Why Writing Stories For Children is So Much Harder Than Writing Stories For Adults

A few years ago, my longtime children’s book editor rejected my idea for a new middle grade novel. The rejection hit me hard – the story, of the daughter of a celebrity chef who moves to a small town after being adopted by her older brother, was really tugging at my heartstrings. But the editor’s rejection was swift and brutal; there was no version of this manuscript she was going to accept.

Some stories plant deep in your creative brain and come out through songs heard on the radio and random daydreams in the shower. They will not, simply, leave you alone. It occurred to me that the story would actually be much more interesting from the perspectives of the daughter’s  brother and one of the elderly women who lived in the town. I wrote the first chapter longhand on a boat and dashed it off to my agent, who confidently told me he could sell it. He did, and so began a brand-new chapter of my career.

Since the publication of that book (The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County), I’ve written another novel for adults (The Supper Club Saints) and a handful of additional middle grade novels. I’ve continued to carve out a career path in both age groups by the skin of my teeth, somehow finding myself writing for two very different audiences.

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