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

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

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

By: Estelle Erasmus
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  • Summary

  • Welcome to the Freelance Writing Direct podcast. Join Estelle Erasmus every week as she shares short, sound bite-filled podcasts, covering everything that the creative writer, freelance writer, and author needs to know to move forward in their creativity and career. Estelle will share how the sauce is made, with tips and tricks to give you a leg up in the marketplace. The podcast will also feature interviews with authors and writers who are generous with their own advice. Throughout the episodes, Estelle will evolve with the audience, as she listens to her guests, share pitches and essays, and offer writing and career prompts. If you want to learn how to get your work published and noticed you are in the right place. This show will provide answers to questions like: *How can I get started writing? *What are assigning editors in top publications looking for? *How can I find an agent? *What do publishers want? *What are writing craft tips I can implement right away to get published? *How can my pitches to editors make an impact? *What do bestselling authors recommend I do to improve my writing practice? *What craft tips do writing teachers recommend? *What are tips, tricks and strategies for getting my writing noticed? It’s time to build your craft with Freelance Writing Direct. Estelle can’t wait to read what you will be writing.
    2022
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Episodes
  • #86 The Way of an Author and Illustrator: Finding Inspiration in Art Featuring Bob Eckstein

    #86 The Way of an Author and Illustrator: Finding Inspiration in Art Featuring Bob Eckstein
    May 16 2024
    Bob Eckstein (he/him) is an award-winning illustrator, writer, and cartoonist for the New Yorker, New York Times, Reader's Digest, Smithsonian Magazine, Atlas Obscura, and many others. His Footnotes from the World's Greatest Bookstores was a New York Times bestseller and made many ‘Best Of’ 2016 lists and continues to be an ‘Amazon Most Wished for Title’ years later. He is also the author of The History of the Snowman, The Illustrated History of the Snowman, and The Complete Book of Cat Names (That Your Cat Won't Answer to Anyway). His work has been exhibited in the Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco, Smithsonian Institute, The Cartoon Museum of London, and many others. Eckstein has spoke in over a 200 TV and radio shows like Good Morning America and places like NYPL, Miami Book Fair, The Norman Rockwell Museum, and The Grolier Club. He teaches writing and cartooning around the world including School of Visual Arts, New York University, Pratt Institute and Yonsei University in South Korea. His new book is Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums: Stories and Memorable Moments from People Who Love Museums. In this episode: How Bob started his unlikely career in writing Advice for writing stories from a different lens Pivoting in your career to discover new forums for your work Bob’s live drawing process and how to learn, and grow, while remaining authentic Emerging into a state of playfulness with your work Bob and Estelle’s actionable tips for writers Connect with Bob: Website: https://eckstein2.wixsite.com/mysite-1 Book: https://www.amazon.com/Footnotes-Most-Fascinating-Museums-Memorable/dp/1797224395/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bob_eckstein/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BobEckstein?lang=en TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bobeckstein1?lang=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bob.eckstein Substack: https://thebob.substack.com Podcast: The Cartoon Pad: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cartoon-pad/id1561378159 If you purchase Bob’s new book, Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums this month (May 2024), as a thanks, you will receive a free lifetime subscription to his popular humor newsletter The Bob. You need to notify him by email you bought a copy at snowmanexpert@gmail.com—he is using the honor system. FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode at https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for her newsletter. Sign up for Estelle’s Micro Memoir Workshop with Writer’s Digest on May 23 https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/making-your-mark-with-micro-memoir Sign up for Estelle’s online Editor-on-Call Event in Partnership with NYU on June 13 “Making the Cut” with editor for The Cut, Jen Ortiz https://www.eventbrite.com/e/editor-on-call-making-the-cut-with-estelle-erasmus-and-jen-ortiz-tickets-860897576827 Sign up for Estelle’s Writing Parenthood Class for NYU https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/courses/WRIT1-CE9225-writing-parenthood.html Sign up for Estelle’s Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-personal-essay-101-fundamentals Connect with Estelle: Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://estelleserasmus.com/books/writing-that-gets-noticed/ Sign up for her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus Episodes mentioned on the program: Episode #79: Being Vulnerable on the Page and Finding Empathy in Your Heart Featuring Amy Ferris https://estelleserasmus.com/79-being-vulnerable-on-the-page-and-finding-empathy-in-your-heart/ Episode #77: Writing Personal Stories with HuffPost’s Noah Michelson https://estelleserasmus.com/77-writing-personal-stories-with-huffpost-personals-noah-michelson/ Episode #81: The Art of Shaping a Compelling Story Featuring Maggie Smith https://estelleserasmus.com/81-the-art-of-shaping-a-compelling-story-featuring-maggie-smith/ Estelle’s Latest Articles I’m Learning to Listen in New Ways (Shondaland) https://www.shondaland.com/live/family/a46102451/im-learning-to-listen-in-new-ways/ What to Do PreLaunch to Get Your Book Noticed (Writer’s Digest) https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/what-to-do-pre-launch-to-get-your-book-noticed How to Resist the Temptation of AI When Writing (Wired) https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-resist-ai-temptation-writing/
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    46 mins
  • #85 Jumping Genres in Writing, and Advice on Successfully Submitting to AWP Featuring Melissa Hart

