
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
by Estelle Erasmus
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1.6K to 9.9K🎙 Daily cadence·188 episodes·Last published 6d ago - Monthly Reach
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Recent episodes
#191 Writing Characters Who Make Questionable Decisions with Vanessa Hua
May 14, 2026
Unknown duration
#190 Building a Memoir Around a Defining Moment with Jacque Gorelick
May 7, 2026
Unknown duration
#189 Turning a Story of Escape Into a Powerful Memoir And Real Impact with Tia Levings
Apr 30, 2026
Unknown duration
#188 Reclaiming "Selfish": On Craft, Creativity, and Braiding Truth into Memoir With Kerry Docherty
Apr 23, 2026
Unknown duration
#187 People over Proposals with Literary Agent Sally Ekus
Apr 16, 2026
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| Date | Episode | Description | Length | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/14/26 | ![]() #191 Writing Characters Who Make Questionable Decisions with Vanessa Hua | What makes readers care about flawed characters making questionable decisions? In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with bestselling author Vanessa Hua about her new novel Coyoteland and the craft behind creating emotionally layered fiction filled with tension, community, family dynamics, and difficult choices. They discuss: • Writing omniscient and multiple point-of-view narration • Why flawed characters create compelling stories • Building escalating stakes in fiction • Using setting as an active force in storytelling • How journalism shaped Vanessa's fiction writing • Reverse-engineering stories to improve craft • The importance of empathy in storytelling • Writing family, community, and social tension • Balancing multiple writing projects at once • Why movement and listening to your manuscript aloud can strengthen revision Vanessa also shares insights into writing morally complex characters while exploring the hidden pressures shaping modern communities and relationships. Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/KP9W2VZT5Nk About Vanessa Hua Vanessa Hua is the author of the national bestsellers A River of Stars and Forbidden City, as well as the story collection Deceit and Other Possibilities, a New York Times Editors' Pick. A National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow, she has also received a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, a California Arts Council Fellowship, and a Steinbeck Fellowship in Creative Writing, as well as honors from the de Groot Foundation, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Asian American Journalists Association, among others. Previously, she was an award-winning columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. She teaches at the Warren Wilson MFA Program, Sewanee Writers Conference, and elsewhere. Her book of narrative nonfiction, Uprooted, is forthcoming. Links & Resources: Vanessa: Website: http://www.vanessahua.com Instagram: @mononoke97 Facebook: @vanessahuawriter Bluesky: r@vanessahua.bsky.social Estelle Website: https://estelleserasmus.com Watch Estelle's TEDx Talk How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ Instagram/X/TikTok/BlueSky: @EstelleSErasmus NEW Substack post: A Recap of the Editor-on-Call Event with Susan Dabbar of PROVOKEDmagazine. All the intel you need to get published there including a free pitching guide and portal link. https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/how-to-pitch-provokedmagazine-inside Subscribe for exclusive info and podcast clips: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com About Estelle Erasmus Estelle Erasmus is an NYU writing professor, former magazine editor-in-chief, TEDx speaker, and the author of Writing That Gets Noticed, named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers. She is also the host of the award-winning podcast Freelance Writing Direct, where she shares insider strategies on craft, publishing, and building a writing career. Enjoying the show Follow, rate, and review Freelance Writing Direct on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch full episodes on YouTube. | — | ||||||
| 5/7/26 | ![]() #190 Building a Memoir Around a Defining Moment with Jacque Gorelick | In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus speaks with author Jacque Gorelick about her debut memoir Map of a Heart: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Finding the Way Home, a powerful, braided narrative that weaves a present-day medical crisis with a deeply personal exploration of family, identity, estrangement, and belonging. Jacque shares the harrowing inciting incident at the center of her book: her husband collapsing on a trail just weeks after the birth of their child, leading to a life-or-death ICU experience that unfolds in real time over ten days. From there, she unpacks how that crisis triggered a flood of memory and reflection, bringing her past into conversation with her present. Together, Estelle and Jacque dive into the craft behind the memoir, including how to braid timelines effectively, how to balance scene and reflection, and how to write about emotionally charged experiences without losing the reader. Jacque also opens up about the challenges of writing about family estrangement, the visceral experience of reliving trauma on the page, and the importance of honoring truth while maintaining compassion. They also discuss: How to structure a memoir using a real-time framework The shift from alternating timelines to a fully braided narrative Writing epistolary sections to create intimacy and emotional depth The role of memory, research, and fact-checking in memoir Navigating vulnerability when writing about loved ones The realities of the publishing path, including querying, setbacks, and choosing a small press Why giving yourself emotional space while writing difficult material is essential Jacque offers practical advice for writers looking to tell their own stories, including how to access emotional truth, gather sensory memory, and begin shaping raw experience into narrative. Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0A-RQy7FKo About Jacque Gorelick Jacque Gorelick is a writer and former educator whose work explores the complexities of family, identity, and belonging. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Salon, Newsweek, The Washington Post, HuffPost, and more. Map of a Heart is her debut memoir. She lives in California with her husband, two sons, and a menagerie of rescue animals. Links & Resources:Jacque's website: https://www.jacquegorelick.com/ Her instagram/Threads: @Jacgorelick Estelle's website: https://estelleserasmus.com Watch Estelle's TEDx Talk How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ NEW Substack post: A Recap of the Editor-on-Call Event with Susan Dabbar of PROVOKEDmagazine. All the intel you need to get published there including a free pitching guide and portal link. https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/how-to-pitch-provokedmagazine-inside Subscribe for exclusive info and podcast clips: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com About Estelle Erasmus Estelle Erasmus is an NYU writing professor, former magazine editor-in-chief, TEDx speaker, and the author of Writing That Gets Noticed, named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers. She is also the host of the award-winning podcast Freelance Writing Direct, where she shares insider strategies on craft, publishing, and building a writing career. Enjoying the show Follow, rate, and review Freelance Writing Direct on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch full episodes on YouTube. | — | ||||||
| 4/30/26 | ![]() #189 Turning a Story of Escape Into a Powerful Memoir And Real Impact with Tia Levings | Freelance Writing Direct chats with Tia Levings about writing a memoir of escape, and how strong scenes, structure, and editorial choices turn personal experience into a powerful narrative. Tia Levings is the New York Times bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife, a memoir about her escape from Christian patriarchy and high-control religious culture. She writes about religious trauma, evangelical influence, and the cultural forces shaping women's lives today. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Salon, Newsweek, and The Huffington Post, and she was featured in the Shiny Happy People docuseries. Her next book, I Belong to Me, releases May 2026. In this episode, Estelle Erasmus and Tia Levings discuss: How to turn lived experience into a compelling, page-turning memoir Why choosing the right scenes matters more than including everything that happened The difference between situation and story, and how it shapes narrative drive How to weave research and cultural context into memoir without slowing the pace Writing about trauma while maintaining momentum and reader engagement The role of developmental editing in strengthening structure and emotional build How to create a memoir that resonates beyond your personal experience Why memoir is not a "parade of bad things," but a search for meaning and connection Crafting chapter endings that keep readers turning the page Building a platform and expanding your story into broader cultural impact Tia also shares how she broke free from a high-control environment, how visibility became a form of safety, and how storytelling can create both personal healing and collective awareness. Watch on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6kJKMI77Go Links & Resources: Follow Tia Levings on social media: @TiaLevingsWriterEstelle's website: https://estelleserasmus.com Watch Estelle's TEDx Talk How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ NEW Substack post: A Recap of the Editor-on-Call Event with Susan Dabbar of PROVOKEDmagazine. All the intel you need to get published there. https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/how-to-pitch-provokedmagazine-inside Subscribe for exclusive info and podcast clips: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com About Estelle Erasmus Estelle Erasmus is an NYU writing professor, former magazine editor-in-chief, TEDx speaker, and the author of Writing That Gets Noticed, named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers. She is also the host of the award-winning podcast Freelance Writing Direct, where she shares insider strategies on craft, publishing, and building a writing career. Enjoying the show Follow, rate, and review Freelance Writing Direct on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch full episodes on YouTube. | — | ||||||
