The Book Deal

Hosts Tina Strachan and Natasha Rai interview publishing professional and author Kelly Doust about her two-decade career across major and independent publishers, writing eight books, and launching Publishing Curious after redundancy to educate authors via a Substack and one-on-one services (strategy calls, pitch development, manuscript assessment). Kelly explains why publishing can feel opaque, compares indie versus major houses (advances vs attention and lead-title status), and urges writers to join communities and educate themselves. She outlines acquisitions meetings (key roles include publishing, sales, marketing/publicity, and sometimes finance) and notes lists and schedules shift. She discusses what drives sales—sharp hooks, targeted retailers (including Big W and deep-discount stores), endorsements, author engagement—and changing bestseller benchmarks (5,000 as the new 10,000). The episode also covers parallel importation, lobbying government, and AI’s impacts on submissions, workflows, and creator protections.

00:00 Podcast Intro
00:56 Meet Kelly Daoust
02:01 Kelly Career Journey
04:22 Why Publishing Feels Opaque
06:49 Publishing Curious Services
09:20 Indies Versus Big Five
11:27 Building Writing Community
15:38 Inside Acquisitions Meetings
25:06 How Publishers Allocate Budget
29:38 Debut Novel Spotlight
31:39 Retail Reality Check
33:15 What Actually Sells
36:48 Defining Good Sales
37:50 Algorithms Vs Local Authors
39:42 Parallel Importation Explained
41:10 Lobbying And Creator Rights
42:15 AI In Submissions
44:47 AI Editing And Bias
50:34 AI Flooding Amazon
51:55 Kids Books Are Different
53:09 Back To Publishing
54:08 Best Advice For Debuts
56:47 No Formula For Bestsellers
58:24 Podcast Wrap Up
Join our Patreon community for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love.
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You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here:
Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos
Tina Strachan children's book author
Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos
Madeleine Cleary | Author
Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos
Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor
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Natasha Rai hosts a follow-up conversation with Debut Crew 2026 authors Sophie Stern (What Is Left For Us), Inessa Jackson (Devil Mountain), and Leearna Shaw (A Farm in Golden Clouds) about their post-release experiences after discussing pre-release feelings in part one. They revisit elevator pitches, describe release-day anxiety, anticlimactic feelings, and the importance of launch events, then reflect on author talks, reader interactions, surprising questions, and the surreal experience of strangers buying and reviewing their books. The authors discuss shifting goalposts, post-publication slumps, comparison, and redefining success, plus what they learned about publicity, marketing, and managing expectations as publisher support winds down. Updates include Leearna's book two (A Home On Gully Lane) and a book three deal, while Sophie and Inessa draft second novels. They close with tips: be kind to yourself, plan launch-day celebrations, learn from author interviews, and network early.

00:00 Podcast Intro
00:47 Part Two Setup
01:21 Meet The Debut Crew
03:19 Elevator Pitch Round
06:10 Release Day Emotions
07:08 Launch Nights Highlights
11:39 Events And Nerves
15:57 Unexpected Questions
18:57 Strangers Buying Books
21:28 Feeling Legitimate
24:11 Shifting Goalposts
29:23 Publisher Support Ends
30:29 Author Marketing Hustle
32:39 Best And Weird Reader Moments
36:58 Book Two And Three Update
42:59 Sophie Writing Again
45:29 Anessa Revising Series
47:45 How Debuts Feel Now
50:36 Top Tips For Writers
53:24 Final Thanks And Outro
Join our Patreon community for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love.
Follow The Book Deal podcast on Instagram The Book Deal podcast (@the_book_deal_podcast) • Instagram photos and videos

You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here:
Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos
Tina Strachan children's book author
Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos
Madeleine Cleary | Author
Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos
Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor
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Madeleine chats with Pip Williams ahead of the release of her third novel, The German Ward. Pip set out with a mission to write a mature love story, but the novel expanded into something more, exploring themes of memory, art and humanity during wartime. In this episode, Pip tells us about how in the writing of her third novel she wanted to challenge herself as a writer. She discusses her approach to structure, craft, social media (and why she stays off it) and how she has developed a positive approach to writing. 
A little bit about Pip...
Pip Williams is the author of social research, essays, memoir, and the occasional poem, but she is best known for her companion novels, The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Bookbinder of Jericho. Since its publication in 2020, The Dictionary of Lost Words has won a number of major book awards, was chosen for the Reese Witherspoon Book Club and became a New York Times bestseller. As well as being adapted for stage, The Dictionary of Lost Words is being turned into a book concerto and has been optioned for a limited series. Pip’s second novel, The Bookbinder of Jericho, was published in 2023 and was an instant bestseller. In 2024, it won the Australian Book Industry Awards General Fiction Book of the Year and was Dymocks’ number-one book in its Top 101. Both novels were also recognised in ABC Radio National’s Top 100 Books of the 21st Century. Her upcoming novel, The German Ward, continues her exploration of love, art, and history, bringing to life a vivid World War I story of forbidden love and artistic discovery behind the lines in France. Pip’s books have been published around the world and translated into more than 30 languages.
This week's Debut in the Spotlight is Katie Bowman and her novel, Exchange of Heart.
00:56 Introduction
02:02 The author tour
05:31 The German Ward pitch
08:03 Writing a love story
09:48 Iso Rae
14:37 Women Artists in Wartime
20:40 Writing history
29:54 Memory and art
36:10 Success and pressure
41:26 Approach to writing
50:01 Social media
55:31 Writing routine
01:04:43 Top tip

