I’m currently working on a middle-grade fantasy. I finished my first draft in May of this year. It was my first draft of a manuscript. And after a long three years of writing, rewriting, and finally discovering my plot, I was ecstatic to move on to the editing phase.

I’m an absolute geek for editing! As a content editor, I was up against my favorite challenge, and this time, I was facing it with my own beloved characters. But…as I faced down that first draft, I learned some important things from the process.

Editing your own work is hard. Even with all my skills and techniques, one big thing continued to hold me back: indecision. I struggled to make solid choices about my main character, names for side characters, world building, setting, etc… 

Maybe you can relate. You LOVE your characters, and you’ve worked so hard to put together that first draft. Now you need to tear it all apart and do the work necessary to make it echo with purpose and heart. Where do you start? How do you deal with changing things you know need editing, yet you love so much?

I dealt with all these things while editing my first draft. I want to share my top 6 things to focus on when editing your first draft.

1. Take. A. Break.

Alright, I’m going to be real with you for a second. I hate taking breaks in my writing. Obviously, I fall off the bandwagon sometimes when life with two little kids, a working husband, my own job, and a puppy take over. But, when I finished my first draft, I was SO ready to edit it. 

But…almost every writing craft book and author I spoke to HIGHLY recommended taking a break after you finish writing your first draft. 

Why? Because it gives you the necessary distance to dig into your first draft and tear it apart. The amount of time you take away from your manuscript is up to you, but I would recommend at least two weeks. If you can hold out for a whole month, that would be even better!

2. Outline Your Current Plot and Revised Plot

When you have finished your break, the first thing I recommend doing is reading through your manuscript. Don’t make any notes on this read-through. Once you have read through it, copy your story into a new document and make an outline of your current story. If you already have an outlining method you love, use that! If you don’t have an outlining method you love, I recommend the Save the Cat method for novelists by Jessica Brody. You can find it on her website or in the Save the Cat Writes a Novel, by Jessica Brody. 

Once you have your current outline down, make an outline that includes any revisions you want to make. Be sure to spend a lot of time here making those plot decisions. Plot elements always change in rewrites, but it’s important to start into revisions with a strong idea of where you are going and what needs to be cut.

3. Start with your Main Character(s)

Just like your novel’s plot, when you start editing your first draft, you want to outline your character’s arc throughout the story. Go through their development, their traits, attitude, behaviors, etc. Make sure these are working in tandem and not against each other. 

Your character should grow, but they should also be consistent. Focus on your character’s wants, needs, and goals. What do they need internally to change by the end of the story? What do they want more than anything else? What are they trying to achieve by the beginning versus the end of your novel? If you can flesh those out before doing any rewrites, you’ll save yourself a lot of editing down the road.

4. Work through World Building

This point is fairly straightforward, but no matter what genre of children’s books you are writing, whether that’s contemporary fiction or fantasy, you will need to flesh out the elements of your world. Heading into editing your first draft, you can flag areas where you need to strengthen your worldbuilding. 

Are there settings you can strengthen? What kind of details should you include in your world’s description? There are so many great resources out there on worldbuilding. One of my favorites is A Writer’s Guide to Active Setting, by Mary Buckham. Dig into these resources and nail down any weak worldbuilding in your manuscript!

5. Make Your Choices Now

When working with clients about finishing the first draft, I constantly emphasize banishing your inner editor. My writer’s group and I are big fans of using brackets to summarize what needs to happen when we get stuck while drafting. I would use them on everything, from names to entire scenes. When I finished the first draft, I added in that information, but not all of it. My first draft was littered with indecision. 

As you begin evaluating and tackling editing your first draft, you need to commit to making decisions about any content you haven’t fully fleshed out. Like worldbuilding, leave no proverbial stone unturned. Come up with names for characters and places, flesh out settings, nail down character personalities, and don’t be afraid to take your time here. It will make a huge difference to your manuscript. When agents and readers pick up a manuscript or book, they want to be hooked into all of the unique elements of your story. Take the time now to plan those and make choices about what details you want to include to make your world rich and enthralling.

6. Embrace Rewriting 

Of all of the things I learned while revising, embracing rewriting was one I didn’t think I’d advocate so strongly for. I used to think that all I needed to do for revision was work on adding in elements of world-building, straighten out some character development, and rewrite a few chapters. What I ended up realizing was how much easier it was to rewrite everything with the new plot in place. 

Now, this might not be the case for you. I discovered that the entire first half of my book wasn’t working. I didn’t love it. So…I cut it all out and rewrote 17 chapters. That might sound daunting, but it actually only took me two months, and by the end, I was so much happier with the plot!

Don’t be afraid to rewrite parts or large swaths of your manuscript. It may seem daunting, but the reward is immeasurable and noticeable in your manuscript.

There are so many other revision points I could discuss here, but these are the ones I struggled with and learned the most from. Hopefully, they will guide you on your exciting and sometimes arduous revision journey. Since this is my last article for the year and for this column, I hope you will continue to improve your kid lit craft and have a wonderful writing journey. Feel free to reach out and follow me on social media!

Happy writing!

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

The post Kid Lit Craft: 6 Things to Focus on When Editing your First Draft appeared first on DIY MFA.

Middle grade is a genre near and dear to my heart. It’s the genre that captured me and made me a reader, but more than that, there’s something honest and heartfelt about the voices of middle grade characters.

In my career as an editor, I’ve noticed that often when a story isn’t working, it’s not the setting or the plot that usually lies at the center of the problem, it’s the voice of the main character, and sometimes the lack of voice.

What is Voice?

I heard the term “voice” a lot in my college creative writing classes, but as a budding writer who was just beginning to take my craft seriously, there were so many terms that would bounce right off of me. Voice was one of them. After all, what does one even mean when they say that your story needs a strong voice?

Voice is the combination of not only the manuscript’s point of view but the narrator’s thought pattern and vocabulary and how you as the author express the emotional tone of the book (i.e. humorous, suspenseful, etc…). 

For example, in the middle grade novel The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart, the story is told from the first-person point of view. This allows the sincere and witty protagonist Coyote to be emotionally close with the reader. The world of the novel is colored by her view of it, and through that, she brings the reader lots of insight, and the reader in turn gets to be part of her struggles and emotional journey in a more intimate way than if the story was told in third-person. Coyote’s way of speaking in dialogue, thoughts, and the actions she performs in the book also creates a strong sense of that honest, curious, wit that makes up the voice of the novel.

Above all in middle grade, your kid protagonists need to sound like…well kids. Readers should be able to pick up your book and hear themselves in the voice of your main character, no matter what tone you are taking. But how do you know if you are achieving that?

How Do You Know if Your MC Has an Authentic Voice?

Here are a few guiding questions to get you started:

• Does the point of view of your story lead the reader to experience the action of the story in the strongest way possible? Would changing the POV make the story stronger and allow the character’s voice to be more resonant?
• Does the protagonist (outside of historical fiction) use words and language that is contemporary with kids today? Protagonists don’t need to use all the current lingo that kids use, but they shouldn’t be using lingo you used as a kid if the story isn’t set then. Again, kids need to hear themselves. Be sure your MC doesn’t sound like an adult in a kid’s body.
• What tense is your story told in? Does it help or hinder the voice of the story? If you write it another way, is it easier to express your character’s voice?
• What is your character’s personality? Have you expressed their personality through your linguistic choice (grammar, syntax, and diction), their emotional behaviors (their attitude and overall temperament including in actions), and the way they experience the world and express the world around them (this could include the cultural references they might mention).

Use these questions as a jumping-off point for understanding the voice of your manuscript and the main character who is driving it.

Crafting Strong Voice

The questions above are a great starting point, but I wanted to touch on a few more ways to create a strong voice in your story.

Remember When?

