Award-winning screenwriter, storytelling coach, and developmental editor Michelle Tamara Cutler joins Estelle Erasmus to discuss the evolution of her forthcoming reported memoir, I Won't Let You Die Alone, and how she sold the book to Bloomsbury without an agent.
Michelle shares how a project that began with the death of her aunt transformed when caring for her aging mother gave the story a new urgency and changed the book she realized she needed to write. She discusses restructuring the project to braid memoir with research and interviews, developing a proposal that could make a strong business case for the book, and finding creative ways to demonstrate platform and reach.
In this episode:
- Why a strong book idea still needs a compelling reason for readers to care now
- What Michelle learned from years of querying before changing the project's framing
- How an A/B chapter structure helped her organize a complex nonfiction book
- What happens inside a publisher when an editor wants to acquire a book
- Creative ways writers can leverage alumni networks, workshops, media appearances, and other connections
- Why Michelle chose professional help to negotiate her deal rather than signing with an agent
- What she prioritized in the contract, including retaining film and television rights
- How thinking like an entrepreneur can help writers navigate a changing publishing landscape
- Why knowing exactly why you're telling a story can keep you connected to it over the long haul
Watch on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWspykrUOJI
About Michelle
Michelle Tamara Cutler is an award-winning screenwriter, storytelling coach, and developmental editor specializing in memoir and the adaptation of true stories. Her recent work centers on caring for her aging mother as an artist and expat, with essays published in literary and news outlets. She is currently writing I WON'T LET YOU DIE ALONE, a reported memoir from the trenches of modern elder caregiving, forthcoming from Bloomsbury. She holds an MFA in Film from NYU and a Diploma in Advanced Creative Writing (Nonfiction) from Cambridge. Michelle lives in Andalucía with her partner and their dog, Ragazzo.
Links
Website: https://michellecutler.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/micky.cutler/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickytcutler/
Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/michelletcutler.bsky.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mtcutler/
Get More From Estelle Erasmus
My latest substack post is Musings on Magazines: The Behind-the-Scenes Tea From the Print Magazines You Loved to Read (and a Book Giveaway) https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/the-behind-the-scenes-tea-from-the
My next Editor-on-Call event with NYU is on Wednesday, September 16, with Electric Literature Executive Editor and Publisher Denne Michele Norris. Sign up here: https://events.nyu.edu/event/400238-light-up-your-literary-life-with-electric-literatures
Private Small-Group Memoir/Essay Class
My next six-week session beginning in September 2026 is sold out. Please email me to be added to the waiting list for the next session. Contact freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details.
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."
Listen/Watch
Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2026 Podcast of the Year, Business (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast
About Estelle
Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, TEDx speaker, and author of Writing That Gets Noticed. She is the host, founder, and executive producer of Freelance Writing Direct, an adjunct professor at NYU, and the former editor-in-chief of five national magazines with a combined reach of 10 million readers.
Her work has appeared in more than 150 publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine.
Follow Estelle
Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus
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Twitter/X: @EstelleSErasmus
Bluesky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social
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