Congdon is the author of Art Inc: The Essential Guide to Building Your Career as an Artist; Whatever You Are, Be a Good One; Twenty Ways to Draw a Tulip; Fortune Favors the Brave; The Joy of Swimming; A Glorious Freedom: Older Women Leading Extraordinary Lives; and A Collection A Day.

According to Congdon, the collections were assembled from "flea markets, thrift stores, junk shops, garage sales, giveaway piles and family attics."

Published in April 2014 by Chronicle Books, Whatever You Are, Be a Good One is a collection of 100 timeless quotes from some of histories' most notable minds, all illustrated and hand-lettered by Lisa Congdon.

[11] The book began when Congdon wanted to incorporate more hand-lettering into her practice, which she started to do by creating her "365 Days of Hand Lettering Project" on her blog over the course of 2012.

The book introduces information about creating and starting a creative business, as well as offers insight from other illustrators, designers and entrepreneurs.

Profiles, interviews, and essays from women—including Vera Wang, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Julia Child, Cheryl Strayed, and many more—who've found creative fulfillment and accomplished great things in the second half of their lives are lavishly illustrated and hand-lettered in Congdon's signature style.