| 4/23/26 | ![]() #188 Reclaiming "Selfish": On Craft, Creativity, and Braiding Truth into Memoir With Kerry Docherty | In this episode, Estelle Erasmus talks with Kerry Docherty, author of Selfish: Unlearning, Reclaiming, and Telling the Truth, about what it really takes to write a bold, emotionally honest memoir. They dive into: Why "selfish" is a loaded word for women and how to reclaim it Starting a memoir with rupture to hook the reader Using dreams, spirituality, and what Estelle calls the "echo effect" to deepen narrative impact Writing about marriage, motherhood, desire, and identity without holding back The risks and consequences of telling the truth on the page How to balance scene, reflection, and tension to keep a memoir propulsive What gets cut and why it matters for the arc of the story Kerry also shares how writing this book changed her, and the one piece of advice every aspiring memoirist needs to hear. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHWRP-qjJyA About Kerry Docherty Kerry Docherty cofounded the lifestyle clothing brand Faherty with her husband and his identical twin. A graduate of Yale University and Pepperdine Law School, she is passionate about community building, sustainability, and creativity. Kerry is also the author of the children's book Somewhere, Right Now, featuring art by New York Times bestselling illustrator Suzie Mason. She lives with her husband and two children on the New Jersey shore, where she is constantly looking for sea glass. Selfish: Unlearning, Reclaiming, and Telling the Truth is a memoir by Kerry Docherty, cofounder of the lifestyle clothing brand Faherty. Blending personal narrative and cultural critique, it explores what happens when a woman decides to prioritize her own desires and wellbeing after years of people-pleasing and overgiving. Links & Resources: Order Selfish: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/775631/selfish-by-kerry-docherty/ Estelle's website: https://estelleserasmus.com Watch Estelle's TEDx Talk How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ Subscribe for exclusive info and podcast clips: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com About Estelle Erasmus Estelle Erasmus is an NYU writing professor, former magazine editor-in-chief, TEDx speaker, and the author of Writing That Gets Noticed, named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers. She is also the host of the award-winning podcast Freelance Writing Direct, where she shares insider strategies on craft, publishing, and building a writing career. Enjoying the show Follow, rate, and review Freelance Writing Direct on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch full episodes on YouTube. | — | ||||||
| 4/16/26 | ![]() #187 People over Proposals with Literary Agent Sally Ekus | In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus sits down with literary agent Sally Ekus, senior agent at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, where she leads a boutique division specializing in cookbooks, lifestyle, and select nonfiction. With over 350 book deals under her belt and deep roots in the publishing world, Sally shares what truly makes a proposal stand out, how the industry is evolving in real time, and why enthusiasm and voice still matter more than ever. Together, Estelle and Sally explore the shift from traditional publishing models to today's fast-paced, data-driven landscape—and what writers must do now to get noticed. You'll hear a candid, behind-the-scenes look at how agents think, how deals happen, and how writers can position themselves for success. In this episode, we discuss: What literary agents are really looking for in a nonfiction proposal The importance of platform—and what to do if you don't have one How to craft a compelling concept that can drive a book deal What happens when a book goes to auction (and why the highest bid isn't everything) How publishers are using data and trends to shape acquisitions The evolving role of AI in publishing—and where Sally draws the line The financial and creative realities of producing cookbooks today Why enthusiasm, voice, and clarity are your greatest assets as a writer Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27dK8IRHT-8&t=5s About Sally Ekus Sally Ekus is a senior literary agent at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, where she spearheads a boutique division focused on cookbooks, lifestyle, and nonfiction. She represents chefs, food writers, creators, and thought leaders, and has brokered hundreds of deals with major publishers including Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster. She is also the creator of the Not-So-Secret Agent Substack and founder of the How to Be a Cookbook Author community, where she shares insights into the publishing process and supports aspiring authors. Links & Resources: Sally's Substack: Not-So-Secret Agent https://notsosecretagent.substack.com How to Be a Cookbook Author https://www.ekusgroup.com/cookbookacademy Estelle's website: https://estelleserasmus.com Subscribe for exclusive info and podcast clips: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Sign up for the NYU Editor-on-Call Event on April 22 with the Editor-in-Chief of Provoked Magazine. https://events.nyu.edu/event/384509-editor-on-call-ready-to-pitch-publish-and-g About Estelle Erasmus Estelle Erasmus is an NYU writing professor, former magazine editor-in-chief, TEDx speaker, and the author of Writing That Gets Noticed, named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers. She is also the host of the award-winning podcast Freelance Writing Direct, where she shares insider strategies on craft, publishing, and building a writing career. Enjoying the show Follow, rate, and review Freelance Writing Direct on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch full episodes on YouTube. | — | ||||||
| 4/9/26 | ![]() #186 Burn the Haystack: Decoding Men's Language, Power Moves, and Red Flags with Jennie Young | The words people use tell you exactly who they are, if you know how to read them. Estelle Erasmus sits down with Jennie Young, a professor of rhetoric whose "Burn the Haystack" method and Facebook group sparked a powerful movement, now captured in her book Burn the Haystack. She flips the traditional dating narrative on its head, showing women how to find their "needle" by torching the men who are duds. As a former magazine editor and longtime writing teacher, Estelle was especially drawn to how Jennie breaks down language, tone, and behavior with precision. This conversation goes far beyond dating. It's about learning how to read what people say and how they say it, whether you're navigating relationships, the workplace, or your own writing. Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwQ2rvupeXM About Jennie Young Jennie Young is a professor of rhetoric at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, specializing in applied rhetoric, humor, and feminism. Her work focuses on helping women detect manipulation and decode power dynamics in dating, work, and everyday life. Her book, Burn the Haystack: Decode Dating, Torch the Duds, and Make Room for Men Who Matter, has inspired a global movement and a rapidly growing online community. Links & Resources: Jennie Young's book: Burn the Haystack Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/9116647515019601 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/word_case_scenario/ Estelle's website: https://estelleserasmus.com Subscribe for exclusive podcast clips: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Sign up for the NYU Editor-on-Call Event on April 22 with the Editor-in-Chief of Provoked Magazine. https://events.nyu.edu/event/384509-editor-on-call-ready-to-pitch-publish-and-g About Estelle Erasmus: Estelle Erasmus is an NYU writing professor, former magazine editor-in-chief, TEDx speaker, and the author of Writing That Gets Noticed, named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers. She is also the host of the award-winning podcast Freelance Writing Direct, where she shares insider strategies on craft, publishing, and building a writing career. Enjoying the show Follow, rate, and review Freelance Writing Direct on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch full episodes on YouTube. | — | ||||||
| 4/2/26 | ![]() #185 The Rise of Authorpreneurship with Literary Agent Regina Brooks | What does the rise of authorpreneurship mean for writers today? In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus sits down with Regina Brooks, founder and CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency and president of the Association of American Literary Agents, to explore how publishing is shifting and what writers need to understand now. From what agents look for in submissions to how platform, AI, and direct-to-consumer models are reshaping the industry, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at how writers can move beyond simply writing a book to building a sustainable writing career. Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_luHYAPHp4&t=131s About Regina Regina Brooks is the founder and CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency, where she represents award-winning and bestselling authors and illustrators whose work has earned honors such as the National Book Award, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, and the NAACP Image Awards. She also serves as President of the Association of American Literary Agents and is co-founder of the People of Publishing Conference in New York, helping lead industry conversations about rights, technology, and professional development across the publishing ecosystem. Regina brings a deep respect for the creative process and a sharp instinct for helping writers bring powerful ideas into the world. Connect with Regina Serendipity Literary Agency: https://www.serendipitylit.com/our_team/regina-brooks/ Regina Brooks' book: You Should Really Write a Book: How to Write, Sell, and Market Your Memoir https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780312609344/youshouldreallywriteabook/ Don't miss episode #184 From Silence to Story: Writing a Hostage Memoir 50 Years Later https://estelleserasmus.com/184-from-silence-to-story-writing-a-hostage-memoir-50-years-later/ And find the free resource guide from the panel I moderated at AWP: https://estelleserasmus.com/teaching-speaking/awp-2026-writing-and-publishing-resources/ Get More From Estelle Erasmus • Free NYU "Editor on Call" Event Join Estelle Erasmus and the editor-in-chief of PROVOKED on April 22 from 12:30–1:30 PM EDT to learn how to pitch and publish your work. Register here: https://events.nyu.edu/event/384509-editor-on-call-ready-to-pitch-publish-and-g • Private Small-Group Memoir Class Next 6-week session begins September 2026. (May session is sold out). Email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details. Recent Student Piece in The Cut: https://www.thecut.com/article/search-rescue-volunteer-missing-person-motherhood.html • Read & Subscribe Substack: NEW POST — Why Your Memoir Draft Still Feels Flat (And How to Fix It) https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-your-memoir-draft-still-feels • Newsletter Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates and a free Pitching Guide. • Watch Estelle's TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ • Book Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 • Listen Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2026 and 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus https://instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus https://www.tiktok.com/@estelleserasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus https://x.com/EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 3/26/26 | ![]() #184 From Silence to Story: Writing a Hostage Memoir 50 Years Later with Mimi Nichter | What does it take to write about a life-altering trauma decades after it happened? In this episode, Estelle Erasmus chats with Mimi Nichter about the long arc from lived experience to the page, and what it means to revisit a moment of crisis with clarity. They talk about writing through memory, shaping a narrative around a defining event, and the emotional and craft challenges of telling a story that has festered inside for years, waiting to be heard. Mimi shares how she approached writing about being held hostage, why timing mattered, and how she transformed silence into story. In this episode, we discuss: Writing about trauma years later How distance shapes perspective on the page Structuring a memoir around a central event Balancing emotional truth with narrative control What writers need to consider when revisiting difficult experiences Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/YlxImrMbqNA About Mimi Mimi Nichter is an award-winning cultural anthropologist who studies core concerns in contemporary American society and global public health. She is a professor emerita of anthropology at the University of Arizona. Dr. Nichter is the author or coauthor of four anthropology-related books and the recipient of the Margaret Mead Award for writing that reaches a wide public audience. Her memoir, Hostage, was selected as a finalist for the Literary Award in Non-Fiction at the Tucson Festival of Books. Her essays have appeared in Newsweek, HuffPost, and Brevity. Connect with Mimi Website: https://www.miminichter.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/mimi.nichter Instagram: https://instagram.com/miminichter Threads: https://www.threads.com/@miminichter Don't miss episode #183 Don't Give Up on Ghostwriting. What Pays and What's Still Dead. https://estelleserasmus.com/183-dont-give-up-on-ghostwriting-what-still-pays-and-whats-dead/ And find the free resource guide from the panel I moderated at AWP: https://estelleserasmus.com/teaching-speaking/awp-2026-writing-and-publishing-resources/ Get More From Estelle Erasmus • Free NYU "Editor on Call" Event Join Estelle Erasmus and the editor-in-chief of PROVOKED on April 22 from 12:30–1:30 PM EDT to learn how to pitch and publish your work. Register here: https://events.nyu.edu/event/384509-editor-on-call-ready-to-pitch-publish-and-g • Private Small-Group Memoir Class Next 6-week session begins September 2026. (May session is sold out). Email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details. Recent Student Piece in The Cut: https://www.thecut.com/article/search-rescue-volunteer-missing-person-motherhood.html • Read & Subscribe Substack: NEW POST — Why Your Memoir Draft Still Feels Flat (And How to Fix It) https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-your-memoir-draft-still-feels • Newsletter Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates and a free Pitching Guide. • Watch Estelle's TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ • Book Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 • Listen Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2026 and 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus https://instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus https://www.tiktok.com/@estelleserasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus https://x.com/EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 3/19/26 | ![]() #183 Don't Give Up on Ghostwriting. What Still Pays and What's Dead | Ghostwriting isn't dead. It's just napping. The smart writers know exactly where to wake it up. It can be one of the most lucrative paths for writers, but not all ghostwriting opportunities are created equal. In this solo episode, Estelle Erasmus reveals which ghostwriting gigs are thriving in 2026 and which ones are quietly disappearing. If you've ever been curious about ghostwriting (or you're already doing it and wondering about your future), this episode is essential listening. Estelle shares insider predictions about the market, explains why the "whisper network" matters more than you think, and breaks down exactly what it takes to land high-paying ghostwriting projects. In This Episode The surprising truth about which ghostwriting clients are worth pursuing—and which aren't Why AI is reshaping the ghostwriting landscape (and what this means for your income) Two key organizations every ghostwriter should know about The one skill that separates successful ghostwriters from everyone else Real talk about ghostwriting earnings: what you can actually make How to position yourself as the go-to ghostwriter (even if you're just starting out) Resources Mentioned Gotham Ghostwriters https://gothamghostwriters.com/ Association of Ghostwriters https://associationofghostwriters.org/ Jane Friedman's Newsletter https://janefriedman.com/ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/g0DUVX2Xg_E Get More From Estelle Erasmus • Free NYU "Editor on Call" Event Join Estelle Erasmus and the editor-in-chief of PROVOKED on April 22 from 12:30–1:30 PM EDT to learn how to pitch and publish your work. Register here: https://events.nyu.edu/event/384509-editor-on-call-ready-to-pitch-publish-and-g • Private Small-Group Memoir Class Next 6-week session begins September 2026. (May session is sold out). Email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details. • Read & Subscribe Substack: NEW POST — Why Your Memoir Draft Still Feels Flat (And How to Fix It) https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-your-memoir-draft-still-feels • Newsletter Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates and a free Pitching Guide. • Watch Estelle's TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ • Book Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 • Listen Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2026 and 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus https://instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus https://www.tiktok.com/@estelleserasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus https://x.com/EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 3/12/26 | ![]() #182 The A–Z of AWP: Insider Tips for Writers Attending the Conference | Thinking about attending the AWP Conference and wondering how to prepare for it? With thousands of writers, panels, book fairs, and networking opportunities, AWP can feel both exciting, inspiring and a little overwhelming. That's why it helps to have a strategy. In this solo episode of Freelance Writing Direct, host Estelle Erasmus shares how she prepared for AWP, what it was like moderating her standing-room-only panel, and the simple strategies that helped her navigate the conference with aplomb. Estelle talks through everything from packing light and bringing snacks to creating meaningful connections with other writers. She also shares highlights from her panel discussion on publishing in both literary journals and mainstream outlets, along with a few insights from other sessions she attended. Whether you're attending AWP for the first time or looking for ways to approach it more thoughtfully, this episode offers practical tips to help you prepare, connect, and get more out of the experience. In this episode: How to prepare for the AWP Conference [1:10] Networking strategies for writers who prefer smaller conversations [6:42] What to bring to make long conference days easier [8:13] Lessons from other panels on writing and the publishing journey [22:00] Behind the scenes of Estelle's panel on literary vs. mainstream publishing [25:27] Why following up after conferences matters [26:46] AWP 2026 Writing and Publishing Resources: https://estelleserasmus.com/teaching-speaking/awp-2026-writing-and-publishing-resources/ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oziyWtYTZfI Get More From Estelle Erasmus • Free NYU "Editor on Call" Event Join Estelle Erasmus and the editor-in-chief of PROVOKED on April 22 from 12:30–1:30 PM EDT to learn how to pitch and publish your work. Register here: https://events.nyu.edu/event/384509-editor-on-call-ready-to-pitch-publish-and-g • Private Small-Group Memoir Class (Almost Full) Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Two spots left. Email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details. • Read & Subscribe Substack: NEW POST — Why Your Memoir Draft Still Feels Flat (And How to Fix It) https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-your-memoir-draft-still-feels • Newsletter Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates and a free Pitching Guide. • Watch Estelle's TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ • Book Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 • Listen Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2026 and 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus https://instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus https://www.tiktok.com/@estelleserasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus https://x.com/EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
