Épisodes

  • 127. Finding Scientific Angles on Any Story with The Open Notebook’s Editor Siri Carpenter

    127. Finding Scientific Angles on Any Story with The Open Notebook’s Editor Siri Carpenter
    Feb 20 2025
    Siri Carpenter is an award-winning journalist and is co-founder, executive director, and editor-in-chief of The Open Notebook, a non-profit organization widely regarded as a leading source of training and educational materials for journalists who cover science. She is also the editor of the book The Craft of Science Writing. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Science, Discover, Scientific American, Science News, bioGraphic, and other publications. She is a past president of the National Association of Science Writers and was the 2023 winner of the Online News Association’s Community Award. She has a Ph.D. in social psychology from Yale University and lives in Madison, Wisconsin. In this episode: Siri shares the inspiration behind The Craft of Science Writing and what’s new in the expanded edition. [3:34] How the pandemic made everyone a science writer [4:34] The rise of science writing across all beats—why every journalist needs to understand and implement research and data. [5:05] How to craft compelling science stories without a science degree. [6:08] The dos and don’ts of pitching –pitching hygiene —plus how to sharpen your story angle. [9:30] How to write complex subjects in a reader-friendly way [13:48] The goal of the Open Notebook to make science writing accessible and offer training opportunities and free courses [27:17] Siri’s thoughts on AI [30:22] Submission info for The Open Notebook [34:37] Why understanding research, statistics, and expert interviews is essential for today’s writers. [37:16] Connect with Siri via The Open Notebook The Open Notebook https://www.theopennotebook.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theopennotebook Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-open-notebook/ BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/theopennotebook.bsky.social Sign up for Newsletter and free courses https://mailchi.mp/1b27e142c25a/theopennotebook Editor, The Craft of Science Writing SECOND, EXPANDED EDITION AVAILABLE NOW! Connect with Estelle Erasmus Estelle Erasmus: an award-winning journalist, is the author of WRITING THAT GETS NOTICED (named a "Best Book for Writers" by Poets & Writers Magazine), a Contributing Editor for Writer's Digest, and host of the podcast Freelance Writing Direct. She is an adjunct instructor for NYU’s School of Professional Studies/Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts, has written for over 150 publications, including The New York Times, Next Avenue/PBS, WIRED, The Independent,The Washington Post, and AARP: The Magazine, and was the editor-in-chief of five national publications. Find out more at estelleserasmus.com and follow her on Substack at https://estelleserasmus.substack.com Her latest substack Post: My Predictions for Publishing in 2025 https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/my-predictions-for-publishing-for Apply to be on Freelance Writing Direct in a coaching episode: email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com and state three of the issues you are dealing with that you would like Estelle’s help with. ​​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 Sign up for Estelle’s NYU Classes https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/e/1068-estelle-erasmus.html 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 Follow Estelle: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstelleSerasmus BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social
    Voir plus Voir moins
    42 min
  • #126 Rocking Your Radiance In Work and Play Featuring Becca Powers

