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

I loved diving into this conversation with Denne Michele Norris, author, and Editor in Chief of Electric Literature. Her insight into writing every character with depth, presence, and main character energy is both generous and deeply human, and this is just Part 1 of our two part discussion. In this illuminating episode, Denne shares the craft behind her stunning debut, When the Harvest Comes, a sweeping queer love story that explores grief, faith, identity, and the transformative power of embracing difference. Stay tuned. Next week, Denne returns to cover what catches her attention as an editor, how writers can stand out, and what it really takes to build a sustainable literary career. In this episode: Raising the stakes; Why Denne chose to open the story with a wedding to root readers in love before loss [2:32] Bringing every character to life: How to ensure no character fades into the background [3:21] Sex as storytelling: writing intimate scenes that move the plot and reveal character [11:22] Dialogue & subtext: what's said, unsaid, and how readers can live between those lines [14:00] Music as metaphor: a violist's instrument as inner mirror [24:17] Finding structure: shaping 14 years of revision into a three-part arc [28:08] Title turnaround: The rediscovered sermon that inspired When the Harvest Comes [31:13] Reader takeaway: crafting stories that offer escape, empathy, and affirmation [33:11] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KeDTyBArpFI About Denne Denne Michele Norris is the editor in chief of Electric Literature, winner of the Whiting Literary Magazine Prize. She is the first Black, openly trans woman to helm a major literary publication. She co-hosts the critically acclaimed podcast Food 4 Thot and holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. Connect with Denne: Website: https://www.dennemichele.com When The Harvest Comes: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735735/when-the-harvest-comes-by-denne-michele-norris/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedennemichele/ Get More from Estelle 🎓 Learn with Estelle: • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Learn more• Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January sold out in 4 days. Next 6-week session begins March 2026. Email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details. 📰 Read & Subscribe • Substack:— new post: Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect" • Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. 🎤 Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond 📘 Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." Audiobook here 🎧 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. A contributing editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social

What if the truest recovery story isn't about redemption—but restoration? What if healing means learning to live inside the messy middle? Estelle Erasmus talks with journalist and professor Mallary Tenore Tarpley, author of SLIP: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery. Mallary shares how she wrote from the in-between—the liminal space between illness and full recovery—crafting a narrative that honors imperfection and progress. Content note: This episode discusses eating disorders, treatment, and grief. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/89CdVDqkx0Q In this episode: Restorative vs. redemptive narratives: why "progress, not finish lines" can create a more truthful frame and recovery arc. Structure and symbolism: how Mallary used split chapters, recurring motifs, and dual timelines to mirror healing's nonlinear path. Researching and weaving 175 interviews and scientific studies into scene-driven narrative. Ethical revisitation: returning to treatment centers and old journals without re-engaging harmful behaviors. Craft tools for memory: timelines, sensory anchors, and interviews with loved ones and clinicians as tools for depth and accuracy. Mallary Tenore Tarpley is a journalism and writing professor at the University of Texas at Austin's Moody College of Communication and McCombs School of Business. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Time, and Teen Vogue, among other publications. She is the recipient of a prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant, which helped support her research and writing. Mallary graduated from Providence College and has a Master of Fine Arts in nonfiction writing from Goucher College. She lives outside of Austin, Texas, with her husband and two children. Slip is her first book. Connect with Mallary Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mallarytenoretarpley/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallary-tenore-tarpley-6719484/ Weekly Substack newsletter: mallary.substack.com Get More from Estelle: NYU (Zoom), 6-week course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — https://www.sps.nyu.edu/courses/WRIT1-CE9800-writing-about-your-life-through-memoir-essays-and-articles.html Private small-group memoir class: January sold out in 4 days. The next 6-week session starts March 2026 and enrollment is open now. Email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details. New Substack post: Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-every-memoir-needs-the-echo-effect 📬 Newsletter + FREE Pitching Guide Find out more about this episode and get Estelle's free pitching guide when you sign up for her newsletter: https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast About Estelle: Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She's served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Explore More: • 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook • 📰 Subscribe on Substack: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Latest posts: "Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". When Writers Are the Ones Blocking the Page: 6 Ways to Move Forward (and An Offer); "How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen" • 🎧 More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast • Read Estelle's latest article How to Use the Internet to Become Your Own Private Investigator (Next Avenue/PBS) Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social