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| 3/5/26 | ![]() #181 From Ashram to Author: Finding the Transformative Thread in a Near Cult Memoir with Blair Glaser | What happens when a story that could be told as trauma is instead shaped as triumph? Blair Glaser joins Estelle Erasmus to discuss her journey from a Catskills ashram in the 1990s to published author, and how she turned her time in a spiritual organization into her memoir, This Incredible Longing: Finding Myself in a Near Cult Experience. Rather than writing a simple escape narrative, she explores spiritual longing, group dynamics, depression, leadership, and the unexpected skills she developed inside a restrictive system. Instead of focusing solely on abuse and escape, Blair takes a nuanced approach, examining how that experience helped her find her voice, build professional skills, and ultimately claim her self worth. This episode is essential listening for memoir writers wrestling with how to structure layered stories, navigate family fallout, and uncover the thematic thread that elevates personal experience into crafted memoir. In this episode: Why her memoir rejects the typical "cult survivor" narrative and how she found unexpected gifts within a harmful experience [02:55] The rookie mistake many memoirists make and how she corrected it in revision [12:05] How the ashram taught her to rise through the ranks, create transformational programs, and become a writer, even while struggling with depression [16:00] Why she defines spiritual awakening as "a kind of madness" that rarely makes sense to the people around you [25:25] How to write about depression and suicidal ideation without deadening the reader [27:00] Why writing from therapeutic distance made revisiting trauma feel reflective, even sweet, rather than painful [27:20] Her best advice for writers who do not have journals to draw from [28:15] The family fallout that followed publication and why she chose authentic storytelling over protection [30:00] How indie publisher Heliotrope Books cha Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AofD5lloQ_E About Blair: Blair Glaser is a writer and leadership consultant whose essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, People Magazine, Longreads, Oldster, Quartz, HuffPost, Inside Higher Ed, and others, as well as in literary magazines such as Brevity, Dorothy Parker's Ashes, In Short, and The Mantlepiece. She's read stories live at events such as Writer's Read, Generation Women, and The Woodstock Bookfest. Her debut memoir, This Incredible Longing, was published by Heliotrope in February 2026. She lives with her husband and dog-ter, Vanna White, in Venice Beach, CA. More can be found at www.blairglaser.com. Connect with Blair: Website: https://www.blairglaser.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blair_glaser/ Book: This Incredible Longing: Finding Myself in a Near Cult Experience: https://www.blairglaser.com/books Get More From Estelle Private Small-Group Memoir Class — Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: Why Your Memoir Draft Still Feels Flat: And How To Fix Ithttps://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-your-memoir-draft-still-feels Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus https://instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus https://www.tiktok.com/@estelleserasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus https://x.com/EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 2/26/26 | ![]() #180 Unlearning Childhood Lessons and Reinventing a Memoir with Anna Rollins | What does it take to unlearn the messages you were raised with and reshape them into a publishable memoir? In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus chats with Anna Rollins about the internal and structural shifts that reshaped her debut memoir, Famished. Anna reveals how expanding the scope of her manuscript, incorporating reporting, and strengthening her platform repositioned the project and led to multiple offers. They also explore how diet culture and evangelical purity culture shaped the 1990s media landscape, and what it means to critically reexamine the messages women absorbed about appetite, obedience, and ambition. Estelle reflects on her own experience crafting magazine cover lines that reinforced those narratives, and what it means to revisit that era from a different vantage point. In This Episode: • How purity culture shaped her early beliefs about body, faith, and obedience [2:34] • How questioning those inherited ideas reshaped both her identity and the structure of her memoir [4:19] • How writing during the pandemic helped her quiet marketplace anxiety [23:00] • The unconventional way she landed her agent [27:16] • The interview question she learned from Estelle that consistently yielded stronger quotes [26:39] • How that reinvention ultimately led to multiple offers [28:48] • Why some of the strongest sections emerged when she stopped writing for the audience and started writing to discover and play [29:53] About Anna: Anna Rollins is the author of Famished: On Food, Sex, and Growing Up as a Good Girl. Her groundbreaking debut memoir examines the rhyming scripts of diet culture and evangelical purity culture, both of which direct women to fear their own bodies and appetites. Her writing has appeared in outlets like The New York Times, Slate, Electric Literature, Literary Hub, Joyland, and more. She's an award-winning instructor who taught English in higher education for nearly 15 years and a 2025 West Virginia Creative Network Literary Arts Fellow. A lifelong Appalachian, she lives with her husband in West Virginia where they're raising their three small children. Follow her on Substack and Instagram @annajrollins. Connect with Anna: Website: https://www.annajrollins.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annajrollins/?hl=en Famished: On Food, Sex, and Growing Up as a Good Girl: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/224466981-famished Estelle's Substack feature on Anna https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/writers-that-get-noticed-anna-rollins?utm_source=publication-search Get More From Estelle Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/amplifying-the-echo-effect-in-memoir-and-essays Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: On Craft, Revision, and the Paragraph You Almost Cut https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus https://instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus https://www.tiktok.com/@estelleserasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus https://twitter.com/EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 2/19/26 | ![]() #179 Writing from the Scar: Conscious Craft Choices with Jocelyn Jane Cox | What do you do when your son's first birthday party becomes the same day you lose your mother? In this episode, Estelle Erasmus sits down with Jocelyn Jane Cox, author of Motion Dazzle, the award-winning memoir that follows a single day when celebration and grief collided. It's a day that would forever contain both darkness and light, joy and devastating loss. Here's what makes this conversation essential for writers: Jocelyn shares the conscious craft choices behind weaving seemingly unrelated threads—competitive figure skating, caregiving, dating disasters, and new motherhood—into a cohesive narrative anchored by a powerful central metaphor. She waited seven years to write it. She revised it 14 times. She made the bold choice not to name her mother until the final pages. And when traditional publishing didn't align, she pivoted to small presses and received two offers. If you're wrestling with how to structure a memoir, wondering when you're ready to write about grief, or trying to figure out how to braid multiple timelines into one story, this episode offers a clear, honest look at how it can be done with intention. This conversation also echoes themes from my recent piece in Electric Literature, "9 Memoirs about Dating, Desire, and Reclamation,"where I highlight nine memoirists exploring dating, desire, reclamation, love, loss, and identity in bold, personal ways. https://electricliterature.com/9-memoirs-about-dating-desire-and-reclamation/ In this episode: Why writing to her son (not to publishers) freed her to finish the first draft [3:23] How cutting 13,000 words strengthened her manuscript [8:12] The craft decision to use a single-day structure (like in Mrs. Dalloway) [9:25] How she turned the metaphor of "motion dazzle"—a zebra's survival mechanism—into the beating heart of her memoir [14:33] What she learned working with Estelle on a pivotal essay [24:48] The truth about writing essays to tighten your book (and build your platform) [29:12] Why she queried exactly 25 agents before recognizing her book was meant for a small press [30:35]\ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ljvor7U4icc About Jocelyn: Jocelyn Jane Cox is the author of Motion Dazzle: A Memoir of Motherhood, Loss, and Skating on Thin Ice (Vine Leaves Press, 2025), winner of the American Writing Awards in Best New Nonfiction. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing (fiction) from Sarah Lawrence College and has published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Newsweek, Slate, Writers Digest, and numerous literary magazines. Her fiction and nonfiction have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She lives with her husband and son near Nyack, NY and works as a book coach, memoir teacher, and college essay coach. Connect with Jocelyn: Website: https://www.jocelynjanecox.