Khushboo Patel is here today to share her agent story. We love that Khushboo used all 12 x 12 blog and free Book Chats as part of her writing development before she was even a member! We’re glad you’re here now, Khushboo and we can’t wait to see your stories on bookshelves everywhere!

Congrats, Khushboo!

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

I took my first-ever writing class in September 2021 from Gotham Writers Workshop (Children’s Book Writing I). At that point, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write, but I was reading a lot of picture books to my young kids and they seemed like the most dare-I-say ‘easy’ thing to try. Little did I know! My initial stories were truly terrible and I workshopped one of them with my teacher at Gotham quite a bit and waited until she said the story was ready to query. I still think I queried too early, but I learned a lot from it, so—no regrets.

What kind of research did you do before submitting?

Basically, a lot of googling (searching Manuscript Wishlists, QueryTracker and agency websites to see guidelines and if they were open to queries and….stalking agents on Twitter). I then made a list of agents that were open to my genre, and looking for the subject I was writing about.

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

Ooof, it was brutal. With the first story, I went pretty wide – maybe around 70? Most were form rejections or no responses, but I did get two champagne rejections from agents I really admired, and I felt like those helped a lot in keeping me going.

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

Not really. While I did see a lot of agents who were looking for author-illustrators only, I found 100+ agents who represented picture book authors. The harder part is writing a story that stands out in a crowded market and looking back, I see that the story I first went out with was not unique or good enough.

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

I signed with Joyce Sweeney at the Seymour Agency in October 2022.

The road was a bit winded, but I’ll try my best to keep this short.

I let go of that first story I was querying (which by the way, Joyce had also rejected) and focused on improving my writing by taking more classes (SCBWI, Writing Barn, Storyteller Academy, etc). By the time I found out about 12 x 12 last year, I’d already missed the deadline, but I still learned so much from the blog posts and the free Book Chats. It was truly eye-opening!

As a new writer, it took a bit for me to figure out my voice and the stories I wanted to tell. I wrote more, found a critique group through SCBWI, wrote some more, and then participated in Twitter events and queried again to a few agents once I knew I had that one good story. I got a few likes from agents on my #PBPitch, but they requested more work, and I didn’t have much at that point, so – more passes.

You know how in life nothing happens, nothing happens, and then everything happens?

#PitchMe hosted by the wonderful Krista Van Dolzer and Tara Shiroff is where things took a turn for me. Joyce was not a participating agent, but I’d queried them separately and once I got interest from agents through #PitchMe, magically, I started hearing from other agents asking for more work, too. Sadly, I didn’t have other ‘ready’ work, but I sent Joyce another story I’d just written, and the first pages of an upper MG that I’d just started—since that was all I had.

They asked for a call, and it was so easy to talk to them, and I could tell they really ‘got’ my work. They offered on the call and encouraged me to take my time, reach out to other agents who had my work, and see how I felt. Here are their exact words: “I always want all the authors out there to get the most opportunities they can and make the best choices for themselves. So look at all of this with an open mind and a relaxed heart because I’m here no matter what happens so you can have fun with the process!”

That was enough for me to know that they were the one, and at the end of the two weeks, they reached out to me to see what I’d decided, and it was an immediate YES from me. Not only did they believe in my work, but they were also quick to respond, which is such an anomaly in the publishing world. I knew I’d go nuts if I had to wait for weeks for my agent to get back to me.

(I’m so sorry this wasn’t short!)

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

See above 😊. Like with most relationships in life, it’s a ‘gut feeling’ thing. I tend to write on difficult subjects, and those stories are not for everyone, but like I said, Joyce “gets” my work, and that to me, is huge.

There’s a lot of self-doubt and overwhelm in this writing journey, and you need an agent who believes in your work and who thinks you can do it, even when you question it, and I’m so grateful to have that.

Another thing I forgot to mention was – I’d attended a picture book intensive at the FL SCBWI conference (summer of 2022), and Joyce was one of the instructors. I learned so much from them and felt like I had a good sense of the person they were, so that also helped with my decision.

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 🙂 )

YES! I covered this in one of the answers above, but I learned SO much just from your website, even as a non-member! I signed up for the membership this year the minute you guys opened it up, and I always get so much out of the monthly craft webinars! And it truly is the friendliest and most supportive community. I’m so happy to be here.

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

Not much. I’m still taking more classes, and some of my initial drafts and story ideas are still truly terrible, and I still revise a lot with my critique groups.

The thing that has changed is that now when I’m doubtful about something, I can ask Joyce, and they will respond quickly with their thoughts, and that is invaluable.

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

I’m not sure I know enough to give advice, but here are some things I’ve learned/ things that have helped me:

• Rejections are a part of the process, and the journey is long and slow even after you get an agent. A “long game” mindset helps a lot.
• If you feel stuck, take a writing class or go read something, or literally do anything else, and then come back to it.
• Thick skin is necessary. Putting yourself out there and being willing to (publicly) fail is also somewhat necessary. Participate in pitch events and apply for scholarships and mentorships.
• You don’t have to do this alone. The writing community is just wonderful, and if you’re overwhelmed by all the options out there, 12 x 12 is the one you should go with. Not only do you get to learn the craft from the best, but you also get access to the best community. You’ll need writer friends.
• Something that Julie said on one of the 12 x 12 webinars really stuck with me (I’m paraphrasing, but you’ll get the idea) – that when you write a story, even if nothing comes of it, it changes YOU, and isn’t that growth worth everything?
• Failure/ rejection hurts, but regret hurts more. If you’re like me, you won’t give up because you don’t want to live with that regret: that you could have tried more, but you didn’t.

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

I had no online presence to speak of when I started querying. I joined Twitter only to find out more about agents, but to my pleasant surprise, I discovered the wonderful writing community there. I’m hoping Threads will be exactly like that, minus the stuff we didn’t like about Twitter.

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 🙂 )

I can’t say that I’ve dreamed of doing it all my life, but I started running 2 years ago, and while I’m scared to even say this out loud, I’d love to run a marathon someday. I’d love to experience that feeling of completing something that hard, even if I have to walk for the most part and it takes me all day to finish!

I’d also love to go back to school and learn creative writing and screenwriting formally. Once the kids leave the nest? Only a decade and plus some to go? 😊

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

I’ve been on submission since January, and I’m currently in the “hope is exhausting” phase of things. I’ve had some rejections, some close calls, and a few R&Rs, and lots I’m waiting to hear back on. When they said publishing was slow, they weren’t kidding.

I recently finished writing the first draft of my first upper middle-grade novel-in-verse and will be diving into revisions soon. And I’m feeling a bit stuck with the R&R I received recently, but I’m trying..

Also working on some new PBs.

I’m happiest when I’m in the middle of a story or a writing class or a book, and I feel incredibly lucky that I get to call this my work.