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

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#172 A Year in Motion: Writing, Teaching, and Publishing in Real Time

Jan 1, 2026

In this solo recap episode, Estelle Erasmus reflects on a year shaped by creative momentum, personal loss, and professional growth. As she approaches 200 podcast episodes, expands her teaching at NYU and Writer’s Digest, and leads small-group workshops, she considers what this season revealed and what she is carrying forward into 2026.

She also revisits major moments including her TEDx talk, How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond, students publishing in outlets like Modern Love, Brevity, The Boston Globe, The Kenyon Review, Audacity, and Business Insider, and the shifting landscape of personal essay publishing. Alongside these milestones, she reflects on grief, travel, and how lived experience continues to inform the work, even when it is not yet ready for the public eye.

In this episode:

  • Momentum through teaching, publishing, and consistency [1:18]

  • Balancing accountability in long-term memoir work [14:38]

  • The shrinking personal essay market and why strategic placement matters [17:53]

  • Using AI as a support tool for brainstorming and structure [18:20]

Substacks Mentioned

Hannah Sward Summer of Men

Her episode: #122 Crafting a Tsunami of Transformation in Memoir

Rona Maynard Amazement Seeker

Her episode: #102 Writing Scenes Shaped Around Sensory Experience

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nVLCzIpWlcI

Get More from Estelle

  • Upcoming Webinar with Writer’s Digest: Amplifying the Echo Effect in Memoir and Essays, February 26th, 1:00-2:30 pm ET
    If you want to understand how patterns, callbacks, and emotional echoes can deepen your work, join me for this brand new interactive craft webinar.
    Learn more and register here.

  • 🎓 Learn with Estelle:
    • NYU Zoom Course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir & Essays — Discover how to beat writer’s block, shape a powerful narrative, pitch editors, and walk away with a ready-to-publish essay or memoir pages.  Find out more information and register here.

  • Private Small-Group Memoir Class — January and March are sold out. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list.

  • 📰 Read & Subscribe
    • Substack:— NEW POST: How to Pitch Slate: Advice, Ideas and Examples on How to Write Articles and Essays from NYU My Editor-on-Call Event 

  • • 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