Writing That Gets Noticed
Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published
I am so excited to share that WRITING THAT GETS NOTICED: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published is available for pre-order. Yay!
Here is my book trailer!
This book has been the culmination of notes I started taking when I began teaching at NYU and for Writer’s Digest, and a product of my years as a magazine editor and prolific journalist and essayist, and writing teacher. It also includes my philosophy of life and living, plus my stories from my life as a magazine editor, and the work from many of my students, and that makes it extra meaningful to me.
Thank you for your support and encouragement and for joining me in my excitement about this book — truly a labor of love.
In addition to pre-ordering, you can also click onto GoodReads and say you want to read the book!
If you want to see who gave me fabulous blurbs for my book, head on over to TikTok where I reveal all!
I also have a new Substack: Writing That Gets Noticed and have fun plans for that project, and will cover my recent NYU event: editor-on-call with a New York Times editor.
Come on in and join the community.
Advance Praise
“A tour de force in storytelling. Readers will give this book a standing ovation.” — Ken Fakler, Emmy, Olivier, and three-time Tony Award Winner and, co-producer of: Dear Evan Hansen, Beautiful, Funny Girl, Parade, and Some Like It Hot
“Journalist Erasmus debuts with a competent primer on how to write eye-catching essays and articles. Primarily addressing amateur writers, Erasmus breaks down the writing and publication process, describing how to generate story ideas, pitch them, find sources, sharpen one’s writing, and work with editors. She recommends strategies for finding inspiration, including journaling, writing “six-word memoirs” (the author provides hers: “Midlife mom finds self writing/teaching”), and scanning the news for trends. Suggestions for writing personal essays include hooking readers by opening with “dialogue, scene setting, or action” and making liberal use of sensory details. She contends that pitches should be two or three paragraphs that answer the “who, what, where, when, and why” of the story, and she encourages readers to refine and repurpose rejected pitches for other outlets. The advice is sensible if standard, but this distinguishes itself in the attention given to dealing with the psychological effects of trying to get published, particularly the tips on dealing with rejection (a breathing exercise promises to lower stress, and Erasmus offers encouraging words on persistence: “It’s about consistently showing up after everyone else has given up”). The guidance isn’t new, but it still makes for a serviceable introduction to getting published.” (June)
— Publishers Weekly