Writers and Readers discussion

Please welcome author Mia Darien to our Q & A discsussions. Mia has lived in New England all of her life and knows that no matter where she goes from here, New England is always going to be with her.
Presently, she still resides in the land of snow and fast talkers with her husband, her son and her pets. She writes a bit of everything genre fiction (horror, romance, mystery, fantasy and science fiction) and thinks it sounds like an odd joke: a unicorn, a space monster, and a pair of zombie lovers walk into a murder investigation...

Mia's Goodreads Profile:
Mia Darien

Hi Mia, I'm always interested in an author's journey to publication. Can you tell us about yours? I.e., dis you have an agent, did you self-publish or find a publisher yourself. Also, could you tell us if it was a positive experience or would you do things differently the next time.

Thanks!
Jeanne

HI Mia. I am having a heck of a time coming up with the right query letter. I have books (writer's market), I have read sites (dearauthor amongst a plethora of others), I have people that have read my book try and help. I'm missing something. How do you go about getting the right panache to nail the query letter?

First of all, thank you for having me! I'm very glad for this opportunity to get to chat with other writers and readers. :)

Jeanne, thanks for your question! You're here quicker than I am!

I chose to self-publish. I never really considered finding an agent. Perhaps I'm a bit of a control freak, but I liked the idea of being more "hands on" with my own work, but I did spend some years looking for a publisher. Primarily digital publishers. I came close a few times, but my rejections always ended the same: "It's a really good story" or "It's really well written" but... "It's not what we're looking for."

I never seemed to get turned down for having a bad story, just not fitting. Eventually, a person gets tired of not fitting.

I researched various methods of self-publishing and then had a good long debate with myself. I honestly wrote a pros and cons list! I discussed it with my husband and a close friend, batted around ideas and finally made the determination to self-publish. I, again, liked the idea of having a little more control over my own destiny.

I knew it meant more work for me, but I don't mind working. I knew I would have to do most of my own marketing even if I was traditionally published. I knew I'd have to work extra hard, though, to "over come" a bit of the self-publishing stigma and try to put out the best products I could.

It's been an incredibly positive experience for me and I'm incredibly happy that I did it. I've met some wonderful people in the "indie" community, and the reading community on the whole. I've found some great books to read myself I may not have found otherwise. And it feels great to be responsible for myself. I know if I fail, it's only my fault. But if I succeed, it's all my doing too.

I think that's brought an extra sense of accomplishment to the good reception my Adelheid series has brought. I even had a self-published short story requested for an anthology that a publisher was putting out, so that felt pretty good too.

I think I've talked enough now! But thanks for the question. As I said, there's a bit of a stigma sometimes to self-publishing and I like having the chance to show that many of us do consider all options and all sides and choose this route, and still work to put out good, edited, formatted stories!

You know, Ali, I wish I could tell you, but I haven't done it myself. As you can see in my answer to Jeanne, I've self-published so a query letter wasn't required.

Even in my previous submissions to publishers, they were typically requesting full manuscripts so it was always just a brief cover letter rather than the dread query letter. Sorry I can't help more!

Thanks, Mia. Best of luck with all your endeavors :D

Thanks, Jeanne! Thanks for the great question!

Thanks, Mia. I understand the "Just don't fit" category with publishers/agents. Almost all my rejections have said that. Once I get past my goal of reading every "In Death" book thus far published, I'll snag some of yours up :)

Well, I hope you'll enjoy them! My short stories (Descent, Anniversary, The Price, Apathetically Ever After and A Computer Carol) are free, as is the first novel in my Adelheid series, Cameron's Law. When Forever Died is book two, but stands alone. Sanctuary is the first release of my romance writing.

Good luck with your writing!

Good luck to you Mia. I am really impressed by your response to the question regarding self-publishing. I can't wait to read your series and your book

Thank you, Ann. I hope that when you do read the stories that you enjoy them!