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jocelynjanecoxwriter/?hl=en Motion Dazzle: A Memoir of Motherhood, Loss, and Skating on Thin Ice: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/238249565-motion-dazzle Get More From Estelle NEW: My next free Editor on Call event in collaboration with NYU is open for registration.I'm delighted to be in conversation with Susan Dabbar, Publisher and Editor in Chief of PROVOKEDmagazine, about what makes a pitch stand out and how to position your work for publication there. Sign up here: Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/amplifying-the-echo-effect-in-memoir-and-essays Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer's block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages. https://www.sps.nyu.edu/courses/WRIT1-CE9800-writing-about-your-life-through-memoir-essays-and-articles.html Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: On Craft, Revision, and the Paragraph You Almost Cut https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus https://instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus https://www.tiktok.com/@estelleserasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus https://twitter.com/EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 2/12/26 | ![]() #178 From Viral Essay to Memoir Plus: Writing Longing into a Book Deal with Amanda McCracken | What does it take to turn a viral essay about longing into a deeply researched memoir and a book deal? For Amanda McCracken, it took 11 years, multiple agent rejections, a pandemic, creative platform-building, and an unwavering commitment to her story. In this episode, Estelle Erasmus sits down with Amanda McCracken, author of When Longing Becomes Your Lover: Breaking from Infatuation, Rejection, and Perfectionism to Find Authentic Love, a deeply researched memoir that blends personal narrative with journalism, psychology, and neuroscience. Amanda shares the behind-the-scenes reality of the publishing journey, from her 2013 viral New York Times essay to landing a book deal in 2024. She opens up about the structural challenges of writing memoir with research, the emotional work of cutting stories that "served their purpose," and how she built a compelling platform through her podcast The Longing Lab, her 2023 TED Talk, and strategic essay placements in Vogue, The Guardian, and The Washington Post. In This Episode How to turn a personal essay into a full book proposal and why timing matters [2:48] The real timeline of traditional publishing, from query to contract [4:35] Why perseverance, patience, and an athlete's mindset matter in the publishing journey [8:11] Why agents and editors wanted a "happy ending" and how Amanda navigated that [18:59] How to position your book in a competitive market without saying "there's nothing like it" [20:10] Smart platform-building strategies, including podcasts, TED Talks, and targeted essay placements [22:52] The power of giving yourself grace and focusing on what's fun during the book promotion process [25:02] How to structure a memoir that weaves personal story with deep research [25:19] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4DTnoOVPzcM About Amanda: Amanda McCracken is a journalist passionate about experiences that highlight the intersection of wellness, travel, and relationships. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Vogue, National Geographic, Elle, NPR, Outside, ESPN, SELF,Runner's World, and many others. She published her first article about longing in 2013, which led to additional articles featuring personal anecdotes and deep research and interviews with the BBC and Katie Couric. She is now considered a "limerence expert" and intimacy advocate. Her 2023 TED Talk, "How Longing Keeps Us From Healthy Relationships," highlights how longing can become self-sabotaging and shares how to change our patterns of longing. McCracken is the author of When Longing Becomes Your Lover: Breaking Free from Infatuation, Rejection, and Perfectionism to Find Authentic Love. She is also a part-time university instructor, massage therapist, triathlon coach, and competitive athlete. Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, McCracken put down roots with her husband and daughter in Boulder, Colorado, after a trip around the world aboard the Peace Boat. Connect with Amanda www.amandajmccracken.com My book: When Longing Becomes Your Lover My podcast: The Longing Lab Watch my TEDx talk Read my NYT story on limerence Instagram: @amandajmccracken TikTok: @thelonginglab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.mccracken.39 Get More From Estelle Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/amplifying-the-echo-effect-in-memoir-and-essays Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer's block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages. https://www.sps.nyu.edu/courses/WRIT1-CE9800-writing-about-your-life-through-memoir-essays-and-articles.html Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: On Craft, Revision, and the Paragraph You Almost Cut https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 2/5/26 | ![]() #177 The Power of Narrative Tension with Peter Mountford | Great writing doesn't come from inventing drama. It comes from putting characters in situations where something meaningful is at stake. In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle talks with fiction writer and essayist Peter Mountford about his short story collection Detonator and the craft choices that make stories propulsive. Mountford discusses how place shapes his fiction, drawing from lived experience in Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Mexico, Scotland, and the U.S. He explains why many of the stories began as previously published pieces and how revising them later, with a teacher's eye, changed their emotional impact. This episode is for fiction and nonfiction writers who want their work to feel leaner, sharper, and more emotionally charged In this episode: How Detonator grew out of lived experience and real places [2:18] Guilt, death, sex, and humor as recurring narrative forces [15:24] The craft purpose of a nonfiction prologue in a fiction collection [15:55] How strong hooks give writers freedom to slow down later [19:19] Using secrets, requests, and moral pressure to create tension [21:06] Why "mini-scenes" often work better than full narratives [25:09] Revising previously published work with a teacher's eye [27:08] What makes Modern Love–style essays pitchable and effective [30:15] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FvZLi7ehvdA About Peter: Peter Mountford is the author of the novels A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism (Washington State Book Award), The Dismal Science (NYT editor's choice), and his latest, a collection of short stories, Detonator (now out from Four Way Books). His work has appeared in the New York Times (Modern Love), Paris Review, Southern Review, The Atlantic, The Sun, Ploughshares, and Guernica. He teaches at University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe's MFA, and through Mountford Writing. Connect with Peter: Website: https://www.petermountford.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mountfordwriting/?hl=en Detonator: https://www.petermountford.com/detonator Coaching & Classes: https://www.mountfordwriting.com/ Modern Love Self Guided Class: https://www.mountfordwriting.com/how-to-write-a-new-york-times-modern-love-essay Get More from Estelle Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/amplifying-the-echo-effect-in-memoir-and-essays Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer's block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages. https://www.sps.nyu.edu/courses/WRIT1-CE9800-writing-about-your-life-through-memoir-essays-and-articles.html Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: On Craft, Revision, and the Paragraph You Almost Cut https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 1/29/26 | ![]() #176 The Domino Effect of Plot: Writing Emotionally Complex Characters with Tova Mirvis | Family loyalty can push ordinary people toward unimaginable choices. Estelle Erasmus chats with novelist and memoirist Tova Mirvis about her latest book, We Would Never, a gripping murder mystery inspired by a true crime case. While real events sparked the novel, the plot ultimately emerged from the emotional choices her characters make, with each decision setting off the next. Tova reveals that the real work happened on the inside, as she burrowed into the emotional lives of her characters: the anger, loyalty, fear, and love that drive people to extremes. In this episode: How a true crime case inspired We Would Never while leaving room for invention [3:02] Lessons from memoir writing applied to fiction [4:02] Crafting morally complex characters readers can still empathize with [6:38] Writing fiction as a mystery the reader wants to solve [7:05] The back-and-forth between character development and plot creation [8:59] Writing dialogue that escalates tension and reveals moral fault lines [16:24] Using empathy to explore difficult or morally ambiguous actions [19:45] The painstaking revision process and knowing when a novel is truly finished [20:49] Techniques for building suspense and pacing in emotionally charged narratives [29:22] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/U0RPCcdmIVI About Tova: Tova Mirvis is the author, most recently, of the novel We Would Never which was published by Avid Reader Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Her memoir The Book of Separation was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice and excerpted in the New York Times Modern Love Column. She is also the author of three prior novels, Visible City, The Outside World and The Ladies Auxiliary which was a national bestseller. Her essays have appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe Magazine, Real Simple and Psychology Today, and her fiction has been broadcast on NPR. Connect with Tova: We Would Never: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214151513-we-would-never Website: https://www.tovamirvis.