Children's Publishing vs Adult Publishing, with Claire Swinarski
And happy Turner Syndrome Awareness Month!
From the Writing Desk:
Did we…did we make it? Is it over? Has January finally decided to be done?
Honestly, January was pretty dang good and pretty dang productive over here, although yes, why does January always seem to last foreverrrrrrrrr????
But yes, it was good! I’m feeling suspiciously motivated, and trying to just take that as a win for as long as it lasts. Same with the 70 degree Florida weather that’s been perfecting with its perfectness the last week, and will go away much too quickly.
I’ve been working on:
A picture book. A few back and forths with my agent, and I think we’re getting close. This is a picture book about Turner syndrome. I’ve really wanted to write one of those for ages, but I didn’t want to go the nonfiction route or the You Are Special route (though certainly there’s a place for those! I just wanted to quirk it up, and I think we’re managing that finally.)
A Monstery MG. Sample pages of an odd little monster middle grade. The closest comp I’m thinking of as I draft is Series of Unfortunate Events, which is one of my favorite MG series of all time. Hoping to get picture book on sub, then these sample chapters and pitch to my agent.
A Wacky Contemporary MG. Another sample I’ll be sending to my agent, hopefully this month, full of all the idiosyncratic things I especially want to write about (like imaginary friends, big families, stand-up comedy, and *gasp* religion). I haven’t been as excited about a middle grade project as I am about these two middle grade projects in a long time. Too soon to tell what exactly is going to happen with either of them, but I’m feeling jazzed about both of them.
Adult Novel. Very slowly but surely plugging away at my adult Marvel does Golden Girls adult novel. It’s still delighting me as much as ever.
I also had some good poetry submission news and some possibly cool freelance news that I hope I can share soon.
One little note about February—it’s also Turner syndrome Awareness Month, which could be a great time to get the only kids book about Turner syndrome1 for a middle grade reader in your life! Thanks everyone for being so awesome.
What have you been working on in the interminability of January?
Onward!
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Children's Publishing vs Adult Publishing, with Claire Swinarski
I am so stoked to have
with us today. I’ve been watching Claire’s career for a while, because I admire both how she manages her publishing life and adore her writing itself. She’s one of those authors I want to model myself after, at least in some part because she writes and publishes for both kids and adults, as I hope to do! (She also integrates religion into her fiction in such natural, seamless, and lovely ways, something I wish I saw more of in publishing). We were part of the same debut group, but I have particularly loved watching Claire’s progress and success since 2020. I love Claire’s thoughts and advice here, and am not surprised to hear that kid publishing is indeed trickier than adult. But let’s get right to it.Welcome, Claire!
1. From a behind-the-scenes of publishing standpoint, what did it look like when you added adult publishing to your children's publishing career? What did your agent and editors think?
One of the things I love about my agent is that he's just very open to new projects and ideas. He has a really broad range of clients and knows the publishing industry inside and out, so I trust his judgement on things. He was thrilled when I sent him an adult project since middle grade has been a pretty tricky space the past few years, particularly for the type of middle grade I write (sweet, contemporary stories that aren't saccharine but also don't have, like, dragons.) He's a big fan of writers branching out and having multiple streams of income, so that's really what we saw this as--a whole new potential career track.
2. Creatively, do you feel a difference when you're writing for kids versus adults?
Absolutely. I find writing for adults much, much easier. It's simply easier to step into the voice because I obviously am an adult! I also feel like in the middle grade space there's always this floating ~think of the children~ voice in my ear, which puts a bit of extra restrictions on language, plot, and characters. All rules are off the table for adult, in a lot of ways.
3. Have you noticed any surprising differences between adult and children's publishing?
I think it's easier to get adult books in front of people's eyes--there are just fewer gatekeepers. I don't have to sell a principal, *and* a school librarian, *and* the child--I just have to sell one person on the story! That makes the marketing side of things much simpler + more streamlined.
Thank you so, so much Claire! It was an honor, and thank you for your work and your time. Make sure you check out Claire’s amazing books for kids and adults on her website!
What I’m Reading: I’m going to go back to an old absolute favorite today. This book is my favorite type of combination: delightful, wacky, utterly adorable and endearing protagonist, and a bit of heartwrenching. I think you’ll be surprised how much you fall in love this with this one.
What I’m Watching: I think I may have recommended this one on the newsletter before (maybe?) but just in case, I’m recommending it again. This is one of the most uplifting and fight-with-joy shows in general that I’ve ever seen, and even if you don’t have kids I think it’s worth a watch. I’ve rewatched a bit this last month and it’s been the perfect medicine and fuel for…*gestures broadly*.
THE END: If you’ve been following along with Kid Vampire (its on Insta, Youtube, TikTok) then you know that this last week, the story has come to an end. Its been quite the delightful and inspiring ride, and made me want to learn to make whacky animations of my own. I may or may not own a Kid Vampire plushie now.
What I’m Drawing: Snakespeare and those new years resolutions amiright?
“A god who listens is love. A god who speaks is law. At their worst, the people who want a god who listens are self-centered...And the ones who want a god who speaks are cruel. They just want laws and justice to crush everything...Love is empty without justice. Justice is cruel without love....God should be both. If a god isn't, that is no God.”
― Daniel Nayeri, Everything Sad Is Untrue
Writing Opportunity: Flash Fiction Online is open for submissions this month! Open until Feb. 28 or until they reach their submission cap of 700. So get your 500-1000 word story in asap!
Teacher or Librarian? I would love to do a free virtual Q&A with your class or book group! If you’re interested in scheduling a visit you can reach out to me via my website. Let me know how I can support you! I’ve also got free classroom resources to accompany each book. You guys are rock stars!
Thanks for coming along everyone! The best way to support is to 1) subscribe, 2) get a copy of the book bebes, and 3) keep glowing, you shining star you.
-Sarah
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For now. That I know of. I can’t wait for another writer with Turner Syndrome to publish a book!
It's so great to hear about your different projects, Sarah, and from Claire in regards to writing children's and now adult – My debut PB comes out next month but I've got (half-written) manuscripts that are MG, YA, and adult! I quite like having different things to work on ... just need to work on the finishing part now 😅
January was somewhat productive for me, too. I guess we have to do something with the longest month of the year (at least emotionally longest).