My book had the narrative voice, the storytelling style of a Middle Grade novel, but the characters were in Young Adult territory. And by the time I left that cafe, I knew she was right. So we sat and talked about this for hours. She was commenting on their journeys, their choices, their mindsets, their actions, and the way they viewed the world in the story. My instinctive response was, 'But my characters are 12.' But even as I said that, I knew she wasn't really commenting on their ages. This book is Young Adult.' And I should mention that at this point I had published two Middle Grade series already. Sure enough, she finally pauses and takes a deep breath and she says, 'Okay, can I be honest? This book is not Middle Grade. And I started to think, 'Okay, the axe is about to fall.' So we meet up and she starts talking about how much she loved the premise, she loved the world, she loved the characters. She took a few days to read it and then she was like, 'Can we just meet up for coffee and talk about this instead of me giving you notes?' She was super knowledgeable about Middle Grade and Young Adult and I was so excited to get feedback from her. And I sent it to a critique partner of mine - one who had been an agent for 10 years. In 2015, I finished a draft of a Middle Grade novel and I was super excited about it. Marketing, especially marketing Middle Grade novels in a post lockdown world.Content in Middle Grade (what you “can and can't” write).The difference between Middle Grade and YA.Today I want to cover three broad topics: One's coming out in a few weeks, another one in December. My first series came out in 2014 and since then I've published 13 novels under my own name.

A few years later, I got a literary agent. I was confined to my bed and all I could do was sit on my laptop and write, so I started really working on my first novel. And then - long, ridiculous story short - I ended up actually getting tuberculosis and pneumonia, and I had to quarantine myself. Then I was a travel and food writer, living abroad for a few years. That was my first job right out of college. To ask about her ghostwriting services, contact Michelle through her Reedsy profile, and don’t forget to subscribe to her YouTube channel. This transcript has been edited for clarity. Her books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and Publisher's Weekly, as well as honors including multiple Junior Library Guild selections, the CBCC Best of 2019 List, and ALA's Rainbow List and Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers List.

Michelle Schusterman is the author of over a dozen novels for young readers, including SPELL & SPINDLE, OLIVE AND THE BACKSTAGE GHOST, THE PROS OF CONS, and the series I HEART BAND, THE KAT SINCLAIR FILES, and SECRETS OF TOPSEA.

The Dog's Meow by Michelle Schusterman