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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

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All Episodes

23:16

#82 Showcase Your Writer’s Vision and Voice with...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/04/18

Kim Rittberg is an award-winning digital marketer and thought leader who helps professionals become thought leaders and businesses become brands through video & podcasts. She is the founder of Video Boot Camp and spent 15 years as a media executive at Netflix, PEOPLE Magazine, in TV News and launched the first-ever video unit for Us Weekly magazine and was integral in its $100 million sale. She now applies that to business owners to grow their income, leads & credibility. Kim has been featured in

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36:01

#81 The Art of Shaping a Compelling Story Featuring...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/04/11

Maggie Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books of poetry and prose, including You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Good Bones, Goldenrod, Lamp of the Body, The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison, and Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change. Her newest book is My Thoughts Have Wings, a picture book for children, illustrated by Leanne Hatch. Smith’s poems and essays have appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, TIME, The Nation, The Atlantic, and

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33:54

#80 When You Want a Literary Agent Who Has Your Back...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/04/04

Amy Collins is an agent with the Talcott Notch Literary Services agency. She has over 30 years in the publishing industry and is a USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL bestselling author. She has spent her career working with Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Target, Costco, Wal-Mart, as well as independent bookstores and libraries. Collins is a trusted speaker, and teacher, featured at conferences and in articles across the globe. In her agent role, Collins focuses on fantasy, horror, sci-fi, & romance

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40:17

#79 Being Vulnerable on the Page and Finding Empathy...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/03/28

Amy Ferris is an author, a writer, a screenwriter, an editor and a playwright. Her memoir, Marrying George Clooney, Confessions From a Midlife Crisis (Seal Press) was adapted into an Off-Broadway play in 2012. Amy has written for both the small screen (TV) and the big screen (Feature Films). As a screenwriter, she nominated for a Best Screenplay Award (BET, Black Reel Award) for her adaptation of the film, Funny Valentines (Director, Julie Dash) As an editor, she curated the anthology Shades of

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37:24

#78 No One Is Broken & Everyone Has What It Takes...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/03/21

William Kenower is the author of Everyone Has What It Takes: A Writer’s Guide to the End of Self-Doubt, Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence, and Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion, and the Editor-in-Chief of Author magazine. In addition to his books he’s been published in The New York Times, Writer’s Digest, Edible Seattle, Parent Map, and has been a featured blogger for the Huffington Post. He also hosts the popular podcasts Author2Author, and Fearless

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45:06

#77 - Writing Personal Stories with HuffPost...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/03/14

Noah Michelson joins the Freelance Writing Direct podcast for the second time! Noah is the head of HuffPost Personal, which he launched in 2018, and the host of HuffPost's "Am I Doing It Wrong?" podcast. He received his MFA in Poetry from New York University, and has been featured on MSNBC, Fuse, Entertainment Tonight, and other outlets. In this episode: Writing personal stories and essays [6:25] Linking your writing to relevant events [9:30] How to create curiosity with your headlines

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39:27

#76 Working with an Literary Agent with Rita Rosenkranz

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/03/07

Rita Rosenkranz founded Rita Rosenkranz Literary Agency after working as an editor at major publishers. She represents almost exclusively adult non-fiction titles in all major categories. She looks for familiar topics presented freshly and lesser-known topics presented commercially. She works with mainstream houses as well as regional publishers for niche projects. In this episode: How to research literary agents [3:39] How to build your credibility before publishing a book or working with a

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19:02

#75 Charting the Trends in Publishing

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/02/29

There has been a big change in the industry recently, and in this episode Estelle covers what has been happening and why and what you need to do about it. Estelle Erasmus has been in publishing for 3 decades — on both sides of the publishing wall — as a gatekeeper and as a journalist/writer who has found ways to break through the gate and get noticed — which is what she covers in her book, and teaches her students at NYU, in private coaching, and for Writer’s Digest. Through the years, Estelle

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33:20

#74 How to Write And Structure a Health/Wellness Book...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/02/22

As someone who started out in service journalism at Woman’s World magazine decades ago, I found Megy Karydes new book really well sourced and structured and wanted to speak to her about how she did it. We discussed ways to find experts, locate research and navigate through a complicated publishing landscape, while creating a quality product. In this episode: Megy Karydes mental health journey and reason for the book [4:17] Structuring her book and Estelle’s tips on service journalism [13:01]

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40:33

#73 Writing About The Spirit World with Tara Sutphen

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/02/15

In this episode: Tara’s expertise and backstory and why she wrote this book [3:03] Who is Abenda, her spirit guide [8:07] How she selected the three people for the automatic writing of the book [19:29] Insights on how Tara structured her book [27:25] The most common questions Tara included in her book [26:45] Information about the spiritual world [33:38] Tara Sutphen is a master of the Mystic Arts. An Author, Psychic and Hypnotherapist, she has authored books and Grammy nominated

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36:35

#72 The Benefits of Publishing with a Small Press...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/02/08

