Interview with Author and TWR Alum Elia Sheldon
Author Elia sheldon
Book Title: Curtsy For Your Life
Agent/Agency: Jemiscoe Chambers-Black / Andrea Brown Literary Agency
Preferred genre(s): Young Adult Speculative, Young Adult Fantasy, Romance
A few favorite books or authors: Jane Austen, Isabel Ibañez, Rebecca Ross, Marissa Meyer
Website: https://www.eliasheldon.com/
Instagram handle: @eliasheldonauthor
In a few sentences, tell us about your manuscript!
Curtsy for Your Life is a Young Adult Speculative novel. It spans multiple subgenres, and it was partially inspired by my love for Jane Austen’s work. It’s adventurous, romantic, and has a ton of tension.
Where are you in the submission process?
Curtsy for Your Life is recently on submission.
What inspired the idea for this book?
Like my main character, Jenna Copa, I'm half Bolivian and half Irish American — a child of two worlds. I wanted to explore what it's like to be the child of two people with vastly different cultural and life perspectives.
Growing up, my father was very strict. We had to have impeccable manners, which is why I pay attention to manners almost instinctually. One day, an idea popped into my head: What would it be like if we still had manners like in Regency England? Conversely, what would it be like for a modern young woman in Jane Austen’s time?
Did you have this idea before you started TWR, during, or after you completed the course? How did TWR help you on your writing journey?
My manuscript was in revisions when I took TWR. The many words of wisdom Tomi offered helped me feel more confident as a writer. After I implemented her advice on sequences, pacing, and tension, my second and third acts were vastly improved.
Is this your first finished manuscript?
Yes
What was the most challenging aspect of the writing journey for you?
The daunting challenge of editing an entire manuscript. I've always enjoyed drafting the most, and I still do. I used to dread revisions. Not anymore. With the help of resources like TWR, my editing chops are much stronger.
How did you know you were ready to query agents? How many revisions did you go through before the manuscript was ready for submission?
When I felt like there was nothing more I could possibly change to improve the manuscript, I knew I was ready to query. I never kept track of how many rounds of revisions I did, but there must have been at least a dozen.
How did you meet your agent? How did you know she was right for you?
How I met my agent is proof that connections, and not being afraid to leverage them, can make a huge difference. When we moved to Nashville, we reconnected with my sister’s prom date from our high school days. One of his colleagues collaborates with literary agents and he connected us. She liked what she read and sent my manuscript to two agents with her endorsement. One of those two agents shared it with her agency, and that's how Jem and I found each other. I knew she was the right agent for me because she was so enthusiastic about my work, she listened to and answered all of my questions (and there were a lot!), and she’s super nice. On top of that, I’ve seen how highly knowledgeable she is about the publishing industry. I just know my manuscript is in capable hands with her and her team.
What has the process of working with an agent been like? Any surprises?
The process of working with Jem has been really smooth, right from the beginning. She and her assistant, Bex, provided a couple rounds of feedback on my novel, and I made the changes. As we've been on sub, Jem keeps a spreadsheet updated with the status of every submission, including feedback from the editors. The transparency is super important to me, and I appreciate it. The one surprise is a happy one: Jem has a Slack community for all the people she represents. I really appreciate being able to connect with my agency siblings. We call ourselves “The Holograms” after the 80s cartoon. Their support and enthusiasm help make it feel like I'm not alone on this writing journey.
How long have you known you wanted to be an author? What inspired you to take TWR?
In the back of my mind, I've known all my life. My mom used to find hand-written scenes under my bed. In high school, I submitted a short story to the literary magazine, but it wasn't selected. Sometimes, I wonder if it had been selected, would I have pursed writing as a career sooner.
The idea of being an author solidified more fully for me about twenty years ago, but I never finished any of my drafts until 2019. That draft eventually turned into Cursty for Your Life.
The idea of learning craft from one of my favorite YA authors is what inspired me to take TWR. Tomi's writing is phenomenal, and her enthusiasm for the craft is truly inspiring. What's great is that I'll always have access to TWR. I'm currently working on my next novel and I used TWR to get me started. It was such a helpful shortcut to get me to drafting sooner.
Any advice for aspiring authors?
My writing momentum really blasted off when I made appointments with myself to write. Even if you are only writing 200 words a day, you'll eventually get to the end and then you'll have something to edit and to polish.
Find other writers and form a critique group. Some of the best changes I made to my manuscript were thanks to the insights of the talented writers that comprise our critique group.
Have you faced any rejection on your writing journey, or points where you felt you wanted to give up? How did you push through those moments?
Once I started querying, I made a decision that I wouldn't give up because of the rejections. If I didn't get an agent with my manuscript, I'd write another.
The way I pushed through the rejections was a custom I learned when I was a senior in college. Way back then, you submitted a physical copy of your resume and cover letter to what they called a resume drop at the career center. You'd either check in at the career center to see if your name was on the list of interviewees, or you received a letter in the mail letting you know that the company was not interested. We called them “ding” letters.
Seniors, including me, taped their ding letters to the outside of their bedroom doors. Many would hand-write commentary to make the boilerplate wording of the rejection funny. One rejection letter a friend of mine received had a footnote with the name of the file: ding.doc. He circled it in blue pen and added: Rude! The whole point being an acknowledgement that we're all going through the job search together. We're all facing rejections together. Rather than wallowing in rejections, I try to think of them as a badge of honor, proof of my camaraderie with other writers who are going through the same process.
Use this space for any other interesting facts about the book and your writing journey! Anything you’d like to share with the TWR audience.
Interesting facts about my book:
- the transformation Jenna undergoes is inspired by one of my favorite movies, My Fair Lady
- the romance in Curtsy for Your Life is an enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers
- Curtsy for Your Life didn't start off as YA. Originally, I'd written the characters to be in their early to mid-twenties, and the title was For the Island. Constructive feedback from agents who read the manuscript was consistent. I stopped querying, integrated the feedback, then decided to transform the story to be young adult, my favorite age group to read.
The final thing I'd like to share is to encourage the TWR audience to keep going, keep writing, keep sharing your stories! It's so important that we get many perspectives out into the world.