20
        Using critical thinking to crack the case
    • Policy
      • Consolidation in action
        California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
        Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
        California makes police misconduct records publicly available
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
    • Health/Wellness
      • Pink patches, powerful impact
        Time and distance
        Meditation is hard because it’s not what you think
        Life off the clock
        Self-help for anxiety
    • Community
      • Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
        Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
        Turning over a new leaf
        Bridging the Gap Between Cops and Kids
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
        Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
        Team Romeo
        National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • Legacy never dies
      Into the abyss
      A winding road
      Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
      I brought home a dog
  • Labor
    • Differentiation in police recruitment
      Building positive media relations
      LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
      Racing with a purpose
      Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
  • Tech
    • One step closer
      New Jersey school district first to adopt AI gun detection and...
      Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and...
      The future is here
      How local police departments can combat cybercrime
  • Training
    • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
      Unlocking innovation
      Training dipshittery
      Police Academy 20
      Using critical thinking to crack the case
  • Policy
    • Consolidation in action
      California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
      Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
      California makes police misconduct records publicly available
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
  • Health/Wellness
    • Pink patches, powerful impact
      Time and distance
      Meditation is hard because it’s not what you think
      Life off the clock
      Self-help for anxiety
  • Community
    • Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
      Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
      Turning over a new leaf
      Bridging the Gap Between Cops and Kids
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
      Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
      Team Romeo
      National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

On the Job

Release your experiences

Important tools for aspiring authors

Ron Bateman Published May 5, 2022 @ 3:00 pm PDT

Ron Bateman

Tom Clancy was an insurance broker before he ever wrote his first nationally acclaimed novel. John Grisham was a lawyer and a legislator before he ever became a best-selling author. Without question, the one thing they both have in common is their remarkable abilities to write fiction. Oddly enough, the other glaring commonality was that neither ever wore a badge and gun to work. So, what does that mean? It means they never witnessed the daily horrific sites crime brings to a man or woman in blue during a typical day on the job. Nope, they put together their masterful New York Times best-sellers from the comfort of their homes, using their amazing creative minds and writing talents to guide them, neither of which would ever haunt them or keep them awake at night. The reality is police work is a job with lifelong effects, wrought with a parade of emotions, high-definition dreams, sleepless nights and the purest post-traumatic stress disorder imaginable. So, I say release your experiences and show your friends, family, strangers or whoever you want the road you have traveled.

From the time a recruit graduates from a police academy, he or she becomes a writer. There’s no getting around that. We document everything from a stolen bicycle to a complex murder conspiracy investigation. But as we were all taught: Just the facts, ma’am. A police report is no place to insert how pissed off you got, how sad you felt or any other passions the case may have stirred. As an aspiring author, those rules go out the window, and hence the therapy begins.

How many of us have heard someone say, or have been that person who said, I ought to write a book? Well, I was that person, and I did. In 2021, I released the first two novels in my crime fiction series, Silent Blue Tears: Voice of the Victims and Silent Blue Tears: Strong Women Unite on Amazon.

Refusing to rely on online sales alone, like a thief selling jewelry from the trunk of a car, I aggressively peddled my books from the back seat of my truck, in the American Police Beat magazine and in stores willing to support a local hungry author. My novels are meant for anyone who enjoys crime fiction crafted from the mind of a true homicide detective. These works were crafted to appeal to both law enforcement and readers who can grin and bear the awful tragedies crime hands out, along with creative investigative techniques employed by determined men and women. Though fiction, both of my novels derived from actual cases I handled as a homicide detective or from experiences unique to our profession (PTSD), coupled with the daunting clouds that haunt police officers and the humor only they understand.

Preparing for the journey

If you choose to go down this arduous, mind-challenging path, it is imperative to do a few things. First, get the right equipment. Second, immerse yourself in some training and decide if you’re writing fiction or nonfiction. Your equipment may include a whiteboard to jot down notes and ideas and, of course, a laptop so you can write whenever and wherever you can. Oddly enough, you never know when the urge will arise and having a laptop makes it that much easier to get your complete thoughts on paper. Training, on the other hand, can take many forms. There are college credit and noncredit courses on writing, along with forums and conferences specific to developing plots, creating twists and much more. Another excellent training method I highly recommend is by reading renowned authors like James Patterson, John Gresham and Joseph Wambaugh, the latter being the only real cop. Fiction versus nonfiction? Your choice. I’ll tell you from experience it’s a lot less legalese involved in fiction. After all, as it states on the front of any fiction novel, “any similarities are purely coincidental.” However, I do prefer to change the names of suspects and victims for a host of reasons.

The inside look

It’s my belief that people see the same thing over and over on television about police work. Rarely do they ever get to see what really happens. My suggestion is to give your readers an inside look. Tell it like it is and release your experiences. Surprisingly, I found it very therapeutic just to put my experience on paper, especially if your work includes your inner feelings, which leads me into the next area of creative fiction writing.

God, judge and jury

As law enforcement officers, we rarely get to influence a case to the point where we can control the outcome to the most finite detail. Well, the cool part about fiction writing is you can. Yes, you can play God. I found this very pleasing when I was told by a very influential Hollywood agent who enjoyed reading my first novel when it was in a nonfiction format. Though he called it a “page-turner,” he said it could be better if I were to “add more drama, more violence and more twist.” Just when I thought I was done, it was back to the drawing board. Now I had to dive into an entire fiction re-write, which I had never done, and boy was that cool. I was now in a place where there was no reason for a case to get mundane or drag on. Nope, not anymore. The sky was the limit and a perfect time to inject poetic justice wherever I wanted, letting justice in its truest sense prevail.

A blue education

The next benefit of releasing your experiences is twofold. Not every police or deputy lands in a homicide unit or becomes tasked with investigating a murder. Having never been in those shoes, fellow colleagues don’t appreciate the impact such a job can have on a brother or sister in blue. I have found that my novels have served as tools to educate those in blue, which has been very enlightening for me. The second area where I found my work beneficial is teaching our family members about what their loved one in blue may be experiencing and how and when to communicate with them. This topic alone could be an entirely separate article, but I have found that my work has enriched people’s minds, including my own family, as to some of the emotions this job has a tendency to bring to the surface.

Ron Bateman

Ron Bateman

Author Ron Bateman retired after his third term as the sheriff of Anne Arundel County in Maryland, ending his 38 years in law enforcement. Beginning his career in law enforcement in 1980, Bateman served as a uniformed patrol officer for a short period before being recruited into the department’s Narcotics Section as an undercover operative. Following his successful tour as a narc, he moved into the Burglary Section, where he honed his skills as a detective. Bateman’s last stop as a detective came when he was handpicked to become a member of the elite five-person Homicide Unit. 

Feel free to reach out to Ron at ronwood655@verizon.net if you have any questions or are seeking assistance or guidance as you consider releasing your experiences. His novels can be found on Amazon or by contacting him directly through email.

View articles by Ron Bateman

As seen in the April 2022 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
Don’t miss out on another issue today! Click below:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Categories: On the Job

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Legacy never dies
  • One step closer
  • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
  • Differentiation in police recruitment
  • Unlocking innovation
  • Into the abyss
  • Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
  • Pink patches, powerful impact
  • NLEOMF thanks supporters for a successful Police Weekend
  • Training dipshittery

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The future is here

The future is here

August 21, 2025

A winding road

A winding road

August 20, 2025

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

August 17, 2025

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

August 11, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.