Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle

CONTENT WARNING: This episode covers a novel that features a character who has gone through childhood sexual assault.   In this episode: Finding the courage to tell a personal story [3:04] Alle's experience of publishing with a small press [4:19] Working with a PR agency [19:58] Advice for calling independent bookstores to set up in-person events or other opportunities [8:40] How to get the word o...

In this episode: How and why Brendan and Noah, his co-founder, created Narratively [3:04] Writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories  [5:38] Tips for writing with narrative scenes  [8:42] Advice for writing historical pieces that do not read like a wikipedia article  [16:55] Brendan's best tips for writers and editors who want to work with Narratively [19:02] Advice for self editing...

In this episode: Switching genres from memoir to fiction writing [2:54] The freedom of writing fiction [7:07] What to leave out in your story and why? [10:22] The power of deadlines [11:49] Coming to writing later in life [13:33] Using literary devices, such as objective correlative to enhance your story [18:18] William Dameron is an award winning blogger, memoirist, essayist and the author of "Th...

In this episode:   Writing about parenting and personal life experiences [4:14] The power of relatability [8:48] Writing profile pieces for Literary Mama [13:40] ASJA and the impact of conferences [15:45] Actionable editing tips [16:54]   Holly is an award-winning writer and an editor at Literary Mama, a board member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), and a mom to three kid...

In this episode: The ongoing theme of motherhood in her writing [2:20] What effect podcasting has had on Andrea's storytelling [4:04] Writing strong woman protagonists [5:51] Advice for writing through the lens of different characters and incorporating multiple POVs in your story [10:51] How to keep from repeating a story in a tight timeline [13:10] Tips on making sure not to bore the reader [14:2...

In this episode: Allison's personal story and her inspiration for her book [2:35] How Allison took her real life struggles and wrote about it unapologetically [4:06] Allison's advice for writing about a protagonist, antagonist and hero [12:17] Advice on writing about someone to protect their privacy [18:30 Allison's writing tips [23:18] How and where to submit your book for writing awards [26:05]...

In this episode: Mistakes that Dr. Borba made when getting into writing and publishing, and what she learned so you don't have to [3:31] The best process for writing a book proposal [4:06] Dr. Borba's writing process for 24 books [6:30] How to write tight, while keeping your voice [11:39, 14:54] Discovering your own writing style [13:36] Ways to make your writing sing [14:05] Advice on using and f...

Art Swift has been teaching at AU since 2015 and is a Senior Adjunct Professorial Lecturer. He is Chief Communications Officer for the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking in the Government of the District of Columbia. Previously he was the Managing Director of Corporate Communications at Agility, a global logistics company. He has also been the Chief of Content and Executive Editor at...

Harris Faulkner is a multiple Emmy award-winning anchor. Faulkner currently anchors two daily daytime programs – The Faulkner Focus (weekdays, 11AM-12PM/ET) and serves as the co-anchor of Outnumbered (weekdays, 12-1PM/ET).   Following Faulkner's breaking news coverage in 2020 and serving as the only Black woman to anchor two back-to-back cable news programs, Faulkner was named to WORTH Magazine's...

Laura Carney is a writer and copy editor in New York. She's been published by the Washington Post, the Associated Press, The Hill, Runner's World, People magazine, Guideposts, Good Housekeeping, The Fix, Upworthy, Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper and other places, and her book My Father's List: How Living My Dad's Dreams Set Me Free is being published by Post Hill Press in June 2023. Her work as a cop...

Kelly McMasters is a professor, mother, and former bookshop owner living in New York. Along with The Leaving Season: A Memoir in Essays, she is the author of Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir of an Atomic Town, an Orion Book Award finalist and inspiration for the documentary "The Atomic States of America," which premiered at Sundance. She is co-editor with Margot Kahn of This is the Place: Women Writin...

Cheryl Strayed is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which was made into an Oscar-nominated film. Her bestselling collection of Dear Sugar columns, Tiny Beautiful Things, was adapted for a Hulu television show and as a play that continues to be staged in theaters nationwide. Strayed's other books are the critically acclaimed novel, T...