Remember when you were a kid? Hopefully, you do because you are going to need to draw on that to create an authentic voice in your middle grade novel. I want you to think back on being a kid. What did you want when you were a kid? What were your fears? What did you love doing? What was important to you? If you really want to tap into the hearts of kids and create an MC that resonates with them, you need to tap into your inner kid first.

Get to Know Kids Today

Understanding kids living in the world right now is also crucial to creating an authentic voice in your story. This goes for both contemporary realistic fiction writers, as well as sci-fi fantasy writers, in the middle grade space. Get to know the difference in voice between an eight-year-old and a twelve-year-old. Read lots of great books that have been published lately to help you get the sense of voice in middle grade lately. Ask your librarians what middle grade books kids have been loving. Kids today want to hear about kids like themselves. 

Kids want to feel understood and see themselves in your characters. So make sure you know them first!

You Won’t Get it Right in the First Draft

I always love a good challenge, and before I finished the first draft of my novel, I probably would have stubbornly fought against this point. The perfectionistic tendencies in me drive me to want to get the voice right in the first draft. To have my character ready to shine when they reach the metaphorical finish line at the end of the book.

But…here’s the truth.

Your first draft is about discovering the voice of your story, not polishing it. Odds are that it will take you the entire book to find out who your character is and what their voice sounds like. But don’t let this discourage you. You will find the voice of your character and manuscript by the end, and if you don’t, put it away for a bit and let your brain work on figuring it out for you. But, where you really start strengthening that voice is rewriting.

As William C. Knott, in The Craft of Fiction so articulately put, “anyone can write–and almost everyone you meet these days is writing. However, only the writers know how to rewrite. It is this ability alone that turns the amateur into a pro.”

Since we aren’t aiming to make the voice sharp in the first draft, mentally prepare yourself to do a lot of rewriting and editing in the second draft. I was shocked at how easy it was to scrap the whole first half of my manuscript and rewrite it. In the first draft of my manuscript, my main character was boring, and his voice was bland at best for about 50% of the book. It wasn’t until I reached the end that I understood him and loved him. I felt his personality and voice come to life. So it was easy to go back to the beginning and redraft the whole first half of the book to match that voice. And, I have to say that even though it was a ton of work; I adore this version of my character and his story much more. 

Don’t be afraid to tinker and rewrite your darlings until you can hear them come alive on the page.

Books with Strong Voice to Them

Here’s a small list of books that have brilliant characters with strong voices. As always, I urge you to go out there and scour your local libraries and bookstores and find your own list of books with strong voices. Find authors that resonate with how you want to write and read their work.

• The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart
• The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
• Tight by Torrey Maldonado
• Voyage of the Frostheart by Jamie Littler
• The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling
• Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

Young readers want to resonate with the characters in middle grade books, so don’t be afraid of taking extra time to find and polish the voice of your manuscript. I promise you it will pay off for you and your readers.

Tell me in the comments: What was the biggest insight about voice that you got from this article?

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

The post Tapping into the Hearts of Kids: Crafting Authentic Voice in Middle Grade appeared first on DIY MFA.

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About Kaela Rivera

Kaela Rivera is the award-winning author of the Cece Rios series. She grew up reading the folktales of her Mexican-American and British parents in the forests of Tennessee, but now she writes about them from the soaring mountains of Utah. When she’s not crafting stories, she’s working as a managing editor for a marketing company—or secretly doodling her characters in the margins of her notebook. One of her greatest hopes is to explore the beauty of cultural differences—and how they can bring us all closer. Visit her at kaelarivera.com.

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About the Cece Rios Series

Living in the remote town of Tierra del Sol is dangerous—especially in the criatura months, when powerful spirits break free from their home in Devil’s Alley to threaten humankind. But Cecelia Rios has always believed there was more to the criaturas who roamed the desert, much to her family’s disapproval. After all, it’s common knowledge that only brujas—humans who capture and control criaturas—consort with the spirits, and brujeria is a terrible crime.

When her older sister, Juana, is kidnapped by El Sombrerón, a powerful dark criatura, everyone in town believes she’s lost forever. But Cece is determined to bring Juana back. To get into Devil’s Alley, though, she’ll have to become a bruja herself—while hiding her quest from her parents, her town, and the other brujas. Thankfully, the legendary criatura Coyote has a soft spot for humans, and agrees to help her on her journey. With him at her side, Cece sets out to reunite her family—and maybe even change what it means to be a bruja along the way. 

Book 2 Cece Rios and the King of Fears will come out on September 27, 2022!

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Interview with Kaela Rivera

Olivia Fisher: Kaela, what made you want to write for kids?

Kaela Rivera: I think I’ve always sort of been a kid, even as I got older and more mature, and I’ve always written for myself first. I revise to be understood by other people, but the writing process itself has always been to entertain, heal, and explore with my inner child. 

Of course, I adore children, so that’s made me all the more excited and motivated to share stories with them. I used to tell stories to my friends, little sister, and younger kids as I was growing up—I have more than four nephews, so you can probably see how that came into play. And I find myself still writing for that little-me, those little nephews (before they had the audacity to grow up), because in childhood I’ve found we have such a greater willingness to learn, to experience, to understand, and to hope. We start losing that as we get older, but children are ready for adventure. They’re ready to grow. And that’s what I want to explore most in my writing.

OF: How did you develop your writing craft? 

KR: I started by writing a lot, reading a lot, and doing both frequently. Where some kids watched TV, I always ended up sitting down to write because I wanted to be on the next leg of whatever adventure I was currently weaving. That gave me the pretty stable foundation I needed as a writer—instincts for pacing, dialogue, structure, character,  and even grammar. 

I reached a pretty solid intermediate writing level once I’d finished about three/four novels, and that’s when I felt I needed a better level. I was in college at this point, and I could write well by that point, but my voice wasn’t distinct. I’d practiced emulating authors I loved in order to get a feel for their skills. I’d read a lot. I studied books on writing, practiced over and over. But I knew it was time to develop the way I wanted to write. 

Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger, ended up being key for me in that way. There was an interview he gave where he talked about wanting to write so much like himself that no one could ever doubt it was him. That’s when I went to work. And I should say, that led to some really rough experimenting. I pushed my language, my descriptions, my internal exploration pretty far. Not far from me—I was digging down into myself and pulling up all kinds of stuff from the mines of my mind. Sometimes, when I ran that writing by people, they were totally confused by my descriptions, the blocking, the idea. That was the next step: learning how to polish up the rocks I was digging up from inside myself, so other people could recognize, connect, and understand what I was saying.

Toward the end of my college years, I grew more and more confident in my writing. I submitted novels to agents and editors, and I learned from that that my worldbuilding and plots were still weak points. So, for the first time in my writing practice—I tried to revise. And I should point out that learning to revise is a huge, important part of the writing process that I had completely neglected in favor of moving on to the next project. I don’t recommend this route, but it did mean I avoided over-editing and not finishing projects, at least. Different writers encounter different difficulties, though, so mine became figuring out how to revise—how to get a sense for when something needed to change, when something could be better, what exactly needed to change, and how to make all those changes a cohesive part of your image for the story. And, well, how to change your image of the story to be truer to your actual intentions. 

Writing is exploratory, I believe. And revising is about cohesiveness and focus. You need both to create a good book, in my opinion—both exploration and focus. Magic and clarity.

I finally worked out my plot issues with my next project, which became Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls. That was about my tenth book I think, and that was the book that got me my agent. Working with her and my editor really helped me nail down my understanding of revision—but of course, like all writers, I’m still working on it!

OF: Tell us a little about your first book! What was the publishing process like for you?

KR: Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls is my first published book—and it turns out to be the first book in the Cece Rios series! The second book comes out September 27, 2022! So close!

Cece’s publishing journey was an interesting one. I actually had an R&R on a previous book out with my current agent, who was then not yet my agent, while I was finishing Cece. I submitted Cece’s first draft to PitchWars (R.I.P.), and when all the feedback came back as “I can’t help you make this better; it’s already complete besides adjusting this one scene”—a response I’d never gotten before—I had a feeling it would be the one to get published.

