What happens when a historical novelist asks his six year old what kind of book he’d like to read?
Pirates and dinosaurs, apparently.
In this episode of In The Writers Chair, Lana McAra sits down with author Joseph Muller to talk about writing children’s books, collaborating with an illustrator, understanding your audience, and the unexpected path that led him from historical fiction to Pirates of Adventure Island.
The idea began simply. Joseph asked his son what he liked, heard “pirates” and “dinosaurs,” and went looking for books that combined the two. When he found surprisingly few, he realized there might be a story waiting to be written.
But coming up with the idea was only the beginning.
Joseph shares how creating a children’s book challenged him to think differently about everything from word choice and page layout to illustration, pacing, audience, and the experience of reading a story aloud.
At the center of the conversation is an important lesson for writers: sometimes understanding your reader changes not only how you market a book, but how you write it.
You’ll hear how Joseph:
Turned a conversation with his son into the idea for Pirates of Adventure Island
Worked collaboratively with watercolor artist Carla Bess, allowing the words and illustrations to shape one another
Applied his architectural and design background to the layout of a children’s book
Discovered what works, and what doesn’t, by reading children’s books aloud night after night
Used character actions to explore courage without simply telling young readers what to think
Found marketing a children’s book different from marketing historical fiction because he could more clearly identify its audience
Came to recognize that a children’s book is really written for two audiences: the child experiencing the story and the adult buying, reading, and rereading it
The conversation also explores something easy to overlook when writing for children: the adult on the other side of the book.
A child may ask for the same story again and again. That means the parent, grandparent, teacher, or caregiver experiences that story repeatedly too. Rhythm matters. Unnecessary words matter. Interruptions matter. And the books that work particularly well often give the adult something to appreciate alongside the child.
Joseph’s experience is a reminder that knowing who you’re writing for isn’t simply a marketing exercise you do after the manuscript is finished.
It can influence the idea itself, the words you choose, the way the book is designed, and ultimately the experience you create for the reader.
And sometimes a good book idea begins with something as simple as asking a reader what they want and paying attention to the answer.
Listen to the full episode here.
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