Color Me a Kidlit Writer
  • Home
  • My Books & Such
  • Credits
  • Clips
  • Interviews, Blog Parties & More

Madelyn Rosenberg & Wendy Shang

1/22/2022

0 Comments

 

Kidlit Writing Duo: Coauthors Extraordinaire

Picture
Courtesy Wendy Shang & Madelyn Rosenberg

Salutations, Wendy & Madelyn! So excited to have you stop by!

We're happy to be here!

I've always wanted to know more about coauthoring books, so thank you for sharing with me how you worked together to write THIS IS JUST A TEST and NOT YOUR ALL-AMERICAN GIRL.

Delighted!

Wendy, I'd like to pick your brain first. 

Shoot!

How did you and Madelyn meet and who came up with the idea that you'd be able to write a book together?

I met Madelyn at the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI conference, back when it was at a church in Arlington and you had to help put away chairs at the end! My first image of Madelyn was her holding an enormous bag of recycling to take home, which, if you know Madelyn, is perfectly fitting. Her books, like TAKE CARE and ONE SMALL HOP, have really strong environmental themes.

As it turned out, I ended up joining a writing group that Madelyn belonged to, and then, as another coincidence, Madelyn and I ended up with the same agent. It seemed like we were destined to be friends. We were starting our writing journeys at the same time, our kids were around the same age, and we both were terrible at playing tennis, so we could play together without anyone feeling bad. 

I started campaigning to write together after I found out that Madelyn had written a book with another friend. I remember thinking, “Huh, you can do that? You can get paid to hang out and write? How do we get in on that?!” 

Very interesting! After coauthoring THIS IS JUST A TEST with Madelyn, why were you excited about working together on your second book, NOT YOUR ALL-AMERICAN GIRL?

When you’re starting a story, you have to make so many decisions, it’s kind of exhausting, right? You have to figure out your character, where they live, what’s going to happen, who their family is, etc. One of the nice things about going back to the same world is that you’ve already gotten a lot of that figured out, so you can focus more on what’s going to happen next. I loved THIS IS JUST A TEST, the way it came together and the way the prose just bounced, so I was excited to return to that world of defined characters (and it’s in the ’80s, so there’s an unmistakable vibe).

I’ll also tell you that when we write together, my goal is to make Madelyn laugh. Not that she’s a hard sell, but Madelyn has really good taste, so if she laughs out loud, I know it’s a keeper. 

Making a friend laugh is a cool thing! What did you enjoy about doing events together, both in-person and virtual ones? 

After working together for so many years, we’ve really developed a comfortable patter together where we can kind of sense when to jump in or throttle back. We didn’t have a joint book come out this year, but we each had a book come out on the same day (again! coincidence!) so we had an online event with One More Page Books. This was one of my favorite events to date because we talked about each other’s books (a distinct improvement over talking about your own book), and then Madelyn had this brilliant idea that we should prepare trivia questions based on the topics in each other’s books, sort of like Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. The audience really loved it. It was kind of a quirky detour from the usual book event, and more than that, you could see we were cracking each other up with these oddball questions. 

It’s not important who got more questions correct. The point is everyone had fun. Okay, fine, it was Madelyn. There will be a rematch. 

Haha! I'm sorry I missed that.

Picture

Time to pick your brain, Madelyn!

Pick away!

Two authors writing a story with one voice and from one character’s POV sounds hard! Did you and Wendy have to spend loads of time outlining each stage of the plot?

You know that age-old question: Are you a plotter or a pantser? For this one, Wendy and I were both “pantsers” so there wasn’t so much outlining. Or, you know, any. We did do some brainstorming. Lots and lots of brainstorming. We took turns writing chapters, but as we wrote, the other person would edit the previous chapter and then move the story forward. Then the next person would come in and edit the edits. Honestly, by the time the book was finished, I feel like we both touched every sentence. Each of us added layers. With each edit, we went deeper into our character and the story. It worked that way with humor, too. With each edit, the other person made it funnier. It was story building in the truest sense.

Whoa! That required a lot of mental muscle and discipline! I reckon, like with exercising, having someone by your side to sweat it out with helps with motivation and staying the course.

For sure!

After coauthoring THIS IS JUST A TEST with Wendy, why were you excited about working together on your second book, NOT YOUR ALL-AMERICAN GIRL?
 
