Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Amazon Prime includes:
Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
- Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
Buy new:
-18% $16.36$16.36
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
Save with Used - Good
$9.99$9.99
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Dream Books Co.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Writing Irresistible Kidlit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Readers Paperback – December 4, 2012
Purchase options and add-ons
Writing for young adult (YA) and middle grade (MG) audiences isn't just "kid's stuff" anymore--it's kidlit! The YA and MG book markets are healthier and more robust than ever, and that means the competition is fiercer, too. In Writing Irresistible Kidlit, literary agent Mary Kole shares her expertise on writing novels for young adult and middle grade readers and teaches you how to:
• Recognize the differences between middle grade and young adult audiences and how it impacts your writing.
• Tailor your manuscript's tone, length, and content to your readership.
• Avoid common mistakes and cliches that are prevalent in YA and MG fiction, in respect to characters, story ideas, plot structure and more.
• Develop themes and ideas in your novel that will strike emotional chords.
Mary Kole's candid commentary and insightful observations, as well as a collection of book excerpts and personal insights from bestselling authors and editors who specialize in the children's book market, are invaluable tools for your kidlit career.
If you want the skills, techniques, and know-how you need to craft memorable stories for teens and tweens, Writing Irresistible Kidlit can give them to you.
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWriter's Digest Books
- Publication dateDecember 4, 2012
- Dimensions5.56 x 0.84 x 8.42 inches
- ISBN-101599635763
- ISBN-13978-1599635767
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Writer's Digest Books (December 4, 2012)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1599635763
- ISBN-13 : 978-1599635767
- Item Weight : 12 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.56 x 0.84 x 8.42 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #199,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #225 in Authorship Reference
- #666 in Fiction Writing Reference (Books)
- #14,880 in Teen & Young Adult Books
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Former literary agent Mary Kole founded Mary Kole Editorial in 2013 and provides consulting and developmental editing services to writers of all categories and genres, working on children’s book projects from picture book to young adult, and all kinds of trade market literature, including fantasy, sci-fi, romance and memoir. She founded Good Story Company in 2019 with the aim of providing valuable content—like the Good Story Podcast and Crit Collective writing forum—to writers of all categories and ability levels.
She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and has worked at Chronicle Books, the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and Movable Type Management. She has been blogging at Kidlit.com since 2009. Her book, Writing Irresistible Kidlit, a writing reference guide for middle grade and young adult writers, is available from Writer's Digest Books.
Customer reviews
- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star5 star83%14%3%0%0%83%
- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star4 star83%14%3%0%0%14%
- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star3 star83%14%3%0%0%3%
- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star2 star83%14%3%0%0%0%
- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star1 star83%14%3%0%0%0%
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book instructive, informative, and detailed. They also appreciate the concise, clear advice on sentence structure, point of view, narrative, and dialogue. Readers describe the writing style as top-notch, with honest input on writing for publication.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book instructive, informative, and detailed. They say it provides helpful guidance on the craft of writing. Readers also mention the insights and examples are perfectly tuned. They describe the book as a thorough workshop in the craft.
"...'re a novice or a pro or somewhere in between, this book can help you navigate the waters of your current and future stories in a way that keeps..." Read more
"...How? The insights and the examples are perfectly tuned and they resonate in your writer's dreamscape and the music they make inspires...." Read more
"...love of the craft sparkles on each page even as she gives very solid and applicable tips. It was a joy to read as a total beginner!..." Read more
"...The first couple of chapters are especially valuable for aspiring kidlit writers, as they cover specifics of the market for midgrade and young adult..." Read more
Customers find the writing style clear, concise, and motivating. They appreciate the tips for writing, pitfalls to avoid, and honest input on writing for publication. Readers also mention the book is thoughtfully formatted and provides excellent examples.
"...Mary Kole is both practical and plain-spoken, making the complex comprehensible...." Read more
"...She respects writers. She feels for writers. She understands writers. She knows exactly what insights writers need as they work...." Read more
"...picked up over the years through other sources as well, but Mary writes in a clear, easy to understand, and amusing way, which is hard to do with..." Read more
"This is a thorough, top notch writer's guide...." Read more
Customers find the book well worth the money.
"...It is well worth the money. Good job, Mary." Read more
"...the angle it gives, and the insight into kidlit, is priceless for any middle grade or young adult authors...." Read more
"...are writing kidlit or even thinking about it, this book is definitely worth purchasing. Mine is already dogeared after only a few weeks!" Read more
"clear. precise. fully worth it...." Read more
Customers find the book humorous. They say it's written in an informal way with humor and simplicity.
