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

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. She lives and travels in a 40' bus and rides her motorcycle to meetings with editors and authors. In this episode: Amy's genre picks and why they work for her/her clients [3:59] The number one tool Estelle recommends her students use to research agents [6:02] The genre Amy finds tricky to work in and why [9:37] Her most successful books [11:55] Red flags that Amy notices before she signs someone [21:05] The specific areas Amy can assist when working with contracts and during the negotiation process [24:17] The ultimate rule for success in a creative field [30:34] Connect with Amy: Website: www.amysadvice.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/askamycollins X: https://twitter.com/askamycollins FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode #76 at https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for my newsletter. 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 Estelle's New 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/ 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

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 Blue, Writers on Depression, Suicide and Feeling Blue (Seal Press), and co-edited the anthology, Dancing at the Shame Prom (Seal Press). She co-authored Old School Love (HarperCollins, 2020) with Rev Run of RUN DMC fame. Amy serves on a variety of advisory boards supporting women and the Arts. She co-founded The Milford Readers & Writers Festival, is on the Advisory Board of the Women's Media Center (Founded by Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan) and is on faculty at The Kauai Writer's Conference. in 2019 she was named one of Women's eNews 21 LEADERS FOR THE 21st CENTURY, in 2021 she was a recipient of NextTribe's The 12 Women Who Changed the World, and in 2022, Amy was awarded and honored by the Thoughtful Book Festival as Inspirational Woman in Media. Her new memoir, Mighty Gorgeous - A Little Book About Messy Love, is published by SheWritesPress. In this episode: Amy's search for self-worth [3:25] Using social media (particularly Facebook) to build community [4:48] The truth behind imposter syndrome [20:30] The power in writing with vulnerability [26.59] Where to get into a story for maximum impact [30.25] Connect with Amy: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054335055726 Book: Mighty Gorgeous https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Gorgeous-Little-Book-About-Messy-Love/dp/1647425530 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ferris_a/ FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode #76 at https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for my newsletter. 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 my Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus New Article Estelle Referred to I'm Learning to Listen in New Ways (Shondaland) https://www.shondaland.com/live/family/a46102451/im-learning-to-listen-in-new-ways/ New Article 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

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 Writing With Bill Kenower. In this episode: How Bill came up with the concept for his book [2:40] Following curiosity in your reading [12:20] Letting yourself write about what you want to write, without worrying about selling your writing [18:09] Advice for getting into the writing flow [16:54] Writing with the 'three narrative arcs.' [22:33] Bill's opinion on gatekeepers in this industry [29:31] Connect with Bill: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.kenower Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/wdbk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamkenower/ FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode #76 at https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for my newsletter. 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 my Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus (Come see me every Monday at 7 pm for a live AMA)

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 [13:21] Story ideas that work for HuffPost Personal and topics they don't want [23:31] Noah's best tips for storytelling [32:32] The importance of trusting your editors [38:56] Connect with Noah: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noahmichelson/ X: http://www.twitter.com/noahmichelson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noahmichelson1 Noah.Michelson@huffpost.com Co-host of HuffPost's Am I Doing It Wrong? podcast Essays Mentioned in This Episode This Woman's Controversial Obituary about Her Mom Caused Outrage but We Need More Like It. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/writing-honest-obituary-abuse-grief_n_65a8608ae4b041f1ce6498ac I Spent Weeks Near Death In The ICU. Asking My Doctors To Do This 1 Thing May Have Saved My Life: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rare-disease-girl-healthcare-advocate_n_65a86c22e4b00bbb446dd02b. My Blind Date Took Me to a Sex Club. Here's What Happened. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sex-club-what-its-really-like_n_5c6f0d3ae4b0e37a1ed63616 How 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Has Saved My Marriage. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/curb-your-enthusiasm-marriage_n_65ae9fa5e4b0928ae79bffc4 I'm Asexual. This is What It's Like for Me to Date. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/asexual-dating_n_5d42ee6ce4b0ca604e2e11d1 FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode #77 at https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for my newsletter. 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 my Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus

