Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
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 2026 Podcast of the Year (Business) and 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 journalism. Hosted by Estelle Erasmus—award-winning journalist, TEDx speaker, NYU writing professor, and author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers)—this show blends writing craft, career strategy, and behind-the-scenes publishing insight. Each week, Estelle shares short, practical episodes full of: Writing tips for essays, memoir, and books Pitch strategies that get editors' attention Publishing advice from agents and bestselling authors Solo episodes, coaching episodes and candid conversations with industry insiders Whether you're just starting your freelance writing journey or aiming for your next book deal, you'll find actionable tools, story prompts, and the momentum you need to grow your writing career. Listeners often ask: *How do I get published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, or WIRED? *What writing tips will make my voice stand out? *How do I find an agent or land a book deal? *What do editors actually want? *How do I shape my personal story for publication? You're in the right place. It's time to elevate your writing—with Freelance Writing Direct. 🎙️ About Estelle Erasmus Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, TEDx speaker, and author of Writing That Gets Noticed. She's a Contributing Editor for Writer's Digest, an adjunct writing professor at NYU, and the former editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Estelle's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, AARP, Next Avenue, and The Independent, among 150+ other outlets. She is also the host of Freelance Writing Direct, named the 2025 Podcast of the Year in the Education category by the American Writing Awards. Learn more: estelleserasmus.com Newsletter: estelleserasmus.substack.com Social: @EstelleSErasmus on Instagram, X, Threads, and LinkedIn
Episodes
How to Get Published in The Persistent with Features Editor Paula Derrow
What makes a pitch stand out in today's crowded publishing landscape? And what exactly are editors looking for from writers right now?
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus speaks with writer and editor Paula Derrow, Features Editor at The Persistent, the feminist...
What makes readers care about flawed characters making questionable decisions? In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with bestselling author Vanessa Hua about her new novel Coyoteland and the craft behind creating emotionally layered fiction filled with tension, community, family dynamics, and difficult choices.
They discuss:
• Writing omniscient and mul...
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus speaks with author Jacque Gorelick about her debut memoir Map of a Heart: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Finding the Way Home, a powerful, braided narrative that weaves a present-day medical crisis with a deeply personal explora...
Freelance Writing Direct chats with Tia Levings about writing a memoir of escape, and how strong scenes, structure, and editorial choices turn personal experience into a powerful narrative.
Tia Levings is the New York Times bestselling author of A Well-T...
In this episode, Estelle Erasmus talks with Kerry Docherty, author of Selfish: Unlearning, Reclaiming, and Telling the Truth, about what it really takes to write a bold, emotionally honest memoir.
They dive into:
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus sits down with literary agent Sally Ekus, senior agent at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, where she leads a boutique division specializing ...
The words people use tell you exactly who they are, if you know how to read them.
Estelle Erasmus sits down with Jennie Young, a professor of rhetoric whose "Burn the Haystack" method and Facebook group sparked a powerful movement, now captured in her book Burn the Haystack. She flips the traditional dating narrative on its ...
What does the rise of authorpreneurship mean for writers today?
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus sits down with Regina Brooks, founder and CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency and president of the
What does it take to write about a life-altering trauma decades after it happened?
In this episode, Estelle Erasmus chats with Mimi Nichter about the long arc from lived experience to the page, and what it means to revisit a moment of crisis with clarity. They talk about writing through memory, shaping a narrative around a defining event, and the emotional and cr...
Ghostwriting isn't dead. It's just napping. The smart writers know exactly where to wake it up.
It can be one of the most lucrative paths for writers, but not all ghostwriting opportunities are created equal. In this solo episode, Estelle Erasmus reveals which ghostwriting gigs are thriving in 2026 and which ones are quietly disappearing.
If you've ever been curious about ghostwriting (or you'...
Thinking about attending the AWP Conference and wondering how to prepare for it?
With thousands of writers, panels, book fairs, and networking opportunities, AWP can feel both exciting, inspiring and a little overwhelming. That's why it helps to have a strategy.
In this solo episode of Freelance Writing Direct, host Estelle Erasmus shares how she prepared for AWP, what it was like moderating h...
What happens when a story that could be told as trauma is instead shaped as triumph?
Blair Glaser joins Estelle Erasmus to discuss her journey from a Catskills ashram in the 1990s to published author, and how she turned her time in a spiritual organization into her memoir, This Incredible Longing: Finding Myself in a Near Cult Experience. Rather than writing a simple escape narrative, she explores spiritua...
What does it take to unlearn the messages you were raised with and reshape them into a publishable memoir?
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus chats with Anna Rollins about the internal and structural shifts that reshaped her debut memoir, Famished.
Anna reveals how expanding the scope of her manuscript, incorporating reporting, and strengthening her platform repositio...
What do you do when your son's first birthday party becomes the same day you lose your mother?
In this episode, Estelle Erasmus sits down with Jocelyn Jane Cox, author of Motion Dazzle, the award-winning memoir that follows a single day when celebration and grief collided. It's a day that would forever contain both darkness and light, joy and devastating loss.
Here's what makes this conversati...
What does it take to turn a viral essay about longing into a deeply researched memoir and a book deal?
For Amanda McCracken, it took 11 years, multiple agent rejections, a pandemic, creative platform-building, and an unwavering commitment to her story.
In this episode, Estelle Erasmus sits down with Amanda McCracken, author of When Longing Becomes Your Lover: Breaking from Infatuation, Rejecti...
Great writing doesn't come from inventing drama. It comes from putting characters in situations where something meaningful is at stake.
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle talks with fiction writer and essayist Peter Mountford about his short story collection Detonator and the craft choices that make stories propulsive. Mountford discusses how place shapes his fiction, drawing from lived e...
Family loyalty can push ordinary people toward unimaginable choices.
Estelle Erasmus chats with novelist and memoirist Tova Mirvis about her latest book, We Would Never, a gripping murder mystery inspired by a true crime case. While real events sparked the novel, the plot ultimately emerged from the emotional choices her characters make, with each decision setting off the next.
Tova reveals th...
Did you know that cats have, in their feline way, shaped some of the greatest writing careers in literary history?
Bob Eckstein and Nava Atlas join Estelle Erasmus to talk about their collaboration on Inspired by Cats: Writers and Their Mews(es), a visually rich book exploring the creative bond between writers and their feline companions. The conversation traces how the idea evolved from a shareable litera...
Forgiveness doesn't erase the past. It changes who gets to control your present.
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with filmmaker, writer, and coach Gayle Kirschenbaum and her 102-year-old mother, Mildred Kirschenbaum, about their volatile, funny, and hard-won evolution from conflict to connection. Gayle shares the story behind her debut memoir, Bullied to Besties: A Daught...
After years of writing literary fiction, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, author of Pool Fishing, saw her work shift when she turned to noir.
Estelle Erasmus chats with Barbara about the genre shift that reignited her fiction and led to publication. Barbara shares how stepping into noir forced her to embrace plot, tension, and consequence, without sacrificing voice or depth.
They touch on the big craf...
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