Meet Chelsea Tornetto

We recently connected with Chelsea Tornetto and have shared our conversation below.

Chelsea, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

The confidence I have in myself and my abilities is definitely a result of the support and encouragement of my parents, grandparents and teachers over the years.

Each year, our school district would participate in the Young Author’s Conference, in which each student wrote a book and submitted it to be judged in a contest. It didn’t matter if my book got a white, red, or blue ribbon…my mom and dad were always there to tell me I was an amazing writer!

Mrs. Fahey, my junior high English teacher, submitted our work to the Junior High Writer, a national publication which regularly published student work, and made me feel like a “real” author!

Without that early praise and support, I wouldn’t be where I am today!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I left teaching two years ago to pursue writing full time, and so, while I spend a lot of my time working on my own writing projects, I was lucky enough to find a job with At Home Author. It’s an online course and community, developed by fellow author and literary agent, Vicky Weber, where we help new children’s book authors understand the industry and guide them through either self or traditional publishing…whichever route is right for them!

I’m really passionate about what I do as an author coach, because I WISH I had had access to something like this when I was starting out! The publishing industry has this tendency to feel really exclusive and secretive… and not very transparent…there are so many gatekeepers! So, I love being able to demystify the whole process for new, hopeful writers.

I also think what we offer is special because we understand that budgets are tight, and at just $27 month for membership in our program…there’s nothing out there like it! (I can’t get over how many coaching programs I see out there that START in the thousands of dollars! Who has that kind of money nowadays?)

As a former teacher, this new role is also perfect for me, because I get to do a lot of manuscript editing…and it’s so rewarding to watch my clients’ stories develop and grow until the vision they always had in their head, matches what they see on the page.

I also have three new picture book releasing this year! So it’s going to be a busy one!
SEASONS ON THE FARM releases March 15, from Sleeping Bear Press
CHALK THE WALK releases April 1, from Familius Publishing
and
THE WORLD’S BEST CHRISTMAS LIGHT, my next Christian title, releases in September from ZonderKids.

And maybe the most fun recent development…my new YouTube Channel, Itty Bitty Book Club! https://www.youtube.com/@ittybittybookclub Because kids are the BEST book critics!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think the first important skill I developed with my ability to write in rhyme and meter. It’s so hard to do well…and it seems like one of those things that just comes naturally to some people. I read a lot of Shel Silverstein when I was young, and as as I mentioned, I had some great teachers who exposed me to lots of great literature, so I think that was a critical skill for me. All of my books (so far) are in rhyme!

Another personal quality that helped me on my author journey was a very critical eye towards my own work, and a need for outside validation. Now, that second part might not seem like a strength to some! But, what I mean is that I was never content with my work being “good enough” for me. I wanted to impress an outside, objective critic. I wanted to earn an A. I wanted to win the contest. etc. So, I never wrote anything that I thought was perfect right off the bat. I was always looking for someone to critique my work and make it better. I think that’s something a lot of new writers are missing. They send me a story for an edit WANTING me to tell them, “It’s great!” or saying something like, “I’m pretty sure this is ready to go, but just wanted a quick proofread.” Or, even worse, they have a sense of disdain for anyone else’s opinion, confidently proclaiming “It’s my story, and I want to stay true to myself.” That kind of attitude is never going to lead to greatness. Stay true to your core vision, sure. But if you want that core vision to shine through….you HAVE to accept and utilize criticism.

A third thing that helped me on my author journey was taking the time research and really learn the publishing industry – beyond the first few pages of Google! I took online courses and webinars, I read tons and tons of blogs, and I even attended a weekend retreat with the Highlights Foundation in Pennsylvania. This all took time and money and patience…but it was SO worth it. And now I’m providing that information to others! Join us at At Home Author if you want to start your own learning journey!

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

At Home Author is always looking for new, hopeful writers to join our program! We’d also love to collaborate with fellow businesses in the same space that might be interested in becoming affiliates or hosting guest webinars for our clients. Virtual assistants, book marketing specialists, social media experts…we’ve even hosted webinars about how to manage taxes as an author! Or maybe you’re an influencer who would like to write and publish your own children’s book to sell to your followers and to grow your audience?

On the personal side I’ve also started a YouTube channel called Itty Bitty Book Club! I’m so excited about it…cute kids give their honest opinions on picture books…because kids are the best (and most brutally honest) critics!
Right now I’m just getting started, but eventually I’d love to have sponsored episodes to help cover some of my filming and video editing costs! So if you’d be interested in that, hit me up! https://www.youtube.com/@ittybittybookclub

You can reach out to me at [email protected] anytime!

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