I was excited to get back into that world, of course, and I was also excited to get more time hanging out with Wendy. When we wrote together, we worked on a lot more than just our writing; we worked on our lives. We figured out what to eat for dinner (chicken and dumplings, carnitas), how best to help our kids, how to deal with certain situations without losing it. We need to work on something else because I miss having her voice in my ear every day.

That's so sweet! (I LOVE chicken and dumplings, BTW!) How would you compare the coauthoring experience to writing solo? What part of it do you like better? 

They say you should write books only you can write; as coauthors, we wrote books we could only write together. As a solo writer, it can be a pretty lonely experience, so it was lovely to be able to share my brain. Writing with a partner, it was easier to break through writer’s block because there was someone who had ideas when I was out. We could also talk through things to move our character ahead. There was just less being stuck. And of course, the copy was cleaner because we had both been over it so many times. Also, it’s much easier to promote a book if you’re promoting the work of a friend. I was less self-conscious about saying, “Please read this!” And I’m also so chicken when it comes to reviews. I made Wendy read them first.

So what's NOT YOUR ALL-AMERICAN GIRL about?

It's about Lauren, who is Jewish and Chinese, and used to being the side dish alongside Tara, her best friend. But after Lauren’s audition for her school’s “All-American” musical goes extraordinarily well, Lauren wonders if it’s her turn to be the star. Lauren’s hopes are dashed when the director tells her she doesn’t look the part to play the lead. And who is cast instead? It’s blonde-haired, blue-eyed Tara! Lauren can't bring herself to sing anymore, jeopardizing her role in the ensemble and her friendship with Tara. But with the help of a button-making business, the music of Patsy Cline, and her two bickering grandmothers, Lauren just might find her voice again. 

Considering your backgrounds, I can see why you and Wendy were the perfect coauthors to tell Lauren's story! Well, as fun as it's been, I reckon it's time to go. Thank you both for being here. It was great fun learning about your process. And do let us know when Book 3 comes out!

Our pleasure, and will do!

Picture
​To learn more about NOT YOUR ALL-AMERICAN GIRL, a middle-grade full of heart and hilarity that explores what it truly means to be all-American, check out these reviews: HERE, HERE and HERE.

Picture
​Wendy Shang is the author of several books for children, including The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, which won the Asian Pacific American Librarian Association Award for Children’s Literature. Wendy's latest picture book illustrated by Lorian Tu is entitled  The Rice in the Pot Goes Round and Round, released this past fall by Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic, Learn more about Wendy at wendyshang.com.

Madelyn Rosenberg 
is the author of a dozen books for children, including One Small Hop, a Junior Library Guild selection, and Cyclops of Central Park, a picture book about seeing the world that came out just when the pandemic began and we couldn’t. You can find Madelyn online at squealermusic.com.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About Me

    Dionna is a spinner of children's yarns, a weaver of nonfiction, and a forever-learner enrolled in the Institute of Imaginative Thinking. Her kidlit work has appeared on the pages of  Cricket, Spider, and Ladybug. As a work-for-hire author, she's written projects for Scholastic, Lerner, Capstone, Little, Brown and other educational publishers. Her middle-grade, MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS, will be released by Holiday House come 2024. An SCBWI member since 2005, Dionna is represented by ​Kelly Dyksterhouse and 
    Jacqui Lipton of The Tobias Literary Agency.


