McNeer's first published story appeared in a Washington, D.C. newspaper when she was eleven years old.
[citation needed] Concrete evidence for her passion for writing during adolescence is slim.
McNeer was the first female undergraduate at the University of Georgia in her freshman year.
In 1975, the two were jointly awarded the Regina Medal a literary award conferred annually by the U.S. based Catholic Library Association in recognition for "continued, distinguished contribution to children's literature without regard to the nature of the contribution".
[1] These include: Up a Crooked River; My Friend Mac; Prince Bantam; Bloomsday for Maggie; Stranger in the Pines; Tales from the Crescent Moon; Waif Maid; and Armed with Courage.