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tovamirvis/ Get More from Estelle Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/amplifying-the-echo-effect-in-memoir-and-essays Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer's block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages. https://www.sps.nyu.edu/courses/WRIT1-CE9800-writing-about-your-life-through-memoir-essays-and-articles.html Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: On Craft, Revision, and the Paragraph You Almost Cut https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 1/22/26 | ![]() #175 From Mews(es) to Manuscript: How Inspired by Cats Became an Illustrated Literary Book | Did you know that cats have, in their feline way, shaped some of the greatest writing careers in literary history? Bob Eckstein and Nava Atlas join Estelle Erasmus to talk about their collaboration on Inspired by Cats: Writers and Their Mews(es), a visually rich book exploring the creative bond between writers and their feline companions. The conversation traces how the idea evolved from a shareable literary roundup into a full-scale book published by Norton. Bob and Nava unpack their creative process, from cleanly dividing roles between writing and illustration to navigating permissions, estates, and revisions. This episode is especially valuable for writers curious about collaboration, research-driven books, illustration partnerships, and finding inspiration beyond the page. In this episode: How Inspired by Cats: Writers and Their Mews(es) grew from a literary roundup into a full book [1:10] Why cats consistently emerge as ideal creative companions for writers [3:01] What Bob and Nava learned about collaboration, trust, and dividing creative roles [9:40] What working with estates, living authors, and editors really involves [12:30] Surprising discoveries about famous writers and their feline companions [20:15] The importance of curation and surprise when shaping a narrative-driven book [24:19] How tight word limits can sharpen writing instead of limiting it [30:46] What the project revealed about inspiration, discipline, and the writing life [32:20] Bob Eckstein previously appeared on Freelance Writing Direct to talk about his work and career, and listeners may enjoy revisiting that episode alongside this conversation. #86 The Way of an Author and Illustrator: Finding Inspiration in Art. https://estelleserasmus.com/86-the-way-of-an-author-and-illustrator-finding-inspiration-in-art-featuring-bob-eckstein/ Watch on YouTube:https://youtu.be/PDRCFOiCLn4 Inspired by Cats Writers and Their Mews(es): https://wwnorton.com/books/9781682689493 Bob Eckstein is a NY Times bestseller, award-winning illustrator, New Yorker cartoonist, and world's leading snowman expert. His newest books are Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums and Inspired by Cat: Writers & Their Mews(es). Connect with Bob Website Bob's Latest Book on Estelle's Bookshop Instagram Twitter TikTok Facebook Substack Podcast: The Cartoon Pad Nava Atlas has some twenty books to her credit. She's known for her many vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, most recently the 5th edition of Vegan Soups and Stews for All Seasons. Nava is also the author of visual nonfiction, notably Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life, which spun off to the web archive LiteraryLadiesGuide.com, dedicated to women's classic literature, with millions of views logged. Her latest book is Inspired by Cats: Writers and Their Mews(es), illustrated by Bob Eckstein. She's working on Women Writing Dangerously, a visual history of banning, censorship, and silencing of women's literature. She lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York state. You can find her at LiteraryLadiesGuide.com and TheVeganAtlas.com. Connect with Nava https://literaryladiesguide.substack.com https://theveganatlas.substack.com Get More from Estelle Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/amplifying-the-echo-effect-in-memoir-and-essays 🎓 Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer's block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages. https://www.sps.nyu.edu/courses/WRIT1-CE9800-writing-about-your-life-through-memoir-essays-and-articles.html Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. 📰 Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: On Craft, Revision, and the Paragraph You Almost Cut https://estelleserasmus.substack.com • Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. 🎤 Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ 📘 Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 🎧 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 1/15/26 | ![]() #174 Forgiveness Without Apologies. Writing a Mother-Daughter Memoir | Forgiveness doesn't erase the past. It changes who gets to control your present. In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with filmmaker, writer, and coach Gayle Kirschenbaum and her 102-year-old mother, Mildred Kirschenbaum, about their volatile, funny, and hard-won evolution from conflict to connection. Gayle shares the story behind her debut memoir, Bullied to Besties: A Daughter's Journey to Forgiveness, including the relentless criticism she grew up with, the physical toll it took, and the moment she realized the only way forward was to stop living as a victim. The conversation also explores generational silence around feelings, antisemitism and identity, and the surprising way Mildred became Gayle's most rigorous story consultant, even when she appears as the "villain" in the narrative. It's a candid look at what forgiveness can mean when the other person doesn't change, but you do. In this episode: How childhood dynamics quietly shape identity, health, and self-trust [5:17] Why Gayle decided forgiveness was the only way forward [7:55] Generational silence, emotional truth, and the limits of understanding [10:05] Structuring a memoir through therapy, flashbacks, and confrontation [15:54] Mildred's perspective on her parenting and how intention & impact don't always align [17:54] Using journals, letters, and family archives as memoir source material [24:47] Seeing a parent as a wounded child and how that reframed everything [29:29] What it looks like to reclaim agency while staying in relationship [30:00] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xQcs4nOjODM Connect with Gayle and Mildred: Website: https://www.gaylekirschenbaum.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glkirschenbaum/?hl=en Bullied to Besties: A Daughter's Journey To Forgiveness: https://www.gaylekirschenbaum.com/bullied-to-besties Look At Us Now, Mother!: https://www.gaylekirschenbaum.com/look-at-us-now-mother Get More from Estelle Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/amplifying-the-echo-effect-in-memoir-and-essays 🎓 Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer's block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages. https://www.sps.nyu.edu/courses/WRIT1-CE9800-writing-about-your-life-through-memoir-essays-and-articles.html Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. 📰 Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: On Craft, Revision, and the Paragraph You Almost Cut https://estelleserasmus.substack.com • Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. 🎤 Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ 📘 Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 🎧 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 1/8/26 | ![]() #173 Writing Flawed Female Characters in Noir Fiction with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett | After years of writing literary fiction, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, author of Pool Fishing, saw her work shift when she turned to noir. Estelle Erasmus chats with Barbara about the genre shift that reignited her fiction and led to publication. Barbara shares how stepping into noir forced her to embrace plot, tension, and consequence, without sacrificing voice or depth. They touch on the big craft questions behind the book, including how place shapes story, how themes emerge across a collection, and how to build characters readers empathize with, even when those characters make bad choices. Barbara also reflects on the early days of Writers on Writing and how it grew from a radio show into a long-running podcast for writers. In this episode: The moment Barbara realized literary fiction wasn't enough [3:02] Why noir demands action, risk, and irreversible consequences [4:17] Why genre shifts can unlock new creative momentum [5:06] How place and atmosphere shape what happens on the page [8:20] Ways themes naturally emerge across a story collection [9:11] The accidental water motif that ties Pool Fishing together [10:54] Making flawed characters compelling [16:35] A practical approach to staying accountable while drafting a book [22:52] How Writers on Writing began as radio and became a podcast pioneer [26:18] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iOL5c3VDMCI About Barbara: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett's recent debut collection of short stories, Pool Fishing, was published by Kelp Books. Her short story, "Rowboat," included in the book, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She has also published Palm Springs Noir (Akashic Books) and Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman's Guide to Igniting the Writer Within, a Los Angeles Times bestseller and winner of the American Society of Journalists and Authors best book award. "Crazy for You," published in Orange County Noir (Akashic), was included in USA Noir: Best of the Akashic Noir Series. Her short fiction has been published in Coolest American Stories, CrimeReads, Oyez Review, Literary Hatchet, Rock and a Hard Place, Broad River Review, and Dark City Crime & Mystery Magazine. Essays and articles have seen print in Inlandia, The Antarctica Review, The Ocotillo Review, The Writer, Los Angeles Review of Books, Poets & Writers,, San Jose Mercury News, and the Los Angeles Times. She teaches at various places, including Saddleback College and Gotham Writers Workshop, and has taught at UC-Irvine where she received a Distinguished Instructor Award. She is creator, executive producer, and host of the award-winning podcast, Writers on Writing. www.penonfire.com. Connect with Barbara: Website: https://penonfire.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbarademarcobarrett/?hl=en Pool Fishing: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205217838-pool-fishing Writers on Writing: https://open.spotify.com/show/3xsgsETgPlrGnmI9BmjC1I?si=62ce96ccabd14a35 Get More from Estelle Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. 🎓 Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer's block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages. Find out more information and register here. Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. 