When most aspiring authors think about breaking into children’s publishing, they imagine the traditional route: craft a manuscript, land an agent, sell to a publisher, and wait. But what if there was another path—one that lets you work directly with editors, build your skills book by book, and create a writing career without waiting for that elusive agent’s “yes”?
That’s exactly what author Aubre Andrus did. With more than 50 nonfiction books under her belt for publishers like Scholastic, National Geographic Kids, American Girl, and Lonely Planet Kids, Aubre has carved out a thriving career in work-for-hire publishing. In our recent conversation, she pulled back the curtain on this often-misunderstood publishing path and shared practical advice for writers looking to explore alternative routes to publication.
Rethinking Work-for-Hire: It’s More Like a Writing Prompt
One of the biggest misconceptions about work-for-hire is that it’s somehow less creative or more restrictive than traditional publishing. Aubre quickly dispels this myth. “The simplest comparison I can make is that work for hire is like a writing prompt,” she explains.
The reality is often surprising. An editor might simply email with “Smart Girl’s Guide to Travel. Go.” Or ask: “We need two quiz books. Do you have any ideas that can be about anything?” These prompts became Bored No More Quiz Book and Which Blank Are You? Quiz Book—both concepts Aubre developed from scratch.
In fact, Aubre reveals that in her 50+ book career, she’s only been given a detailed outline about four times. For her recent narrative nonfiction novel Chi Chi’s Story, she was handed a three-minute YouTube video and contact information for a pet owner, then told to turn it into a middle-grade novel. The creative heavy lifting? That was all on her.
The Unconventional Path: From Editor and Copywriter to Children’s Book Author
Aubre’s journey into work-for-hire wasn’t exactly planned, but it was intentional. After college, she dreamed of writing middle-grade novels like her hero Judy Blume. But after attending writers’ conferences and facing the daunting odds of landing an agent, she kept thinking “there had to be a better way.”
Working as an editor at American Girl Magazine, Aubre noticed something interesting: the magazine was hiring former editors to write books. When she left for a marketing copywriting job at a fashion retailer—a job she quickly realized she hated—she remembered this option. She reached out to American Girl about freelance writing opportunities, and they said yes. That contract had three words on it that would change her career: “work for hire.”
But how do you find more of these opportunities when they’re not posted online? Aubre’s answer is simple: strategic networking. She started attending SCBWI conferences in New York and LA, but instead of approaching agents like most attendees, she went straight to the editors. “I was kind of asking them, ‘Hey, I’m a freelance author. Do you do any work for hire projects?'” she recalls. “It was really like a shot in the dark.”
Who Makes a Good Work-for-Hire Author?
The skills that translate well to work-for-hire might surprise you. Aubre points to freelance writers, journalists, teachers, and librarians as natural fits. Why? Because these professionals already excel at meeting deadlines, researching efficiently, and understanding their audience.
Her journalism background at American Girl Magazine proved particularly valuable. Working on photo shoots, focus groups, and craft testing with kids aged 8-12, she gained crucial insight into developmental differences. “There’s a big jump” between an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old, she notes—knowledge that many writers without classroom or hands-on experience might miss.
For those without a journalism or teaching background, starting with magazine article pitches is an option. Getting published in children’s magazines not only builds your portfolio but gives you solid writing samples to show educational and trade publishers. Pair those clips with a strong cover letter explaining what types of books you’d be good at writing, and you’re ready to start reaching out.
The Reality Check: Writing Fast and Managing Deadlines
One aspect of work-for-hire that intimidates many writers is the pace. Aubre doesn’t sugarcoat it: most projects operate on roughly three-month timelines, and you need to be a fast writer. But she reframes this as a valuable skill rather than a limitation.
“I learned to be a fast writer” from her journalism background, she says. “I think being a fast writer is a good skill to have.” This efficiency becomes critical when editors are busy and might wait until the last minute to review your first draft, then need the second draft back in a week.
Fall tends to be especially intense, with multiple projects overlapping during the busiest season for book releases. But the secret to writing fast, Aubre explains, is learning to research efficiently. Coming from academic backgrounds, many nonfiction writers could happily spend months in research mode. Work-for-hire demands that you “know when to cut it off.”
