It’s time for another thrilling edition of Tuesday Debut!

Today, we have an author/illustrator!

I can’t tell you how much I love getting to introduce new authors and illustrators and having the chance to showcase their beautiful books! I am constantly blown away by their talent and creativity, the wonderful stories they have to tell, the interesting people and things they research, and the art that makes the stories come to life.

Today’s debut-ess is no exception, and I am thrilled to welcome her and excited for you all to get to read about her book!

You might recognize Kerisa from Laura Bower’s Tuesday Debut a few weeks ago – Kerisa is the illustrator of Laura’s book, THE IMPOSTER. But this is Kerisa’s debut as an author/illustrator, telling a story that is deeply personal to her.

She is offering a signed copy of her book, I AM BOTH: A Vietnamese Refugee Story, with a few extra goodies (bookmark and stickers) as a giveaway (US addresses only, please) and all you need to do to qualify for the random drawing is leave a comment on today’s post by Monday April 29th at 3PM Eastern!

Please join me in welcoming her!

Title: I AM BOTH
Author: Kerisa Greene
Illustrator: Kerisa Greene
Publishing House: Feiwel & Friends
Date of Publication: April 9, 2024
Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction
age range of your book: 4-8

A picture book inspired by the author’s family’s journey on the last flight out of Saigon, I Am Both is a compelling exploration of identity, immigration, and family.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Kerisa! We’re so delighted to have you join us today! Where did the idea for this book come from?

KERISA: I AM BOTH is based on the true story of my mother and how she and her family came to America on the last flight out of Saigon during the Vietnam war. After joining a conference that advised writing stories that are personal to you and something only you can write I began brainstorming and trying to think of ideas. Around that time there was an international refugee crisis and I was really inspired to share the story of my family as a source of hope and inspiration.

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

KERISA: I started writing the manuscript sometime in the Spring of 2021 and took a few months to revise and create the dummy. As an author and illustrator the dummy portion of creating books usually takes me the longest. I start with the manuscript and try to get the words as close to ready as possible and then when art is added it’s a combination of tweaking both the words and illustrations at the same time. Sometimes it’s taking out words that are shown in the illustration while other times it’s redrawing a page to better tell the story. By the Summer of 2021 I got my agent with this dummy!

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

KERISA: I went through SO MANY revisions! The final book looks very different from my first dummy. The text tweaked and changed but more significantly my art style really evolved. Once it got into the hands of the editor the revisions were mainly focused on pacing. I submitted the dummy as a 32 page book thinking that I needed to restrict it to that many pages but to my shock they actually increased the page count to 48 pages and really let the story breathe. That was such an amazing learning curve and a great misconception to let go of!

During the final stages of I AM BOTH and THE IMPOSTER, written by Laura Bower and published by Gnome Road, I just had a baby! So, my workspace was anywhere I could draw and my work buddies became my newborn and our dog Jelly.

SUSANNA: That is very interesting because we are all told to aim for 32 pages! When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

KERISA: Honestly I didn’t! I had (still have) crazy imposter syndrome and self doubt. I wasn’t sure if it was good enough or ready, and as the rejections started rolling in I definitely questioned the story. But in the end it was “good enough” to catch the attention of an agent and editor. Going through this process though it became clear and relieving to realize that the story isn’t final when you submit it, it will most likely go through revisions from your future agent/editor and their expertise will only help enhance your words. 

SUSANNA: That is so true. Picture books are a team effort and benefit from the input and expertise of everyone involved. When and how did you submit?

KERISA: I first started by looking for an agent and ended up with the amazing Analieze of the Rees Agency. She has been a cheerleader for I AM BOTH from the very beginning and really believed in this book. After a few tweaks we took it out on submission where it got some pretty quick passes. At this stage you really get to see how subjective this industry really is; some editors said they really loved the story but didn’t connect with the art while others said the story wasn’t a right fit but really loved my art. We were out on sub for about three months before it officially got an offer!

SUSANNA: When did you get “the call”, which these days is more likely to be “the email”?  (Best moment ever! 😊) and how did you celebrate?

KERISA: So I actually did an R&R (revise and resubmit) before it ever went to acquisitions. I worked with Erin Siu (the acquiring editor at the time) on some tweaks to the text, pacing, and illustrations. We met towards the end of August for the R&R and by mid October I found out that they were acquiring it! So for the publishing industry it all felt fairly fast. I first found out by a call from my agent where I was in happy tears and promptly convinced my husband that we needed to go out and get dessert.

SUSANNA: How long was it between getting your offer and getting your contract to sign?

KERISA: This part took longer than I thought! It was about three months before I officially signed the contract.

SUSANNA: Was the contract what you expected in terms of advance, royalty percentage, publication timeline, author copies etc.?

KERISA: I didn’t really have any strong expectations going in. I had a rough idea of what an advance could be and I was happy with what I ended up with. It wasn’t on the high end but it was honestly more than I thought I’d get for my first book. Royalties and author copies seemed pretty standard, though my agent did have to negotiate a bit to get herself a few extra copies. The timeline honestly terrified me when I first read the contract. I had never illustrated a book before and the timeline felt tight but I decided to trust to process and go with it. Thankfully the timeline for art didn’t ever follow the contract so in the end it wasn’t an issue!

