Hey, Chris, I hope you don't mind that I linked to this blog entry on a writing board--you may get a lot of hits today! A discussion came up about the feasibility of writing in multiple genres. I'm glad to hear the feedback from the agent was helpful, but sorry to hear you are at risk of being pigeonholed already... That's one of my pet peeves, and fears!
Chris--your wife is a smart woman, I think.
You know, it occurs to me now that the only person who's talking about me being pigeonholed is... me. 99.9999% of the children's literature universe has no assumptions about the kind of writing I do, and won't for quite a while, if they ever do.
So let's say I do focus on nonfiction (or "getting pigeonholed as 'published'") for a while -- another couple of years, perhaps. Given the amount of time it takes to get from signed contract to published book, by the time there would be any such assumptions about my writing, the work I'll be submitting could very well be different from what's already being published.
In that case, what would I be getting pigeonholed as? And by whom? Readers? Librarians? Editors? Other writers?
Most importantly, who would care, so long as I'm enjoying writing things that are enjoyed by other people? The more I think about focusing, the more relaxing it sounds -- and I think it's clear that I could use a little relaxing...
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