Rebecca Armitage on rejection and the road to a bestseller (with pre-empts, Reese's Book Club, an...

Madeleine interviews Tasmania-based ABC journalist and digital editor Rebecca Armitage about her debut novel, The Heir Apparent (December 2025, HarperCollins Australia). (https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781...) One might think Rebecca’s journey to publication was a bit of a fairytale, with simultaneous releases in multiple territories, pre-empts, a Reese’s Book Club pick and even a TV deal! But her journey to publication was not without its challenges, and Rebecca has some fabulous advice about creating good writing habits, finding resilience when dealing with multiples rejections and some great tips for when your book hits the shelves.  She details early rejections, pitching through the Australian Society of Authors, getting the 'yes', landing a HarperCollins pr-eempt and major US/UK deals, feels after being selected for Reese’s Book Club - and prompting a pub date shift, TV deals and more. She has some wonderful advice for emerging and debut authors on habit-setting, writing and pitching. Our Debut in the Spotlight is Leearna Shaw, whose debut novel is A Farm in Golden Clouds (March 2026, Allen & Unwin). (https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/...) 00:56 Introduction to Rebecca Armitage 01:39 Heir Apparent Elevator Pitch 04:00 Journalism and Fiction 06:08 Inspiration 10:11 Research 15:14 Plotter or Pantser 17:40 Writing Habits and Targets 21:56 Draft to Submission 23:21 Pitching and Finding an Agent 26:27 First Yes Moment 26:58 Rejection Resilience 28:35 HarperCollins Preempt 30:11 Global Deal Whirlwind 36:16 Reese Book Club Pick 40:44 TV Adaptation Plans 44:11 Launch Advice for Debuts 47:06 Tassie Reading Recommends  49:25 Final Writing Top Tip 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/...) ...