Cheryl Kim was one of our Diversity Scholarship winners in 2017, so to say that we are proud of her and ecstatic about her success is an understatement. She is a talented writer and we love how she expresses in this post that we don’t know what we don’t know. In 12 x 12, she realized her manuscripts weren’t submission-ready and she dedicated herself to polishing them and making them better. Cheryl’s story should give hope to anyone who’s still working to polish those manuscripts—and even more hope for those doing it from the four corners of the world. You can do it!

How long had you been writing before seeking an agent, and what made you decide it was time to look for one?

I had been writing on and off as a hobby since 2009 and joined 12 x 12 in 2014 in hopes of querying agents. However, I learned from my time in 12 x 12 that my manuscripts still needed a lot of work so I spent the next two years attending conferences, taking classes, and working on new drafts. Once I had three polished manuscripts, I queried my first agent in July 2016, several years after writing my first manuscript.

What kind of research did you do before submitting?

I read every recent blog I could find on kid lit agents accepting picture book manuscripts. I also listened to a few podcasts and visited agency websites. Kidlit411.com helped point me in the right direction and has several helpful links on researching and submitting to agents.

The dreaded questions: How many queries?  How many rejections?

I had received advice about querying in small batches so I queried 2-3 agents at a time. I had queried 7 agents until I received my first offer through a 12 x 12 golden ticket submission.

Was it difficult to find an agent who wanted to represent an author focusing solely on picture books?

In the end, the two agents that offered representation were okay with me being a picture book writer only. I know they also represent other clients writing picture books.

Who is your new agent? Tell us about getting the news.

Jennifer March Soloway from Andrea Brown.  My 12 x 12 critique group had talked about #PB Pitch.  I wasn’t on Twitter yet but took a leap of faith and joined Twitter a couple days before the event. I pitched 3 manuscripts and while I got likes from 3 agents for one of my pitches, Jennifer was the only agent who liked all 3 manuscripts I pitched. After #PB Pitch, she was the agent I wanted to query next.

How did you know your agent was “the one”?

Right after the Twitter pitch, and before I queried Jennifer, I received an offer of representation from the 12 x 12 featured agent I had queried the month before. Being the first agent to offer representation, I thought I would sign with her. We had a great Skype call and I almost signed a contract. However, I decided to query Jennifer and let her know I had an offer. She replied within minutes to request more manuscripts and set up a Skype call that same day. I live in Thailand so these calls were taking place in the middle of the night! I didn’t sleep at all that night and by morning I had no idea who I would sign with. After taking a weekend to think through both offers, Jennifer just felt like the right choice. Andrea Brown was a dream agency for me since I started writing 10 years ago and I wanted to make a decision I wouldn’t regret and wonder “what if?” Jennifer was also extremely personable, had an engaging social media presence, and was already providing me with helpful feedback on my manuscripts during our first Skype call.

If 12 x 12 helped you in any way during your agent search/development of craft, can you tell us how? (P.S. It is TOTALLY okay if the answer is no. I am not trying to “lead” you  )

If I could pinpoint one thing that eventually led to getting an agent, it is 12 x 12. Through 12 x 12 I connected with a critique group that I could remain with even after moving halfway across the world. 12 x 12 and the writing community taught me so much about the writing process and that I wasn’t ready to submit to agents when I thought I was.  When I finally was ready to submit, 12 x 12 gave me a golden ticket opportunity that led to my first offer of representation that I believed helped me to get the 2^nd offer as well.

Has your writing process changed at all since signing with an agent?

I have come to appreciate the revision process so much more than before.  After signing with Jennifer in 2017, I revised two manuscripts that we thought would sell when we went on submission that year.  However, both didn’t and I received a revise and resubmit.  At first, it was hard for me to go through the revision process again because I felt so disappointed and began to doubt my writing.  However, once I took a step back and did more research, and then took a break and read more books, I was able to revisit the manuscript with fresh eyes.  We are now on submission again but with a stronger and better version of what we submitted over a year ago.

Also, with an agent, I feel like I’m no longer revising, submitting, and waiting alone. Even after two years, Jennifer is rooting for me and encouraging me to keep going!

What advice would you give to picture book writers looking for agents today?

Take your time to research agents and polish your manuscripts before submitting. Take risks and continue to enter Twitter pitches and contests while working on your craft at the same time. Also remember that an agent doesn’t guarantee publication and once you have one, more rejections may come so don’t give up! Take the feedback/rejections from agents and editors to make your writing stronger.

Do you think your platform (blog, social media) helped you find your agent?

I didn’t have a social media platform when I received interest from the first agent. However, I do believe that Twitter helped me to connect with my current agent.

Tell us something that is on your “bucket list.” Something you’ve dreamed of doing all your life but have yet to accomplish (besides publishing a book, which is inevitable at this point  )

Adoption.  If anyone reading this has recently gone through the adoption process, I’d love to connect with you!

What’s up next/what are you working on now?

Two years after signing with Jennifer, I am currently revising the original manuscript that we first went on submission with. I went on to draft other stories in between that time, but recently, I came back to this one and realized that if I want to see this story become a book, I can’t give up on it. I’ve also been reminded of why I am writing it in the first place. It’s a PB biography of Wataru Misaka, a Japanese-American, who broke the color barrier in basketball the same year Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. I have two sons and one who loves all kinds of sports. As he doesn’t often see himself reflected in movies, television, and other areas of popular culture, my goal is that he and other young boys like him will get to see themselves reflected on the pages of a picture book featuring an Asian-American male athlete.