It turned out I was right! Just a month or so later, I submitted Cece (with that one scene adjusted) to the PitchAmerica contest (also R.I.P.). I was pretty good at contests, since I have a decent knack for pitching and marketing, so I thought I’d try it out. I got into the agent showcase, and my not-yet agent, Serene Hakim, saw Cece’s pitch and opening chapters. She already had my R&R as I mentioned, and she loved what she saw in Cece. She made an offer, along with two other agents, and I went with Serene because her editing resonated with me, and she felt both approachable and capable.

After Serene and I signed our contracts and officially started working together, we went through revisions and then went out on submission. After that, my editor at HarperChildren’s reached back out to us, and we were off on our publishing adventure!

OF: Did that process change after you published your first book?

KR: Publishing feels very different since Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls launched. For one, I’ve learned that what people say about publishing timelines is true: there are two speeds, 1) forever waiting and 2) go, go, go everything’s happening now! I’ve had to learn how to revise faster and better, how to clean up my process, and how to make my writing a bit more consistent—all while balancing online presence, in-person appearances, and behind-the-scenes writing and deals for future books.

So, publishing after my first book has been stressful, but it’s also been exciting and fun. I really enjoy the variety and constant set of new opportunities and new learnings that come with publishing, even if challenges come alongside them.  

OF: What’s the hardest thing about writing a book?

KR: Revision still feels like the hardest part of writing for me. It’s the beautiful, painful, wonderful, terrible process of slowly and precisely going through your book from high to low levels and bringing it together. It’s what turns a good book into a great book, and a nice experience into a fully moving, satisfying one. I should know, as I’m a managing editor in my day job. I have over eight years’ experience editing other peoples’ work (think copywriting, though—not the creative side). And yet, revision is also the part where I doubt myself, question everything, and balance the needs of what I want the story to be and how the story can be accessed by others. 

Revision is absolutely worth it and oh-so important. But it’s difficult for me. Of course, that’s just another example of how some of the hardest things in life are the most worthwhile.

OF: What’s the best thing about writing a book?

KR: I adore the free, dauntless exploration of the rough draft. If you asked my writers group, they’d tell you I write quickly, and I write a lot. Every book I write requires cutting at least twenty thousand words. But I think that’s because I need to spent time in the world. I need to sit in the quiet moments with my characters, the breath between plot points, and explore the full impact of my character’s internal experiences and thoughts. I need to explore all the many interesting things the plot could conduct, and I need to sit in the world and breathe in its smells and touch its leaves and watch its sunsets. Some people may consider that a lot of wasted words, but that travel experience gives me the backbone, the anchor, the foundation of the story, so I can always go back to those feelings as touchpoints when revision. That’s how I don’t lose the essence of the story (or at least, how I hope I don’t). 

In that rough draft period, I work out all of what I want in a book. I teach myself what the characters need, and I explore and ask questions, and I experience the things I need. That’s why that first write-through is so important to me. It’s freeing and exciting and confusing and interesting. Revision, as it comes later, turns all of that into something cohesive. It’s the distilled version of my experience, the one I want to share with others, so that hopefully, the good I got out of it, and what I learned, and the healing I received, might get passed on to anyone who knows or needs it. 

OF: What do you hope readers will take away from your books? Or what experience have you had interacting with your young readers?

KR: The biggest thing I want to leave with people is probably hope. Hope in the difficult times, light at the end of the tunnel, healing in and through and after pain and hardship. To me, hope is the only true realism. Pessimism and cynicism I find naïve, since both usually come from disappointed optimism, where, when you were looking for only joy in order to be happy, you found hardship, and decided that joy no longer was. But hope bespeaks light even when darkness surrounds. Hope knows exactly how hard life is and can be, and reaches for the joy and the contentment and recovery and healing that can still be as well. I want to offer that to readers, so they can go on adventures that heal and reaffirm their lives.

OF: What’s next on your author journey?

KR: The third book in the Cece Rios series is next up on the list! I’ll be starting revisions for it within the next month or so. I’m also working on a horror MG book duology—and a secret project I can’t talk about yet. So many exciting things to come!

Thank you for this wonderful interview Kaela! If you want to follow along with Kaela’s writing journey and read her books, visit her at kaelarivera.com.

Tell us in the comments: What were your big takeaways from my interview with Kaela Rivera?

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

The post Kid Lit Craft: Interview with Kaela Rivera appeared first on DIY MFA.

But first, what is middle grade? It’s not a name you hear often outside of the publishing world, and if you peruse your indie bookstore or local Barnes & Noble, you won’t find the section with these books titled that. 

Instead, you might see them broken up into graphic novels, books by series, or young readers.  And dang, you should check out all the amazing cover art for these books. I could go on and on about how talented the illustrators designing middle grade covers are. 

But, let’s go ahead and dive right in.

An Overview

Middle grade is the name given to books for 8–12-year-olds. It fills the gap between chapter books and young adult novels and offers young readers with budding tastes and advancing reading skills a broad range of beautiful stories from contemporary, to fantasy, to spooky, to verse novels full of poetry. Middle grade books typically feature characters the same age as the reader (that 8 to 12 range with the occasional 13-year-old in upper middle grade) and deal with subjects relevant to those readers. 

Often, middle grade themes might explore a young character finding their place in the world as they grow up. Family and friendship might feature prominently. Middle grade is also becoming beautifully diverse with a wonderful rise in books about kids of color and their experiences and adventures. All in all, middle grade contains a wide array of adventures to enjoy. I’ve included a few of my favorites below, but please check out your local library and bookstore for yourself. You never know, you might find a new favorite!

Examples: Voyage of the Frostheart by Jamie littler, Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart, Red White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca, New from Here by Kelly Yang, Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston, The Warriors Series by Erin Hunter, Witchling by Claribel A. Ortega.

Word Count in Middle Grade

Word count for middle grade has a pretty wide range depending on the story you are trying to tell. As a general rule according to the Writer’s Digest and the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for 2022, the typical word count for middle grade is between 22K and 55K. And while some recommend 35K as being the ideal word count, your word count comes down to whether you are writing upper middle grade or lower middle grade and whether your story is contemporary or fantasy/sci-fi. You see, there are nuances to these things that often go unspoken. 

While all books are pitched to agents under the general category of middle grade, there are differences in books meant for 8-year-olds versus 12-year-olds, even though both an 8-year-old and a 12-year-old might enjoy the same book. A book geared mainly for an 8-year-old might be closer to that 20K to 35K range while one geared to a 12-year-old with a more complex plot would most likely hit closer to the 45K to 55K range. 

Most contemporary books don’t require the extensive world-building that fantasy and Sci-fi stories require, so you should really stick to keeping the story under the recommended 55K. However, for fantasy and Sci-fi, you have more wiggle room in your word count and can stretch closer to 60K (70K at the highest). 

Now, these word counts are the general guidelines for manuscripts. This may look different for final books since they have gone through extensive revisions and edits, so don’t go comparing your middle grade to the large tomes sitting on the shelves of your local indie bookstore. 

Graphic Novels

I’m no expert on graphic novels, so I’m going to keep this section short. But I absolutely can’t leave this article without mentioning the beautiful rise of graphic novels for a middle grade audience. While some are headed by author-illustrators, others have a separate author and illustrator. Graphic novels are brilliant because they open up a whole new world of visual storytelling for young readers, especially those that might be more reluctant. 

Here are a few of my favorites that I’ve read. This is only a small selection, and I highly recommend hitting up your local bookstore or library and checking out all of the brilliant graphic novels available there.

Graphic novel examples: Roll with It by Lee Durfey-Lavoie and Veronica Agarwal, Lightfall: The Girl and the Galdurian (Book 1) by Tim Probert, Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm, Sheets by Brenna Thummler. 