What happens when your life unravels up in the middle of writing your book — your marriage ends, fertility treatments stop, your identity shifts, and you have to rewrite the story you thought you were living? In this episode, Estelle Erasmus interviews acclaimed author Chloe Caldwell about her new book, TRYING, a radically honest, formally innovative memoir about fertility, longing, divorce, sexuality, and choosing yourself. Chloe opens up about writing through infertility, divorce, queerness, and identity, and how her real life reshaped the story she thought she was telling. In this episode: Writing a memoir while still living through it [3:34] The shame and silence surrounding infertility [8:37] Trusting intuition and reclaiming personal truth [20:33] Finding humor and craft in heartbreak [25:38] Ending a story that's still unfolding [39:25] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/T442Ly6yp0E Chloé Caldwell is the author of the novella Women, the memoir The Red Zone, and the essay collections I'll Tell You in Person and Legs Get Led Astray. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, Bon Appétit, the Cut, MSNBC, Autostraddle, Longreads, and Nylon and in anthologies including Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York and Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class and Sluts. She offers writing support at scrappyliterary.com. Caldwell lives in Hudson, New York. Connect with Chloe Instagram https://www.instagram.com/scrappyliterary Upcoming class: Writing Chaos In Real Time Upcoming Class: Writing Divorce Scrappy Literary for a personalized call and writing support Check out Estelle's mention of Chloe in her TEDx Talk How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ Get More from Estelle: Sign up for her 6 week Zoom NYU Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir, Essays and Articles https://www.sps.nyu.edu/courses/WRIT1-CE9800-writing-about-your-life-through-memoir-essays-and-articles.html New Substack post: Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-every-memoir-needs-the-echo-effect 📬 Newsletter + FREE Pitching Guide Find out more about this episode and get Estelle's free pitching guide when you sign up for her newsletter: https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast About Estelle: Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She's served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Explore More: 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook 📰 Subscribe on Substack: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Latest posts: "Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". When Writers Are the Ones Blocking the Page: 6 Ways to Move Forward (and An Offer); "How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen" 🎧 More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast Read Estelle's latest article How to Use the Internet to Become Your Own Private Investigator (Next Avenue/PBS) Follow Estelle: Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social

Ever wonder what's really happening behind closed doors in the publishing industry? In this solo episode, Estelle Erasmus pulls back the curtain on the People of Publishing Conference, held on September 17, 2025, and hosted by the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA). Featuring top CEOs, editors, and agents, the event revealed key trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping today's book world. Estelle shares her firsthand insights—including what publishing leaders are prioritizing, how AI is reshaping the industry, and what authors can do to stand out in an evolving landscape. Whether you're writing your first book or deep in the query trenches, this episode offers invaluable perspective from inside the industry, plus Estelle's Edge—her signature takeaway for writers. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SUYC2sDe51k In this episode: The big shifts in publishing today [2:25] Why traditional media appearances don't always sell books [5:05] How the Anthropic and Meta lawsuits are protecting authors' rights against AI companies using copyrighted work. [6:30] What foreign publishers are buying right now [7:25] What agents want in memoir proposals and how "Memoir Plus" and light research threads can elevate your story. [13:10] AI in publishing: how it's being used for translation, productivity, and why every author should learn to use it responsibly. [14:57] Estelle's biggest takeaway [16:15] Connect with AALA/People of Publishing Website: https://peopleofpublishing.org/ Podcast Episode Mentioned #35 Flying High with Storyteller Ann Hood https://estelleserasmus.com/35-flying-high-with-storyteller-ann-hood/ Modern Love Essay Referenced Negotiating the End of Us by Leslie Blanchard https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/style/modern-love-negotiating-the-end-of-us.html Get More from Estelle: Register for a free online, lunchtime, Editor-on-Call NYU event on October 29th: Inside Slate an Unfiltered Conversation with Senior Editor, Rebecca Onion. https://events.nyu.edu/event/368190-editor-on-call-inside-slate-an-unfiltered. Sign up for her 6 week Zoom NYU Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir, Essays and Articles https://www.sps.nyu.edu/courses/WRIT1-CE9800-writing-about-your-life-through-memoir-essays-and-articles.html New Substack post: Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-every-memoir-needs-the-echo-effect 🎤 TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond Estelle blends personal storytelling with actionable strategies for standing out—starting with a chaotic moment involving Thomas the Tank Engine. 