FAQ

• Is it easy to get a book published?
Not for me. Most of my books have been rejected, some 15 or 20 times. My rule is, if three different editors turn the book down, I read it critically to see what needs to be fixed, and fix it.

• How long does it take you to write a book?
From the glimmering of an idea (usually a character), through the thinking, the research, the first draft, and the rewrites, figure on 3 to 5 years. I've actually worked on one book for 25 years and haven't gotten it right yet.

• Isn't it boring working on one book for so long?
I'm usually researching one book, writing another, and revising a third around the same time. That keeps me from going nuts with boredom.

• Do you write on a computer?
I write every scene really fast, with a nice pointy pencil on the back of used paper. Then I start revising the scene as I type it into my Mac.

• So, you revise a lot?
You decide: does 10 or 15 revisions for each book seem like a lot?

• Do you like the covers of your books?
Usually not, but it’s decided by the art department of the publishing house. They send me a draft for minor suggestions. So, I'm not responsible for goofy covers!

• Are there mistakes in your books?
There's a big mistake in just about every book of mine, even after careful research and editing. I try not to turn snarly when someone points these out to me.

• Is writing a lonely job?
Certainly not! I've got fascinating people trotting around in my head, and I can make them do anything I want, but only for a while. Eventually they take on a life of their own and they lead me down unexplored trails, and that’s fun.

• Are you still writing? What are you writing now?
Am I still breathing? Anyway, I never talk about works in progress, because if you say too much about them, they evaporate into mist.

• Were you bossy as a child?
You bet! Still am. Are you surprised?

• Do you ever write about people you know?
I try not to, because I don't want to embarrass anyone, or be stuck writing about what really happened. It's more fun to make things up.

• Hey, can you put me in a book?
You'll probably recognize yourself in one of my stories, but you'll have a different name.

• What's your favorite book?
That I wrote? I couldn't possibly pick a favorite, any more than I could pick a favorite son (though each one thinks he’s my favorite.) Here are a few kids’ books I love that other people wrote: For middle-grade readers, Maniac Magee (Jerry Spinelli); The Giver (Lois Lowry); Elijah of Buxton (Christopher Paul Curtis); Penelope March is Melting (Jeff Ruby); and Sarah, Plain and Tall (Patricia McLachlan. For older readers: The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas); The Librarian of Auschwitz (Antonio Iturbe); The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian (Sherman Alexie); The Book Thief (Marcus Zuzak); and every word Robert Cormier ever wrote. My favorite adult novel is The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck. And if you want a good, gentle cry each time you come to the last page, pick up the exquisite picture book, Pink and Say, by Patricia Polacco.

• What do you do in your spare time?
What spare time? I'm on a few boards and committees; hit about 20 schools, libraries, and book festivals each year; visit my kids around the country; and occasionally fly to fascinating places like China and Indonesia. All the while, I read for fun and do lots of research. In my spare time I write books!

• What advice would you give young writers?
Read everything, from cereal boxes to War and Peace. Read out loud to hear how words sound, how they feel rolling around on your tongue and not just on the back of your eyelids. Spy on conversations. Feed your curiosity. Ask "why?" and "what if?" Keep a journal. Jot down fascinating tidbits, what the writer Joan Didion calls "bits of the mind's string too short to use." Use them. Don't censor your work as you write. Capture your first thoughts fast, without worrying about spelling or grammar or punctuation. Then go back and fix it all up carefully. Be whimsical. Let somebody you trust give you feedback. And you probably ought to know these writing terms inside and out.

Most important: read and write and read and write and read and write.