Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Middle Grade Made Easy(er) | Kidlit Writing Craft Podcast
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #17 The #1 Reason Agents Reject Your Middle-Grade Novel | 09 Nov 2025 | 00:08:56 | |
What's more important for your novel: great language or great story? If you answered 'great story', you've got it right! While great language is important too, it won't carry your story idea through a full-length middle-grade novel and, by itself, it's not a story. If you submit a novel to an agent without solid story structure, it will be rejected. If you think your novel lacks structure, in this episode, I cover:
You can sign up for the workshop at: loupiccolo.com/storytype For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #16 Use Story Type to Unlock Your Middle-Grade Novel | 29 Oct 2025 | 00:15:20 | |
You have a great story idea but you don't know how to turn it into a fully developed middle-grade novel that publishers want to buy and readers will love. What to do? This episode on the ten universal story types will help you:
Bonus: get access to a free PDF handout on story type and why you should use it to draft your middle-grade novel. Workshop: Join me on November 29, 2025 for a workshop on the ten universal story types. For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #8 How Often Should I Send My Author Newsletter? | 24 Apr 2024 | 00:10:33 | |
"When should I send out my author newsletter?"
Bonus: When should you NOT send out a newsletter? You'll find that information in this episode too! | |||
| #7 Voice and Tone in Your Author Newsletter | 10 Apr 2024 | 00:09:47 | |
Your voice is particular to you. It's a natural part of who you are. But a lot of authors find it difficult to access their voice and to decide on tone when writing their newsletter.
Bonus: There's a challenge that, should you accept it, will have you writing your first newsletter in your authentic voice and in a tone you'll be able to sustain for a long time. | |||
| #6 What Do I Talk About in My Author Newsletter? | 27 Mar 2024 | 00:07:48 | |
If you're not sure what you're meant to be talking about in your children's author newsletter, you're not alone! This is the most common problem all newsletter writers struggle with when they're starting out.
Bonus: you get access to a list of 24 content ideas you can use to write your newsletter. | |||
| #5 Nurturing Your Author Newsletter Mindset | 06 Mar 2024 | 00:09:09 | |
The most important investment you can make in your career as a children's author is to spend time nurturing your author newsletter mindset.
For show notes and transcripts, visit my website | |||
| #4 Starting an Author Newsletter | 07 Feb 2024 | 00:10:36 | |
As a children's or young adult author, you need a newsletter. While you may feel that you don't have time to write a newsletter or even enjoying reading them, a newsletter will help you create deeper connections with readers which has a greater possibility of leading to sales at some point down the line. In fact, newsletters have a greater possibility of leading to sales than any other marketing tool out there.
Bonus: I share links to four of my freebies so you see how they're set up and what they look like. | |||
| #3 How Marketing Kidlit Is Different | 23 Jan 2024 | 00:09:52 | |
As a children's or young adult author, you need to connect with both your ideal customer and your ideal reader who are not the same people. This is how marketing for children and young adults is different to authors of other genres.
Bonus: a look at a successful children's author and poet who masters connecting with young readers both online and face-to-face to build relationships and market her work. | |||
| #2 How Do I Start with Book Marketing? | 01 Jan 2024 | 00:10:46 | |
In children's and young adult literature, who is your target audience? Is it children or the people buying books for them? Knowing where to find these people online will help you connect with them. What are your goals in connecting with these people? Is it to sell books? If so, how many is enough for you and why? If not, what is your goal in marketing? | |||
| #1 What is Marketing Anyway? | 01 Jan 2024 | 00:09:41 | |
Most authors and creatives love the work they do and they want to be left alone to do it. What they don't want is to have to market themselves or their work. Marketing feels like something shameful that shady authors do, and they don't want to be confused with pushy salespeople and the hard sell.
