Story & Lesson Highlights with Maria Wen Adcock of Long Island

We recently had the chance to connect with Maria Wen Adcock and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria Wen, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do you think is misunderstood about your business? 
In children’s book publishing, there is a common misconception that writing a children’s book is “easy” because there aren’t as many words compared to a novel, and the audience is kids. I admit that until I learned more about the industry and the craft of children’s writing, I had thought something similar. What I’ve since learned is that, like any industry, you have to know what the market is looking for. Yes, anyone can technically write a story, but it doesn’t mean that it will sell to a publisher or that readers will resonate with it. That’s where the learning comes in. For example, every word in a children’s story must be meaningful and necessary since children’s books are short in length. Or that if you write a 1,000-word fiction children’s book, an editor will know you’re not aware of industry standards because that length is too long. That’s why it’s important to hone your craft.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m the author of the picture book, MY NAME IS AI LIN (July 2025), released by Sleeping Bear Press, and IT’S CHINESE NEW YEAR, CURIOUS GEORGE (2023), published by Clarion Books. I’m a first-generation Chinese-American writer and founder of the award-winning multicultural parenting blog www.BiculturalMama.com. I’ve appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, Bloomberg News, Newsday, and Huffington Post. In the multicultural sphere, I’m a board member of Multicultural Kid Blogs, an organization supporting diverse parenting bloggers, and co-host of the annual publishing event Read Your World Day. I write multicultural children’s books that primarily focus on Asian culture.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I was a voracious reader and hung out at the local library for hours every weekend. With such a love of reading, I knew I wanted to write a book one day. However, I didn’t know how to do it. I never saw characters with an Asian background in any of the stories I read. I didn’t see people who looked like me in film and television shows, either. It seemed like writing books was something other people did, not people with my heritage. It took many decades before I tapped back into my childhood dream of writing a book. Many years later, with a lot of hard work, I finally became an author. So now I no longer believe writing books is for other people. Anyone can do it!

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Every writer I know has encountered rejection. It is part of the publishing industry. There are so many people who want to write books, but there are only so many opportunities through publishers. The supply of manuscripts is much higher than the demand for them. When pitching manuscripts to agents or editors, rejection is part of the process. Authors can pitch their manuscripts dozens upon dozens of times, only to be ghosted, or if lucky, they’ll receive a rejection letter that explains why their manuscripts were turned down. With these odds, it’s very easy to give up. So much of what sparks an agent’s or editor’s interest in a manuscript may be subjective – do they personally resonate with the topic? Is the subject of the book something they’ve already acquired before? There is no certainty in the process, which is why it’s important to have faith in your work. Resilience is necessary.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
When writing books, it’s not unheard of that a manuscript written five or ten years ago is finally published years later. Sometimes the industry isn’t ready for a book like yours. Perhaps the topic is something uncommon. But one thing that is common is change. Things will always change in society. For example, a decade ago, there weren’t a lot of children’s books by Asian authors. Today, many books have been published that were written by Asian writers. If I really believe in my manuscript, I will keep working on it if needed and continue to pitch it, no matter how long it takes.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
I have many manuscripts in my “vault” of stories. Some of these may never be published, but I hope they will be one day. Perhaps this one day will be 7-10 years from now. So I continue writing manuscripts, knowing that I’m in it for the long haul. In traditional publishing, which is the route my last two books have taken, things don’t always move fast. As such, patience is a virtue that is needed. But good things often come to those who wait!

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Image Credits
Maria Wen Adcock, Teresa Wen

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