Ryan Bani Tahmaseb took practice what you preach to a whole new level when we discovered a love of writing for kids while teaching middle school English. We’re excited for Ryan’s new partnership with his agent and wish him all the success in the world! 

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

I started taking my own writing seriously about a decade ago—a few years after I began teaching middle school English. I decided I should model for my students how to write well so that I would be able to talk them through the actual process of writing. In order to model good writing, I had to actually try to write well! I started experimenting in a variety of genres—personal essays, poems, short/flash fiction—for my students and for myself. I found that I enjoyed writing short stories most of all. Meanwhile, as I worked toward a master’s degree at the Bread Loaf School of English, I took a course on writing for children and loved it. Most of what I wrote for children at that time was essentially middle-grade short fiction.

A year or so after I took that course, my dad—an Iranian-American immigrant—shared with me a story from his childhood and I thought to myself, that story would make an amazing picture book. So I tucked the idea away for a while, knowing that one day I’d have to actually figure out how to write a picture book manuscript. Years later, in fall of 2019, I was accepted to the Big Sur on Cape Cod Children’s Writing Workshop, which was supposed to take place in April of 2020. (Ha!) I signed up knowing that it would motivate me to actually produce a complete picture book manuscript draft. I couldn’t show up to the conference empty handed. So I wrote and wrote and before the conference I shared my manuscript with as many writers and readers as I could, including a paid critique from a professional editor, incorporating all the feedback that resonated with me. I wanted to be sure my story was in good shape for the conference because I knew there were going to be lots of publishing professionals there. The conference was finally rescheduled for fall 2021, and by that time I had already spent so much time revising, editing, and polishing my manuscript that I had sent out to multiple publishers. And to my delight, Charlesbridge made an offer on it—just a week before the conference!

I scrambled to finish something new to bring to the conference. It’s wild to think about now, but at that time I had no serious intention of writing more manuscripts for children. I guess I thought I only had one good children’s story in me. I wasn’t too concerned about agents because I just wanted to sell my one manuscript. But between the fun I had writing my first picture book and the community of committed kidlit writers I discovered at the Big Sur on Cape Cod conference, I realized that I wanted to write more stories for kids. So I started doing exactly that. Last year, I joined 12 x 12, which proved to be a great motivator to write more stories, and I also found more critique partners and groups. I fell in love with the process. I wrote and wrote, and once I had several solid manuscripts, I began querying agents.

What kind of research did you do before submitting?

I read through manuscript wishlists, stalked agents on Twitter, studied agency websites, and googled interviews with agents. Like so many of us do, I became obsessive about it.

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

Oh my goodness, I’m not exactly sure. Probably over forty queries, and almost just as many rejections. Before I signed with my agent I had a number of agents ask for more work, and I remember how painfully slow their responses were.

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

This felt like an added challenge, but there are definitely a lot of agents open to authors focusing on picture books. That said, many agents—including mine—are interested in authors who also write other types of books: graphic novels, early readers, chapter books, middle grade, young adult, etc. Agents can only go on submission with so many picture bookis at any given time, so it’s beneficial to both you and your agent to have written some stories for young audiences beyond the picture book crowd.

In fact, the manuscript that hooked my agent is actually a chapter book. I was cautioned by some to not lead with a chapter book when querying agents because chapter books are a tougher sell, but I felt really good about this particular chapter book story. It also had series potential, which I had come to understand all chapter books should have. With some agents, I led with picture book manuscripts, and with others I led with my chapter book; it just depended on what I felt each particular agent might like best based on their websites, tweets, and/or manuscript wish lists.

And then I got lucky.

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

My agent is Jacqui Lipton at the Tobias Literary Agency. A few days before I received the email in which Jacqui asked if we could have “the call,” she had requested to read more manuscripts of mine. I remember after I sent along my full submission package, I was pretty compulsively checking my email, even though I tried tempering this enthusiasm because several agents had requested additional manuscripts before and none of those requests had ultimately led to representation.

But I remember very clearly the moment I saw the email from Jacqui that said she wanted to schedule a call. I was outside running through the woods and listening to a playlist on my headphones. When I went to switch to a different playlist, I must have thought to myself, best to check my email real quick to see if Jacqui has responded (haha), as I had been doing compulsively for days. And . . . she had responded. I stopped running immediately. I scanned the email as fast as I could and saw something about setting up a call. I scanned again to confirm. Then I turned around and called my wife as I walked home and delighted in the news with my family. It was a joyful moment and a joyful day.

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

Right away, Jacqui told me she felt passionately about my writing, particularly my voice on the page. She said she saw lots of potential in me as a writer and told me that she knew I have lots of great stories to tell. Jacqui is also a warm, funny, and approachable person, which is important to me. Given the closeness of the author/agent relationship, I need to work with someone with whom I’m comfortable speaking about any number of things.

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 🙂 )

Absolutely. I wouldn’t have started cranking out more stories at the beginning of 2022 if it weren’t for this community. I’m so thankful for the challenge and for this community of hardworking, devoted, and supportive writers.

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

Not really. I still write in the same way, though it’s certainly nice to have a new sounding board for ideas and an expert reader of my drafts. I’m still getting used to the whole thing, to be honest. I still have many of the same insecurities about my work, and frankly I’ve also felt pressure for us to sell one of my manuscripts soon so Jacqui feels like I’m a worthy investment. Based on conversations I’ve had with other agented writers, I’m not alone in these insecurities. All this is to say that signing with an agent is a wonderful step in your writing career but it doesn’t mean you’re suddenly a fully self-realized, fully confident writer. Each new draft is still an act of faith.

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

Read picture books aloud regularly. Write as much as you can. Research everything you can about the kidlit world. Read books about writing books. Attend writing conferences. Find great critique partners. Follow agents, editors, and authors on Twitter. Follow authors and illustrators on Instagram. Do what you can to really enjoy the writing process (ex. write what you want to write, slow down, take breaks, etc.) while also acknowledging that finding an agent requires lots of time and effort.

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

No. As others have said here, your stories are everything. That said, it can’t hurt to be a writer who’s actively participating in kidlit social media conversations.

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 🙂 )

When our kids are a little older (right now they’re both under 5), my wife and I would love to take a long vacation to Europe and stop in Iceland on the way there. We’re interested in doing some touristy things in various countries but mostly our goal will be to see beautiful sights and eat delicious food. And personally, I’ll want to stop in as many bookstores as I can along the way.

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

My debut picture book—the one that’s based on the story my dad told me about his childhood—is titled Rostam’s Picture-Day Pusteen, and it’ll be out in summer 2024. Woohoo! I’m getting super excited about seeing this book come to life.

I’m also working on a few new picture book manuscripts, revising my first chapter book, and planning my first middle grade. My chapter book, which I referenced earlier as the manuscript that hooked my agent, actually just won the SCBWI Work-in-Progress award, so I’m hopeful that this award will give it a boost and help it find a publisher soon.

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