This month’s Author Interview is with Illinois author Lisa Katzenberger. I learned about her via the Perfect 2020 Picture Book Group—a “group of picture book authors and illustrators debuting throughout 2020” (which includes July’s Author Interviewee, Kristen Schroeder, and last month’s Author Interviewee, Anita Amin—who, like Lisa, also has twins!).
Let’s prepare for the real interview with a mini-interview! How’s that for ten bio-focused questions of fun?
- Hometown: Midlothian, Illinois
- Age you knew you were a writer: 3rd grade
- First
magical experience with a picture book: I don’t remember reading picture books as a child, so my memory is reading to my kids and I will never forget the first time I read Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon—that wordless spread always gets me! - First non-book-related job you’ve had: Shampoo girl at Fantastic Sam’s
- Best late-night reading beverage: Water (or I’ll fall asleep)
- Story plotting style: Story spine
- Query # that landed your first agent: 103
- Secret place you like to read: Not very secret, but the left-hand corner of my couch is best.
Current writing-adjacent volunteer position: Social Media Coördinator for SCBWI Illinois- The picture book you’re recommending to everyone right now: I Am Every Good Thing, written by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Gordon C. James
Alright, I think we’re ready. On to the main attraction!
Website: http://www.lisakatzenberger.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisakatz17/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fictioncity
RVC: You’ve got a brilliant story about your start as a writer. Wanna share it?
LK: In third grade, we had a writing assignment and I got to work on a story about a haunted house. I remember covering front and back of pages of notebook paper in that very smeary blue erasable pen!
RVC: Oh, I LOVED those smeary pens. I made such a mess.
LK: When the writing session was finished, my story wasn’t. So I told my wonderful, very 80s teacher with big blonde permed hair and stonewashed jeans, Mrs. Nagratski, that I wasn’t finished, and she replied, “Well, keep writing then.” So I did, right through the very next lesson.
I haven’t stopped since!
RVC: Love that story. I tell a similar one about how I got a Ph.D. No one told me to stop attending classes after I got a B.A., so I just kept going.
Back to you–you earned a degree in Journalism and did work as a technical writer. How did those experiences help prepare you for success in writing kidlit?
LK: My degree in Journalism taught me how to interview people, listen, and learn that everyone has a story to tell. It also taught me how to write tightly and lose the fluff, something that is critical for writing picture books. As a technical writer, I had to learn to take complex subjects like telecommunications or insurance regulations and boil it down to its simplest meaning. I learned how to express big ideas in simple, clear language.
RVC: I’m a fan of the Adventures tab on your website, not just because you’ve seen/done cool things, but—and it’s going to get spooky-weird here—because you have Northern Illinois University’s Northern Star newspaper listed there. That school’s where I did my undergrad (eons ago), and I also had an early publication with the paper there, too! (An irate letter to the editor, if memory serves.)
LK: Thanks! My husband and I love to travel and we really miss it during the pandemic. I’ve had more than a few stories inspired by my trips. And my time at The Northern Star was critical to my development as a writer and editor. I learned to write on deadline and take feedback from others.
RVC: Your picture book, National Regular Average Ordinary Day, came out this June, right during all the COVID-19 quarantining. What did you do to promote the book (versus the live interactions and events you originally planned)?
LK: Oh, the Zooms! I did a virtual book launch at The Writing Barn, and storytimes for my local library and Chicago area independent bookstores. I wish I could have done more, but crossing my fingers that I will be able to with my next book, It Will Be OK, coming out in February 2021.
RVC: National Regular Average Ordinary Day landed on the Today Show’s list of great summer reads. Congrats on that! Any idea how that happened?
LK: I shared early review copies with lots of people in my network, and my publicist reached out to media outlets as well.
RVC: How did it feel to be listed among so many kidlit greats?
LK: Oh my gosh, amazing. I was flabbergasted to be on the same list at authors whose work I admire so much like Christian Robinson, Jessie Sima, and Miranda Paul.
RVC: The book seems to mesh text plus image especially well. Did you use art notes when you submitted the manuscript?
LK: I did actually. It was submitted with art notes about the rating system. Then once it was acquired, my editor put in more art notes before it went out for illustration.