"...as well, but Mary writes in a clear, easy to understand, and amusing way, which is hard to do with anything nonfiction...." Read more
"...There is a clarity that makes it easy to read. It is written in an informal way with humor and simplicity...." Read more
"Excellent resources for writers, both new and published. Adds humor to make her points and her guidance is invaluable." Read more
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Enter "Writing Irresistible Kidlit."
I knew from the reviews it would be good, but until I cracked the spine - well, I had no idea what I was in for. Mary Kole is both practical and plain-spoken, making the complex comprehensible. (She could also teach pricey script doctors a thing or two about high concepts.) And while I may be new-ish to writing for the page, I'm far from a novice writer. Those who say this is a book for beginners either have no room left to grow (because they already know it all) or they chose to skim through rather than diving deep and applying the lessons therein.
Whether you're a novice or a pro or somewhere in between, this book can help you navigate the waters of your current and future stories in a way that keeps your head from spinning, while moving you off of Eternally Stuck and into the Fresh Terror of Writing Pages.
It looks as though this is Kole's only published book - she stays publicly active through blog posts - and it's clear she poured everything she had into it. Thank you, Mary Kole, and well done.
Until now.
Disregard the 'Kidlit' name in the title. This book is for every writer in every genre. It is thoughtfully formatted as well so that each topic is clearly set out. Each topic is explored from the point of view of a publisher and an agent so the craft insights are pure gold for authors.
I don't know who this Mary Kole is, but from now on if I see a writing craft book with her name on it I will hit the 'one click purchase' button without a second thought. She respects writers. She feels for writers. She understands writers. She knows exactly what insights writers need as they work.
When I read McKee's 'Story' I was grateful for the knowledge he packed into his book, but I felt slapped about. When I read Kole's 'Writing Irresistible Kidlit' I wanted to have her children. Why, because on every page the approach she takes makes sometimes wonderful ideas to pop into your head as you read - and then again later as you reflect on what you have read.
Every page is wise and rich and full of craft and works to stimulate your imagination. How? The insights and the examples are perfectly tuned and they resonate in your writer's dreamscape and the music they make inspires. With no other craft book on writing have I needed to have a notebook next to me just for new ideas.
This is wisdom that you remember as you are dropping off to sleep - that dreamtime that brings new ideas into the world. You absolutely must have a notebook with you if you intend reading Mary Kole's book.
In summary then - possibly the very best book on writing craft I have read in 25 years.
Kole gears the text towards children's writers mainly by providing ample examples from MG and YA books. (Similar snippets and examples are found in most writing books and for some they may do the trick, but I personally prefer to read examples in context.) Overall, Kole does a good job presenting the elements of the craft. I would read these, but do it critically, because writing is not a game with a fixed set of rules. Anyone who reads real books (even bestsellers) with these writing rules in mind know that they are broken all the time, so (1) readers don't know and don't care much about these rules, and (2) the only fixed writing rule is 'what works, works'.
If I may mention one thing that I didn't like about this book, it is when Kole (and the authors and publishers she quotes) tells us what not to do, sometimes in a slightly bantering tone. Which types of characters to stay away from, for example. I would say that many of the most memorable characters in fiction are stereotypes on one level or another. Harry Potter is just one example. Stereotypes abound, so it's clearly not about what these characters do in the plot. It's about how you write them and how they come alive on the page. Everything in writing is about application and workmanship, not about dos and don'ts. And teaching by negative example isn't always very effective. Negative examples (showing us what not to do) are often limiting and confusing, whereas positive examples give us models to strive for.
At the end of the day, this text covers most of the basics and I would recommend it for those who haven't read much in the genre before. At any rate I would stay way from the Kindle version of the book, as the advanced formatting with quotes and boxes doesn't work well on the screen. To those who have read a couple of these books I would heartily recommend Elizabeth Lyon's Manuscript Makeover -- a gem that I find myself dipping into a lot. Lyon covers all the craft elements of Kole's book in greater depth and also provides invaluable advice on the revision process. And if/when you are fed up being fed the rules of the craft, read Stephen King's On Writing. It's an eye-opener.
Finally, for what it's worth, you don't learn to ride a bike by reading books about it. You have to get on a bike to see what works and what doesn't. You learn to write in the same way -- butt in chair, writing. These craft books will be useful to help you diagnose problems in a text that doesn't work, but they are no substitute for your own work and reflection on it.