📺 Watch, comment, and share 📬 Newsletter + FREE Pitching Guide Find out more about this episode and get Estelle's free pitching guide when you sign up for her newsletter: https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast About Estelle: Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She's served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Explore More: 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook 📰 Subscribe on Substack: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Latest posts: "Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". When Writers Are the Ones Blocking the Page: 6 Ways to Move Forward (and An Offer); "How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen" 🎧 More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast Read Estelle's latest article How to Use the Internet to Become Your Own Private Investigator (Next Avenue/PBS) Follow Estelle: Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social

Can nonfiction writers reinvent themselves as novelists? NIksen author Olga Mecking proves it's possible—with a new series that blends Dutch folklore, female power, and the freedom of self-publishing. Estelle Erasmus is joined by Olga Mecking, a writer, journalist and occasional translator. Originally from Poland, she now lives with her German husband and three multilingual children in the Netherlands. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian and the BBC, among others. The US edition of her book, NIKSEN. EMBRACING THE DUTCH ART OF DOING NOTHING was published in 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. NIKSEN has also appeared in 14 languages and several countries around the world. When not writing or thinking about writing, Olga can be found reading books, drinking tea, and doing nothing. In this episode: Defining Paranormal Women's Fiction and why midlife heroines matter. [2:20] World-building from reality (the Netherlands) + clear rules of magic. [5:43] Designing a series to avoid continuity traps (time jumps = sanity). [7:42] The self-pub learning curve: covers, formatting, and launch pacing. [10:10] A scene-by-scene method: every scene has an event → reaction → decision that drives the next scene. [16:17] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zX83GnRBR-Y Connect with Olga: Substack: https://substack.com/@olgamecking?utm_source=user-menu Instagram: https://instagram.com/olgamecking Get More from Estelle: Webinar Register for a free online Editor-on-Call NYU event on October 29th: Inside Slate an Unfiltered Conversation with Senior Editor, Rebecca Onion.https://events.nyu.edu/event/368190-editor-on-call-inside-slate-an-unfiltered. New Substack post: Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-every-memoir-needs-the-echo-effect 🎤 TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond Estelle blends personal storytelling with actionable strategies for standing out—starting with a chaotic moment involving Thomas the Tank Engine. 📺 Watch, comment, and share 📬 Newsletter + FREE Pitching Guide Find out more about this episode and get Estelle's free pitching guide when you sign up for her newsletter: https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast About Estelle: Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She's served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Explore More: 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook 📰 Subscribe on Substack: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Latest posts: "Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". When Writers Are the Ones Blocking the Page: 6 Ways to Move Forward (and An Offer); "How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen" 🎧 More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast Read Estelle's latest article How to Use the Internet to Become Your Own Private Investigator (Next Avenue/PBS) Follow Estelle: Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social