    #126 Rocking Your Radiance In Work and Play Featuring Becca Powers
    Feb 13 2025
    Becca Powers is a USA TODAY best-selling author, renowned keynote speaker, Fortune 500 sales executive, and visionary behind The Dragonfly Effect, which she leads as a transformative movement inspiring positive change and resilience. Through The Dragonfly Effect, Becca empowers high performers to embrace adaptability, growth, and impactful purpose. She has shared her inspiring journey from minimum-wage worker to award-winning Fortune 500 leader with organizations like Cisco, Dell, Carrier Global, and Royal Caribbean. Her insights have been featured in Business Insider, Newsweek, Forbes, USA TODAY, and more. Her books, A Return to Radiance and Harness Your Inner CEO, and her podcast, The emPOWERed Half Hour, deliver practical tools for personal and professional growth. Becca’s proprietary POWER Method teaches individuals the skills and tools to integrate career success with creative fulfillment, cultivating happier, healthier, and more impactful lives. Certified in Kundalini Yoga and trauma-awareness, Becca incorporates these healing practices to help clients overcome limiting beliefs and achieve new heights. Dedicated to philanthropy, she supports causes like the Alzheimer’s Association, Believe Ranch, and Feeding America. As a sought-after speaker, Becca’s transformative insights inspire audiences to join The Dragonfly Effect movement, to embrace and share qualities like resilience, adaptability, and purpose to elevate impact around the globe . She resides in South Florida with her firefighter husband, their blended family of four young adult children, two french bulldogs, and a pitbull mix. In this episode: The inspiration behind her book, A Return to Radiance [3:24] The underlying spiritual component of success [4:50] How witnessing her family member’s disconnect shaped her understanding of radiance. [6:13] Becca’s proprietary Power Method and how she used it as an acronym to structure the book. [9:41] Challenges Becca faced on when to go into teacher mode, and when to go into personal storytelling [12:29] Making each theme in her book digestible to the reader [16:46] Adding stories of transformation from Becca’s coaching clients into the book for another layer of expertise [19:08] What Becca means when she writes “bear hugging the uncomfortable.” [23:49] How Becca’s book melds the spiritual and the practical into an accessible package. [25:24] Connect with Becca Powers Website: https://www.beccapowers.com/ Connect with Estelle Erasmus Her latest substack Post: My Predictions for Publishing in 2025 https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/my-predictions-for-publishing-for Apply to be on Freelance Writing Direct in a coaching episode: email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com and state three of the issues you are dealing with that you would like Estelle’s help with. ​​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 Sign up for Estelle’s NYU Classes https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/e/1068-estelle-erasmus.html 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 Follow Estelle: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstelleSerasmus BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social
    Voir plus Voir moins
    28 min
  • #125 Parlaying Writing Into An Act of Reclamation Featuring Alyson Shelton

    #125 Parlaying Writing Into An Act of Reclamation Featuring Alyson Shelton
    Feb 6 2025
    Alyson Shelton writes about women across mediums + genres. In the film To Hold The Night she tackles a psychological thriller through fractured realities and self-invention. In her comic Reburn she centers a superpowered and mutli-faceted heroine, and in Eve of Understanding, the award winning feature she wrote and directed, the narrative delves into childhood secrets and their ongoing repercussions. She hosts a weekly Instagram Live series inspired by George Ella Lyon’s poem, Where I’m From, where she’s welcomed over 160 writers and creatives. And her own Where I’m From poem provides the spine for her memoir in essays, currently in revision. Her writing has been published widely at outlets including The New York Times, Ms., The Rumpus and more. She is thrilled to be a contributor to the essay collections, Broken Free: Writers on Estrangement (Forthcoming from Catapult in 2026) and Comics Lit Vol. 1 , to host her podcast, Fine Cut for Femme On Collective and to be co-founding a Sibling Loss community and co-editing an anthology entitled, The Loss of a Lifetime: Advice from Grieving Siblings on Loss, Love and Hope. You can learn more about her through her website, www.alysonshelton.com and her Instagram @byalysonshelton In this episode: The genesis of her Where I'm From poetry series, inspired by George Ella Lyon's poem [1:18] The importance of specificity when storytelling [8:05] How storytelling through poetry and fiction can clarify complex relationships and help heal and process childhood trauma [12:32] The difference between writing from the "scar" versus writing from the "wound" [16:19] A discussion of anticipatory grief when it comes to estrangement [13:01] Tips for writers on channeling difficult emotions into creative works [15:54] Alyson’s personal experience towards growth and self-acceptance [17:27] Advice for writers on how to have give themselves self-care while writing memoir [26:17] Connect with Alyson Shelton Website: https://www.alysonshelton.com Where I’m From Poems https://www.alysonshelton.com/where-im-from.html#/ Jeannine Ouellette’s episode referenced #103 Launching into New Dimensions with Embodied Writing https://estelleserasmus.com/103-launching-into-new-dimensions-with-embodied-writing/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwAksUboWwYOEM785ZQMpRw/videos Estelle’s Episode of Where I’m From #163 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiHBtSDWEpI Instagram https://instagram.com/byalysonshelton Connect with Estelle Erasmus Her latest substack Post: My Predictions for Publishing in 2025 https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/my-predictions-for-publishing-for Apply to be on Freelance Writing Direct in a coaching episode: email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com and state three of the issues you are dealing with that you would like Estelle’s help with. ​​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 Sign up for Estelle’s NYU Classes https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/e/1068-estelle-erasmus.html 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 Follow Estelle: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstelleSerasmus BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social
    Voir plus Voir moins
    30 min
  • #124 Essays on Loneliness: Tethering An Isolated Writer To A Disconnected World Featuring Athena Dixon