    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    February 2015
    May 2014
    March 2014
    September 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    Abigail Halpin
    A Big Mooncake For Little Star
    Abrams Books For Young Readers
    Adriann Ranta Zurhellen
    African Art By Children
    Aladdin Pix
    Albert Whitman & Company
    Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs
    Alfred A. Knopf
    Alice Ratterree
    Alvina Ling
    Alyssa Bermudez
    Amy Harding
    Amy Lee-Tai
    Andrea Beatriz Arango
    Andrea Brown Literary
    Angela Dominguez
    Angie Arnett
    Angie Miles
    Angie Smibert
    Anna Staniszewski
    Anne Marie Pace
    Anne Moore Armstrong
    Annual Virginia Book Events
    A POEM GROWS INSIDE YOU
    Arrows
    Arthur Levine Books
    Art-Themed Challenges
    Ashley Spires
    Ashley Walker
    Autism Picture Book
    Bagram Ibatoulline
    Barb McNally
    Barb Rosenstock
    Beach Lane Books
    Ben Franklin's Big Splash
    Blink YA Books
    Blog Hop
    Blog Parties
    BO AT THE BUZZ
    Book Launch Parties
    Book Trailers
    Boyds Mills And Kane
    Boyds Mills Press
    BRAVE BALLERINA
    Brenda Woods
    Brian Rock
    Bright Literary Agency
    Brown Books For Young Readers
    Busy Eyed Day
    Busy-Eyed Day
    Calkin's Creek
    Callie C. Miller
    Candlewick Press
    Capstone
    Carina Povarchik
    Caroline McPherson
    Cetologist
    Changes In Publishing
    Charlie & Frog
    Charlottesville Illustrator
    Chronicle Books
    C. M. Surrisi
    Colleen Muske
    Colleen Paeff
    Confetti Kids
    Content Editor
    Coping Skills School-aged Children
    Copyeditors
    Coyote Moon
    Craft Of Storytelling
    Craft Of Writing
    Crenshaw
    Cricket Magazine Contributor
    Critiquing
    Crossover
    Cyndi Marko
    Cynthia Cliff
    Daniel Bernstrom
    Daniel Nayeri
    Dave Mottram
    Dawn P. Noren
    Deaf Main Characters
    Deborah Diner
    Deborah Prum
    Dionna Mann
    Dish Up A Reading Delight
    Disney-Hyperion
    Dolores Andral
    Donna & Libby Farrell
    Don Tate
    Doris Kutschbach
    Ebony Glenn
    Eerdmans Books For Young Readers
    Elliott Smith
    Engaging The Audience
    Erica Perl
    Erin Murphy
    Erin Murphy Literary Agency
    Ethan Suspended
    Eucalyptus Tree
    EVELYN DEL REY IS MOVING AWAY
    Fall 2020 Virtual Kidlit Events
    Farrar Straus And Giroux
    Fearless Public Speaking
    Feiwel & Friends
    Felicia Macheske
    Fine Art Raven Photographer
    Flashlight Night
    Fort Building Time
    Foundry Literary + Media
    Four Beautiful Picture Book Biographies
    Fran Cannon Slayton
    Frann Preston Gannon
    Frann Preston-Gannon
    Fred Koehler
    From My Notes
    Garvey's Choice
    Getty Publications
    GIFTS OF THE MAGPIE
    Good Illustration Ltd.
    Grace Lin
    Grammar Tip
    Great Nocturnal Book For Kids
    Growing Up Pedro
    Hannah Barnaby
    HarperCollins
    HB Steadham
    Heather Brockman Lee
    Highlighter SCBWI Mid-Atlantic Newsletter
    Holly Webb
    Holt Books For Young Readers
    Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
    How To Draw A Lion
    I Love My Library
    Interviews
    Iris Deppe
    IVELIZ EXPLAINS IT ALL
    Jacqueline Jules
    Jacques Kaufmann
    Jacqui Lipton
    Jen Malia
    Jennifer Elvgren
    Jennifer Laughran
    Jennifer Unter
    Jen Shulman
    Jess Brailler
    Jessica Sinsheimer
    Jewell Parker Rhodes
    Joanie Stone
    Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
    John Parra
    John Platt
    Joy Jones
    Julia Kuo
    Julie Matysik
    Jump Back Paul
    Jumpy Jack & Googily
    June Hunter
    Kara Reynolds
    Kar-Ben Publishing
    Karen Kane
    Karen Nagel
    Kate Testerman
    Katherine Applegate
    Kathleen Kellett
    Kathleen Rushall
    Kathryn Erskine
    Katrin Dreiling
    Kell Andrews
    Kelly Dyksterhouse
    Kellye Crocker
    KidLit411
    Kidlit Agent
    Kidlit Art Director
    Kidlit Artist
    Kidlit Author