What if the truest story of your life lives in a single image, like a photo-booth strip, a tarnished bracelet, a goldfish bowl? In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with award-winning author Sue William Silverman about her new collection, Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader. We unpack how flash nonfiction works, why metaphor is your most powerful craft tool, and how to braid the "unaware" and "aware" voices to create resonance—fast. Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry. Her new book, Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader, is a collection of flash essays. Her book on the craft of writing, Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul, won the 2024 IPPY Silver Award. Her memoir-in-essays collection, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences, won the gold star in Foreword Reviews INDIE Book of the Year Award and the Clara Johnson Award for Women's Literature. Other works include Love Sick: One Woman's Journey through Sexual Addiction, made into a Lifetime TV movie; Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, which won the AWP Award; The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew; and Fearless Confessions: A Writer's Guide to Memoir. She's co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her media appearances include The View, Anderson Cooper-360, and PBS Books. Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0SKyHhR98k Connect with Sue: Website: https://www.suewilliamsilverman.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SueWilliamSilverman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suewilliamsilverman/ Get More from Estelle: Webinar: Sign up for Estelle's webinar on October 9th in collaboration with Writer's Digest Mapping Your Memoir: How to Find the Heart and Shape of Your Story https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/mapping-your-memoir Register for a free online Editor-on-Call NYU event on October 29th: Inside Slate an Unfiltered Conversation with Senior Editor, Rebecca Onion.https://events.nyu.edu/event/368190-editor-on-call-inside-slate-an-unfiltered. New Substack post: Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-every-memoir-needs-the-echo-effect 🎤 TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond Estelle blends personal storytelling with actionable strategies for standing out—starting with a chaotic moment involving Thomas the Tank Engine. 📺 Watch, comment, and share 📬 Newsletter + FREE Pitching Guide Find out more about this episode and get Estelle's free pitching guide when you sign up for her newsletter: https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast About Estelle: Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She's served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Explore More: 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook 📰 Subscribe on Substack: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Latest posts: "Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". When Writers Are the Ones Blocking the Page: 6 Ways to Move Forward (and An Offer); "How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen" 🎧 More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast Read Estelle's latest article How to Use the Internet to Become Your Own Private Investigator (Next Avenue/PBS) Follow Estelle: Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social

What if the story of your life wasn't told chronologically, but mapped through your very body—your heart, your hands, even your nose? That's exactly what Nina B. Lichtenstein does in her new memoir-in-essays, Body: My Life in Parts(Vine Leaves Press, 2025). By using sixteen body parts as the framework for memory, metaphor, and meaning, Nina shows how our physical selves carry the imprints of identity, history, and transformation. In their chat, Estelle Erasmus explores with Nina how writing through the body can unlock surprising entry points to story, empathy, and connection. Nina is a native of Oslo, Norway, now living in Maine. She holds a PhD in French literature from UCONN, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine, and is a "recovering academic." Her writing has appeared in Tablet Magazine, Kveller, Brevity Blog, Lilith Magazine, The Washington Post, HuffPost, and AARP, among other places. She is known for her popular blog The Viking Jewess (since 2014). Her work has been anthologized and her book, Sephardic Women's Voices: Out of North Africa was published in 2017. Nina is the founder and director of Maine Writers Studio and co-founder/co-editor of In a Flash Literary Magazine. She has three grown Viking Jew sons, all over 6'4" tall with the middle names Thor, Balder, and Odin. In this episode: How focusing on body parts can open doors to memory and metaphor [3:25] How structure can emerge organically when working in essays [8:10] Why she chose to add prompts at the end of her book as an act of generosity [12:46] Why senses—especially smell and music—are powerful entry points for memoir [14:44] The importance of empathy when writing about people in your life [16:56] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/scMn7hgr9zw Connect with Nina: Website: https://www.ninalichtenstein.com/ Learn more about Maine Writers Studio: https://www.mainewritersstudio.com/ In A Flash Literary Magazine https://inaflashlitmag.substack.com/ Nina's Substack: https://ninablichtenstein.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile On Being Jewish Now Substack: Kol Nidre in a New Key https://onbeingjewishnow.substack.com/p/kol-nidre-in-a-new-key Connect with Estelle: Get More from Estelle: Webinar: Sign up for Estelle's webinar on October 9th in collaboration with Writer's Digest Mapping Your Memoir: How to Find the Heart and Shape of Your Story https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/mapping-your-memoir Register for a free online Editor-on-Call NYU event on October 29th: Inside Slate an Unfiltered Conversation with Senior Editor, Rebecca Onion.https://events.nyu.edu/event/368190-editor-on-call-inside-slate-an-unfiltered. New Substack post: Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-every-memoir-needs-the-echo-effect 🎤 TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond Estelle blends personal storytelling with actionable strategies for standing out—starting with a chaotic moment involving Thomas the Tank Engine. 