Five Questions to Ask Yourself Before Deciding to Write for Another Audience or in Another Genre

I was antsy in the spring of 2024. I’d been writing for young readers for nearly 25 years, starting out by penning articles on history topics for magazines, augmented by an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. 

 Over the course of more than two decades, I had more than 100 articles to my credit, more than 40 work-for-hire books, a picture book, and three novels in verse. Still I was struggling. 

I struggled to find my voice and didn’t feel like I was able to use my authentic voice when writing for kids. The only exception was my bio-in-verse, Ethel’s Song: Ethel Rosenberg’s Life in Poems (Calkins Creek, 2022), which co-won the 2023 Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers, Grades 7-12. Here I could embody an adult voice. My other novels-in-verse never made any money, and I didn’t earn out my advances.

When I saw a promotion for PocketMFA in the spring of 2024, I decided this was exactly what I needed to figure out what genre my voice suited. By the end of the semester, I made a steadfast decision to exit kidlit, and I was happy with that decision. I’m still a multigenre writer—fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction—but now for adults only.

I hadn’t just been antsy in 2024. I’d been thinking about moving away from writing for kids for years. I struggled with this decision until I took concrete steps to modify my writing style with the help of writing mentors.

Based on my experience, I offer you the following five questions to consider when making a switch:

• How does your writing for a specific audience and in this genre make you feel? 

If it doesn’t feel right, it isn’t right for you.

• Are you using your authentic voice or are you faking it? 

I’ve heard it said that people write for kids because they either love them or are still kids themselves. 

Emotionally, I probably never progressed past the age of sixteen. I loved reading young adult fiction. But that didn’t mean I should write it myself.

I no longer had a teenager in the house, didn’t know what current teens were grappling with, and didn’t know what their voices sounded like. That was even more true for kids of younger ages. I tried writing nonfiction picture books about subjects I was passionate about, but the narrative came across too adult, too academic.

• Where do your strengths lie? 

About ten years ago, at a writing retreat at the Highlights Foundation, the editor/instructor said “What would happen if you rewrote this in verse?” after reviewing some pages of my nonfiction narrative about Ethel Rosenberg.

Back in my cabin, a writer pal said, “You must have been devastated.” I replied, “Are you kidding? I felt liberated!” I wouldn’t have to worry about rights and permissions for quotes. I could more easily get into Ethel’s head and be succinct about it. And I loved writing villanelles for moments of despair. 

My editor saw what I could not: that poetry was my strength, not nonfiction narrative, at least not for young readers. If you want to be truly honest with yourself, you must consider where your writing is the strongest.

I’m about to work in PocketMFA’s Continued Mentorship program on a genealogical memoir. I decided to include previous poetry I’ve written about ancestors throughout the memoir. Something I plan to discuss with my mentor is whether the whole memoir should be in poetry or not.

• What do you enjoy reading? 

My Kindle library is stacked with adult novels and memoirs with themes of immigration and the Holocaust, of connection and disconnection, and of identity. What you read should be a clue into what you could or should be writing.

• Where do you have the most success?

I have probably frustrated my agent with my previous unsuccessful contemporary work and picture books for young readers, even though I poured my heart, soul, money, and time into their creation. 

But I know I can dash off a poem in ten minutes, let it sit awhile, revise, revise, revise, send it to some beta readers, and submit. I placed 29 poems in 2024 and am already gearing to pass this for 2025. I’ve crafted at least three poetry collections in the past year and just placed one with Kelsay Books. 

I have less success with personal essays (unless they’re travel- or food-related) and sometimes it takes a long time for me to place a short story, even though several of mine have earned Pushcart Prize nominations. This recognition for my work tells me where the market finds me successful. Publishing may not be your goal, but it can give you important insights to evaluate.

Explore Your Potential

It’s important to be true to yourself.

I have a writer pal who insists on writing picture books and can’t sell them. I wish she would write personal essays, because that’s where her voice is strongest. But she’s afraid to put her own vulnerability out there, and that’s fair. 

Making a decision to switch writing styles and write for another audience or in another genre isn’t easy. It may take a while to come to a decision. 

You don’t have to make an all-or-nothing decision, however. Try writing for another audience and see how it goes. If it gives you and your writing more energy, then you might be on a more fruitful track. 

Use writing programs like PocketMFA and PocketMFA’s Continued Mentorship to explore your potential. While I’ve written potential chapters or parts of my genealogical memoir that have been published in a number of literary magazines, I hadn’t yet attempted to put them all together in a cohesive, book-length project. I can’t wait to continue working on this with my PocketMFA mentor.