RVC: What holidays did Peter–the book’s main character–make up that didn’t quite make the cut and appear in the pages?
LK: I looked back on previous revisions and the holidays Peter made up were always there—I didn’t cut any! What I did change were the real holidays that Peter celebrated.
Sorry, National Button Day, but you didn’t make the cut!
RVC: If I asked Peter what you got most right about him, what’d he say?
LK: He’s honest. Like any kid he gets bored, and he’s not afraid to admit it. Even pout a little. But he’s open to letting inspiration strike and running with it!
RVC: What picture-book-writing lesson did this book teach you?
LK: I think it taught me the importance of a cast of characters. Once my editor paginated the book, she asked for two more spreads of content. So I added Devin, a friend for Peter to interact with. I think having someone to share his frustration with then later apologize to helped make Peter a more rounded character.
RVC: Not only are you in Perfect 2020 Picture Book Group, but you’re also in the 2021 Picture Book Scribblers promo group. How has being in those groups helped?
LK: It’s so nice to have a support system of people who are going through the same thing as you are at exactly the same time. I love having a private place where I can ask silly newbie questions! It has also introduced me to great books and wonderful friends.
RVC: You’ve done something I’ve seen more and more—you had an agent for years, then you changed to another one. What advice do you have for those thinking of making a similar move?
LK: It was a really, really hard decision to leave my first agent and search for a new one. I agonized over it for months. My advice is to really evaluate the relationship—both what’s not working and what is—and determine if you will be happy if the relationship is in the same place in two months, six months, a year. Do you see it growing and changing? Are you getting what you need? Are the lines of communication open? Have you had a talk with your current agent about all this? Really be introspective, questioning, and honest. I talked to other friends in the industry who had also moved on from an agent, and while I hoped they would give me the golden answer, it was really something I had to figure out for myself.
RVC: Your new agent is OPB friend Wendi Gu (her interview with us happened here not so long ago). How did you know she was the right fit? What kind of evidence helped make the case?
LK: I felt very comfortable with Wendi, and I was really impressed with how serious she took the agent-author relationship and my work. She asked me a lot of questions, and had ideas on how some of my stories could be sharpened. She came across as thoughtful, smart, professional, and kind. Having been her client for a year and a half now, I can confirm she is all those things, a joy to work with, and my constant cheerleader. She will tell me, kindly, when my stories aren’t quite there yet, push me to dig deeper, and then celebrate with me once I get it right.
RVC: I
n 2021, we’ll see the publication of It Will Be OK. Care to give us a hint of what that picture book will be about?
LK: It Will Be OK is story of an anxious, overwhelmed giraffe and his loyal zebra friend whose patience and presence help him face his greatest fear head-on.
RVC: Sounds both terrific and timely.
Now, one final question for this part of the interview. If you had to “do it all over again” in terms of launching a picture book career, what’s one thing you’d do differently?
LK: I wouldn’t have sent out queries on those early cringe-worthy manuscripts. We all kind of go through this, and it’s part of the learning process, but yikes those early stories were bonkers!
RVC: Lisa, it’s time! “For what?” you ask. “For velocity, haste, and alacrity!” is our answer. And that’s because it’s indeed the moment for the much-awaited, never-equaled, always-surprising SPEED ROUND.
Blasty-fasty questions and zippy-skippy answers, please. Lisa, are you ready?
LK: Yeppity-yep-yep!
RVC: Best place in Chicago for deep dish?
LK: Giordano’s.
RVC: Favorite exhibit at the Field Museum of Natural History?
LK: SUE the T. rex.
RVC: Best IPA you’ve ever had?
LK: Lagunitas IPA.
RVC: Three of your fave Chicago writers?
LK: Sarah Aronson, Kate Hannigan, and Patty Toht.
RVC: Best picture book of 2019?
LK: When Sadness Is at Your Door, written & illustrated by Eva Eland.
RVC: Three words that get to the heart of what a great picture book is.
LK: Heartfelt, honest, re-readable.
RVC: Thanks so much, Lisa! It’s always a hoot to hang out with a fellow Chicagoan, NIU alum, and kidlit writer.