📺 Watch, comment, and share 📬 Newsletter + FREE Pitching Guide Find out more about this episode and get Estelle's free pitching guide when you sign up for her newsletter: https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast About Estelle: Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She's served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Explore More: 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook 📰 Subscribe on Substack: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Latest posts: "Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". When Writers Are the Ones Blocking the Page: 6 Ways to Move Forward (and An Offer); "How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen" 🎧 More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast Read Estelle's latest article How to Use the Internet to Become Your Own Private Investigator (Next Avenue/PBS) Follow Estelle: Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social

What does it mean to be fetishized—and how do you turn that gaze back on the culture that created it? Estelle Erasmus chats with Kaila Yu, a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Business Insider, Condé Nast Traveler, and more. Before turning to journalism, Kaila was a model and the lead singer of the all-Asian American female rock band Nylon Pink. Her debut memoir, Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty (Crown Publishing, Penguin Random House), braids cultural critique with personal narrative to examine identity, representation, and the male gaze. In this episode: Growing up in the "pornified" 2000s and how it shaped beauty ideals and agency The "ABG" (Asian Baby Girl) aesthetic, model-minority myths, and resisting stereotypes Structuring a memoir-in-essays using cultural archetypes (Geisha, Butterfly, China Doll, "Not Lucy Liu," etc.) Weaving research (colonial histories, media analysis) into lived experience Gen Z, #MeToo, and why we need cultural reckonings now, not 20 years later Life after entertainment: choosing writing for longevity and self-definition Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4hAi3MN_Png Order her book on Estelle's Bookshop https://bookshop.org/p/books/fetishized-a-reckoning-with-yellow-fever-feminism-and-beauty-kaila-yu/212b9185f28e897d?aid=98827&ean=9780593728017&listref=authors-who-have-appeared-on-freelance-writing-direct&next=t Connect with Kaila Website: https://KailaYu.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/KailaYu Get More from Estelle: Webinars: NEW: Sign up for my free online Editor-on-call NYU event on October 29th Inside Slate: An Unfiltered Conversation with Senior Editor, Rebecca Onion. Register here Sign up for my webinar on October 9th in collaboration with Writer's Digest Mapping Your Memoir: How to Find the Heart and Shape of Your Story. Sign up here. New Essay: Read my latest essay on Another Jane Pratt Thing. It Happened to Me: I Deliberately Ruined My Nasty Co-Worker's Wedding Video. I loved telling my story all these years later. And don't miss the episode with Jane #155, where we dished all about Sassy, XoJane and more. TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond In my talk I blend personal storytelling with actionable strategies for standing out—starting with a chaotic moment involving Thomas the Tank Engine. Watch, comment, and share Explore More: Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook Subscribe on Substack: https://estelleserasmus.substack.comLatest posts: "When Writers Are the Ones Blocking the Page: 6 Ways to Move Forward (and An Offer); Stop Counting Your Words. Start Shaping Your Story" and "How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen" More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast Follow Estelle: Instagram TikTok Twitter BlueSky

Estelle Erasmus sits down with Sam Hiyate, President and CEO of The Rights Factory, a global literary agency that has represented hundreds of titles across genres, including multiple bestsellers like This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, Healthy AF by Oonagh Duncan, and More by Molly Rodin Winter. In this episode: The trends shaping today's book market, including the rise of speculative elements in literary and commercial fiction [2:45] How "Hollywood memoirs" and screen-ready stories are attracting publishers [5:31] Why themes of escapism, hope, and redemption resonate with readers in turbulent times [6:05] The changing role of editors and the increased need for outside editing before submission [10:33] The realities of pitching agents—what to prepare, how to stand out, and why most pitches get a "no" [12:36] How social media, BookTok, TED Talks, and even backlist titles can drive publishing and film/TV deals [26:05] Why career-building authorship is more valuable than a one-hit wonder—and how agents nurture long-term writer relationships [29:10] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DwvdwFu3Ipw Episode Mentioned #148 How to Hook Readers by Planting Curiosity Seeds in Interactive Novels with Bianca Marais https://estelleserasmus.com/148-how-to-hook-readers-by-planting-curiosity-seeds-in-interactive-novels-with-bianca-marais/ About Sam Hiyate SAM HIYATE is keen to discover new voices and help writers prepare their works for market, and to help them build lasting careers. In the past two decades with THE RIGHTS FACTORY his hundreds of book deals have resulted in several bestsellers such as MORE, the memoir by Molly Roden Winter, THIS ONE