Her approach for the narrative nonfiction novels illustrates this perfectly: she books one hour-long interview with her subject to find where the story is going, then researches social media and asks follow-up questions in subsequent calls. Research happens throughout the writing process, not as a separate phase. You write what you know, identify the gaps, then fill them in—a much more efficient cycle than trying to know everything before you write a single word.
The Self-Publishing Detour: The Lookup Series
After a decade of work-for-hire success, Aubre decided to try self-publishing—not because work-for-hire wasn’t working, but because she wanted something different. She’d been “hovering in the self-publishing space for like 10 years,” fascinated by how romance authors built successful businesses. When she conceived The Lookup Series—biographies of real women in STEM careers—she knew it was the right project.
The timing was fortuitous: she was pregnant and had a nine-month deadline to bring the first books to life before her baby arrived. The series fills a gap she’d noticed in the marketplace: “All the biographies were about athletes and about celebrities and about dead people,” she observes. She wanted her daughters to have career role models, real women working as scientists and engineers they could actually look up to.
The experience was eye-opening. Creating the books themselves was easier than expected—she could submit for awards (and won some), get a Kirkus review, and handle production without the enormous costs of hiring an illustrator by using personal photos from her subjects. What proved challenging was everything after: marketing, sales, distribution, and cracking the Amazon algorithm.
Her biggest regret? Not running a Kickstarter campaign. “I wish I did a Kickstarter,” she admits. “I just didn’t like, I couldn’t fathom it when I was like about to give birth.” Crowdfunding would have helped offset the financial risk and created marketing buzz—both critical for self-published children’s books, which face unique challenges since kids want physical books and schools need them for libraries.
Choosing Your Path
So how should aspiring children’s book authors decide between traditional publishing, work-for-hire, and self-publishing? Aubre offers a thoughtful framework based on goals and temperament.
If you have one book idea you’re deeply passionate about and that’s the single book you want in the world, self-publishing might be your answer. But if you imagine living “that author life”—working from coffee shops, meeting with editors, attending book events, winning awards—work-for-hire offers all of that while building your skills incrementally.
For Aubre, work-for-hire functioned as an “author bootcamp.” Instead of landing an agent and editor and “being like, deer in headlights, and not know anything that’s going on,” she built confidence and competence book by book. Now, as she works on her first middle-grade novel, she feels “1000% more confident in my skills and my abilities as an author” than she would have at 22.
The Market-Driven Mindset
One unexpected benefit of work-for-hire experience? Understanding what’s marketable. Because these projects are inherently market-driven—publishers identify gaps or trends and hire writers to fill them—you develop an intuition for commercial appeal.
Aubre sees evidence everywhere: in the overwhelming number of letters she receives about her Scholastic animal books (“it cannot be overstated how much kids love animals”), in trending deals like a contemporary Little Women retelling, and in her own thinking about her middle-grade novel. While she’s writing a Judy Blume-esque contemporary story, her brain now automatically considers: “What kind of IP can I play off of, or moment in history?”
This isn’t about compromising artistic vision—it’s about understanding that even original ideas can benefit from strategic positioning. Work-for-hire teaches you to think like a publisher while maintaining your creative voice.
Final Thoughts: Multiple Paths, One Goal
What makes Aubre’s career so instructive isn’t that she chose work-for-hire over traditional publishing, but that she recognized work-for-hire as a legitimate path to her goals. She wanted to be a published children’s book author, and she found a way to make it happen.
For writers feeling discouraged by the traditional publishing gatekeepers, or those who thrive on deadlines and diverse projects, or anyone who simply wants to build a sustainable writing career, work-for-hire offers a proven alternative. It’s not easier—it requires hustle, efficiency, and constant networking—but it is more direct. You work with editors, you build a portfolio, and you get books into kids’ hands.
As Aubre’s 50+ book shelf demonstrates, sometimes the road less traveled leads exactly where you want to go.
Want to learn more about Aubre’s work? Visit AubreAndrus.com and check out her latest releases including Chi Chi’s Story (Scholastic), America Celebrates (Quarto), and The Lookup Series featuring real women in STEM.
Resources mentioned in this interview:
- Writing for the Educational Market by Laura Purdie Salas
- Publish by Darcy Pattison (self-publishing guide for children’s books)
- SCBWI conferences
Watch the full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjXCJjRkho0