Join our Patreon community for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love.
Follow The Book Deal podcast on Instagram The Book Deal podcast (@the_book_deal_podcast) • Instagram photos and videos

You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here:
Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos
Tina Strachan children's book author
Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos
Madeleine Cleary | Author
Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos
Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor
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Recorded live at day one of the National Writers’ Conference at the Emerging Writers Festival 2026, this special Book Deal Podcast “agony aunt” session features bestselling author Toni Jordan answering anonymous questions from emerging and early-career writers. Jordan reframes rejection as a business decision, advises writers to focus on becoming “undeniable,” keep producing new work, and avoid perfectionism. She suggests denying real-life inspirations in fiction, warns that publishers can “love bomb” then provide limited support, and urges writers to ask clear marketing/publicity questions. Jordan explains the purpose of genre and comparison titles, offers strategies for managing self-promotion and public speaking, outlines etiquette and contractual realities for changing agents, and stresses that quitting a day job often takes years and luck. In a rapid “Chaos Round,” the panel discusses social media, agents, courses, AI, pitching, reviews, and career highlights, then takes audience questions on hurdles, writing for market, chapter length, and self-publishing vs traditional.

00:00 Podcast Intro
00:56 Conference Welcome
01:56 Meet Toni Jordan
03:52 Handling Rejection
09:45 Writing Real People
11:58 Publisher Support Reality
16:36 Genre and Comps
20:43 Self Promotion Without Cringe
23:44 Switching Literary Agents
29:23 Quitting the Day Job
34:56 Chaos Round Setup
36:00 Social Media For Writers
36:39 Agents And Negotiation
38:09 Feedback And Writing Courses
39:07 Why Not Use AI
40:19 Pitching At Events
42:00 Reviews And Awkward Questions
43:01 Career Highlights To Audience Q&A
44:26 Top Tips For Emerging Writers
46:17 Biggest Career Challenges
50:22 Writing For Market Vs Self
54:46 Chapter Length And Structure
58:36 Self Publishing Vs Traditional
01:01:33 Final Top Tip And Wrap
Join our Patreon community for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love.
Follow The Book Deal podcast on Instagram The Book Deal podcast (@the_book_deal_podcast) • Instagram photos and videos

You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here:
Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos
Tina Strachan children's book author
Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos
Madeleine Cleary | Author
Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos
Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor
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Tina Strachan interviews New Zealand author Shara Curlett during the launch of her new middle-grade fantasy series Protector of Beyond. Curlett describes book one’s premise—12-year-old Aldetris sparks, is transported to another realm, bonds with a magical creature, and faces trials to train at the Academy of Protectors—plus the creation of the four Gards and Fiercers with illustrator Jennifer Beam, and comps like Nevermoor, Percy Jackson, and Wings of Fire. She recounts a busy release month including publisher and bookstore visits, school presentations featuring a Guard-sorting activity, and events in Australia with QBD and Kinokuniya. Curlett outlines her persistence-focused journey from Welcome to Miracle to signing with Zeitgeist’s Samuel Bernard after publisher interest, her productivity habits (writing in small gaps, formerly on her phone), and confirms Protector of Beyond (book two) is drafted for September 2027. Her top tip: separate emotion from publishing because it’s a business and rejection isn’t personal.

00:00 Podcast Intro
00:56 Meet Shara Curlett
02:37 Protector of Beyond Premise
04:32 Worldbuilding Sparks
06:27 Comp Titles Vibes
08:29 Launch Tour Whirlwind
13:29 School Visit Secrets
17:36 From Miracle to Protector
22:37 Courses Craft Growth
25:54 Writing Over Rejection
26:31 Finding Time As A Mum
27:31 Writing In The Gaps
29:51 Compartmentalize And Capture Ideas
32:21 No Perfect Time To Write
34:34 Protector Pitch Breakthrough
36:11 Landing An Agent Fast
38:16 Do You Need An Agent
40:32 Tips For Querying Agents
43:06 Protector Two Update
45:41 Top Tip Publishing Is Business
50:54 Final Thanks And Wrap
Join our Patreon community for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love.
Follow The Book Deal podcast on Instagram The Book Deal podcast (@the_book_deal_podcast) • Instagram photos and videos

You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here:
Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos
Tina Strachan children's book author
Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos
Madeleine Cleary | Author
Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos
Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor
If you want to stay in the know, sign up to Madeleine, Tina and Natasha's newsletters for the latest news first.
Madeleine: Subscribe here...