Good Resources for Middle Grade Writers

So, where can you go to learn more about middle grade and refine your craft? Here are a few great places to get you started!

The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults by Cheryl B. Klein

Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. This book, while not directly related to middle grade writing, is a fantastic resource for plotting and revising your novel! I would also highly recommend checking out the resources on Jessica Brody’s website.

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). This international organization provides so many resources for both new and experienced children’s book writers and illustrators. From virtual conferences, regional critique sessions, and The Book (a book created by the society full of agents, query suggestions, and manuscript formatting guides).

Reading lots of middle grade books. There is honestly no better way to learn about middle grade books than by reading them! Read in different genres. Just read. I can guarantee it’s one of the quicker and more enjoyable ways to improve your craft.

Phew! We’ve made it through all the kid lit I will be covering in this series. Hopefully, this gives you a jumping-off point if you are new to middle grade or new resources if you are already working away on a novel! Thanks for reading and be on the lookout for the next article packed with more kid lit tips and lessons.

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

The post All about Middle Grade appeared first on DIY MFA.

Now you might be getting chapter books mixed up with middle grade or independent reader books, which I’m also going to briefly mention here. Or maybe you already knew that they were their own category. Who knew there were so many different types of children’s literature, right? 

Until this past year when I joined the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), I didn’t know that chapter books were their own category. Though, I was aware that they were much shorter and simpler than a middle grade book. I attended a workshop at an SCBWI conference in my own region of Virginia that was all about chapter books from a published author who, surprise, writes chapter books. I learned so much from her, and hopefully, I can share that and some other research I’ve done on chapter books in this article. 

A Quick Note on Independent Reader Books

While I’m not going to do a separate article for independent reader books, I will make a brief nod to them here. Independent reader books (also called leveled readers) are much shorter and closer to a picture book with the idea that a new reader will be reading them independently. The language is very, very simple, and the illustrations are full-page much like those in a picture book. Writers work with a limited vocabulary list they can choose from. Chapter books differ in many ways from independent reader books.

Examples of Independent reader books:

• I Want to Be a Doctor (I Can Read Level 1) Written by Laura Driscoll and Illustrated by Catalina Echeverri
• Big Shark, Little Shark (Step into Reading) Written by Anna Membrino and Illustrated by Tim Budgen
• Ice Cream Soup (Step into Reading) Written by Ann Ingalls and Illustrated by Richard Watson

A Broad Look at Chapter Books 

Chapter books are a child’s first real experience connecting with characters and building their imagination by themselves as they begin reading independently. Chapter books are short…. well…chapter books for readers ranging from ages 7-10. These heavily illustrated little books help engage readers and make facing a wall of text less intimidating by using illustrations to break up text. The illustrations also show what is happening in the story, making it easier for young readers to create strong mental pictures. 

Chapter books contain short chapters which give a strong feeling of accomplishment for young readers and allows them to take a break from reading easier.

Unlike middle grade, characters in chapter books never age past 3rd or 4th grade (matching the age of the reader) because they are only meant for a small group of children who will eventually deepen their love of reading and move up to middle grade where they are able to experience more. Chapter books also tend to be written in series because young readers often consume them quickly, wanting more adventures with their favorite characters.

The length of a chapter book varies. While some publishing houses, like the Branches division of Scholastic, aim to publish books with only 6,000 words total, making very simple stories for readers who might be intimidated by longer chapter books, other publishing houses publish longer chapter books.

Word Count/Page Count: 5,000-13,000 or 40-60 typed pages (According to SCBWI. Word count varies largely depending on the publishing house you go through)

Age Range: 7-10

Chapter Book Examples: Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborn, Captain Underpants by Dav Pilky, Ivy + Bean by Annie Barrows, and the Definitely Dominguita Series by Terry Catasus Jennings 

Good Resources for Chapter Book Writers

So, where can you go to learn more about chapter books and refine your craft? Here are a few great places to get you started!

• The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). This international organization provides so many resources for both new and experienced children’s book writers and illustrators. From virtual conferences, regional critique sessions, and The Book (a book created by the society full of agents, query suggestions, and manuscript formatting guides). I’ve personally attended conferences with whole sessions dedicated to the craft of chapter books!
• Highlights Foundation. Highlights, a popular publication in the kid lit space, hosts a variety of workshops for writers. In the past, they hosted specific courses on writing chapter books. Check out their resources and workshops to see more on chapter books.
• Visiting your local library and reading lots of different chapter books. There is honestly no better way to learn about chapter books than by reading them! Read lots of chapter books. Find a variety of lengths and genres and get a feel of what kind of chapter book story you want to tell. I can guarantee reading is one of the quicker and more enjoyable ways to improve your craft and get a feel for how your story must be structured.

As I mentioned in my last article, while I have outlined the general information about chapter books, this article is in no way meant to be a comprehensive guide to chapter books! But, hopefully, this will get your chapter book research off to a strong start and give you resources and basic structures to start telling your story! Knowing what kind of book you are crafting for young readers is so important as a kid lit author.

Next up, I will be covering my absolute favorite genre and the one I’m personally familiar with writing: middle grade!

Tell us in the comments: Are you a chapter book writer or interested in writing chapter books?

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

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About Heather Mateus Sappenfield

Heather Mateus Sappenfield loves adventures, especially in the Rocky Mountain landscape that’s been her lifelong home. As part of women’s teams, she’s won 24-hour mountain bike races and road bicycling’s Race Across America—San Diego, California to Atlantic City, New Jersey. She’s also competed in the Mountain Bike World Championships, ski instructed for Vail Resorts, and loves backcountry ski touring. Her toughest adventures, though, arise in the writing of stories. 

Heather is the author of two contemporary YA novels, The View from Who I Was and Life at the Speed of Us, a Colorado Book Awards Finalist. Her story collection, Lyrics for Rock Stars, released as the winner of the V Press LC Compilation Book Prize, was nominated for the MPIBA’s Reading the West Awards, was a silver medalist for the IBPA’s Ben Franklin Awards, and was featured on Colorado Public Radio. Her most recent book, The River Between Hearts, runner-up for the Kraken Prize, is a Middle Grade novel about friendship and healing. 

About The River Between Hearts

On an ordinary Monday, Rill Kruse left for third grade with a dad, but when she came home, he’d been stolen. By a river. One year and thirteen days later—on the first morning of summer vacation—Rill still insists he’s trudging home. Her mom has become a practical woman. Her older brother, Eddy, now calls her baby and dork. Gus, the second-in-command at Kruse Whitewater Adventures, Rill’s family’s rafting company, has gone from being her dad’s “risk bro” to her mom’s guardian angel. Joyce, company secretary, arm-wrestler, and mechanic, still calls Rill a fingerling, but, after learning what a cheater water is, Rill wishes she’d stop. When Rill’s cat, Clifford, leads her to the family tree fort on the mountainside behind home, she discovers a stowaway, Perla. To help Perla, Rill embarks on an adventure that tests her understanding of the world, of loss, and of what it means to be a friend. In the end, what Rill discovers will nudge her—and all those she loves—toward healing.

Interview with Heather Mateus Sappenfield

Olivia Fisher: What made you want to write for kids?

Heather Mateus Sappenfield: Oh, that’s a great question! If you look at my publishing history, I’ve written two YA novels, an adult literary story collection, and now a MG novel! I never plan to write a genre of book. Instead, I have these obsessions, stored in the back of my mind, and one day a narrator will arrive with a story that explores it. It’s my subconscious working, I’m sure, but those narrators have voices all their own and are pretty fully formed when they show up. I listen to and observe them for weeks, months, even years, and when I feel as though I know them and their story well enough, I begin writing.

One of my joys is writing for readers of all ages. That’s probably not the best choice for me commercially, but I strive to stay true to what the protagonist/characters need the story to be. Having written for adults, YA, and now MG, I must admit that writing for this youngest group of readers was the most difficult craft-wise. MG novels are just as rich and textured as books for older readers, but they must be shaped into simpler sentence structures that peel away artifice and muddled meanings. Instances of my adult perspective needed to be yanked like weeds. It took so much time to get this book right! 

