#169 Finding the Line: How a Linear Structure Brought a Memoir Into Focus with Heather Sweeney
Release Date: 12/11/2025
#188 Reclaiming “Selfish”: On Craft, Creativity, and Braiding Truth into Memoir With Kerry Docherty
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
In this episode, Estelle Erasmus talks with Kerry Docherty, author of Selfish: Unlearning, Reclaiming, and Telling the Truth, about what it really takes to write a bold, emotionally honest memoir. They dive into: Why “selfish” is a loaded word for women and how to reclaim it Starting a memoir with rupture to hook the reader Using dreams, spirituality, and what Estelle calls the “echo effect” to deepen narrative impact Writing about marriage, motherhood, desire, and identity without holding back The risks and consequences of telling the truth on the page How to balance scene,...
info_outline
#187 People over Proposals with Literary Agent Sally Ekus
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus sits down with literary agent Sally Ekus, senior agent at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, where she leads a boutique division specializing in cookbooks, lifestyle, and select nonfiction. With over 350 book deals under her belt and deep roots in the publishing world, Sally shares what truly makes a proposal stand out, how the industry is evolving in real time, and why enthusiasm and voice still matter more than ever. Together, Estelle and Sally explore the shift from traditional publishing models to today’s fast-paced,...
info_outline
#186 Burn the Haystack: Decoding Men’s Language, Power Moves, and Red Flags with Jennie Young
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
The words people use tell you exactly who they are, if you know how to read them. Estelle Erasmus sits down with Jennie Young, a professor of rhetoric whose “Burn the Haystack” method and Facebook group sparked a powerful movement, now captured in her book Burn the Haystack. She flips the traditional dating narrative on its head, showing women how to find their “needle” by torching the men who are duds. As a former magazine editor and longtime writing teacher, Estelle was especially drawn to how Jennie breaks down language, tone, and behavior with precision. This conversation goes far...
info_outline
#185 The Rise of Authorpreneurship with Literary Agent Regina Brooks
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
What does the rise of authorpreneurship mean for writers today? In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus sits down with Regina Brooks, founder and CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency and president of the Association of American Literary Agents, to explore how publishing is shifting and what writers need to understand now. From what agents look for in submissions to how platform, AI, and direct-to-consumer models are reshaping the industry, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at how writers can move beyond simply writing a book to building a sustainable writing career....
info_outline
#184 From Silence to Story: Writing a Hostage Memoir 50 Years Later with Mimi Nichter
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
What does it take to write about a life-altering trauma decades after it happened? In this episode, Estelle Erasmus chats with Mimi Nichter about the long arc from lived experience to the page, and what it means to revisit a moment of crisis with clarity. They talk about writing through memory, shaping a narrative around a defining event, and the emotional and craft challenges of telling a story that has festered inside for years, waiting to be heard. Mimi shares how she approached writing about being held hostage, why timing mattered, and how she transformed silence into story. In this...
info_outline
#183 Don’t Give Up on Ghostwriting. What Still Pays and What’s Dead
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
Ghostwriting isn’t dead. It’s just napping. The smart writers know exactly where to wake it up. It can be one of the most lucrative paths for writers, but not all ghostwriting opportunities are created equal. In this solo episode, Estelle Erasmus reveals which ghostwriting gigs are thriving in 2026 and which ones are quietly disappearing. If you've ever been curious about ghostwriting (or you're already doing it and wondering about your future), this episode is essential listening. Estelle shares insider predictions about the market, explains why the "whisper network" matters more than you...
info_outline
#182 The A–Z of AWP: Insider Tips for Writers Attending the Conference
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
Thinking about attending the AWP Conference and wondering how to prepare for it? With thousands of writers, panels, book fairs, and networking opportunities, AWP can feel both exciting, inspiring and a little overwhelming. That’s why it helps to have a strategy. In this solo episode of Freelance Writing Direct, host Estelle Erasmus shares how she prepared for AWP, what it was like moderating her standing-room-only panel, and the simple strategies that helped her navigate the conference with aplomb. Estelle talks through everything from packing light and bringing snacks to creating meaningful...
