x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

Estelle Erasmus

Want to get published or land a book deal? Join TEDx speaker and author Estelle Erasmus for smart writing tips, publishing insights, and behind-the-scenes advice for fiction writers, memoirists, and authors at every stage. Winner of the 2025 Podcast of the Year (Education) from the American Writing Awards, Freelance Writing Direct is your go-to podcast for writing tips, publishing advice, and insider strategies to help you get published—whether in essays, memoir, fiction, books, or

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

29:23

#106 Forays Into The Surreal Juxtaposition of Fiction...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/09/26

Ruth Bonapace’s surrealistic comic novel The Bulgarian Training Manual is an Elle Magazine 2024 top summer read. Publisher’s Weekly called it a “whimsical delight.” Her work has appeared in The Southampton Review, The Saturday Evening Post, Hippocampus, The New York Times and elsewhere. A former women's magazine editor and sports writer, Ruth has an MFA from Stony Brook University. In this episode: The concept of The Bulgarian Training Manual, and how it morphed from a short story to a full

en

53:08

#105 A Look Inside Publishing: Hybrid, Audiobooks, AI...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/09/19

Jane Friedman has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2023. Her latest book is THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the National

en

50:01

#104 How to Write a Memoir or Novel that is a Page...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/09/12

Wade Rouse is the USA TODAY, Publishers Weekly and #1 internationally bestselling author of 17 books, including five memoirs and 12 novels. His new novel, The Page Turner, will publish next spring from HarperCollins. Wade’s books have been translated into nearly 25 languages and have been bestsellers across the world. His novel, The Secret of Snow, was recently optioned for a TV movie by the producers of the popular Netflix series, Ginny & Georgia. He chose his grandmother’s name, Viola

en

49:40

#103 Launching Into New Dimensions with Embodied...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/09/05

Jeannine Ouellette’s lyric memoir, The Part That Burns, was a 2021 Kirkus Best Indie Book and a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award in Women’s Literature. She is also the author of the picture book, Mama Moon. Her literary essays and short fiction have appeared widely in anthologies and journals, including Narrative, North American Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Masters Review, Calyx, and many others. She holds an MFA in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a Millay

en

34:56

#102 Writing Scenes Shaped Around Sensory Experience...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/08/29

Rona Maynard found happiness at 65—a story she tells in her new memoir Starter Dog: My Path to Joy, Belonging and Loving This World. She first broke into print at 14 with a short story about bullying and still receives fan mail from teens who are reading it in class. Rona capped a stellar career in magazines with a decade at the helm of Chatelaine, Canada’s leading magazine for women. Her editor’s column won a loyal following. When she disclosed a struggle with depression, she helped kickstart a

en

37:21

#101 The Makings of a “Hysterical” Story Featuring...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/08/22

Elissa Bassist is the editor of the “Funny Women” column on The Rumpus and the author of the award-deserving memoir Hysterical. As a founding contributor to The Rumpus, she’s written cultural and personal criticism since the website launched in 2009. Most recently her writing appears in her newsletter, Tragedy Plus Time. Elissa teaches humor writing at The New School, 92NY, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and elsewhere, and she is probably her therapist’s favorite. Her next book is INSIDE JOKES: A

en

35:33

#100 The Pleasure, Practice and Purpose of Writing...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/08/15

Beth Ann Fennelly, Poet Laureate of Mississippi from 2016-2021, teaches in the MFA Program at the University of Mississippi where she is a four-time teaching award winner. She’s received grants from the N.E.A., the United States Artists, the Academy of American Poets, and a Fulbright to Brazil. Her work has won a Pushcart Prize and three times been included in The Best American Poetry Series. Fennelly has published three poetry books: Open House, Tender Hooks, and Unmentionables, and a book of

en

28:09

#99 Notes From a Lifestyle Journalist with Nearly 10K...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/08/08

Aly Walansky has been covering lifestyle topics, with a focus on food, travel, and cocktails, for two decades. She's done all of this living and working (and eating!) from a tiny New York City studio apartment — so she knows a thing or two about cooking and eating well on a budget, in small spaces -- and sharing it with her audience. Her daily Substack newsletter goes out to close to 10,000 people each day. In this episode: How Aly Walansky found her niche.[3:26] Secrets of building

en

34:40

#98 Insights on ASJA and the 2024 Virtual Conference...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/08/01

Emily Paulsen has built a successful career as a freelance writer and editor. She has contributed to more than a dozen books, including three as co-author. She has covered a variety of subjects over the years, but specializes in health and healthcare, with an emphasis on health equity and improving the healthcare experience for patients and providers. She is currently president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the leading professional organization for independent journalists,

en

31:07

#97 Exploring Biblical Tales Through a Feminist Lens...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/07/25

Sally Wiener Grotta is an award-winning writer, photographer and speaker. Her two most recent books are Of Being Woman, a collection of feminist science fiction (NobleFusion Press) and Daughters of Eve, an essay-based discussion & journaling workbook which mines the tales of biblical matriarchs to explore modern lives, concerns and crises (Bayit Publishing). As a journalist, Sally has traveled on assignment throughout the world, to all the continents, plus many remote islands, covering a wide

en

37:23

#96 Writing and Elevating a Suspense Novel Featuring...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/07/18