📰 Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: How to Pitch Slate: Advice, Ideas and Examples on How to Write Articles and Essays from NYU My Editor-on-Call Event • Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. 🎤 Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond 📘 Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." Audiobook here 🎧 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. A contributing editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 1/1/26 | ![]() #172 A Year in Motion: Writing, Teaching, and Publishing in Real Time | In this solo recap episode, Estelle Erasmus reflects on a year shaped by creative momentum, personal loss, and professional growth. As she approaches 200 podcast episodes, expands her teaching at NYU and Writer's Digest, and leads small-group workshops, she considers what this season revealed and what she is carrying forward into 2026. She also revisits major moments including her TEDx talk, How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond, students publishing in outlets like Modern Love, Brevity, The Boston Globe, The Kenyon Review, Audacity, and Business Insider, and the shifting landscape of personal essay publishing. Alongside these milestones, she reflects on grief, travel, and how lived experience continues to inform the work, even when it is not yet ready for the public eye. In this episode: Momentum through teaching, publishing, and consistency [1:18] Balancing accountability in long-term memoir work [14:38] The shrinking personal essay market and why strategic placement matters [17:53] Using AI as a support tool for brainstorming and structure [18:20] Substacks Mentioned Hannah Sward Summer of Men Her episode: #122 Crafting a Tsunami of Transformation in Memoir Rona Maynard Amazement Seeker Her episode: #102 Writing Scenes Shaped Around Sensory Experience Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nVLCzIpWlcI Get More from Estelle Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. 🎓 Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer's block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages. Find out more information and register here. Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. 📰 Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: How to Pitch Slate: Advice, Ideas and Examples on How to Write Articles and Essays from NYU My Editor-on-Call Event • Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. 🎤 Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond 📘 Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." Audiobook here 🎧 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. A contributing editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 12/25/25 | ![]() #171 Musings on Writing Through Uncertainty with Abigail Thomas | Memoir often begins where certainty ends, and that is exactly where Abigail Thomas feels most alive on the page. In this thoughtful conversation between friends, Estelle Erasmus and Abigail explore what it means to write through uncertainty, follow curiosity, and let small surprising moments become the heart of a story. This episode is for writers who crave honesty on the page, who wrestle with self-doubt, and who want practical ways to turn ordinary moments and uncomfortable memories into powerful stories. In This Episode: How Abby's writing process starts with curiosity rather than structure [5:42] Why writing for yourself first can quiet doubt and deepen authenticity [10:42] The surprising moments that reshape a memoir while you're writing it [14:08] What aging and memory loss have taught Abby about storytelling [16:24] Estelle's own revelations while drafting her memoir [19:57] A simple exercise to unlock vulnerable, unexpected material [20:58] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dWoVEinON7c About Abigail Thomas Abigail Thomas has four children,12 grandchildren, two great grandchildren, eleven books, and a high school education. She was asked to leave Bryn Mawr freshman year when she told the Dean she was pregnant, and she never went back. She had always wanted to be a writer, but for a long time the closest she came was bopping around her kitchen to Paperback Writer, by the Beatles. When she was forty-eight, after an interesting adventure, when she got home, she left her ego outside, and began to write a story. It didn't work, but instead of crumpling it up saying "who do you think you are?" sat in a different chair, and another, and at the end of the afternoon, she had written a story. It was published in the Columbia Journal of Poetry and Prose. She had learned you have to keep at it. Writing is work of the best kind. She has written two short story collections, one novel and four works of non-fiction, including the memoirs Safekeeping; A Three Dog Life; What Comes Next and How to Like It; and a book about writing, Thinking about Memoir. Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting Thing is her latest memoir, published by Scribners in November 2024. Connect with Abigail Thomas: Substack Abigail Thomas/What Comes Next?: https://abigailthomas.substack.com Estelle's prior Episodes with Abby #116 https://estelleserasmus.com/116-conversations-with-abby-ruminations-on-writing-featuring-abigail-thomas/ #83 https://estelleserasmus.com/83-writing-your-way-into-an-engaging-and-enthralling-story-featuring-abigail-thomas/ Get More from Estelle Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. 🎓 Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer's block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages. Find out more information and register here. Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. 📰 Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: How to Pitch Slate: Advice, Ideas and Examples on How to Write Articles and Essays from NYU My Editor-on-Call Event • Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. 🎤 Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond 📘 Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." Audiobook here 🎧 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. A contributing editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 12/18/25 | ![]() #170 Braiding Cultural Context into Your Memoir with Melissa Fraterrigo | Estelle Erasmus sits down with award-winning author Melissa Fraterrigo, whose latest book, The Perils of Girlhood, is a memoir in essays that examines identity, fear, body image, motherhood, memory, and the cultural touchstones that shaped so many girls growing up in the '80s and '90s. Together, Estelle and Melissa explore the moments that define girlhood, from fear and body image to parenting, consent, pop culture, and the stories we carry into adulthood, and how writing about them can open conversations we rarely have out loud. In this episode: The real fears that follow girls into adulthood, from unsafe encounters to inherited anger How pop culture influences like Judy Blume, Madonna, and true crime stories shaped a generation The challenge of talking to teenage daughters about consent, body image, and safety Using braided essay structures to layer personal experience with cultural reality Turning difficult memories into narrative without judgment or sensationalism Why reading your work aloud can reveal emotional truth Teaching writing in a way that encourages students to find and trust their voice Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/unHd_sT5lZ8 About Melissa Fraterrigo Melissa Fraterrigo's memoir, The Perils of Girlhood was published by the University of Nebraska Press in Fall 2025. She is also the author of the novel Glory Days (University of Nebraska Press), which was named one of "The Best Fiction Books of 2017" by the Chicago Review of Books as well as the short story collection The Longest Pregnancy (Livingston Press). Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies from storySouth and Shenandoah to Notre Dame Review, Sou'wester and The Millions. She teaches creative writing at Purdue University, in the Butler University MFA in Creative Writing program, and is also the founder and executive director of the Lafayette Writers' Studio in Lafayette, Indiana, where she offers classes on the art and craft of writing. She lives with her husband and two daughters in West Lafayette, Indiana and can be found at melissafraterrigo.com. Connect with Melissa: Website: https://www.melissafraterrigo.com/ The Perils of Girlhood: https://www.melissafraterrigo.com/the-perils-of-girlhood Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissafraterrigo/ Get More from Estelle Upcoming Webinar with Writer's Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar. Learn more and register here. 🎓 Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer's block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages. Find out more information and register here. Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. 📰 Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: How to Pitch Slate: Advice, Ideas and Examples on How to Write Articles and Essays from NYU My Editor-on-Call Event • Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. 