    #85 Jumping Genres in Writing, and Advice on Successfully Submitting to AWP Featuring Melissa Hart
    May 9 2024
    Oregon-based journalist Melissa Hart is the author of seven books, including the award-winning middle-grade novels Avenging the Owl and Daisy Woodworm Changes the World, and the memoirs Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood and Wild Within: How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family. Her articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian, CNN, Slate, The Washington Post, and numerous other publications. She teaches for the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Southern New Hampshire University In 2025, Sourcebooks will publish her nonfiction book Down Syndrome Out Loud: 20+ Stories to Change Your Mind about Disability. In this episode: When it’s ok to switch genres in writing [6:00] Melissa’s framework for writing and researching her new book [9:27] The positive and negative aspects of writing a historical piece [15:47] Melissa’s advice on how to write old topics from new perspectives [16:51] Tips for submitting, moderating and titling panels [28:06] Encouraging advice for writers at all levels [32:38] Connect with Melissa: Website: https://melissahart.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wildmelissahart Instagram: https://instagram.com/WildMelissaHart Melissa’s story for the LA Times What a Quail Taught Me About Grief By Joining a Flock of Turkeys https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-05-03/quail-turkey-birds-grief Melissa’s article for Hidden Compass The Vaudevillian Ghosts of Liberty https://hiddencompass.net/story/the-vaudevillian-ghosts-of-liberty/ Estelle’s article that Melissa teaches Singing My Dad Back to Me https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/well/family/singing-my-dad-back-to-me.html Sign up for Estelle’s Micro Memoir Workshop with Writer’s Digest on May 23 https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/making-your-mark-with-micro-memoir FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode at https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for her newsletter. Sign up for Estelle’s Writing Parenthood Class for NYU https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/courses/WRIT1-CE9225-writing-parenthood.html Sign up for Estelle’s Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-personal-essay-101-fundamentals Connect with Estelle: Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://estelleserasmus.com/books/writing-that-gets-noticed/ Sign up for her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus For another episode focused on historical writing, check out episode #58, Writing About Historical Subjects https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freelance-writing-direct-conversations-with-authors/id1647429472?i=1000633432856 Estelle’s Latest Articles I’m Learning to Listen in New Ways (Shondaland) https://www.shondaland.com/live/family/a46102451/im-learning-to-listen-in-new-ways/ What to Do PreLaunch to Get Your Book Noticed (Writer’s Digest) https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/what-to-do-pre-launch-to-get-your-book-noticed How to Resist the Temptation of AI When Writing (Wired) https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-resist-ai-temptation-writing/
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    35 mins
  • #84 Estelle’s Edge: Coaching To Get Your Writing Noticed with Guest Anna Medaris

    #84 Estelle’s Edge: Coaching To Get Your Writing Noticed with Guest Anna Medaris
    May 2 2024
    This is a new element to the show, where Estelle will do episodes where she taps into her 3 decades of publishing experience and live coaches writers at every stage of their career on the next steps to take to elevate their work and navigate through issues facing writers. Anna Medaris is a freelance health and lifestyle journalist with nearly 15 years of experience writing features, narratives, explainers, profiles, and news hits for publications including the Washington Post, Business Insider, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, US News & World Report, Vox, Everyday Health, Monitor on Psychology, and others. She left staff jobs to go freelance full-time for the first time in June 2023. Anna is passionate about, and skilled in, telling sensitive human-interest stories (from heartbreaking tales of maternal suicide to light-hearted exposes of runners' digestive issues), critiquing quirky cultural trends (from White Claw to cold plunges to "biological age" tests), and answering questions you didn't know you had (what does "skoliosexual" mean? Can you cure an "emotional hangover?" Is "resting bitch face" real?). Anna has appeared as a health expert and commentator on the "TODAY Show," "Good Morning America," Hulu’s “Age of Influence," and many local TV and radio stations. A champion for journalism and community, she serves as the New York City chapter lead of the Association of Healthcare Journalists; the VP of Communications for the Deadline Club, the Society of Professional Journalists’ local chapter; and as a writing coach through the New York Writing Room. Anna is a proud University of Michigan alum, recreational triathlete, and beer enthusiast who lives in Brooklyn with her husband and basset hound, Lou Longbody. In this episode: Estelle delves into 3 issues that Anna Medaris is confronting at the mid-point of her career [1:18] Anna’s present and future publishing goals [6:41] How she found guidance and community through Freelance Writing Direct [6:47] Estelle Edge on showing voice, expanding publishing opportunities, navigating through a day to day job, and finding joy in the work [10:11] Connect with Anna Website: www.annamedaris.com Twitter, Instagram: @annamedaris Twitter: https://twitter.com/annamedaris Instagram: https://instagram.com/annamedaris Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-medaris/ FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode at https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for my newsletter. Sign up for Estelle’s Micro Memoir Workshop with Writer’s Digest on May 23 https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/making-your-mark-with-micro-memoir Sign up for Estelle’s NYU class Writing Parenthood. She will work with you on articles, essays and pitches, plus offer editor intel. https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/courses/WRIT1-CE9225-writing-parenthood.html Connect with Estelle: Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://estelleserasmus.com/books/writing-that-gets-noticed/ Sign up for her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus For a media-focused episode try Episode #67 How to Be a Media-Friendly Author https://estelleserasmus.com/67-how-to-be-a-media-friendly-author-with-paula-rizzo/ Read Estelle’s latest blog post: A View from the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop https://estelleserasmus.com/a-view-from-the-erma-bombeck-writers-workshop/ Estelle’s Latest Articles I’m Learning to Listen in New Ways (Shondaland) https://www.shondaland.com/live/family/a46102451/im-learning-to-listen-in-new-ways/ What to Do PreLaunch to Get Your Book Noticed (Writer’s Digest) https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/what-to-do-pre-launch-to-get-your-book-noticed How to Resist the Temptation of AI When Writing (Wired) https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-resist-ai-temptation-writing/
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    33 mins
Leadership Economics Personal Success
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