Emily Maguire on non-fiction vs fiction writing, overcoming discouragement and practicalities of ...

Natasha Rai interviews author Emily Maguire about her Queensland Literary Award–winning, Prime Minister’s Literary Award–shortlisted novel Rapture, inspired by a 1,000-year-old legend of a woman disguising herself as a man, rising through monastic ranks, and becoming pope. Maguire contrasts nonfiction research—structured around a topic and intended conclusions—with fiction research driven by deep point of view and character questions, and describes collecting sparks like art and journaled observations. She recounts early discouragement from a teacher, her first publication journey via mailed submissions and an ASA mentorship, and how international rights sales launched her career despite poor local reviews. Maguire discusses navigating tough edits, learning that “a novel is made in the rewriting,” choosing trusted readers, teaching writing without gatekeeping craft jargon, and practical realities of sustaining an Australian writing life amid industry pressures, including AI, while emphasizing writing regularly and revising deeply. 00:00 Podcast Intro 00:56 Meet Emily Maguire 02:27 Elevator Pitch Rapture 03:28 Research Fiction vs Nonfiction 06:03 Finding Story Sparks 08:36 A Life of Reading 09:43 Becoming a Writer 12:32 First Publication Journey 16:55 Persistence and Doubt 20:55 Handling Editorial Feedback 25:55 Learning Deep Revision 30:55 When to Share Drafts 31:52 Trusted Reader Process 33:16 When a Draft Fails 34:49 Finding Trusted Readers 35:53 Feedback That Helps 40:59 Teaching Through Dialogue 43:55 Craft Terms Dont Matter 47:28 Market Identity Anxiety 51:08 Sustaining Writing Career 56:14 Write Then Revise 58:14 Podcast Wrap Up Join our Patreon community (  / thebookdealpodcast  ) 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 (  / the_book_deal_podcast  ) You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here: Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos (  / td_strachan  ) Tina Strachan children's book author (https://www.tinastrachan.com/about-ti...) Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos (  / madeleineclearywrites  ) Madeleine Cleary | Author (https://www.madeleinecleary.com.au/) Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos (  / raiwriting  ) Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor (https://www.raiwriting.com.au/) 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 (https://madeleinecleary.substack.com/...) ...