Jane L. Rosen is an author, screenwriter, and Huffington Post contributor. She lives in New York City and Fire Island with her husband and three daughters. She is the author of Nine Women, One Dress, Eliza Starts a Rumor, A Shoe Story and On Fire Island.   In this episode: Writing to heal  Creating characters based on personal life experiences  Writing a book about grief and infusing humor into th...

Zibby Owens is an author, award-winning podcaster, entrepreneur and CEO. Owens founded Zibby Media, a privately held media company in 2018 with her award-winning podcast Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books.  The company has since grown to include the publishing house Zibby Books, the magazine, Zibby Mag, the podcast Network, Zibby Audio, the education platform, Zibby Classes and community events li...

When Ann was in seventh grade, she read a book called How To Become An Airline Stewardess that fueled her desire to see the world.  In Ann's words: "And that's just what I did when I graduated from URI--I went to work for TWA as a flight attendant. Back then, I thought you needed adventures in order to be a writer. Of course, I know now that all you need, as Eudora Welty said, is to sit on your ow...

Dawn Raffel's sixth book, Boundless as the Sky, is just out. In a starred advance review, Publishers Weekly wrote, "Raffel draws inspiration from Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities and the history of Chicago's 1933 World's Fair for this sublime collection.... This is one to savor." Her previous book, The Strange Case of Dr. Couney , was chosen as one of NPR's best books of 2018 and awarded a Christo...

Alisha Fernandez Miranda is the author of My What If Year, which was released in February 2023. Detailing her year of unpaid internships in the dream jobs of her childhood, the book follows Alisha on her quest to figure out what might have happened if her life had taken a different path. Alisha and her story have been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC and as one of People's Best New Boo...

Vanessa Hua is the author of the national bestsellers A River of Stars and Forbidden City, as well as Deceit and Other Possibilities, a New York Times Editors Pick. A National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow, she has also received a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and a Steinbeck Fellowship in Creative Writing, as well as awards from...

Linda Lowen is a Syracuse, NY-based writer, editor, writing instructor, and freelance reviewer/critic. She is a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly covering Adult Memoir/Nonfiction, and Children's Fiction/Nonfiction including YA, middle grade, graphic novels and picture books. She's a theater critic at the Syracuse Post-Standard / syracuse.com , and she reviews for Blue Ink Review which focuses on...

Kim Foley MacKinnon is a Boston-based editor, journalist, and travel writer. She is the executive editor of Girl Camper Magazine, and is currently serving as the president of the Society of American Travel Writers, the country's most esteemed travel writing organization. Over the past 15 years, her work has appeared in the Boston Globe, AAA Horizons, Daily Candy, Global Traveler, Business Travelle...

Sheryl Ziegler, Psy. D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and a Play Therapist in private practice. She is the author of Mommy Burnout: how to reclaim your life and raise healthier children in the process. She is a regular national and local news contributor on topics related to parenting and mental health and did a Tedx talk on " Why Moms are Miserable " which is all about the power of connecti...

Shelby Leigh is a bestselling poet who writes about mental health, self love, healing, and more. She is a mental health advocate and a book marketing strategist. She has been writing on internet for more than 7 years, amassing a following of more than 500,000 readers.  She is the author of the #1 best selling book Changing with the Tides, and just released the book Girl Made of Glass. Shelby empow...

Stacey is a former senior editor at Remodeling Magazine, and today she writes mostly about the Build World from her home in Pittsford, New York. You can find her by-lines in publications like Better Homes and Gardens and USA Today Special Interest Publications, AARP online; Forbes.com; REALTOR magazine; Professional Builder; Products; Professional Remodeler; Custom Builder; Timber Home Living, Cou...

In this episode, Estelle Erasmus and Sherry Paprocki speak with Allison K. Williams. Allison has edited and coached writers to deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, Spencer Hill, St. Martin's, and independent presses. She has guided essayists to publication in the New Yorker, Time, the Guardian, the New York Times, McSweeney's, and TED Talks. As Social Media Editor for Brevity, she inspi...

In this episode, Estelle Erasmus and Sherry Paprocki speak with Noah Michelson.  Noah is the Editorial Director of HuffPost Personal and the host of "D Is For Desire," HuffPost's love and sex podcast. He joined HuffPost in 2011 to launch and oversee the site's first vertical dedicated to queer issues, Queer Voices, and went on to oversee all of HuffPost's community sections before pivoting to crea...