SUMMER, the graphic novel by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, non-fiction such as HEALTHY AF (DITCH THE DIET) by Oonagh Duncan and THE MYTH of CAPITALISM by Jonathan Tepper and Denise Hearn, and fiction such as GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES by Jennifer Close and THE ADULT by Bronwyn Fischer. Connect with Sam Website: https://www.therightsfactory.com Get More from Estelle: Webinar: Sign up for Estelle's webinar on October 9th in collaboration with Writer's Digest: Mapping Your Memoir: How to Find the Heart and Shape of Your Story https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/mapping-your-memoir 🎤 TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond Estelle blends personal storytelling with actionable strategies for standing out—starting with a chaotic moment involving Thomas the Tank Engine. 📺 Watch, comment, and share 📬 Newsletter + FREE Pitching Guide Find out more about this episode and get Estelle's free pitching guide when you sign up for her newsletter: https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast About Estelle: Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She's served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Explore More: 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook 📰 Subscribe on Substack: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Latest posts: "When Writers Are the Ones Blocking the Page: 6 Ways to Move Forward (and An Offer)" and "How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen" 🎧 More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast Read Estelle's latest article How to Use the Internet to Become Your Own Private Investigator (Next Avenue/PBS) Follow Estelle: Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social

Estelle Erasmus is joined by editor Sari Botton, a memoirist featured in Poets & Writers' "5 Over 50." In this episode, Sari shares why the most powerful memoirs often illuminate the ordinary, how she found the right container to structure her story, and the lessons she's learned about balancing honesty with protecting others on the page. She also discusses the challenges of people-pleasing, the persistence of "mean girls" into adulthood, and how she built a thriving editorial life through her Substack publications, Oldster, Memoir Land, and Adventures in Journalism. Sari Botton's memoir in essays, And You May Find Yourself...Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo, was chosen by Poets & Writers magazine for the 2022 edition of its annual "5 Over 50" feature. For five years, she was the Essays Editor at Longreads. She edited the bestselling anthologies Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York and Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for New York. She publishes Oldster Magazine, Memoir Land, and Adventures in Journalism. In this episode: Why strong memoirs focus on the universal, not just the extraordinary [3:00] How to find the catalytic moment that gives your story shape [5:10] The importance of writing a fearless "vomit draft" before refining [20:18] Strategies for ethically blurring identities while keeping emotional truth [23:39] How to turn editorial skills into sustainable platforms and community-building [32:41] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tvQahdqPctE Related Episode: #143 What We Don't Talk About: Family, Loss, Love, and the Art of Editing Anthologies with Michele Filgate https://estelleserasmus.com/143-what-we-dont-talk-about-family-loss-love-and-the-art-of-editing-anthologies/ Connect with Sari Instagram: http://instagram.com/saribotton Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/saribotton.bsky.social Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/sari.botton/ Substack: https://substack.com/@saribotton Website: http://saribotton.com Get More from Estelle: Webinars: Sign up for Estelle's webinar on October 9th in collaboration with Writer's Digest Mapping Your Memoir: How to Find the Heart and Shape of Your Story https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/mapping-your-memoir Sign up for Estelle's free online Editor-on-call NYU event on October 29th Inside Slate: An Unfiltered Conversation with Senior Editor, Rebecca Onion. Register here: https://events.nyu.edu/event/368190-editor-on-call-inside-slate-an-unfiltered 🎤 TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond Estelle blends personal storytelling with actionable strategies for standing out—starting with a chaotic moment involving Thomas the Tank Engine. 📺 Watch, comment, and share 📬 Newsletter + FREE Pitching Guide Find out more about this episode and get Estelle's free pitching guide when you sign up for her newsletter: https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast About Estelle: Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer's Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She's served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Explore More: 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook 📰 Subscribe on Substack: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Latest posts: "When Writers Are the Ones Blocking the Page: 6 Ways to Move Forward (and An Offer); Stop Counting Your Words. Start Shaping Your Story" and "How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen" 🎧 More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast Read Estelle's latest article How to Use the Internet to Become Your Own Private Investigator (Next Avenue/PBS) Follow Estelle: Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social