Question 1: Do you find it difficult to write in so many different genres?
Question 2: Do you find any similarities in the different genres?

One) Actually, I don't. I think I would find it difficult *not* to write in so many genres, because my mind is simply too full of ideas and they don't confine themselves. I've always read many different genres and write as a hobby (with online groups) as well as for publication. And my hobby writing has always spanned genres, so it comes very naturally to me by now.

The majority of my ideas do end up in the umbrella "paranormal" genre, but many don't.

Two) Yes, in some ways. To me, genre is only a small detail. In the end, it's all about the story and the characters. Those are two things that are the same, and just as important, no matter what genre you write in. So, in that there are lots of similarities.

I have found that a lot of what I write is really just subgenres of the big ones. I write fantasy, which can equal paranormal (like my vampires and werewolves) or "high" fantasy (swords and sorcery) and even horror (zombies) and post-apocalyptic. And then Sci-fi is often tied together with it, so saying I write SF/F covers most of it. And then much of my romance stories have those SF/F elements.

So, really I've found more similarities than not.

Thanks for the great questions!

Hi Mia~

Thanks for doing this Q&A; I've enjoyed reading the questions and your answers. I've been reading Cameron's Law, which, to be honest, I almost did not read because I'm not big on vampire stories (other than Bram Stoker's!) But then I read in the description that "Cameron's Law has made all supernatural creatures legal citizens", and I thought, hmmm, that sounds interesting. So I downloaded it yesterday and have found it very enjoyable.

Along with the premise that I found intriguing, I also very much enjoy Sadie Stanton. Can you tell us how you were led to this interesting premise and to the voice of Sadie Stanton?

Thank you!
Mari

Hi Mia. In your GR profile you said New England is always going to live in you. Do you use New England or aspects of it in your book settings?

Mari,

Thanks for joining in! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying Cameron's Law. It's always my goal to write a good story, first and foremost. It just happens to be paranormal. I want to appeal, if I can, to people who don't normally read paranormal, so I always make sure at least one Beta Reader during the process is someone that doesn't usually read that genre.

The premise and Sadie. Well, I started writing this general series almost ten years ago. It's gone through many, many changes since that time! I think... and it was a while ago, so I may be wrong... but I think my general premise idea came from reading Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, until it took too hard a turn and lost me. (That's another story.)

She had the general legality idea, but there were things I didn't think she was doing as much with as she could be. So, like many writers, I decided to write it my way and it evolved from that basic idea.

As for Sadie... she's a lot like me. She's evolved a lot too from the first story I wrote for her. She used to be half vampire and half were-tiger. I was a teenager, that's my only excuse. Later I realized how silly that was and changed it! But it never took any work to find her Voice, because a lot of her humor and outlooks are my own. She kind of just... popped into my head and out my hands.

I hope that answers your questions!

Hi, Erma. Thanks for your question!

New England is big for me, so I can't ever write a bio without mentioning it. I do, in fact, live in the same small rural town that I was born in and grew up in. So my roots run deep here!

I would say it plays a big part in my writing, even if I'm not necessarily as atmospheric a writer as some are. I don't detail it a lot, but it's always there, and the ancient roots of this area are just rife for writing the paranormal.

The Adelheid series, when it the Preternatural, Unlimited series, was set in Salem, MA - which everyone knows the history of that place. But there are ghost stories and creepy crawlie stories from every state in NE. So it's just perfect to me for this kind of stuff. The only change I made was to make up my own city, Adelheid, and put it in CT, since I actually know it, living here and all.

I plan for the fourth book in the Adelheid series (I'm writing the third right now and plotting out the fourth) will deal with some more New England centric history and details, which will be fun.

Mia wrote: "Mari,

Thanks for joining in! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying Cameron's Law. It's always my goal to write a good story, first and foremost. It just happens to be paranormal. I want to appeal,..."

