Six Questions with Susan Hughes

Susan Hughes is a Canadian author of many traditionally published children's books from picture books to YA, fiction and non-fiction. Her most recent books are the hi-lo MG “junior rom com” Miss Match (Orca, 2025) and picture books Hooray For Trucks (Owlkids Books, 2022) and Same Here: The Differences We Share (Owlkids, 2022). Susan is also a freelance writer, editor, and story coach, specializing in working with children's book writers. A member of SCBWI, Canscaip, and Inked Voices, she lives in a tall house with a red door.

Find out more about Susan at www.susanhughes.ca.

Instagram: susanhughesbooks

Facebook: susan.hughes.9465

BlueSky: ‪@susanhughes.bsky.social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-hughes-a7b87641/

1. What’s one lesson you’ve learned the hard way in your publishing journey?

Several years ago, I signed a picture book contract with a small children’s book publisher and received a small advance. But just before it was published, the company was sold, and the new owner canceled my book contract. I was disappointed but also very surprised that a contracted book would be pulled, especially with an advance paid out. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised when the publisher asked for my advance back! Needless to say, I didn’t return it.

So, the lesson I learned was mostly an emotional one: Not to count my chickens until they’re hatched, a.k.a. not to take for granted that even a contracted book will be published until I’m holding a published copy in my hand!

2. Do you ever struggle to come up with your next project? Or do you have lots of ideas and find it a challenge to narrow down your ideas?

I can go a long time without getting an idea for a story or a non-fiction project. When ideas do come, it may be that I’ve heard a particularly “sticky” phrase, or have found myself picturing a scene or interaction, or suddenly need to write down the thoughts of an unknown character. And often when researching a non-fiction project, I’ll find myself jotting down lots of ideas which I always enjoy chasing down later. Overall, ideas are so elusive for me that I value each one that happens to come to me!

3. What piece of advice would you like to give to aspiring kidlit authors?

Read, read, read, and write, write, write! But also, study the kidlit stories you most admire in the genre you’re writing. Type out the text (or portions of longer stories) to really connect with the writing. Then reread it several times, deconstructing the story in different ways; examining the beginning, middle, and end, first and last lines, any dialogue, how the page turns work, and so on.

4. What was the most challenging thing you faced while writing Miss Match?

The most challenging thing was that the story was being told from the point-of-view of a grade 8 girl, Molly, so I knew the audience would be middle-grade readers. However, the plot was quite compact and when I finished writing, I realized it was far too short to be a traditional middle-grade novel! 

I tried to increase the length of the story, but … nope.

I tried to age Molly down, but … nope.

The story worked as it was. So, I was kind of stuck. I sent it out to a few editors but … see the above problems.

So, I put it in a drawer and sort of forgot about it.  (More below!)

5. What was the timeline for this book, from idea to publishing?

I wrote the story back in the long-ago days – at least over 25 years ago—and it was just published this year, in 2025. Wild, right?

6. How was the editorial process? Did you do any revisions?

I had put my manuscript in a drawer when it refused to transform into a longer novel. And then, a-ha! I became aware that Orca Books, a small but mighty Canadian publisher, was publishing hi-lo books. I sent my story to them, and it was a good fit, age of MC, word count, all of it!

I worked for several months with Gabriel Prendergast, a wonderful Orca editor. Her comments and observations really helped me make the story even more fun and dramatic, especially the ending, which—thank goodness!--I ended up completely rewriting. All the revisions significantly strengthened the story. Editors are wonderful, aren’t they?