    Kidlit Author & Illustrator
    Kidlit Book Designer
    Kidlit Coauthors
    KidLit C'Ville Blog Party
    Kidlit Editors
    KidLit Events
    Kidlit Events 2021
    Kidlit Events 2022
    Kidlit Reviews
    Kid Reviewer
    Kids Can Press
    Killer Whales
    Kristen-Paige Madonia
    Kwame Alexander
    Kweli: The Color Of Children's Literature Conference
    Ladybug Magazine
    Laura Lyn DiSiena
    Law And Authors: A Legal Handbook For Writers
    Leah Henderson
    Leaving Room For The Illustrator
    Lee & Low Books
    Lerner
    Leslie Stall Widener
    Less Is More
    Lilliput
    Lily's New Home
    Linda Pratt
    Lindsey McDivitt
    LIONS & CHEETAHS & RHINOS! OH MY!
    Literary Agent Interviews
    Little
    Little Brown Books For Young Readers
    Liza Wiemer
    Lois Sepahban
    London
    Lynne Chapman
    Madeline
    Madelyn Rosenberg
    Making It (not Too) Personal Query Etiquette
    Mama's Chicken & Dumplings
    Marc Boston
    Marfe Delano
    Margaret Ferguson
    Margaret Ferguson Books
    Maria Gianferrari
    Marvelous Cornelius
    Marvelous Cornelius Blog Party
    Mary Amato
    Maryland Kidlit Events
    Mary Rand Hess
    Matt Forest Esenwine
    Maverick Children's Books
    Megan Wagner Lloyd
    Meg Medina
    Meg Medina's One-Minute Writing Tips
    Melissa Gorzelanczyk
    Melissa Manlove
    Michael J Rosen
    Michelle Meadows
    Middle-grade
    Moira Donohue
    My Work
    Nancy Carpenter
    Nancy Paulsen Books
    Nedda Lewers
    Nikki Grimes
    NOAA Scientist
    Olga M. Herrera
    Olivia Hinebaugh
    One Day In The Eucalyptus
    One Good Deed
    ORCAS By Dionna L. Mann
    Pam Ehrenberg
    Paper Wishes
    Paper Wishes Blog Party
    Paula Yoo
    Peachtree Publishers
    Personal Rejections
    Phil Bildner
    Picture Book About Change And Grief
    Picture Book Biography
    Picture Books
    PJ Books
    Planting Parsley
    Poet: Remarkable Story Of George Moses Horton
    POV
    Prestel Junior
    Proofreading
    Queries
    Query Kombat
    Query Kombat 2018 Grand Champion
    Race Car Dreams Blog Party
    Random House/Delacorte
    Rashin Kheiriyeh
    Raven Quill Literary Agency
    Rejections
    Renee Graef
    Return To The Secret Garden
    Roberta Pressel
    Rosie McCormick
    Running Press
    Ryan Hayes
    Saffron Ice Cream
    Sairom Moon
    Sam Gayton
    Sam Hundley
    Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency
    Sara Holmes
    SASE
    Scholastic Press
    School Visits
    Scott DuBar
    Scrap Artist
    S.D. Schindler
    Sensory Issues
    Seth Fishman
    Sharon Chriscoe
    Shirley Ng-Benitez
    Short Pump Bump!
    Simon & Schuster
    Sleeping Bear Press
    Slush Piles
    SOLO
    Sonia Sanchez
    Sourcebooks
    SparkNotes
    Spencer Hill Contemporary
    Spooky Cheetah Press
    Spring 2021 Kidlit Events
    Stan Fellows
    Stephanie Fitzgerald
    Susan Bartoletti
    Susan Batori
    Susan VanHecke
    Susan Wood
    Suzie Townsend
    Swenke Elementary Book Trailer Crew
    Sylvia Liu
    Tag Your Dreams
    Tami Traylor
    Teresa Bonnadio
    Terrible Typhoid Mary
    Terri Fields
    The 24/7s
    The Amazing Age Of John Roy Lynch
    The Boney Hand
    The Crossover Review
    THE GREAT STINK
    The Innovative Press
    The Most Magnificent Thing
    Therese Makes A Tapestry
    The Tale Of Rescue
    THE WILD GARDEN
    The Word: A Storytelling Sanctuary
    This Little Piggy: An Owner Manual
    This Little Piggy Has A Blog Party
    Thread Of Love
    Tillmon County Fire
    Tips For Book Events
    Tom Angleberger
    Tom Birdseye
    Towers Falling
    Trombone Shorty
    Uwe Stender
    Virginia Festival Of The Book
    Virginia KidLit Events
    Virginia Literary Events
    Virtual Bookish Events
    Want To Play?
    Wendy Shang
    Winter 2021 Virtual Book Events
    Wordsong
    Work For Hire
    Writing Advice
    Writing Process
    Writing Quotes
    WV Kidlit Events
    Yaroslava Apollonova
    Zara González Hoang
    Zara González Hoang
    Zoe In Wonderland