    #124 Essays on Loneliness: Tethering An Isolated Writer To A Disconnected World Featuring Athena Dixon
    Jan 30 2025
    Athena Dixon is the author of essay collections The Incredible Shrinking Woman and The Loneliness Files and her work appears in publications such as Harper's Bazaar, Shenandoah, Grub Street, Narratively, and Lit Hub among others. She is a Consulting Editor for Fourth Genre and the Nonfiction/Hybrid Editor for Split/Lip Press. In this episode: How the Pandemic pushed Athena into writing essays [3:26] The extreme loneliness epidemic in our country [5:35] How Athena explored loneliness in throughlines of grief, the concept of a “split self”, and journals [7:57] Why she used a multi-tiered braided essay in the collection [10:15] How she used the vessel of the body to play with the fear of the heart [11:09] The influence of her fanfiction fixation on Athena’s writing and ability to daydream a new reality [14:11] Her use of intention and ritual as a roadmap for bringing romance to fruition [16:51] Athena’s editorial work with Fourth Genre and Split Lip Press [24:44] Why Athena now values her loneliness and moments of isolation as a tool in her tool kit [25:47] Advice for identifying a strong throughline in your essay collection [32:45] Keys to figuring out the right format for your stories, when deciding between memoir or a memoir in essays [35:42] Buy The Loneliness Files on Estelle’s Bookshop https://bookshop.org/p/books/loneliness-files-cl-athena-dixon/19712061?aid=98827&ean=9781959030126&listref=authors-who-have-appeared-on-freelance-writing-direct Connect with Athena Website: www.athenadixon.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_muse_paper/?hl=en TikTok https://tiktok.com/@AthenaDIxon BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/athenadixon.bsky.social Split Lip Press https://www.splitlippress.com/ Fourth Genre Magazine https://fourthgenre.org/ Episode mentioned with Jeannine Ouellette #103 Launching into New Dimensions with Embodied Writing https://estelleserasmus.com/103-launching-into-new-dimensions-with-embodied-writing/ Connect with Estelle Erasmus Her latest substack Post: My Predictions for Publishing in 2025 https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/my-predictions-for-publishing-for Apply to be on Freelance Writing Direct in a coaching episode: email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com and state three of the issues you are dealing with that you would like Estelle’s help with. ​​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 Sign up for Estelle’s NYU Classes https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/e/1068-estelle-erasmus.html 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 Follow Estelle: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstelleSerasmus BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social
    Voir plus Voir moins
    41 min
  • #123 Writing About Trauma Using Timelines, Throughlines, and Imagery Featuring Christie Tate

    #123 Writing About Trauma Using Timelines, Throughlines, and Imagery Featuring Christie Tate
    Jan 23 2025
    Christie Tate is an essayist and author who writes creative nonfiction and memoir. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Group, which was a Reese’s Book Club selection and has been translated into 19 languages. She is also the author of B.F.F.-- A Memoir of Friendship Lost & Found. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and elsewhere. Her essays have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, and Kiese Laymon selected her essay, Promised Lands, as the winner of the New Ohio Review’s 2019 nonfiction contest. She writes about addiction, eating disorders, friendship, alienation, recovery, and her Grandma’s farm in Forreston, Texas. She grew up in Dallas and now lives in Chicago with her family. She has finally stopped telling people that she graduated first in her law school class. Please don’t hate her because she has no pets. In This Episode: The inspiration behind Christie’s memoir, Group, and its impact on readers worldwide [3:08] The inciting incident that drove the rest of her book [4:24] How she initially started with a prologue that became her ending and why she made that choice [5:41] Why vulnerability and honesty are crucial in her storytelling [6:02] The ticking time bomb that informed her memoir and why that’s key to building dramatic tension [7:37] How group therapy transformed her life and how ‘prescriptions’ offered a structure for her writing [8:54] The key to using detail and specificity to bring readers into the story [11:33] Her advice for aspiring writers: go where the “heat” is, and how to do that [28:13] How Christie found her throughline and worked it into the memoir [29:27] The power of images in writing [32:36] What to do when you get stuck and how being a reader before a writer, helps [33:54] Connect with Christie Tate Website: https://www.christietate.com/ Books: https://www.christietate.com/writetogetherworkshops-1 Buy Group on Estelle’s Bookshop https://bookshop.org/p/books/group-how-one-therapist-and-a-circle-of-strangers-saved-my-life-christie-tate/15065918?ean=9781982154622 Connect with Estelle Erasmus Her latest substack Post: My Predictions for Publishing in 2025 https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/my-predictions-for-publishing-for Apply to be on Freelance Writing Direct in a coaching episode: email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com and state three of the issues you are dealing with that you would like Estelle’s help with. ​​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 Sign up for Estelle’s NYU Classes https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/e/1068-estelle-erasmus.html 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 Follow Estelle: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstelleSerasmus BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social
    Voir plus Voir moins
    37 min
  • #122 Crafting A Tsunami of Transformation in Memoir Featuring Hannah Sward