OF: I love this. As a writer of MG myself, you really have to get in the head of your young protagonist and have them say and react as they would and not how you would, and that can be difficult for our adult brains! 

What was the publishing process like for you?

HMS: I had an agent for my first two novels, and she sold my books to Flux, which at the time was an imprint of Llewellyn. I unfairly assumed that she and Flux would take care of all my promotions. I was so naïve! Agents only sell and maintain a book’s rights, and marketing departments at publishing houses are overworked and underpaid. News flash: never ever leave your book’s marketing up to someone else! 

After my agent and I mutually parted ways, I was deflated by the business and quit writing for a while. The River Between Hearts drew me back. I decided to enter contests instead of seeking another agent, and I’ve published my last two books with indie publishers this way. I’ve also hired a publicist, and both have been fabulous experiences. 

Simply publishing a book is terrific—it’s exhilarating initially—but eight months down the road, with it not selling and few people reading it, the process can feel anticlimactic and hollow. 

With this fourth book, I’m finally starting to understand the selling side of the industry. It basically consists of two vendor routes: 1) big outlets like Amazon and Barnes & Noble 2) indie bookstores. 

As you can imagine, these two paths have distribution channels that in many ways do not mingle, and to get your book out there, you need to pursue both. The big outlets are pretty straightforward—get your book listed with them, get your advance reading copies (ARCs) on NetGalley, try to get reviews on Goodreads and seller sites, and hope for the best. 

For indies, you must recognize that indie bookstores are run by people, and this means establishing relationships. Attend their regional conferences, make acquaintances, and swim the uphill battle of getting your book into their store. 

Be sure to put your ARC on Edelweiss, and encourage folks to review it there. Edelweiss is one of the main ways booksellers and librarians learn about books! And again, hope for the best.

OF: Yes, I feel like this is something important for all writers to take away. Publishing is a difficult industry no matter if you are self-publishing, publishing through an indie publisher, or aiming for one of the big four publishers. It can take A LOT of work, and doing your research beforehand is so important! These are some great insights into how writers can prepare for this. Thanks, Heather!

What’s the hardest thing about writing a book?

HMS: When I was a little girl, I always knew I’d live in the mountains and be an author. I guess it’s what I’m meant to do. I love the entire process of writing a book, from drafting the initial pages with my ears ringing from how hard I’m listening, to tweaking the polished copy so that nuance, refrain, and thematic elements sing. 

The hardest part, though, is noticing, and then stepping back, when I’m getting in the way of the story. We all have things we avoid, places we don’t want to go, and it’s not always easy to catch those moments and then step aside so the characters can complete their journey.

OF: What’s the best thing about writing a book?

HMS: Ah, there’s two things. First, I love when I’m at the very end of the revision process, the writing is ultra-polished, and I’ve worked with the story so much that it’s as though I’m effortlessly juggling a hundred balls. I know where all the story elements reside, and how they all link. It’s an amazing sensation. 

Second; I love, love, love connecting with readers—hearing how they interacted with the book, and how the story resonated with them. That, truly, is why I write.

OF: What do you hope readers will take away from your books?

HMS: One reviewer stated (paraphrasing here) that my books are deceptively simple yet layered with meaning. I hope that each of my readers—no matter their age—takes from my books exactly what they need in their life right then. That it sustains them, helps them heal, or makes them laugh.

OF: How did you develop your writing craft?

HMS: I’ve always been a voracious reader. I especially loved science fiction and fantasy for the escape they provided. Though I have mild dyslexia, writing has always been something I excelled at. I was an English major in college. I taught high school language arts. Along the way, I wrote a bit, but not seriously. 

Then, when my daughter was a year old, she started talking with the Australian accent of her daycare provider. I love Australian accents, but…paradigm shift! I resigned from teaching. While she napped, I began to seriously pursue writing. 

I had some bad habits, though, mostly from being on the teaching end of literature. After a few near misses with getting stories published in magazines, I decided to pursue my MFA in Writing at Pacific University’s low residency program. Boy! Did they ever strip away those habits and hone my craft! I was able to study one-on-one with some incredible writers! 

In my third semester, one of my stories was runner-up in a contest. Then another story won a contest, and another was accepted for publication. 

Here I’d like to say, however, that not everybody needs an MFA. They’re costly and don’t fit with every life or learning style. What it really boiled down to for me, I believe, was the intense, focused, open-minded intentioned time dedicated to the craft.

Post-graduation, my craft has continued to evolve in a steady unfolding and unfolding and constant learning about how to write stories in ways that most directly connect with readers. Every day, I learn something new.

OF: I love this. Writing and honing a craft can be a varied journey, and one approach doesn’t fit every writer as you said. You mentioned that what it really came down to for you was the intensely focused time, and really, that’s what I feel like is both the biggest obstacle and the pivotal point of success for writers: making the time to write. But not just write, write with dedication and focus. It’s something I’ve certainly struggled with as a young mom, but that time isn’t impossible to make. It just takes work and intentionality.

OF: What’s next on your author-journey?

HMS: I hope to soon announce some good news about a finished humorous literary/women’s fiction novel! I’m in the final one-hundred pages of drafting another humorous novel. After that, I’ll start a new MG novel, I think. At least, right now, the narrator indicates it will be MG.

OF: I love it! It’s so fun that you are juggling multiple genres and relishing each one! I’m excited to hear more about your next book.

Heather, thank you for taking the time to interview with me and sharing your insight into the world of being a kid lit author with us! Congratulations on your latest book The River Between Hearts. You can find Heather’s book and follow along with her author journey on her website.

Tell us in the comments: What were your big takeaways from this interview with Heather Mateus Sappenfield?

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

The post Kid Lit Craft: Interview with Heather Mateus Sappenfield appeared first on DIY MFA.

Now, I’m sure we are all familiar with picture books. Big illustrations, short stories, lots of heart, and humor are sometimes packed into the briefest story. But what really makes a picture book? What’s the word count range? What is the audience’s age range? Is there a difference between board books and regular picture books? Don’t worry, we will be tackling all of that and more! 

I have recently (within the last two years) gotten into writing picture books, and man, it. Is. Hard. 

I would say it is harder than writing a novel. With so few words to work with, your idea has to shine, your prose has to glow, and above all, your manuscript needs to be so refined that it begs to be illustrated. 

I’ve attended a couple of wonderful conferences recently where picture book authors and agents have shared with me the details of what makes up a picture book, so let’s get started. 

Remember, this is not necessary a post about how to create a picture book or how to get to the point where your prose glow, but it is a post about knowing what type of manuscript you intend to create, learning who your audience would be, and providing you with more resources to advance your picture book writing career!

Types of Picture Books

If you are looking to write picture books for children, it’s important to know the different types of picture books before you start. Determining what type of picture book you are aiming to create will greatly impact how you tell the story and vice versa. Sometimes an idea takes shape on the paper or laptop screen first, and then in the revision process, you need to determine what kind of picture book it is in order to pitch it to the right agent who will scoop it up and love it as much as you do! 

This overview is in no way meant to be a comprehensive look at picture books but more of a broad look at the elements that typically make up a picture book. Honestly, the more you delve into the world of picture books, the more you will see how different each picture book can be.

The Standard Picture Book

Okay, I’m using the word standard here, but it’s worth noting that there are literally so many different types of picture books. But for the sake of simplicity, I’m just going to call this section standard and group together all fictional picture books aimed at toddlers through kindergarten. 

A standard picture book text can take many forms: rhyming, lyrical, narrative, concept, humor-based, simple storytelling with lots of onomatopoeia, etc… 

Picture books also come in many forms and tackle many different subjects such as emotions, school, family, STEM, fantasy, and racism. But at the heart of every book is a child’s story. These books tell stories for children, especially those who cannot read. The illustrations play a crucial role in the book by showing the young reader the meaning behind the words they are hearing (maybe for the first time!). 

