• 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: 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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Leadership Economics Personal Success
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Episodes
  • #106 Forays Into The Surreal Juxtaposition of Fiction and Fact in a Novel Featuring Ruth Bonapace

    #106 Forays Into The Surreal Juxtaposition of Fiction and Fact in a Novel Featuring Ruth Bonapace
    Sep 26 2024
    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 length book Putting local angle, sites, personalities and pop culture into a novel Imbuing research into a fictional story Advice from a popular novelist that gave Ruth the freedom to write without worry Incorporating magic, fairy tales, myth and archetypes into story Ambiguity and shape shifting as a throughline and plot device Focusing on characters’ organic transformations Working speculative elements and whimsy into a story The historical genesis of the fad diet from the book The power of going down rabbit holes while writing How Ruth found her publisher, Clash Books Other episodes referred to: Episode #89 Level Up Your Novel By Mastering Visual Imagery and Research Featuring Amanda Churchill https://estelleserasmus.com/89-level-up-your-novel-by-mastering-visual-imagery-and-research/ Episode #95 The Catalysts and Craft for Charting and Plotting Novels Featuring Ann Hood https://estelleserasmus.com/95-the-catalysts-and-craft-for-charting-and-plotting-novels-featuring-ann-hood/ Episode #35 Flying High with Storyteller Ann Hood https://estelleserasmus.com/35-flying-high-with-storyteller-ann-hood/ Connect with Ruth Website: https://www.ruthbonapace.com X: https://x.com/ruthbonapace Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthbonapace/ Connect with Estelle ​​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 Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-personal-essay-101-fundamentals Get Her Book Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://rb.gy/5ihwp0 Order Her Audiobook: https://shorturl.at/4uG2P Sign up for her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities). Paid subscribers receive opportunities for pitch reviews, plus bonus clips from Freelance Writing Direct guests. Her latest post is on How to Pitch The Cut https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/how-to-pitch-the-cut-advice-ideas?r=aydx Take Estelle’s Tantalizing Titles Craft Talk Webinar on October 2nd and learn to write compelling headlines for your essays and articles https://craft-talks.com/event/tantalizing-titles/ Read her article A Good Title Is Vital: Getting The Hang of Writing Headlines on the Brevity Blog https://brevity.wordpress.com/2024/09/19/a-good-title/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFY9uJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHdGEWO7rDBO8DFsPsPtmbO6xCZnqHdgQQ36iq_vNZP3xdgRjdz2AkPoHeg_aem_mBJph-U49oW2NCRDpG4aQg Follow Her on Social Media Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus
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    29 mins
  • #105 A Look Inside Publishing: Hybrid, Audiobooks, AI and More Featuring Jane Friedman

    #105 A Look Inside Publishing: Hybrid, Audiobooks, AI and More Featuring Jane Friedman
    Sep 19 2024
    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 Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing. In this episode: The ever changing publishing climate [3:52] How not to be a supplicant with agents or gatekeepers [5:14] Deciding on University or small presses and what they offer [13:33] What does hybrid publishing really mean and how to vet a company [14:27] The truth behind the costs of publishing [17:46] The rapid ascendance of audiobooks and what it means for authors [27:35] How AI is transforming the industry of audiobook production [30:39] The dark side of AI generated materials on Amazon and Jane’s role in the fight against it [33:47] The potential struggles of selling a memoir and how to navigate them [20:02] What platform means for a writer and how to creatively work it [44:42] How to thrive as an entrepreneur in the new creator economy [44:03] Connect with Jane Website: http://janefriedman.com Pieces from Jane’s Site Mentioned in the Episode Writing Lessons from Jane Austen https://janefriedman.com/writing-lessons-from-austen-story-questions-and-northanger-abbey/ How to Write a Hybrid Memoir https://janefriedman.com/how-to-write-a-hybrid-memoir/ Crafting Memoir with a Message https://janefriedman.com/crafting-memoir-with-a-message-blending-story-with-self-help/ Connect with Estelle: Watch Estelle’s solo episode #90 on the U.S. Book Show (mentioned in this episode). https://estelleserasmus.com/90-bonus-episode-estelles-edge-on-the-u-s-book-show-2024/ ​​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 Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-personal-essay-101-fundamentals Get Her Book Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://rb.gy/5ihwp0 Order Her Audiobook: https://shorturl.at/4uG2P Sign up for her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities). Paid subscribers receive opportunities for pitch reviews, plus bonus clips from Freelance Writing Direct guests Sign up for Her Class at NYU Writing About Your Life Through Memoir, Essays and Articles https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/1068-estelle-erasmus.html Sign up for Estelle’s Tantalizing Titles Craft Talk Webinar October 2 https://craft-talks.com/event/tantalizing-titles/ Estelle will be doing the closing session of the ASJA virtual conference on September 26th with renowned memoirist Abigail Thomas. Read 8 Things You Didn’t Know about Abigail Thomas and Estelle Erasmus https://www.asja.org/abigail-thomas-and-estelle-erasmus/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus
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    53 mins
  • #104 How to Write a Memoir or Novel that is a Page Turner Featuring Wade Rouse aka Viola Shipman

