Estelle

#209 Encore: The Pitching Secrets That Get Editors’ Attention

In this encore episode, Estelle Erasmus breaks down pitches and show you how to add the hook, specificity, access, and voice that can turn an interesting idea into an assignment.… Read More

#208 Layering Memory, Meaning, and Motifs in Memoir with Cinelle Barnes

Freelance Writing Direct talks to A Way Home author Cinelle Barnes about what to do when a memoir starts becoming a different book than the one you planned, how sensory detail and recurring motifs can deepen the story, a writing exercise anyone can use to uncover unexpected connections, and more.… Read More

#207 Writing Humor, Character, and Love That Lasts with Steven Rowley

Freelance Writing Direct chats with author of Take Me With You Steven Rowley about writing humor from character, finding comedy in serious subjects, creating an organizing question for a novel, writing long-term love and relationships, developing characters who change over time, and why he prefers discovering his story rather than over-outlining, and more.… Read More

#206 How to Build a Journalism Career in a Changing Media Landscape

Journalist and multimedia storyteller Abigail Meyers joins Estelle Erasmus of Freelance Writing Direct for a chat about navigating a changing media landscape, developing transferable storytelling skills, crafting stronger pitches, finding your voice as a journalist, using curiosity and resourcefulness to uncover stories, pivoting between beats and different kinds of journalism, dealing with burnout and rejection, using AI as a brainstorming and research tool while verifying information through primary sources, turning personal experience into advocacy, and how her work with the Arthritis Foundation has taught her about the power of using your own story to create change.… Read More

#205 The Art of Crafting the Self in Memoir with Hyeseung Song

Freelance Writing Direct talks to Docile author Hyeseung Song about structuring a memoir that spans 40 years, using self-portraiture to write the self, writing about mental illness, navigating the ethics of writing about the people you love, and more.… Read More

#204 Finding Urgency in Your Memoir and Selling It Without an Agent with Michelle Tamara Cutler

Freelance Writing Direct talks to author of I Won’t Let You Die Alone Michelle Tamara Cutler about finding urgency in memoir, braiding personal narrative with research, building a book proposal, thinking commercially about your work, and selling her book to Bloomsbury without an agent.… Read More

#203 Weaving Memoir Plus Through 50 Swims with Kate Washington

Freelance Writing Direct talks to author of Midstream Kate Washington about shaping a memoir around a recurring challenge, writing candidly about divorce and self-reclamation, and incorporating research with a light touch.… Read More

#202 AI, Podcasts, and Discoverability: My Biggest Takeaways from the U.S. Book Show

Estelle Erasmus goes inside this year’s U.S. Book Show to explore AI, discoverability, podcast publicity, and film and television adaptations, sharing her “Estelle’s Edge” on what they mean for writers and authors.… Read More

#201 Writing an Immersive Reading Experience with Bonnie Friedman

Freelance Writing Direct chats with author Bonnie Friedman about writing immersive fiction, moving from essays to novels, creating psychologically complex characters, writing obsession and intimacy, sustaining suspense, crafting irresistible chapter endings, finding the right publisher, and why literary friendships can change a writing career.… Read More

#200 How Borrowed Forms Unlock Story: Hermit Crab and Braided Essays with Brenda Miller

Freelance Writing Direct chats with author and teacher Brenda Miller about hermit crab essays, braided essays, finding emotional truth through form, writing with playfulness, and more.… Read More

#199 Turning Chaos into Compelling Stories with Courtney Kocak

Freelance Writing Direct chats with Courtney Kocak about writing a memoir in essays, finding the structure for deeply personal stories, using hybrid forms including poetry and letters, writing honestly about Hollywood and ambition, deciding what to cut from a manuscript, navigating rejection, publishing with an independent press, building an author platform, and why becoming your own gatekeeper may be one of the most important lessons for writers today.… Read More

#198 Micro Memoirs with Maximum Impact: Distilling a Life into Seventy 70-Word Stories with Deborah Sosin

What happens when you limit yourself to exactly 70 words? Deborah Sosin joins Freelance Writing Direct o discuss her memoir in essays, Escape Velocity, composed of seventy 70-word stories.… Read More