Picture books are also typically large to accommodate both the illustrations and the parent who is holding the book with the child typically seated in their lap. All in all, they are designed with the child in mind!

Word Count: 400-900 (Although this can fluctuate depending on the story you are writing)

Age Range: 2-7

More Examples: Saturday by Oge Mora, There’s a Dragon in Your Book by Tom Fletcher, Mustache Baby written by Bridgett Heos and Illustrated by Joy Ang, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.

Board Book

These little cardboard books with few words and a large focus on the picture or illustration are great for little ones who might be more inclined to gnaw on the book than listen. 

Board books range widely from concept books about things like numbers, letters, and colors to simple stories. Touch and feels books are popular in the board book format for babies who are exploring senses. 

Some board books are republished from bigger picture books. For example, we have a copy of The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood in both board book form and regular picture book form in our house. At some point, the original picture book was reprinted into board book format although it wasn’t initially intended to be a board book. 

Some popular board books include the hundreds of board books by Sandra Boynton, Sock and Shoe by Frida Bing, and Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown. These little books are created to be short for babies and toddlers, who typically have short attention spans. They are a great way to introduce children to books from an early age and help build a love of literacy and reading.

Word Count: 10-200 words (although typically they are far less than 200)

Age Range: 0-2

More Examples: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (board book version), Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, Huggy Kissy by Leslie Patricelli, and Baby Touch and Feel: Animals by DK

Wordless Picture Book

Wordless picture books are only really done by illustrators, but they are beautiful! The illustrations guide the story, and the reader is free to determine what is happening. Though as a parent, sometimes I have to get creative with the story I craft from the pictures when reading to my sons. 

Wordless picture books often carry strong emotional weight despite the lack of words. One of my favorite wordless picture books is 2007 Caldecott Medal winner Flotsam by David Wiesner. The book depicts underwater life in the ocean and a child’s interaction with it via a camera he finds on the beach. The gorgeous illustrations vividly depict all sorts of creatures, making it a beautiful piece of art as well as an open-ended story.

Word Count: 0

Age Range: 4-7 (though remember that these are just suggestions and not absolutes)

More examples: Journey by Aaron Becker, Door by Jihyeon Lee, and Bye, Penguin! by Seou Lee

Nonfiction

Nonfiction picture books can cover a variety of topics from people to science and in-between. These books are typically longer and aimed at older children. 

One thing that sets nonfiction apart from fiction picture books is research. I’ve heard nonfiction picture book authors at conferences talk about how much research they did to craft their picture book. Since you are telling a real story or presenting information on a real-world topic, it is important to research accurate information because if you don’t, I guarantee you an editor will, and you want to make sure you’ve done that work yourself ahead of time. 

Nonfiction picture books are fantastic for sharing history, people, and places with children who are taking all of these concepts in for the first time.

Word Count: 500-2,000

Age Range: 5-8

More Examples: Bones in the Whitehouse: Thomas Jefferson’s Mammoth by Candice F. Ransom and illustrated by Jamie Christoph, Teatime Around the World by Denyse Waissbluth and illustrated by Chelsea O’Byrne, and Digging for Words: Jose Alberto Gutierrez and the Library He Built by Angela Burke Kunkel and illustrated by Paolo Escobar

What Type of Picture Book Creator are You?

A few important questions to ask yourself if you are interested in creating picture books are are you an author? An illustrator? Or an author-illustrator? 

In the publishing industry, there are different approaches to how you can create a picture book and find the right agent for it. If you are an author, you will only write the manuscript with sparse illustrator notes, leaving a lot of flexibility for an illustrator to come in and work their magic. 

If you are an illustrator, you might be contracted through a publishing house or through your agent to illustrate for a manuscript that is being published. Illustrators typically have portfolios that display their various artistic pieces and their distinct style. 

If you are an author-illustrator, you write the story and illustrate it. This is typically done by creating a story dummy that shows an agent or editor what the story and art will look like. 

Whatever you are, always make sure you are putting your best work forward!

Now that you know all the different types of picture books, as yourself what kind of picture books are you interested in writing? If it’s nonfiction, that will require more research and a unique angle from which to tell the story, which is different from writing a fictional picture book with lots of humor. Determine the type of book you want to write and learn more about the type of picture book as you work on your draft.

Good Resources for Picture Book Writers

So, where can you go to learn more about picture books and refine your craft? Here are a few great places to get you started!

• Writing Picture Books: A Hands-on Guide from Story Creation to Publication by Ann Whitford Paul. I love this book. It has been my guiding light as I navigate the world of picture books writing. Ann Whitford Paul, a well known children’s picture book author gives all sorts of great exercises and seasoned advice on how to craft, draft, revise, and then query your manuscript.
• The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). This international organization provides so many resources for both new and experienced children’s book writers and illustrators. From virtual conferences, regional critique sessions, and The Book (a book created by the society full of agents, query suggestions, and manuscript formatting guides).
• 12×12 Challenge. I just learned about this fabulous challenge this year from a critique partner of mine! 12×12 is a year-long challenge where members try to write a complete picture book each month for the entire year. Believe me, it’s way harder than it sounds!
• Reading lots of different picture books. There is honestly no better way to learn about picture books than by reading them! Read lots of picture books of different kinds. Read some by author-illustrators. Read some by authors and a separate illustrator. Read funny picture books, sad picture books, rhyming picture books. Just read. I can guarantee it’s one of the quicker and more enjoyable ways to improve your craft.

Now, while I’ve outlined for you things like word count ranges, types of picture books, etc. know that in writing, a lot of things are flexible, such as word count. I’ve been to conferences where agents and editors have reminded me that just because a certain type of picture book has a word count range doesn’t mean you can’t bend that a little to tell your best story. Hopefully, this gives you a jumping-off point for your writing!

Next up, I will be covering chapter books!

Tell us in the comments: Are you a picture book writer or interested in writing picture books?

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

The post All about Picture Books appeared first on DIY MFA.

Anna has been writing children’s books for 10 years now; her first book came out in 2011, and her most recent book, Double Clique: A Wish Novel, came out in December of 2021. She was born in Poland and moved to the US when she was five. Stories have always been a part of her life and have given her a voice. Anna has published picture books, chapter books, and middle grade books, a few of which I’ve had the pleasure of reading.

I had the opportunity to interview her and talk all about her books and her journey as a children’s book writer! I wish I had the space to share all of our fantastic interview, but Anna has some beautiful insights for you into the world of being a children’s book writer.  

Interview with Anna Staniszewski

What made you want to write for kids?

Anna Staniszewski: I knew pretty early on that I wanted to be a writer. Eventually, I started writing plays, and I went to college for playwriting, actually. After I graduated, I loved theater, but I didn’t love it enough to do it in such a tough industry, not that writing books is that much easier. 

So I started working on short stories instead, and I thought I was writing for adults. But I got some feedback from a critique partner who said, “You know, all your characters sound 13.” And I thought, “Hmm. That’s interesting.” Then I kind of thought back to all the books that had really meant something to me in my life and so many of them were books I had read when I was young. 

Right around that time, I wound up getting a job at the Eric Carle Museum in Western Massachusetts. I started working there, and I was surrounded by people who loved children’s books. I thought, “Maybe this is a sign. This is what I am supposed to be doing.” So I went back to grad school to learn how to write children’s books.

Olivia Fisher: That’s amazing! And that must have been such an experience working at the Eric Carle Museum!

What was the first book you published?

AS: So this was actually the fourth book that I wrote and the first one that got published. It was my book My Very UnFairy Tale Life, and it came out from Sourcebooks. This book basically took all the things that I loved when I was a kid and put them into one book. It’s like a funny fantasy that’s rooted in fairy tales, especially the darker ones. 

