How to “Stay in your lane” – and Still Write the Novel You Want

Guest Post by Naomi Milliner

           

After my first middle grade novel, Super Jake & the King of Chaos, debuted in 2019, I was asked to “stay in my lane” for the foreseeable future. In other words, continue to write for that age group. The reason behind this was that the alleged hordes of middle grade readers who devoured Super Jake would be hungry for more of my books.

            Well.

            Far be it for me to disappoint them! Besides, I genuinely do love that age group, whether it’s visiting their classrooms, reading their books, or writing them myself.

            The trouble was I enjoyed reading and writing books for young adult readers as well. Not to mention that I’d already penned three completed YA novels, and was really quite fond of them all.

            Still, always anxious to please, I wrote and submitted another middle grade novel which was promptly submitted to an editor or two… and just as promptly rejected. Soon after, it was placed on hold. Indefinitely.

            “Write something else,” I was told.

            “Actually,” I replied. “I have some YA novels that are ready to – ”

            “Stay in your lane…”

     

            So I dutifully – longingly – waited for inspiration of the middle grade variety to strike. The trouble was, I couldn’t forget those YA novels and their characters, who had already buried themselves deep in my imagination. And my heart.

            One of the books that refused to be ignored featured a free-spirited 17-year-old and her 19-year-old brother. Other members of their close-knit family included the father, who was a rabbi, and their younger sister, 12-year-old Becky.

            Wait…

            Twelve-year-old? As in, middle grade?

            What if it became her story instead?

            It was definitely an intriguing possibility.       

And so I gave Becky her very own storyline (suitable for middle grade readers), along with a first-person voice, a best friend, and a Big Secret.

Then I gave the older sister from the YA iteration another Big Secret to raise the stakes further.  I also added a younger brother, so I could play around with Becky in the new role of big sister and give her more choices and responsibilities.

            Did it work? You can find out for yourself. My newest middle grade novel, The Trouble with Secrets (Quill Tree/HarperCollins) comes out April 8, 2025.

            Ultimately, it’s not for me to say whether “stay in your lane” is good advice or not; there are so many variables. Some authors write everything from picture book to young adult, and do it all without missing a beat. Others choose to stay in their lane because it’s the best fit for them.

            In the end, it’s less about staying in your lane and more about telling the story you want – maybe even need – to write, and writing it the best way you can. I like to think your readers will find you. To paraphrase Field of Dreams: if you write it, they will come.

            The bottom line is, there’s more than one way to tell the story you want. It’s up to you to find the best one.

Naomi Milliner is the author of Super Jake & the King of Chaos (Running Press Kids) and the forthcoming The Trouble with Secrets (Quill Tree/HarperCollins), as well as coeditor and contributor of On All Other Night, which was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection. She created the Author Book Club for her SCBWI chapter, served on The Women’s National Book Association’s Great Group Reads Committee since 2009, and enjoys mentoring both children and adults. Naomi lives in Olney, MD with her family, too many books to count, and one very fuzzy cat.By Naomi Milliner

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