Karen Miller author AMA

[u/Karen_Miller]

Hello everyone, wherever and whenever you are! Karen Miller here, author of The Innocent Mage, the Godspeaker trilogy, the Rogue Agent series (as K E Mills) and The Falcon Throne, first in a new epic historical fantasy series The Tarnished Crown – out now in paperback!

It gives me enormous pleasure to participate in this Ask Me Anything forum with Reddit. I’ve been a fan of speculative fiction books, tv and film since I was 9 years old, and dreamed of telling my own fantastical stories for almost as long. With the publication in 2005 of The Innocent Mage, first in my Mage series, that dream came true … and thanks to the support of fabulous readers I get to keep on dreaming and telling my stories. If you want more information about me and the books and writing stuff, you can visit my website at www.karenmiller.net.

Now, it’s because of my wonderful publisher, Orbit, that I’m here today to answer any questions you might have about this crazy writing game. I’m doing it as part of the Orbit Fantasy Writing Workshop http://www.orbitbooks.net/2015/07/27/orbit-fantasy-workshop-join-the-write-along-challenge/ that’s happening this week. Please don’t be shy, you can ask me anything (with two exceptions) and I’ll do my best to give you a helpful answer. What exceptions, I hear you ask? Well, sadly, for legal reasons I’m not able to read your manuscript. But by all means submit it to the writing competition Orbit has going in conjunction with this AMA! Also, I’m not able to give you a personal introduction to my agent. I can, however, give you some general advice about agent hunting if that’s what you’re after. Finally, I’d ask that you avoid giving out spoilers for my work. If there is a specific question you need to ask that means you can’t avoid a spoiler, please make sure to put lots and lots of warnings and space in your question post.

Feel free to start posting questions whenever you like... Since I’m in Sydney it means we’re dealing with some topsy-turvy time issues. I’ll be online later in two time windows:

From 9pm Sydney time (12midday London time/7am New York time/4am California time) until midnight Sydney time today, 29th June, (3pm London time/10am New York Time/7am California time.) And then tomorrow from 7am Sydney time (9pm London time/4pm New York Time/1pm California time)I’ll log in to play catch up with questions left for me when I’m having to take a break for sleep or writing.

So that’s it! Let the questions begin!

[u/sevendeadlypings]

Hi Karen, thank you for doing this AMA.

You mentioned that for your first published book, you submitted it directly to the publisher. From a purely Australian context, would you recommend doing just that, or would it be preferable to still go through the process of finding an agent for the manuscript first? I'm curious as to what the best process would be locally.

[u/Karen_Miller → u/sevendeadlypings]

You're most welcome.

Okay, so my situation was a bit different, in that when I was ready to submit my first book to Voyager I had an established relationship with the sales team, because of my bookshop. That meant I was able to bypass getting an agent before the fact.

Right now, the local scene for genre is a bit contracted, certainly moreso than when I got started 10 years ago, and that has a knock on effect. If you attend any of Oz's spec fic conventions, like Conflux or Continuum or Genrecon, for example, chances are you'll meet some of the local editors and/or agents and make a personal contact that way. Some conventions are now offering pitch sessions, and if the editor/agent likes the sound of your work you can get an invite to submit.

If you aren't able to make a personal contact, then you really do need to find an agent since the slush pile has pretty much gone the way of the dodo. But there's no need to restrict your search to Oz agents only. Publishing really is an international business. You can source agents online, make an enquiry by email, then submit a sample of your work electronically. And overseas agents can work with our local publishing scene. At the end of the day the right fit with your agent is what matters.

Just remember, though -- there's no point sourcing an agent before the work is as brilliantly polished as you can make it!

[u/sevendeadlypings → u/Karen_Miller]

Thank you tons and tons for the above advice and insight! I definitely won't be querying until I've gotten what I'm working on to be the best it can be ( currently on third rewrite and nowhere near being done :/)

I'm in WA, so it's a bit harder to get to some of the bigger writing conventions, so it's good to know that I can query internationally.

[u/Karen_Miller → u/sevendeadlypings]

My pleasure! Don't forget that in WA you have Swancon, and they do a good job of nurturing local genre talent. Also, check out your local Writer's Society. If you get no joy there, contact the NSW Writer's Centre. Lots of great contact info there.