Bonus: an example of a well-known author who markets through mindful and authentic connection with her readers. | |||
| Official Trailer: Middle Grade Made Easy(er) with Lou Piccolo | 19 Dec 2023 | 00:01:00 | |
How do you:
These are just some of the big questions that we'll be digging into on the Middle Grade Made Easy(er) podcast. | |||
| Bonus: Get to Know Your Ideal Reader with Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie | 21 Oct 2025 | 00:11:28 | |
In this bonus episode, I will take the eight key questions we looked at in the last episode on how to get to know the ideal middle-grade reader for your novel, and apply them to Kate DiCamillo's middle-grade novel Because of Winn-Dixie. This episode will show you what the process of fleshing out your ideal middle-grade reader looks like in action, and how it can connect your readers to your protagonist and the theme of your story, turning them into your book's biggest fan. If you haven't already listened to episode #15, here is the link. You can also download a free PDF worksheet that lists:
For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #15 Getting to Know Your Ideal Middle-Grade Reader | 10 Oct 2025 | 00:12:26 | |
If you want to be the type of middle-grade writer who creates books with characters who feel like real people, and transports kids out of their own world into the imaginary one you have created in such a way that they lose themselves and actually feel some sort of grief when the book ends… … then you need to start with understanding who middle-grade readers are, in general, and who the ideal reader is for YOUR book. In this episode, I cover:
I've created a PDF handout you can download that sums up the episode: loupiccolo.com/reader For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website
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| #14 Writing Middle Grade: How Do I Start? | 28 Sep 2025 | 00:10:05 | |
So, you want to write a middle-grade novel. Maybe you have an idea that just won't let you be. Or maybe you've spent years writing picture books, and you'd like to try something different? But when you sit down in front of your computer… well, you don't quite know how to start. That's why, in this episode, we're taking a deep dive into how reading like a writer will help you:
I've created a PDF handout you can download that sums up the episode: loupiccolo.com/read For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #13 How to Nail Middle-Grade Voice | 17 Sep 2025 | 00:13:47 | |
Strong voice is important in all fiction, but it's vital in middle grade. Why? Because kids between 8 and 12, who are almost ready to leave early childhood behind and embark on big adventures, need a safe way to do so. How do they do it? Through the characters in middle-grade novels who are living the life they want to live. If your characters have strong voice, your book becomes memorable because voice helps the story flow with just the right amount of emotional complexity a kid can connect with and relate to. This means that voice in a middle-grade novel is closely related to how engaged your readers will be with your story. In this episode, we look at:
I've created a PDF handout you can download that sums up the episode: loupiccolo.com/voice For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #12 What is Middle Grade Anyway? | 05 Sep 2025 | 00:07:18 | |
If you want to write middle-grade novels, you need to know what they are before you can put pen to paper. Knowing the guidelines will help you plot your story and write your book, and it will also increase your chances of being published. In this episode of Middle Grade Made Easy(er), we take a look at:
For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #11 How Can I Grow My Author Newsletter? | 28 Aug 2024 | 00:08:48 | |
You've worked hard at creating an author newsletter, and you have some subscribers, but now the time has come to grow that list. How do you do that? How do you let more people know what you have to offer? For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #10 Should I Offer a Freebie with My Author Newsletter? | 30 Jul 2024 | 00:09:30 | |
In simple terms, a freebie is a bonus that subscribers get from you when they sign up to your author newsletter. Should you offer one or doesn't it matter?
For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #9 Creating an Opt-In for Your Author Newsletter | 12 Jun 2024 | 00:10:48 | |
The world is a busy place in which we're constantly bombarded by text messages, voice messages, phone calls, social media notifications and emails. There's only so much stimulation a nervous system can take! Many people are filtering their sensory experiences to keep the noise out by toning down their time spent on social media or online.
For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #19 Middle-Grade Mindset: Why You’re Stuck and What To Do About It | 03 Dec 2025 | 00:11:21 | |
You may have taken all the writing classes and read all the craft books on writing, and you may theoretically know everything you need to know to write your middle-grade novel, but if you have only managed the theory of writing without managing your mindset, you are going to encounter fear at some point. And that fear will stop you from writing. So, what's the solution? In this podcast episode, we cover:
What you believe about yourself impacts your success or failure. So, managing your beliefs leads to positive thoughts and feelings, which motivates constructive writing habits. Mindset matters! For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #18 3 Ways to Find Your Middle-Grade Novel's Theme | 23 Nov 2025 | 00:14:01 | |
Books help kids make sense of the world through story, but they can only do that if the books they read have an underlying meaning to them. That's where theme comes in. In this episode, we're going to look at how theme can help you write your novel, and create a story that will send kids on a journey in which they can fall in love with characters they care about and feel emotions they can relate to. To do that, we'll cover:
Theme is one of the foundational elements of novel writing, as is story type which can help you uncover your novel's theme. If you'd like to find out more about story type, sign up for a workshop at: loupiccolo.com/storytype Bonus: You can find a free PDF download summarizing this episode. For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #20 Does Word Count Matter in Your Middle-Grade Novel? | 17 Dec 2025 | 00:10:37 | |
Word count may seem like the least of your concerns when you're thinking about writing a middle-grade novel. You've got story type, plot, theme, character development, pacing, and who knows what else to consider, right? But here's the thing: knowing industry-standard guidelines for the length of a middle-grade novel, and having a target word count in mind before you start drafting can actually help you to outline, draft, revise and publish. In today's episode, we'll cover:
In the end, every author has the choice to watch word count or not, but it's a fact that word count matters, so make each word count! For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||
| #21 Should You Write Your Middle-Grade Novel in Scenes or Chapters? | 18 Jan 2026 | 00:09:48 | |
If you spend a lot of time worrying about how to write the perfect opening chapter for your middle-grade novel or whether you should end your chapters on a cliffhanger, then you're going to love writing in scenes! In this episode, we'll cover:
This episode is the first in a mini series on writing scenes in middle-grade novels, so stay tuned to the podcast over the next few episodes to learn:
For show notes, transcripts and links mentioned in the episode, visit my website | |||