Thanks, you've answered my questions very well! I had a feeling (even though I don't know you) that Sadie was based on yourself. I just finished Cameron's Law and enjoyed it very much. I won't post any spoilers but I thought what happened to Hughes in the end was so fitting. And I'm looking forward to reading more about Sadie and Vance.

Good luck with all your writing efforts,
Mari

Mari, I'm glad to hear that you liked it! Each book follows a different narrator, but revolves around the town of Adelheid and generally the Stanton Agency, so Sadie and Vance will always be around, even if the book is one following a different narrator.

I hope that you enjoy other books in the series! There is more about the plan for the Adelheid series, as well as how the series came about, on my website: http://www.miadarien.com and click on the Adelheid tab.

Thanks again!
Mia

Hi Mia!
Being that you're a self-published author at what point do you consider your manuscript done and ready to be published? Do you do all of the editing yourself or do you have friends or peer editors who help you put the finishing touches on your novels? I find that having peer editors, while incredibly helpful, can sometimes open a can of worms for me as a writer when it comes to rewrites, they all seem to think the story needs something different when it comes to editing and since we obviously all want our work to be as close to perfect as possible, when do you know that your work is truly finished?

Hi, Laekan!

This is a great question. Well, I have a "system" for all of my stories.

1) I plot it (I'm an outline writer) and then write my first draft. I make sure I'm content with it in general, because on rare occasion I will find the plot problems too massive and re-write the whole thing. But step one is to get a first draft I'm content with.

2) I reread it and do "broad stroke" content editing, just to make sure that it - to me - all lines up as a story. Does everything make sense? How does it flow? Are my character realistic? Are there any plot holes? Stuff like that. I fix any issues I find.

3) It goes to my First/Beta Readers. It's a very rough draft at this point, but they know that and read for content for me. I have at least three. I try to vary them, like for CL and WFD, I had at least one reader for each that didn't normally read paranormal. For WFD, I had one reader who hadn't read CL so I knew it could stand alone.

4) I get their feedback. I evaluate it and decide what to keep and what not to. This is instinct. If more than one has the same issue, though, then it's obviously something needing fixing. I like having at the very least three so I have that "tie breaker" vote in case they disagree. If it's just one reader saying something, then I consider it, weigh it against what others said and make the choice of what to revise.

5) Line editing/proof-reading and polishing is the final step. I do this myself, because I can't afford to hire an editor. As I have been told, I'm not a perfect editor and some errors still slip through but I try to make sure it's as few as possible. I'm hoping, as I get deeper into writing communities, to find other broke authors who might be willing to "swap" line edits: edit each others manuscripts, or exchange editing for... cover art, marketing help, stuff like that.

Aside from myself, I would never have more than one person doing line edits at a time. But line editing is different from content editing/Beta reading.

How do I know it's done? When I've done all the above steps and can't stand the sight of my story any longer, when I've read and revised and written and edited to the point where I want to burn it instead of publishing it... that's usually the time.

No write is every 100% satisfied with their story. Even the best authors will re-read their published works years later and see things they wish they could change. So, for me at least, there's not really any identifiable "sign" for when it's done. It's just having a system and going with your instincts.

Then crossing your fingers and hoping for the best!

Thanks for the question. :)

I think this Q&A will be ending soon, so I would just like to thank everyone who joined in for the great questions and letting me talk with you all today!

Mia

I did not have a specific question. I am not a writer, just an avid reader. I followed along and enjoyed both the questions and your answers. I feel like I have a little better understanding of who you are and how you write. I'm a person who likes knowing more about the writer than their name on the cover. I'll be reading some of your work soon and well definitely post reviews when I do. Thanks for doing this Q & A.

Thanks for reading in, Brenda! I'm always happy to let readers know a little bit more about me, and there have been some great questions that I'm glad I've had the chance to answer.

Thanks Mia. I liked your self-publishing answer. I'm feeling jaded about it but you present an uplifting view. Thank you.