🎤 Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond 📘 Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." Audiobook here 🎧 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. A contributing editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 12/11/25 | ![]() #169 Finding the Line: How a Linear Structure Brought a Memoir Into Focus with Heather Sweeney | Some lives resist easy summary, and Heather Sweeney's was one of them. After two decades inside a military marriage, marked by relocations, solo parenting, and a gradual loss of personal direction, she knew she had a story, but not yet a shape. Estelle Erasmus talks with Heather about how she translated that long, complicated stretch of living into her memoir, Camouflage: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage. They discuss the early drafting that felt scattered, the challenge of seeing her own experience clearly, and why a straightforward linear structure ultimately gave the narrative its definition. Heather shares how moving chronologically helped her understand what moments carried weight, what could be left out, and how structure can reveal meaning that isn't visible in real time. In this episode: How Heather determined that a linear structure best served her story [1:33] How she found the true "start" of her memoir [3:00] How she used a three part structure built around beginnings and endings [5:18] How reader responses to her early essay revealed a gap in stories about military divorce [7:02] Why the book needed forward motion instead of fragmentation [11:31] How she balanced writing about real people with protecting privacy [12:00] Turning years of journals into a clean storyline [13:21] How she considered weaving in military history or prescriptive elements, and why she chose to keep the memoir focused and personal [15:03] What she's excited about next in her writing life [28:44] Why readers from all backgrounds connect with her story [30:06] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GlBYpm9Ac2Y About Heather Sweeney: Heather Sweeney is the author of the memoir Camouflage: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage. She writes about divorce, life as a military spouse, parenting, and women's health, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, HuffPost, Business Insider, TODAY.com, Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, Healthline, Reader's Digest and Military.com, among many others. She lives in Virginia with her boyfriend and two college-aged kids. Connect with Heather: Order Camouflage on Estelle's Bookshop https://bookshop.org/a/98827/9798895653081 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writersweeney Substack: https://heathersweeney.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-sweeney-5a15115b/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/WriterSweeney Get More from Estelle 🎓 Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Learn more• Private Small-Group Memoir Class — JANUARY AND MARCH SOLD OUT. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. 📰 Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: How to Pitch Slate: Advice, Ideas and Examples on How to Write Articles and Essays from NYU My Editor-on-Call Event • Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. 🎤 Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond 📘 Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." Audiobook here 🎧 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. A contributing editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 12/4/25 | ![]() #168 The Making of A Modern Love Essay, "Negotiating the End of Us" with Leslie B. Blanchard | Leslie B. Blanchard joins Freelance Writing Direct for a conversation about developing her Modern Love essay, finding the line that anchored the piece, writing honestly about anticipatory grief, discovering structure through revision, clarifying metaphor, understanding what makes a submission stand out, and learning what the story truly wanted to say.Modern Love essays aren't accidents, they're built from a bold hook, clear structure, and often, the courage to write through grief. In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with her student, writer Leslie B. Blanchard, about the journey of her New York Times Modern Love essay, "Negotiating the End of Us," from a quick in-class prompt to publication. Leslie shares how the opening line "He always said he would die young" became the spine of the piece, and how focusing on the negotiation around death made her grief story stand out in an inbox flooded with loss. As Estelle often teaches her students, the right entry point can transform a personal story into one an editor cannot ignore, and Leslie's piece is a powerful example of that. This episode is for writers who want to turn deeply personal material into publishable essays—and need to see exactly how community, revision, and coaching make that possible. Leslie described our workshop process this way, and her words capture the heart of how this essay developed: "I truly believe there is a story in all of us that wants to be told. Sometimes it's just a matter of finding your authentic voice. I recently had the honor of being published in The New York Times Modern Love, which was a life goal. The piece started with a prompt from Estelle Erasmus in her writing class and developed from there as we workshopped every angle together. What makes this process work is that Estelle gets to know her students in a way that allows her to guide them and help unlock their strongest work. This is the key to crafting an essay that gets noticed in this highly competitive field." — Leslie B. Blanchard In This Episode: How a 10-minute classroom exercise grew into a Modern Love essay [2:50] Why a specific, original hook is essential when writing about grief [6:21] How Leslie found the structure and emotional center of her piece [10:29] Craft choices that tightened the piece: cutting digressions, choosing one central metaphor, and having "bargaining" in the final line. [20:07] How workshops, careful line edits, community, and supportive coaching can turn a private story into a publishable essay and help a writer trust their voice. [27:47] About Leslie B. Blanchard Leslie tackles the complexities of marriage and child-rearing with a transparency that will leave you simultaneously laughing as you brush away tears. She began writing about marriage to her high school sweetheart and life raising 5 children. She's since added the grief of widowhood, joy of grandchildren and comfort of remarriage to her cache of insights. She's been interviewed on NPR, spoken at "Listen To Your Mother" and been published in The New York Times' Modern Love, Next Avenue, Huffington Post, BonBon Break, Today Parenting, Your Teen Magazine and Scary Mommy. She also a collaborated on, "Lose The Cape - It's a Teen Thing!" Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bxezcEqnWK4 Connect with Leslie Her Modern Love essay: Negotiating the End of Us: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/style/modern-love-negotiating-the-end-of-us.html Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leslieblanchard0408 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/agingersnapped Twitter: https://twitter.com/Yayamom43Leslie Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AGingersnapped Get More from Estelle 🎓 Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Learn more• Private Small-Group Memoir Class — JANUARY AND MARCH SOLD OUT. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. 📰 Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: How to Pitch Slate: Advice, Ideas and Examples on How to Write Articles and Essays from NYU My Editor-on-Call Event • Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. 🎤 Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond 📘 Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." Audiobook here 🎧 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. A contributing editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
| 11/27/25 | ![]() #167 Fairyland: A Transcendent Father–Daughter Story Finds New Life in Film with Alysia Abbott | Queer history is family history, and Alysia Abbott's Fairyland proves how one father-daughter story can illuminate an entire era. In this conversation, Estelle Erasmus talks with Alysia about her acclaimed memoir of growing up with her single gay father in 1970s and 80s San Francisco, and how that memoir found new life as a feature film more than a decade later. In this discussion, they explore the love, art, grief, and legacy at the heart of the story. Alysia shares how her father built a queer literary community long before the internet, and how his journals, letters, poems, and comics helped her reconstruct their world on the page. Together, Estelle and Alysia explore the craft, history, and emotional truth that shaped both the memoir and its cinematic adaptation. In this episode: Writing memoir from a daughter's perspective inside a queer community shaped by AIDS and activism [4:12] Showing how Fairyland bridges counterculture and mainstream culture, bringing a once marginalized father-daughter story into national conversation [6:03] Exploring how memoir can serve a higher purpose by honoring a life, a community, and a legacy that might otherwise be lost [23:53] Capturing the cultural touchstones, from poetry readings to Pride to the queer arts scene, that defined a transformative era [25:33] Using journals, letters, interviews, and research to rebuild a vivid sense of time, place, and character [28:57] Navigating the leap from book to film while remaining a trusted collaborator rather than an obstacle [33:44] Crafting an ending that situates one family's story inside a larger shared queer history [41:47] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sIyYiDxaGP8 About Alysia Alysia Abbott is the author of Fairyland, A Memoir of My Father, which was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and a winner of the ALA Stonewall Award and the Madame Figaro Prix Heroine. The feature film based on her memoir, directed by Andrew Durham and produced by Sofia Coppola, premiered at the Sundance Festival in 2022, played in theaters across the country last month, and is now streaming on major platforms. Her essays and reviews have been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, WBUR's Cognoscenti, Vogue and elsewhere. She has been awarded grants and fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Ragdale and the Virginia Center for the Arts. She currently teaches literature and memoir at Emerson College and MIT. Connect with Alysia: http://www.alysiaabbott.com/ Stream Fairyland here: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/fairyland Get More from Estelle 🎓 Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Learn more• Private Small-Group Memoir Class — JANUARY AND MARCH SOLD OUT. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. 📰 Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: How to Pitch Slate: Advice, Ideas and Examples on How to Write Articles and Essays from NYU My Editor-on-Call Event • Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. 🎤 Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond 📘 Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." Audiobook here 🎧 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. A contributing editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social | — | ||||||
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Chart Positions
2 placements across 2 markets.
Chart Positions
2 placements across 2 markets.