    #122 Crafting A Tsunami of Transformation in Memoir Featuring Hannah Sward
    Jan 16 2025
    Hannah Sward, daughter of the late poet Robert Sward, is the IAN awarding-winning author of Strip: A Memoir. Strip, Swards first book, has received the attention of authors such as Nobel Prize winner, J.M. Coetzee, Melissa Broder, and NYT Bestselling novelist Caroline Leavitt who called Sward, “One of the most moving and honest memoir writers. So eloquent, so brave.” Sward has spoken on dozens of podcasts and panels with special appearances on NBC CA Live and C-SPAN BookTV. Published in literary journals for the past twenty years, she was a regular contributor at The Fix and Erotic Review. Her most recent work can be read in the LA Times, NY Times (TLS), Huff Post, The Rumpus and others. Sward is on the board at Right to Write Press, a nonprofit that supports emerging incarcerated writers. She lives in Los Angeles where she is working on a short story collection about love and jealousy. In this episode: Hannah Sward’s life story and the inspiration behind her memoir, Strip. [2:33] The impact of loneliness and addiction on childhood and young adulthood [3:35] Refusing to center in shame, despite fraught scenarios [6:30] How Hannah started writing her memoir, and traversed the path of sobriety [6:50] The benefits of mentorship [7:49] Structuring a book in short chapters [8:33] Her 2 page a day process for putting down her truth [8:48] Excavating childhood memories [10:36] Distilling scenes and setting from her dad’s poetry [11:50] The scene she had to rewrite till she got it right [13:39] Navigating family reactions, especially with difficult topics [16:02] Looking at older work and readying it for publication [22:18] Hannah’s next project [25:12] Get Strip on Estelle’s Bookshop https://bookshop.org/p/books/strip-a-memoir-hannah-sward/18101649?ean=9781948954679 Episodes Mentioned Episode #120 Writing Days of Wonder Featuring Caroline Leavitt https://estelleserasmus.com/120-writing-days-of-wonder-featuring-caroline-leavitt/ Episode #87 Writing Memoir that Reads Like a Novel and Captivates on Every Page with Joanna Rakoff https://estelleserasmus.com/87-writing-memoir-that-reads-like-a-novel-and-captivates-on-every-page-featuring-joanna-rakoff/ Connect with Hannah Sward Website https://www.hannahsward.com/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hannahswardauthor Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hannahswardauthor Threads https://www.threads.net/@hannahswardauthor Connect with Estelle Erasmus Her latest substack Post: My Predictions for Publishing in 2025 https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/my-predictions-for-publishing-for Apply to be on Freelance Writing Direct in a coaching episode: email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com and state three of the issues you are dealing with that you would like Estelle’s help with. ​​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 Sign up for Estelle’s NYU Classes https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/e/1068-estelle-erasmus.html 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 Follow Estelle: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstelleSerasmus BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social
    Voir plus Voir moins
    29 min
  • #121 A Deep Dive into Hachette’s Legacy Lit Imprint Featuring Publisher, Krishan Trotman