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 literary agent [8:03] Maintaining a professional relationship with your literary agent [11:24] What makes a good, responsible author [17:21] How authors can navigate contracts and how literary agents can help [19:47] Advice on advocating for yourself as an author [23:18] How to connect with Rita if you are interested in her as a literary agent [35:01] Connect with Rita: Website: https://ritarosenkranzliteraryagency.com FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode #76 at https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for my newsletter. 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 my Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus (Come see me every Monday at 7 pm for a live AMA)

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 has seen multiple trends emerge —— and go away. From the days that print was king, to the rise of online publications, to the start of blogging, Estelle has been there and has been able to pivot and maximize each trend. She shares what to do, and also covers the changes in social media that every writer needs to be aware of. Since people are consuming content in different ways than they were before, and advertisers are paying in different ways than they were before, publishing is going through a bumpy ride. But there is hope for content creators. Tune in to hear current trends and how you can continue to be a successful writer today. FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode #75 at https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for my newsletter. 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 my Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities, and special clips and interaction with Estelle for paid subscribers) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus

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] Megy's story about finding an agent & pitching to book publishers [11:05] How she found expert sources for her book and what Estelle recommends [18:14] Resources from Megy and Estelle every writer/author can use [13:41] Building accountability structures [31:40] Creating deadlines for yourself as an author [25:15] Connect with Megy: Website: http://www.megykarydes.com/ FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode #74 at https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for my newsletter. 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 my Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@estelleserasmus

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. She has created several lines of meditation Recordings, Mp3s and DVDs. Tara specializes in Shamanistic techniques which teach you to utilize your psychic abilities at your highest possible level. She is a Master Hypnotist, her Goal Programming techniques have helped many become successful, find love, create better health, reach spiritual attunement, happiness, and even become famous and/or wealthy. Tara is well-known for her Channeling and Automatic Writing with her spirit guide, Abenda. Tara conducts and facilitates seminars and workshops all over the world. Over 200,000 people have attended a Sutphen Seminar, workshop, or retreat. Contact Tara: www.tarainsight.com Connect with Estelle: Estelle's Bookshop (where you can buy the books from the authors in this podcast): https://bookshop.org/shop/EstelleSErasmus Her website: https://estelleserasmus.com (sign up for her newsletter and receive her free pitching guide). Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://estelleserasmus.com/books/writing-that-gets-noticed/ Adjunct Instructor, NYU (Sign up for her latest classes-Writing That Gets Noticed is now a course for the Journalism Certificate) https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/1068-estelle-erasmus.html Her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus/ X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/EstelleSErasmus Threads: https://www.threads.net/@estelleserasmus Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social

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 Windsor is the owner of Motina Books Publishing, which specializes in publishing books by and for mothers. The publishing industry has changed drastically in the last 10 to 20 years, and the majority of authors are required to get out there and market their books. Diane believes that the publisher should help their authors with these efforts through education and guidance. There's always something new to learn when it comes to marketing your book! Connect with Daine: Website: www.MotinaBooks.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motinabooks Instagram: https://instagram.com/motina_books TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@publishchick Connect with Estelle: Estelle's Bookshop (where you can buy the books from the authors in this podcast): https://bookshop.org/shop/EstelleSErasmus Her website: https://estelleserasmus.com (sign up for her newsletter and receive her free pitching guide). Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://estelleserasmus.com/books/writing-that-gets-noticed/ Adjunct Instructor, NYU (Sign up for her latest classes-Writing That Gets Noticed is now a course for the Journalism Certificate) https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/1068-estelle-erasmus.html Her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus/ X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/EstelleSErasmus Threads: https://www.threads.net/@estelleserasmus Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social

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 Published. Connect with Estelle: Estelle's Bookshop (where you can buy the books from the authors in this podcast): https://bookshop.org/shop/EstelleSErasmus Her website: https://estelleserasmus.com (sign up for her newsletter and receive her free pitching guide). Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://estelleserasmus.com/books/writing-that-gets-noticed/ Adjunct Instructor, NYU (Sign up for her latest classes-Writing That Gets Noticed is now a course for the Journalism Certificate) https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/1068-estelle-erasmus.html Her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus/ X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/EstelleSErasmus Threads: https://www.threads.net/@estelleserasmus Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social