I had been trying to get published with like a couple darker stories. It had taken me like a year to find an agent, and I was querying multiple projects. Then it took us [my agent and I] a year to sell something. This was right around when dystopian was really big. 

So I had like some darker manuscripts that almost got picked up but didn’t, and while I was kind of struggling through all that I was really writing this book just to make myself giggled. It’s so often true for writers that we start down one path thinking, “Yeah, I’m going to do this thing.” And then all of a sudden, we find ourselves doing what we love and being able to publish.

OF: Did those other books ever end up getting picked up, or are they still on the shelves?

AS: They’re on the shelf, but I feel like I learned so much. I feel like you learn so much from every book that you write, and I always feel like you take little tidbits from books you put aside, and some element of those projects might work itself into another book. It was never a waste of time to write those books. It was the time I needed to really get better at my craft.

What was the publishing process like for your first book?

AS: I had queried a couple other books and got some really nice rejections, but they didn’t go anywhere. I was working on something new and that actually wound up winning the Pen New England Discovery Award. So while I was at the reception for that award, this agent came up to me and was like, “I’m a new agent. I’m looking for new clients. If you’re looking for an agent…” and I was like, “Oh!’ I’d been querying for like a year,” and so I wound up connecting with Amy Jill Packett who is still my agent now, and she signed me for a different project. That one came really close to selling, but it didn’t. Luckily, I was working on this other book, and that’s the one that sold. We sold it as a stand alone with series potential.

How has the publishing process changed for you? Did that process change after you published your first book?

AS: The publishing process has changed so much for me because my first book, My Very UnFairy Tale Life, I was writing for fun, so I had no plan. There was no outline. I would just work on it when I felt like it. And then to go from selling that book to suddenly having to write two sequels with a deadline, I had to learn so much about plotting and getting unstuck. 

That first book from the time I started it to the time that it was on shelves was probably about four years. And since then, I’ve gotten to be much more organized about my writing process. I’m still not an outliner necessarily, but I’ve gotten really into writing a synopsis of the whole story. 

I’ve also found that I work best when I have deadlines and have multiple projects going at the same time. If I’m working on one thing and I get stuck, then I need something else to work on while this other thing’s sitting for a while. I can’t afford to get stuck. I can’t afford to give up on something, especially if I have a deadline. So I feel like I’ve found different ways to stay motivated and focused.

Where did you get your inspiration for your latest book?

AS: So with the Clique series, Clique Here and Double Clique, they’re both kind of inspired by my middle school woes. I was not exactly popular in middle school, and I remember wishing there was some kind of magic, like a popularity formula, that I could use. 

Then, about three or four years ago, I was thinking about that again and trying to come up with a new idea for a story. I went back to that idea, but I want to try writing it as a realistic novel rather than something that was magical because that would have been too similar to the project I had just finished. 

I thought what if it wasn’t magic that this character was using to try to become popular? What if it was science? So basically, she uses science in the first book to try and hack popularity because she was being bullied at her old school, and now she’s starting over at a new school. She thinks if she could just be in the popular crowd then she’ll be safe from bullies. So she uses science to try to get in with the popular crowd, and of course, hijinks ensue. 

In the second book, Double Clique, she tries to use science to help her patch things up with her friend. So they were very fun to write.

OF: That’s fantastic! I know those are definitely issues that lots of kids can relate to in their middle school experience.

What’s next on your author journey?

AS: I always like trying new things. That’s how I went from writing middle grade to writing picture books to writing chapter books. I love writing all sorts of things in different genres and different formats for different audiences. 

Right now, I’ve been working on a work for hire series, which I’ve never done before, and it’s actually under a pen name. It’s the Simon Seahorse Series and they’re written under my pen name, Cora Reef, which is adorable.

OF: That’s so cute!

AS: The first three books of this series actually just came out last month, and I have a few of those in the works, which has been really fun to do. And then, speaking of trying new things, I’ve been working on graphic novels, middle grade ones. And I am actually using a lot of my playwriting skills that I’ve sort of dusted off because writing a graphic novel script is very similar to playwriting in a lot of ways. And then I’m just always playing around with new ideas on the side. I want to always keep learning and trying new things by challenging myself to write for a new genre, or format, or audience.

OF: Oh man, that is so cool, and the world of kids graphic novels has become so vibrant recently.

Anna, thank you for taking the time to share all of your incredible author journey with us, and congratulations on your latest book Double Clique! To read Anna’s books or follow along with her writing journey, feel free to visit her website.

Tell us in the comments: Have you ever read anything by Anna Staniszewski?

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

The post Kid Lit Craft: Interview with Anna Staniszewski appeared first on DIY MFA.

As writers, sometimes we have a terrible habit of tinkering with our story before we are even done with it. We love words, and sometimes that love can devolve into loving the right words. We can easily get stuck in this cycle of perfecting our unfinished manuscript instead of letting ourselves finish it.

I’ll be real with you for a second. Currently, I have written over 85,000 words total on ten different novel projects (I calculated it one day when I was bored). The one I am farthest on has almost half of those words sitting at 37K words total. The second project I am working on holds another 20K of those words. Another has only 8K. Those seven other novels only have about 1-4K words on them. This word count of 85K doesn’t even include all the short stories, creative nonfiction, and picture books I’ve written. 

So, why is it that I have so many novels and none of them are finished? I realized why as I was talking with my friend: I tinker too much and won’t let myself be finished.

In my editing work, I get a lot of clients who struggle with this same challenge. They get stuck editing their work as they write. Even as I type this, I am backspacing here and there trying to find better words for this article. Trying to communicate everything on the first draft. But that’s not how writing works, and it certainly isn’t how good writing works. So, how do you finish that piece you’ve been working on? How do you push back against the inner editor that is constantly dragging your finger toward the backspace button? How do you decide to be finished with your novel?

Here are just a few things I’ve learned about knowing when to be finished with your novel:

Kick out the “inner editor”

You know that little voice inside your head that says, “If you can just write this scene perfectly or plot better, you will have no trouble finishing your book!” Or that your problem lies not in the fact that the first draft isn’t finished but that you just haven’t figured out the right way to tell the story. Yeah, that’s your inner editor talking. 

There’s a common saying that if you are going to finish your book, you need to “kill your inner editor.” Okay, I’ve never been fond of that strong analogy. One of my college English professors had a better way of putting it. You need to lock your inner editor out of your writing space until it’s time to bring them back. Editing is not something that will help you finish your book. Editing is the thing that will make the finished draft polished. 

So, how do you lock your inner editor out of your writing space? Try this little visualization exercise with me. Imagine your inner editor standing over you and interrupting you every time you write a sentence on your manuscript. It’s annoying, right? 

Now imagine yourself standing up and gently escorting them from the room and out the front door of your mind. They may try to protest, but just hold up your hand and say, “Not now. You can come back when I’m done.” 

Now, shut that door and lock it for good measure. 

Congratulations! You just shut out your inner editor. But, the real trick is not letting them back in. 

When you write, even if it makes no sense, resist the urge to stop and fix it or brainstorm a better way for a scene to unfold. Remind yourself that your goal is to finish, not to finish perfectly. Imagine if you just kept writing on your story instead of stopping and starting over each time you felt like you were veering off course. You’d probably already be finished with your novel, and even better, you’d probably already have edited all those parts into something better!

Yesterday, I was working on a scene for my middle grade novel when I realized I didn’t like how everything was playing out. I remembered how I wanted the scene to go, but instead of deleting it, I ran with what I had already written (after all, any scene is better than no scene), and you know what happened? I still don’t like the scene, but writing it that way gave me ideas of how to edit it later. I made some notes in the comments on Microsoft Word and kept writing sans inner editor. 

Consistency over quality

At the end of the year when the nights are long and dark and there are many hours for drinking a warm drink and reflecting on things, there is one thing I want to ask you—what holds you back from a “writing routine”? 