    #104 How to Write a Memoir or Novel that is a Page Turner Featuring Wade Rouse aka Viola Shipman
    Sep 12 2024
    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 Shipman, as a pen name to honor the working poor Ozarks seamstress whose sacrifices changed his family’s life and whose memory inspires his fiction. Wade’s books have been selected multiple times as Must-Reads by NBC’s Today Show as well as Michigan Notable Books of the Year. His memoirs and novels have been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today and on Chelsea Lately and chosen three times as Indie Next Picks by the nation’s independent booksellers. Wade was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards in Humor (he lost to Tina Fey) and was named by Writer’s Digest as “The #2 Writer, Dead or Alive, We’d Like to Have Drinks With” (Wade was sandwiched between Ernest Hemingway and Hunter Thompson). Wade’s most recent novels were The Wishing Bridge and Famous in A Small Town, both instant national bestsellers as well as summer and winter book picks by Good Morning America, Reader’s Digest and Katie Couric. His most recent memoir, Magic Season, which detailed how the love of baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals was the only thing to bond him and his Ozarks father, was a Michigan Notable Book of the Year, a Barnes & Noble Father’s Day selection, a USA Today summer reading selection, and a Best Book of Summer by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Wade is a noted humorist, whose nonfiction has been selected as part of the American Library Association’s inaugural “Rainbow List” recognizing outstanding books with significant and authentic LGBTQIA+ content for readers. A former journalist, magazine writer and People reporter, his writing has appeared in a diverse range of publications and media, including Coastal Living, Time, All Things Considered, Good Housekeeping, Parade, Salon, Forbes, Writer’s Digest and Publisher’s Weekly. Wade earned his B.A. from Drury University and his master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. He divides his time between Saugatuck, Michigan, and Palm Springs, California, and is also an acclaimed writing teacher who has mentored numerous students to become published authors. Wade hosts the popular Facebook Live literary happy hour, “Wine & Words with Wade,” every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. EST on the Viola Shipman author page where he talks writing, inspiration and hope, takes readers on tours of the places that inspire his novels, throws costumed monthly office parties, and welcomes bestselling authors and publishing insiders. In this episode: Why he decided to use his grandmother’s name as his pen name [2:01] The key differences between writing memoir and fiction [5:46] Honing the art of structuring memoir and fiction [12:23] Writing with different POV’s and how it changes with his books [10:23] How his friendships and relationships with women impact his writing as a gay man [10:35] The way Wade made writing memoir less of an overwhelming process [15:45] How Wade’s background as a journalist informs his writing [16:17] Creating throughlines for his books [21:07] The #1 question that he asks himself when it comes to writing [25:38] Wade’s personal creative process for memoir and fiction [30:35] Dealing with imposter syndrome early in the process [31:57] The deeper reason behind why he writes books with positivity in a dystopian-focused publishing world [38:28] Advice for writers at any stage of their career [42:22] Connect with Wade: Website: Wade Rouse https://waderouse.com: Website: ViolaShipman.com (https://violashipman.com) FB: Viola Shipman (https://www.facebook.com/authorviolashipman/) FB: Author Wade Rouse (https://www.facebook.com/authorwaderouse/) Instagram: Viola_Shipman (https://www.instagram.com/viola_shipman/) IG: AuthorWadeRouse (https://www.instagram.com/authorwaderouse/) Bookbub: @violashipman (https://www.bookbub.com/authors/viola-shipman) Connect with Estelle: ​​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 Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-personal-essay-101-fundamentals Get Her Book Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://rb.gy/5ihwp0 Order Her Audiobook: https://shorturl.at/4uG2P Sign up for her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft ...
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    50 mins

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