About Kat Hausler:
Originally from Virginia, Kat Hausler is a graduate of New York University and holds an M.F.A. in Fiction from Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she was the recipient of a Baumeister Fellowship. She is the author of Retrograde and What I Know About July, as well as many shorter pieces. Her work has appeared in Hawaii Pacific Review, 34th Parallel, Inkspill Magazine, The Sunlight Press, The Dalloway, Rozlyn Press, Porridge Magazine, LitReactor, BlazeVOX, failbetter and The Airgonaut, among others. She lives in Berlin and is also a translator.
What inspires you to write?
The beauty or awkwardness of words, random situations that could or maybe could never happen, the amazement of finding feelings you've had yourself, but been unable to describe, in someone else's book.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
So many I love! Haruki Murakami, Shakespeare, Marisha Pessl, Celeste Ng, Angie Thomas, Angie Kim, Anbara Salam, Gillian Flynn, Katie Kitamura, Judith Hermann, Annika Reich, Kurt Vonnegut…
Tell us about your writing process.
I always wish I would outline more. I do keep notes on all the thoughts I have about a work in progress, but I generally only outline the remaining scenes after I'm well into a messy draft. I like to write the scenes that feel most vivid to me first.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
No, I'm mostly in their heads.
What advice would you give other writers?
Work steadily, if possible on a schedule, and expect to edit a lot. Sometimes something is a placeholder and helps you move on to the next scene. You can fix it later. Treat yourself to the occasional adverb. I think writers tend to hear "show, don't tell" a lot, but not literally everything has to be shown in a scene. Exposition also serves a purpose, and you have to find your own balance.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
For my first novel Retrograde, I queried both agents and small presses (since you can't really submit to the biggest ones without an agent). I ended up getting an enthusiastic response from Meerkat Press, but before that I definitely discovered how much ghosting there is in the publishing world.
For my forthcoming novel, an agent handled my submissions, but I ultimately ended up staying with Meerkat Press because of positive experiences working with them on the book before.
I would advise new authors to try both agents and small presses. Some good advice I read at one point was not to do all your submissions at once, but do a couple at a time and see if they go over well.
I personally think you can go ahead and try the biggest places where you have next to no chance. You never know!
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think people will always want to read books.
What genres do you write?: literary fiction, suspense
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Kat Hausler Home Page Link
Link To Kat Hausler Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on Meer Kat Press
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
