Follow Your Heart

Hello 12 x 12 family! I’m thrilled to be the featured author for May 2025! 12 x 12 has been a #1 support system and an incredible source of confidence in my writing journey over the past three years. There were moments when I almost gave up after countless rejections, but receiving the diversity scholarship gave me the hope and validation I needed to keep going. In this blog, I’m excited to share my journey from being a non-reader to a published author, and I hope some of my experiences resonate with you.

Not All Fears are Frightening

Growing up I didn’t like reading because:
a. I fell in love with numbers, and
b. English was a nightmare.

So, I followed my heart and became an engineer. Everyone was happy—until I wasn’t.

Academic pressure, hostel life, and homesickness turned my world upside down. I went from being a top student in school to an average student in college.

That’s when reading came to my rescue. One book that my friend insisted I read changed my perception about reading entirely. Suddenly my heart was open to books, and a tiny seed was planted: Maybe someday, I might write a book and become an author.

Challenges Create Opportunities

While I found books interesting, I didn’t have the time or enthusiasm to read a lot—until my second child came along and turned out to be a reluctant reader. Now I had the time and a solid purpose to make books exciting for my child. Through numerous trials, I discovered my passion for writing stories, and fortunately, my son became a little more curious about books, too.

Despite knowing nothing about writing and facing some discouragements from family and friends, I still chose to follow my heart. Don’t let anyone steal your dreams!

And if that wasn’t crazy enough, I sent my stories to almost every agent and editor I could find in the span of a week. The result?

My inbox was flooded with 80+ rejections. It felt like a mountain hit me!

But my engineer mind refused to quit. Instead, those rejections made me curious to find more and debug my stories.

Get to the Basics!

To become an engineer, I went through 18 years of education—12 years of school, 4 years of undergrad, and 2 years of grad school. So, how could I expect to write a publishable story without learning the craft?

Through hours of research, I found SCBWI and 12 x 12. I also read somewhere that writers are readers! That year, I:

1. Read more than 1,000 picture books with my kids.
2. Wrote more than 20 drafts—good, bad, ugly, it didn’t matter.
3. Listened to podcasts/webinars and took writing classes
4. Joined critique groups where I revised and revised and revised.
5. Queried and participated in writing contests.

And guess what? I still got REJECTIONS! But the key is to follow your heart. I wasn’t ready to quit yet…

Reflection Sharpens the Plan

…Or keep juggling in the circus forever (Yes, circus—because publishing is full of highs and lows, and endless waiting moving at a snail’s pace! As a software developer, I was used to a fast-paced, cutthroat environment.)

So, in 2023, after navigating the publishing industry for almost two years with:

1. 30+ stories,
2. hours of webinars and knowledge base,
3. 120+ rejections,
4. a few wins from writing contests, and
5. tons of friends in the kidLit community,

I created a two-year game plan to give 200% to my writing. GO ALL IN!

Hey! Setbacks Spark Stories

That same year, in January, I had planned to take my kids to a local kite festival—but I missed the event. That disappointment sparked an idea: to write about a kite festival.

I submitted my draft to the 12 x 12 forum, got it critiqued, revised, and pitched it on a Twitter pitch event. And the rest is history. On May 2023, four months after I had written the first draft, I signed my first publishing deal.

A seed that was planted 20 years ago in my mind finally sprouted. So, next time you face an adversity, like missing an event or a flight, maybe it’s for the best!

Back to Square One!

The excitement of my first book deal lasted about a week and then the reality hit me. Oh, no, I need to:

• Write more.
• Read more.
• Listen more.
• Critique more.
• Revise more.
• Query more.

Two years later, my inbox is still overflowing with more rejections and even more waiting!

But finally, my debut book released on March 25, 2025, marking the end of my two-year game plan. I thought I’d celebrate and hit pause on the circus. But guess what?

A seed I had planted last year suddenly sprouted out of nowhere—another traditional publisher had liked my pitch on Twitter and after eight months of silence (long enough for me to forget about it completely!), they offered me another PB contract. YAY! I can’t wait to share the official announcement.             

And the Journey Continues…

The best part of this journey? The friends—because, just like Mini’s Bhai (brother), we all need that extra support to go the extra mile. So, here I am, renewing my next two-year game plan and following my heart once again.

To more writing, more reading, more listening, more revising, and more querying.
To countless stories and relentless hustles.
To every failure and success waiting to unfold…
And a heartfelt thank you to my 12 x 12 family and the incredible kidlit community for the support, encouragement, and inspiration along the way. I couldn’t have done it without you!