You know that thing where you light your candle, channel vibes for your novel, and then write every day at the same time? 

For me, that idea sounds amazing, but it just isn’t possible for me with two little children, and the more I trick myself into thinking that to be a good writer I need to have a magical routine I never change or abandon, the less I write. 

How in the world are you supposed to finish anything when there’s so much chaos and inconsistency around you? The short answer: create consistency that works for you and ditch the fancy writing routines or anything that you feel is holding you back. 

For me, consistency looks like taking advantage of nap times to write. Typing a few lines on my laptop even if the vibes aren’t there. Writing plot notes and scenes on my phone when I’m in the car between errands and an idea strikes. 

A lot of times, those words are messy and flat. My characters aren’t as fleshed out as I’d like, and the world, well…let’s just say that world building is my weak point right now. But the point is that I am writing something at some point during my day. 

Think of times you could fit in a little writing, and then prioritize that writing time, even if you don’t have a fancy routine.

A reasonable deadline

My last point is probably one that I struggle with the most: setting a reasonable deadline to finish my manuscript. 

I love National Novel Writing Month. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, it takes place during the month of November. The goal: write 50K words in a month. I have done it almost every year for the last few years, and I’ve never won. I got much closer this year with 20K words, but it was thanks to the other two points above that I managed that. 

However, when it’s not NaNoWriMo, I still find myself setting unrealistic goals to finish the novel I’ve been working on for almost two years. Over the last six months, I’ve only managed to add around 7K words to my novel, and when I realized that, I was shocked. 

Each month, I told myself, “This month I will finish my novel.” I had been setting bad deadlines for myself with unrealistic progress expectations. 

Now, I have much better goals and a more reasonable deadline. I will finish my first draft in 2022 because I will write at least 1,000 words a week. 

When you set your mind on finishing your manuscript, remember to set goals that match your current writing progress, or an achievable level of progress you’d like to work on.

With the new year coming and that delicious idea of goals and accomplishments looming before you, remember your writing goals don’t need to be perfect, and neither does that first draft. 

Set your goals for consistency (in whatever form) and work to finish your manuscript. Let that be your goal for yourself this year. Be finished with your novel.

Tell us in the comments: Have you ever finished a novel? What tips and tricks helped you finish?

Olivia Fisher is a writer and editor who loves to read and write middle grade fiction. When she isn’t imagining living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, writing her next epic adventure, or fighting off the ghosts of the Bermuda Triangle while hauling up the untold treasures and hidden histories of the civilizations deep within its secretive waters. While only some of that is true, she does love animals, babies, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow along with her adventures on Twitter or hire her for your next writing escapade on Fiverr.

The post It’s Time to Be Finished with Your Novel appeared first on DIY MFA.

Maybe you want to do some freelance work, or maybe you are a writer considering hiring a freelance editor to help you with revising your manuscript for self-publishing or traditional publishing. Or maybe you’re just reading this article because you are curious about what life as a freelance editor looks like. Whatever you’re here for, I’ll give you the inside look into how I do things! But remember, just like how publishing can be subjective, my experiences and tips might not resonate with you. 

One of the most important things I want you to take away from this article is how to be innovative and not cast your dreams aside in the face of failure. If we did this every time we failed, there would be no books in the world and certainly no editors to help them shine.

Pick a Home for Your Clients

One of the first things you will need to do is research the different freelancing platforms where you can advertise your editorial services. 

There are lots of freelancing platforms out there, and not all of them operate the same way, so be sure to research what each platform offers, the pay percentage they take, and how you will receive clients. Some platforms take a percentage of your income. Others will ask for money and find gigs for you after you’ve paid them. So, you’ll need to determine what you want and what you are comfortable with.

I would not suggest the route of simply setting up a website and sharing it once on social media. You might get a client or two that way, but it’s highly unlikely. Trust me. I’ve tried. But, please do set up a website as an alternate way for clients to find you and learn more about you! (More on that later.)

Make Your Home Stand out from the Neighborhood

I know, it’s kind of a cheese analogy, but I’m really into those home design shows, so cut me some slack. 

When you’ve picked your platform and built your website, you need to put some real effort—and maybe a little money—into making yourself stand out. 

Remember, your clients are writers, and they have worked hard on their work. If they are coming to you for editing services, they want to see that you put the same care and attention into setting up your profile and making it look professional. 

Consider hiring someone to do some design work for you if you need graphics made. I hired a friend of mine to make picture graphics for each of my editorial packages, and it made my profile pop. Investing a little in your business can go a long way. 

Know Your Specialties and Stick to Them

If there’s one thing I could tell you not to do, it’s this: don’t solicit work for areas you don’t feel comfortable editing. 

When I started, I offered “safe gigs.” I put up things like “resume editing” and “essay editing.” I thought that this would drum up easy, reliable clientele. The thing is, it didn’t, and I wasn’t excited about doing that work anyways. I knew I could do it, but I didn’t really want to. 

But, I was also aware of the areas that I could do really well. My specialty lies in manuscripts, especially fiction. And, if we are being really specific, I get really geeky and excited about editing kid lit because it’s what I write. 

What is your specialty? What isn’t your specialty? Ask yourself these questions as you are setting up your editorial services.

Expect a Slow Start and Keep Sharing Anyways

Like I mentioned in my last post, it took me half a year to get a real client. Your first job might not come right away, and it could be because of things that are out of your control like people just aren’t looking for an editor now or your profile doesn’t rank as high in searches because you have no reviews. Brace for those first few months of “famine” by making sure you have other plans in place. 

Whatever you do, don’t stop sharing your editorial services. Share them on your social media. Share them with your friends and family, even if none of them are writers. They may know people that are interested. If nothing else, it helps make your work feel real until the day it is and you can celebrate your first official client. 

Show Off Your Skills by Writing

Remember how I mentioned that you’ll probably want a website even if you pick a freelancing platform as your main way of attracting clients? 

Here’s why: clients want to see proof that you have the skills you say you have. Why wouldn’t they? They are about to invest their money in you and trust you to edit the manuscript, blog post, business proposal, or whatever piece of writing they have put together. Setting up some proof of your skill beforehand can be beneficial. 

I did this by creating a blog on my website, then I linked my website on my profile. I was surprised at the number of clients who told me they had clicked on my website and liked what they read on my blog. My blog became a way for clients to see both my personality through my writing as well as my editing skills. Having a blog of your own to link to your profile can be a huge advantage for you, giving you a way to give clients physical proof of your skills.

The Pay Reality

Alright, here it goes. I’m going to be very honest with you. I can’t live off my freelance editing income. Not yet at least. In my family, my husband is in med school, so our main source of income is the lofty student loans we take out each semester. 

What my freelance editing job does provide is consistent income to cover a variety of bills and expenses as well as slow-growing savings. It’s not enough to cover all our bills right now, but since I started at the end of 2019, my monthly income has more than tripled thanks to a steady clientele. 

Don’t expect to replace any other job you have with freelance editing just yet. But, also don’t be afraid to dream big! 

Your Freelance Editing Business

There is no right way to become a freelance editor, but I think that’s what is so nice about freelancing. You can be as creative, or organized, or personal, or professional as you want to be. You are looking for the right clients for you. 

Just like how in traditional publishing not every agent is the right fit for an author, not every client is right for you. Your goal—and it may take a while—is to find the clients that are right for you. 

Don’t give up on your dream of being a freelance editor! Just work on finding your clients.

Olivia Fisher is a writer and editor who loves to read and write middle-grade fiction. When she isn’t imagining living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, writing her next epic adventure, or fighting off the ghosts of the Bermuda Triangle while hauling up the untold treasures and hidden histories of the civilizations deep within its secretive waters. While only some of that is true, she does love animals, babies, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow along with her adventures on Twitter or hire her for your next writing escapade on Fiverr. 

The post The Long Road to Freelance Editor: Part Two appeared first on DIY MFA.