    #121 A Deep Dive into Hachette’s Legacy Lit Imprint Featuring Publisher, Krishan Trotman
    Jan 9 2025
    Krishan Trotman is the co-author of the Queens of the Resistance series and Vice President, Publisher of Legacy Lit, an imprint at Hachette Book Group in New York. She was recently profiled in the New York Times and Essence magazine as one of the few African American publishing executives. She has committed over fifteen years to publishing books by and about multicultural voices and social justice. Throughout her career, she has proudly worked with leaders and trailblazers on this frontier such as John Lewis, Stephanie Land, Malcolm Nance, Zerlina Maxwell, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Al Roker, Ed Gordon, Lindy West, and other dynamic celebrity and bestselling authors. She is the self-described Beyoncé of Books, and mom to her son Bleu. In this episode: The importance of partnership in publishing and how to make it work [2:41] How to navigate your book’s cover design conundrums [3:50] The benefits of acting proactively [9:45] Legacy Lit's mission and the true meaning of diversity in publishing [13:22] How Krishan sources writers for Legacy Lit and what to do to get on her radar [15:55] How publishers support their authors and uplift voices that might not be heard [16:01] How Krishan uses her spidey sense to make deals [17:58] An big announcement about Legacy Lit the types of books they are acquiring [19:53] How Audiobooks can make a difference [26:30] What will make you a writer that will get a publishing contract? [35:08] Connect with Krishan and Legacy Lit Website https://www.krishantrotman.com/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KrishanTrotmanInks Instagram https://www.instagram.com/krishantrotman LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishan-trotman-14936934/ Threads https://www.threads.net/@krishantrotman Legacy Lit Website https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page/about-legacy-lit/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legacylitbooks/?hl=en Facebook https://www.facebook.com/legacylithbg/ Twitter https://x.com/legacylitbooks/status/1794073420914913357 Connect with Estelle Erasmus Estelle’s episode #119 analyzing the publishing landscape Estelle’s Edge on Steering Through the Publishing Gauntlet https://estelleserasmus.com/119-solo-episode-estelles-edge-on-steering-through-the-publishing-gauntlet/ Estelle’s substack post on getting her audio book dea If You Are Thinking About Doing an Audiobook: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/if-you-are-thinking-of-doing-an-audiobook Apply to be on Freelance Writing Direct in a coaching episode: email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com and state three of the issues you are dealing with that you would like Estelle’s help with. ​​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 Sign up for Estelle’s NYU Classes https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/e/1068-estelle-erasmus.html 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 Follow Estelle: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstelleSerasmus BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social
    Voir plus Voir moins
    39 min
  • #120 Writing Days of Wonder Featuring Caroline Leavitt

    #120 Writing Days of Wonder Featuring Caroline Leavitt
    Jan 2 2025

    Caroline Leavitt is the New York Times bestselling author of 13 novels, most recently Days of Wonder, which was a CBS/Mary Calvi bookclub pick, the recipient of a MidAtlantic Arts Foundation grant, and which was translated into Russia and has a shopping agreement for film. The co-founder of A Mighty Blaze, the book program begun the day of lockdown, she writes a column blog “Runs in the Family” for Psychology Today, and is a book critic for people and the recipient of a New York Foundation of the Arts Fellowship. She teaches story structure for the novel at UCLA Writers Program Extension and works with private clients. Her work has appeared in the New York Times “Modern Love,” New York Magazine, Salon, Lit Hub, The Millions and many anthologies.

    Caroline is longlisted for the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Literary Prize.

    In this episode:

    • The Inspiration Behind 'Days of Wonder'

    • Caroline’s process for crafting her story with themes and structures

    • Turning trauma into art

    • Navigating dual timelines

    • The art of multiple POVs in her writing

    • Writing with themes of change, redemption, and societal perception

    • The importance of perseverance in the writing industry

    • Caroline’s advice for aspiring writers

    Connect with Caroline

    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/carolineleavitt/

    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/carolineleavitt

    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@carowriter99

    Website: www.carolineleavitt.com

    Connect with Estelle Erasmus

    Apply to be on Freelance Writing Direct in a coaching episode: email freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com and state three of the issues you are dealing with that you would like Estelle’s help with.

    ​​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

    Sign up for Estelle’s NYU Classes

    https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/faculty/e/1068-estelle-erasmus.html

    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

    Follow Estelle:

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus

    TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstelleSerasmus

    BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social
    Voir plus Voir moins
    34 min