The Book Deal

The Book Deal podcast host Natasha Rai introduces best-selling Australian crime author Fleur McDonald, a rural outback writer with 28 novels and over one million sales, known for Detective Dave Burrows and her Kalgoorlie series, and discusses her touring, background, and advocacy work. Fleur, calling herself a former pantser turned more of a planner for police procedurals, gives an elevator pitch for The Buried, a dual-timeline novel beginning with a ram raid and the death of a homeless man. She explains using landscape and weather as character, learning structure through lifelong reading and family storytelling, and why AI can’t replicate real human observation despite concerns about stolen books. Fleur recalls her first two-book deal, reader interactions including one crediting her books with preventing suicide, changes in publishing toward author-led marketing, writing as a business with contracts to 2028, and craft lessons on editing, flow, and improving endings, urging writers to live life for story material and use writing as therapy.

00:00 Podcast Introduction
00:56 Meet Fleur McDonald
02:15 On the Road Touring
03:18 Elevator Pitch The Buried
04:18 From Pantser to Planner
05:48 Writing Place as Character
09:12 Reading Roots and Storytelling
12:17 AI and Human Stories
15:06 First Book Deal Memories
17:30 Readers Who Changed Everything
19:48 Rebranding and Growing Readership
20:59 Publishing as a Business
24:20 Deadlines and Author Earnings
25:27 Balancing Work Writing
26:03 Drafting Versus Editing
26:35 Juggling Books Publicity
28:00 Breaks And Burnout
28:54 Finding Story Ideas
31:45 Building Plot Characters
35:26 Learning Craft Lessons
37:14 Editing Flow State
39:54 Endings And Ego
42:38 Advice For Writers
44:29 Closing Thanks 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.
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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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Host Tina Strachan welcomes Date With a Debut host Nick Wasiliev for a collaboration episode. Nick explains his podcast’s focus on debut authors’ books, publication paths, and behind-the-curtain industry insights, noting it began at Booktopia and later grew into four series with Words and Nerds after his 2023 redundancy. He discusses his debut novel When Men Cry (set in early 2020 Sydney, about four men confronting a friend’s wellbeing), his goal to finish a second novel’s first draft by year’s end, and his non-chronological drafting approach. They roundtable the biggest challenges for debut authors in 2026, covering traditional vs self-publishing, reduced submission pathways (including the final CYA conference), the need to support writing infrastructure and funding, realistic income expectations, and concerns about AI while emphasizing voice and writing for joy. Hannah Goldstein introduces her debut novel Dream Girls (Allen & Unwin, out 3 Nov 2026), about a complicated female friendship inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream, before the group shares book recommendations and closes with accountability for Nick’s draft deadline.

00:00 Podcast Intro
00:56 Meet Nick Wasiliev
01:36 Date With A Debut Explained
03:09 How The Show Started
04:42 Who Listens And Why
08:07 Nick Novel When Men Cry
09:52 Second Book Progress
13:01 Writing Process Tips
18:03 Debut Authors 2026 Challenges
19:28 Traditional Vs Self Publishing
25:00 Support And Funding Gaps
28:33 Dream Girls Book Spotlight
29:51 AI And The Future
30:44 Debut Focus Over Noise
31:33 AI Books And Pushback
33:58 AI Tools Everywhere
36:18 Why Write For Joy
40:36 Money Reality Check
42:46 Author Income Streams
44:45 Community And Long Game
48:53 Debut Book Recs
49:33 Historical Novel Pick
52:27 Kids Book And Memoir Picks
57:25 Picture Book Love
01:00:56 Wrap Up And Thanks
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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Hosts Tina Strachan welcomes debut authors Brenton Cullen, Jemima Parker, and Seetha Dodd to discuss their publication journeys and picture-book craft. Brenton shares writing since childhood, years of rejection, nearly quitting, then winning the Pitch It contest and selling The Prime Minister Problem, followed by picture book Meena’s Moving Day and further contracts; he stresses never giving up, revising deeply, and leaving room for illustrators. Jemima recounts shifting from law and textiles amid health concerns to picture books via Australian Writers’ Centre, SCBWI, and critique groups, leading to Poppy Makes Pockets with EK Books after a mentorship runner-up and mixed feedback, and notes publishing’s long timelines. Seetha describes moving into children’s writing after courses and festivals, securing Myra in the Middle (UQP), Ginger and Fred (Wild Dog), a Larrikin Prize win announced on Instagram, and a Queensland Literary Awards shortlist, emphasizing conferences, tailored submissions, and celebrating wins.

00:00 Podcast Introduction
00:56 Meet Debut Guests
02:32 Brenton Writing Journey
07:03 Success Mindset Shift
10:03 Rock Bottom Breakthrough
15:34 Jemima Creative Path
18:49 Finding Kidlit Community
23:26 Poppy Makes Pockets
26:30 Submission Rollercoaster
33:02 Seetha Early Writing Roots
35:30 New Books and Deals
37:11 Conferences and Networking
39:51 Queensland Literary Award
40:53 Picture Book Joys
44:54 Publishing Takes Time
47:38 Finding the Right Publisher
52:23 Top Tips for Authors
56:29 What’s Next for Everyone
59:38 Larrikin Prize Surprise
01:01:21 Community and 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.
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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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.
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.
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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
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...