info_outline
#181 From Ashram to Author: Finding the Transformative Thread in a Near Cult Memoir with Blair Glaser
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
What happens when a story that could be told as trauma is instead shaped as triumph? Blair Glaser joins Estelle Erasmus to discuss her journey from a Catskills ashram in the 1990s to published author, and how she turned her time in a spiritual organization into her memoir, This Incredible Longing: Finding Myself in a Near Cult Experience. Rather than writing a simple escape narrative, she explores spiritual longing, group dynamics, depression, leadership, and the unexpected skills she developed inside a restrictive system. Instead of focusing solely on abuse and escape, Blair takes a nuanced...
info_outline
#180 Unlearning Childhood Lessons and Reinventing a Memoir with Anna Rollins
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
What does it take to unlearn the messages you were raised with and reshape them into a publishable memoir? In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus chats with Anna Rollins about the internal and structural shifts that reshaped her debut memoir, Famished. Anna reveals how expanding the scope of her manuscript, incorporating reporting, and strengthening her platform repositioned the project and led to multiple offers. They also explore how diet culture and evangelical purity culture shaped the 1990s media landscape, and what it means to critically reexamine the messages women...
info_outline
#179 Writing from the Scar: Conscious Craft Choices with Jocelyn Jane Cox
Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.
What do you do when your son's first birthday party becomes the same day you lose your mother? In this episode, Estelle Erasmus sits down with Jocelyn Jane Cox, author of Motion Dazzle, the award-winning memoir that follows a single day when celebration and grief collided. It's a day that would forever contain both darkness and light, joy and devastating loss. Here’s what makes this conversation essential for writers: Jocelyn shares the conscious craft choices behind weaving seemingly unrelated threads—competitive figure skating, caregiving, dating disasters, and new motherhood—into a...
info_outlineSome lives resist easy summary, and Heather Sweeney’s was one of them. After two decades inside a military marriage, marked by relocations, solo parenting, and a gradual loss of personal direction, she knew she had a story, but not yet a shape.
Estelle Erasmus talks with Heather about how she translated that long, complicated stretch of living into her memoir, Camouflage: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage. They discuss the early drafting that felt scattered, the challenge of seeing her own experience clearly, and why a straightforward linear structure ultimately gave the narrative its definition. Heather shares how moving chronologically helped her understand what moments carried weight, what could be left out, and how structure can reveal meaning that isn’t visible in real time.
In this episode:
-
How Heather determined that a linear structure best served her story [1:33]
-
How she found the true “start” of her memoir [3:00]
-
How she used a three part structure built around beginnings and endings [5:18]
-
How reader responses to her early essay revealed a gap in stories about military divorce [7:02]
-
Why the book needed forward motion instead of fragmentation [11:31]
-
How she balanced writing about real people with protecting privacy [12:00]
-
Turning years of journals into a clean storyline [13:21]
-
How she considered weaving in military history or prescriptive elements, and why she chose to keep the memoir focused and personal [15:03]
-
What she’s excited about next in her writing life [28:44]
-
Why readers from all backgrounds connect with her story [30:06]
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GlBYpm9Ac2Y
About Heather Sweeney:
Heather Sweeney is the author of the memoir Camouflage: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage. She writes about divorce, life as a military spouse, parenting, and women’s health, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, HuffPost, Business Insider, TODAY.com, Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, Healthline, Reader’s Digest and Military.com, among many others. She lives in Virginia with her boyfriend and two college-aged kids.
Connect with Heather:
Order Camouflage on Estelle's Bookshop https://bookshop.org/a/98827/9798895653081
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writersweeney
Substack: https://heathersweeney.substack.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-sweeney-5a15115b/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/WriterSweeney
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 AND MARCH SOLD OUT. Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email 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