Jessica Strawser is editor-at-large at Writer’s Digest and the USA Today bestselling author of suspenseful book club novels, including Almost Missed You; Not That I Could Tell (a Book of the Month pick); A Million Reasons Why; The Next Thing You Know (a People Magazine Pick), and her latest, The Last Caretaker, an instant USA Today bestseller. Her seventh novel, Catch You Later, is forthcoming October 22, 2024. She has written for The New York Times Modern Love, Publishers Weekly and other fine

en

31:33

#95 The Catalysts and Craft for Charting and Plotting...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/07/11

Ann Hood is the author of a dozen books of memoir and fiction, including the bestselling novels THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST and THE KNITTING CIRCLE, and editor of the anthologies KNITTING YARNS and KNITTING PEARLS. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and New York. In this episode: How Ann came up with the concept for her book [2:12] Writing characters born from life experience and cultural history [7:06] The elements of research in historical novels [9:06] The Kirkus Review that changed

en

33:17

#94 Writing Our Stories in Sharp Relief Featuring Sue...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/07/04

Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of eight works of nonfiction and poetry. Her most recent book is Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul. Her previous book, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences, won the gold star in Foreword Reviews Indie Book of the Year Award and the Clara Johnson Award for Women’s Literature. Other works include Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction, made into a Lifetime TV movie; Because I Remember Terror,

en

31:07

#93 Crafting Memoir Fueled by Metaphor, Movement, and...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/06/27

Mimi Zieman is a writer, physician, and speaker with a new memoir, Tap Dancing on Everest, about the risks we take to become our truest selves. She’s written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, that has been performed in multiple cities and has co-authored 16 editions of a medical guide, Managing Contraception. Her writing has appeared in Newsweek, The Sun Magazine, Ms. Magazine, The Forward, NBC News THINK, and other publications. She did her OB/GYN training at Columbia University and is an advocate

en

35:37

#92 Writing A Memoir in Feelings, Flashes and...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/06/20

Lara Lillibridge (she/they) is the author of The Truth About Unringing Phones: Essays on Yearning; Mama, Mama, Only Mama: An Irreverent Guide for the Newly Single Parent, and Girlish: Growing Up in a Lesbian Home. Lara is the Interviews Editor for Hippocampus Magazine and Creative Nonfiction Co-editor for HeartWood Literary Magazine. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from West Virginia Wesleyan College In this episode: How she approached writing about tough family topics [3:04] Building

en

45:58

#91 Book Publisher Lisa Sharkey On Hot Topics, and...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/06/13

Lisa Sharkey is the SVP and Publisher of the newly inaugurated HarperCollins imprint, Harper Influence, where her team acquires high profile non-fiction spanning popular culture, from general lifestyle and entertainment to stories of survival and inspiration. Whether in the fields of science, medicine, nature, music, lifestyle, spirituality, cooking, design, or news-driven narratives, the defining theme of her books surrounds cultural impact and relevance. Sharkey has overseen the acquisition and

en

18:55

#90 Bonus Episode: Estelle’s Edge on the U.S. Book...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/06/12

In this bonus episode, Estelle shares her first-hand experience of attending the 2024 U.S. Book Show as media, presented by Publishers Weekly and the Association of American Literary Agents. The much-anticipated annual event, hosted by NYU’s SPS Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts at NYU’s Kimmel Center in New York City, brought the industry together for continuing education, discussion of emerging trends, and networking to foster relationships within the publishing community. This

en

39:18

#89 Level Up Your Novel By Mastering Visual Imagery...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/06/06

Amanda Churchill is a writer living in Texas. Her work has been featured in Hobart Pulp, Witness, River Styx, and other outlets. She was a Writer’s League of Texas 2021 Fellow and holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the University of North Texas. The Turtle House is her first novel. In this episode: The challenges of writing a novel about family [3:24] Creating an ending in fiction you couldn’t provide in real life [5:21] Interviewing subjects and researching a novel based on

en

22:07

#88 The Founder of HARO, Peter Shankman, A Hero to...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/05/30

Peter Shankman is a top keynote speaker in marketing, social media, customer service, and neurodiversity in the workplace. The New York Times has called Peter Shankman “a rock star who knows everything about social media and then some.” He is a 6x best selling author, entrepreneur and corporate in-person and virtual keynote speaker, focusing on neurodiversity in the workplace and customer experience. With four startup launches and three exits under his belt, Peter is recognized worldwide for

en

52:31

#87 Writing Memoir That Reads Like A Novel And...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/05/23

Joanna Rakoff is the author of the international bestselling memoir My Salinger Year and the bestselling novel A Fortunate Age, winner of the Goldberg Prize for Fiction and the Elle Readers’ Prize. Rakoff’s books have been translated into twenty languages, and the film adaptation of My Salinger Year opened in theaters worldwide in 2021 and is now streaming. She has been the recipient of fellowships and residencies from MacDowell, Sewanee, Bread Loaf, Jerome Foundation, Authors’ Guild, PEN, Ragdale

en

167 results

Similar Podcasts

TaxTalent.com The Golden Rule Podcast

Adam Golden

TaxTalent.com Podcast

Tony Santiago

Handelsblatt Crime - spannende Streitfälle der deutschen Wirtschaft

Ina Karabasz, Solveig Gode, Sönke Iwersen

Deffner und Zschäpitz – Der Wirtschafts-Talk von WELT

WELT

Black Box - La scatola nera della finanza

Guido Brera e Gian Luca Comandini -...