SUSANNA: Can you tell us a little about the editorial process?

KERISA: The editorial process was wonderful, I feel like each revision really improved the story and I learned so much through those edits. I was VERY nervous about the editorial process though when I found out that my acquiring editor was leaving the industry. It sort of felt like doomsday when I first heard and I went into a spiral of how this is the end of the book before it really even started. But then I met my new editor, Rachel Diebel, and she is amazing! It was such a relief to meet with her and feel like my story was in the hands of someone who cares about the book. She had a few additional edits that really helped with the pacing and has been such a joy to work with! In fact we have another book that we’re working on together, LEGENDARY CAKES that will be coming out January 7, 2025!

text and illustration copyright Kerisa Greene, 2024, Feiwel & Friends

SUSANNA: That’s fantastic! What was your experience of the illustration process like?

KERISA: Honestly, I was more nervous about the illustration process than I was editing the manuscript. I may have first gotten into the picture book industry through illustration but I feel less confident about my art than my words. I think it’s just an artist thing to feel doubt and a deep sense of imposter syndrome but I was nervous to start on the illustrations and have the art director and designer find out I’m a total fraud. But like all my other anxious thoughts I truly had nothing to worry about, my art team is absolutely amazing. Mina Chung and Naomi Silverio were so gracious, encouraging, and gave really helpful feedback that improved the illustrations so much.

SUSANNA: Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc? What was that like?

KERISA: Yes I got to see an advance review from Kirkus and I was over the moon to read that they had really nice things to say about both the story and the artwork. I’ve heard that they are notoriously hard to please so I was very happy with the review that we got!

SUSANNA: How long did it take from offer to having the first copy in your hand?

KERISA: I got the official offer in October of 2021 and received the first author copy of my book in December of 2023!

The print run for I AM BOTH is 35K

SUSANNA: What kind of marketing and promotion has your publisher done for this book?

KERISA: I know the marketing and publicity team does so much stuff behind the scenes that we never hear about but of the things I’m aware of it was stuff like getting the reviews, an ad in The Horn Book, graphics for Amazon, blog features, etc. 

Macmillan Audio also made an audiobook version of I AM BOTH so I know they also sent out early listens for some early reviews (and I’m sure a ton of things I don’t know about).

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

KERISA: I organized a pre-order campaign with East City Bookshop in DC where I used to live. So anyone who pre-ordered through them received a signed bookplate, stickers, and a bookmark. I knew I wanted some sort of incentive for pre-orders but wasn’t sure the easiest way to go about it. I know some authors with mail goodies out themself so that they can gift it to anyone who pre-orders anywhere or even those who do library requests but for me I know that time commitment wasn’t feasible. Mailing everything to East City Bookshop and letting their team packaged and mail everything out was so much easier for me and such a wonderful way to support an indie bookshop.

I also have free activity sheets on my website, created a short animated book trailer, and made tons of graphics for social media.

SUSANNA: How long was it between the time you started writing seriously and the time you sold your first picture book?

KERISA: Hmm if I had to guess it’s probably about three years.

SUSANNA: What is the most important/helpful thing you learned on your way to publication? (Or what is your most helpful piece of advice for up and coming writers?)

KERISA: The advice about writing a story that is personal to you or one that only you can write is what sparked the idea for I AM BOTH. But I think the most encouraging thing that I’ve heard is that the people who “make it” are the ones who never give up, they keep learning and growing and never stop trying.

SUSANNA: Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

KERISA: I took a ton of courses when I first got into writing (like Making Picture Book Magic) and continued to take classes in illustration to improve my craft. The original dummy for I AM BOTH looks very different from what is published today. So if you are in the beginning stages of this journey and have a story you believe in and are working on there are so many amazing resources out that can help you improve your storytelling skills and your story can evolve into something even better than what it is today. Revisions are where the magic happens, don’t give up!

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series and paying it forward to other writers, Kerisa! We so appreciate your time and expertise, and enjoyed hearing about your journey to publication with I AM BOTH! Best of luck with this and future titles!

Readers, if you have questions for Kerisa, please post them in the comments below and if she has time I’m sure she’ll respond!

And remember, your comment by Monday April 29th at 3PM Eastern puts you in the running to be selected as the randomly drawn winner of a signed copy of I AM BOTH: A Vietnamese Refugee Story along with a bookmark and stickers! (US addresses only, please.)

Author/Illustrator Kerisa Greene (favorite snack – chocolate chip cookies 😊)

Website: kerisagreene.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerisagreene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kerisagreenebooks/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@kerisagreenebooks
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kerisagreenebooks.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kerisagreenebooks

You may purchase Kerisa’s book at:
(all links below are book-specific)

Indiebound/Bookshop.org
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

We can help our debut authors successfully launch their careers by:

– purchasing their books

– recommending their books to friends and family

– recommending their books to our children’s teachers and librarians

– recommending their books to our local libraries and bookstores

– suggesting them as visiting authors at our children’s schools and our local libraries

– sharing their books on social media

– reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a lovely, inspiration-filled Tuesday!  Maybe today is the day you’ll write your debut picture book 😊

Missed any previous Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out HERE!