This interview dives into the behind the scenes of the writing and illustrating process of creating a book with Cat Wiessbrod. Cat Wiessbrod launched her first children’s book, Honk! in 2020, and from there, she has expanded her brand and created even more children’s books including Honk! In The City, and A Celebration Of Polar Bears. In this interview, Cat will allow us a window into the process of creating as well as self-publishing a book.

Natalie: So, first of all, I was wondering if you could explain what first sparked your interest in writing and illustrating children’s books?

Cat: I’ve always loved writing and drawing ever since I could remember. I also was an avid reader as a kid. I loved studying the illustrations in the books, scouring every detail. I think Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was the book that really sparked my interest. That book has so much detail in the illustrations as well as a unique story.

Natalie: I know that inspiration is hard to come by often, and it is difficult to find a good story-line, so, where exactly do you get ideas, and more specifically, where do you get ideas when you are having writer’s block?

Cat: I’m often inspired by what’s going on around me. Honk was a book my husband and I wrote together inspired by our own run-ins with geese. I also wrote What Should We Do based off of activities I did with my own children. When I have writer’s block I like to take a walk. Often, my mind gets cleared when I take a step away from what I’m writing.

Natalie: So, one question that is very popular and that I, too, would like to know the answer to, is, where do you even begin if you are interested in creating and publishing a book?

Cat: I think that the process to publishing a book starts with a story, and those stories come from ideas. My advice is keep a little journal or notebook to jot down your ideas that you can flush out into a story. After writing the story if you are also illustrating the book, you can then storyboard your story where you can conceptualize how to lay out your illustrations and text throughout the book. If you’re working with an illustrator, then you can work together on these storyboards.

Natalie: I know that the writing industry is highly saturated, as there are many people eager to write books that will be seen. How is it possible to stand out a sea of people who are all aiming at the same goal?

Cat: You’re right. This is a challenge to stand out in a sea of choices. I think that in this day and age though, that you can really use social media to get your name out there. Social media is a great way to reach audiences you may not usually come across because of geography. I had a group from Scotland reach out to me if they could use my book for their story time, which was super cool. They found me through social media.

Natalie: I do know that when you wrote your books, you opted to self publish, rather than go through a publishing company. What factors played a part in this decision?

Cat: This was a joint decision between me and my husband since he and I write many books together. We wanted to retain more control over our books and how they get marketed. We wanted decisions such as the layout and size of the book, the cover, etc. to be ours. This is kind of a double edged sword though since being self published means that all of the editing, formatting, and marketing would also be our responsibility.

Natalie: Lastly, do you believe that in the future, authors and illustrators jobs will become irrelevant due to the rapid improvement of artificial intelligence which has the capability to carry out the tasks which authors and illustrators do in a significantly shorter amount of time?

Cat: AI is a tool that many people currently use to make books nowadays. But I think that human creativity is something that AI cannot replace (at least currently). I like to inject a lot of myself into the stories I write and the pictures I draw, so unless the AI algorithm is specifically tweaked to have my set of life experiences, it would be nearly impossible for it to draw or write in the way that I draw and write. And that holds true for all other writers and illustrators. That’s what makes stories so magnetic to people, is the human element and soul behind it, and that’s what will always shine through for writers and illustrators. And that is something that AI cannot replicate.

Natalie: Thank you so much for sharing your writing and illustrating experience and diving deep into the writing process with me! I can assure you that this will prove a captivating interview for many teens or young adults who have aspirations to write or illustrate a book!

Cat: Of course, It was my pleasure! I greatly enjoy seeing people in the next generation who have an interest in writing or drawing, or maybe both!

Honk! and A Celebration of Polar Bears by Cat Wiessbrod are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.