In this episode: How to get published with Motina Books Publishing [31:16] Why Motina Books Publishing focuses on books by and for mothers [3:21] What you need in a proposal to get published [32:32] Insight into the publishing/author relationship [9:27] Publicity and marketing ideas for authors [14:58] The differences between self publishing and hybrid publishing [20:37] How to ensure a publisher is legitimate [23:31] What book topics Motina Books is looking for [9:52] Diane

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22:27

#71 Pitching to Editors | Examples & Advice with...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/02/01

Are you wondering what makes a good pitch that will catch the attention of editors? In this episode, Estelle Erasmus shares real-life examples on what makes a good pitch. From crafting a compelling hook to sharing pertinent information that resonates with editors, Estelle dissects actual pitches and provides insights to enhance your understanding of the pitching process. For more on pitching, check out Estelle’s book Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get

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41:32

#70 Writing a YA Romance Novel with Jennifer Chen

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/01/25

In this episode: How Jennifer started her YA writing journey [2:52] Going on submission during the pandemic, and eventually getting a 2 book deal [6:15] The exercise of narrowing down characters [13:20] The art of writing time pressure into your story [20:00] Jen’s advice for excavating specific emotions for your characters [32:31] Jennifer Chen is a freelance journalist who has written for Today, New York Times, Oprah Daily, Real Simple, and Bust. Jennifer has a MFA and BFA in

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37:33

#69 A Chat with The Editorial Director of New World...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/01/18

In this episode: The elements of a good author/publisher relationship [20:12] The kinds of books New World Library publishes [12:04] What proposal submissions need to include [30:05] How authors can road test their book ideas [17:07] Insights on how authors should be building their platforms [14:15] Trends that Georgia has seen in the publishing industry and her thoughts on AI [30:49] What makes New World Library stand out from other publishers [18:30] Estelle’s experience with New

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30:46

#68 Dream Big and Win with Liz Elting

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/01/11

In this episode: Liz’s inspiration for writing her book [5:05] How Liz got her book published and the process she went through [6:45] The importance of a social media presence and creating a brand when writing [7:31] Advice for picking a book cover [11:43] The importance of active verbs [19:10] How Liz structured her book and used alliteration [18:15] Choosing what stories to put in your book, and what not to include [26:40] Liz Elting, Founder and CEO of the Elizabeth Elting

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29:38

#67 How to be a Media Friendly Author with Paula Rizzo

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2024/01/04

In this episode: What authors don't know about media [2:26] How to be media ready [3:33] Timing on preparing for media interviews [5:27] Advice for authors on getting comfortable on camera [5:45] Paula’s accordion method for sharing information [10:20] Advice on speaking good sound bites to break through the noise [16:29] How to pitch media and where to find contacts [20:25] Lists and using them to stay productive [26:53] Paula Rizzo is an Emmy Award-winning television producer,

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07:57

#66 2023 End of Year Recap with Estelle Erasmus

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2023/12/28

In this super short episode Estelle Erasmus shares a recap of her year with Freelance Writing Direct and her book, Writing That Gets Noticed, which just received a Zibby Award for the “Best Book For The Writer”. There is so much more to come, so be sure to keep following the podcast, and Estelle’s website EstelleSErasmus.com and her substack at https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Connect with Estelle: Her website: https://estelleserasmus.com (sign up for her newsletter and receive her free

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28:24

#65 How to Talk to Kids About Anything with Dr. Robyn...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2023/12/21

In this episode: The genesis of this book [3:29] Why parents should be addressing tough topics with their children [6:20] Why yelling works sometimes [8:25] The danger in outside sources of information such as TikTok [15:14] Strategies she used to research the book [16:27] Writing in a reader-friendly style [20:02] Known as the "Conversation Doc," Dr. Robyn Silverman is a child and teen development specialist and author of the [forthcoming] book, How to Talk to Kids About Anything,

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21:47

#64 Crafting Neurodivergent Characters in Children’s...

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2023/12/14

In this episode: Writing from a neurodivergent perspective [3:29] Working as an advocate [5:48] Drawing real life into fiction writing [6:13] The benefit of using sensitivity readers [6:31] The importance of writing inclusive books [5:25] Tips on the process of publishing children books [12:36] An autistic mom of three autistic kids, Jen Malia is the author of The Infinity Rainbow Club series and Too Sticky! Sensory Issues with Autism. She is Professor of English and Creative Writing

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34:44

#63 Witchy Writing with Author/Podcaster Bianca Marais

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations... ·

2023/12/07

In this episode: How Bianca writes about different genres [2:45] Writing a story from many POVs [4:47] Opening a novel in a compelling way when there are multiple characters [5:26] The way Bianca included research into her fantasy book [9:02] Exploring the science of magic [11:08] The backstory to The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Podcast [18:45] Bianca’s tips for interviewing and writing [28:11] Bianca Marais is the author of the bestselling The Witches of Moonshyne Manor,

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