Transcript

SPEAKERS:

1. Rachel Thompson
2. Megan Beadle

Rachel Thompson:  00:01

Welcome luminous writers to the Write, Publish and Shine podcast. I am your host, author and literary magazine editor Rachel Thompson. This podcast explores how to write and share your brilliant writing with the world. In each episode, we delve into specifics on how to polish and prepare your writing for publication, and the journey from emerging writer to published author.

00:26

In this episode, I speak with Megan Beadle and acquiring editor at Dundurn Press who ran her own literary agency for several years. So, if you’ve been listening to the last run of episodes, that word, Agent agency rings a bell. Ding, ding! We’re still talking about literary agency, with the intention of both demystifying the role of agents a little and encouraging you, dear writer, to follow your path with intentionality and self-knowledge.

00:56

I first met Megan Beadle, when she took my Lit Mag Love course some years ago, and she talks about how she’s applying those lessons of getting intentional about her submission practice, to her own writing career that’s a little deeper into the episode.

01:10

Before that, I asked all about the various literary hatches worn and a curiosity I have, because in my circle of connections, I seem to know a lot of ex agents and not current agents. So, I wondered if she knew why that was, and her answer helped again, clarify the challenges of that role, and how agents work in partnership with writers.

01:31

Listen to our supportive conversation for encouragement and empowering notes about why you always have agency and the choice to follow your own path in your writing…

01:43

Welcome Megan Beatle to the podcast. I’m so delighted to have you here. Knowing you and following your writing career through a bunch of different roles. You’re currently the acquiring editor at Dundurn. But you’ve worn several hats. So, I definitely want to talk about many of those hats. I mentioned, when we were setting up that I invited you to the podcast, because we’re doing a few episodes in a row related to the theme of agency, which has meant both conceptually, listeners are probably tired of me repeating this, but it’s meant conceptually and also because we just had two writers in our community recently signed with agents and it was really exciting news and just sort of something that we’re exploring as a community as well of emerging writers who are now on the precipice of becoming agented and published writers with big publishing houses.

02:34

Also, you are a bit like my previous guests, my colleague, Geffen Semach from *Room* Magazine, because you wear so many literary hats, or you’ve worn so many. So, I just want to know everything about all the roles, I’m wondering if it’s okay, if we start a bit with your experience with a literary agency and your literary agenting role and how you went from there to how you discover the other roles that feel like a better fit for you?

Megan Beadle:  03:01

Thank you so much for having me, Rachel. I can certainly talk about that.

03:06

I have had a very untraditional journey getting into publishing and becoming an acquisitions editor at Dundurn Press.

03:17

I actually started at the Canadian Manda Group in sales, and I was the national accounts coordinator there. But I had always loved editorial. I loved reading. So, at a certain point, I realized it wasn’t quite the right fit, and I started interning at what was McDermid at the time, it’s now CookeMcDermid.

03:40

I was there for a while, and I started doing a lot of freelance editorials, and then started my own small literary agency, which I no longer do. But that went on for a little while, and I realized what I really loved about being an agent, was actually a lot of the editorial aspects of it, and so I was taking more and more freelance editorial versus agency work, and I really didn’t love the contracts. Part of it wasn’t my favorite element of it, I really love doing the developmental edits, and I really loved working with the author to make the story the best that it could be being on that side of the process.

04:24

After that, while I was doing more of the freelance editorial, I worked at Book City in The Beaches, bookstore, I did some writing for myself, I did some editorial. I was also working on freelance for Dundurn, among other freelance jobs, and when they had an assistant editor role up, I reached out to them and they brought me on and then after that, I was there for a little bit, and they moved me up to acquiring editor. So, that was the process and having my own literary agency, which lasted for quite a few years, and I really enjoyed it. But it does take a particular personality, and I think for me, I really just love that editorial part of it.

Rachel Thompson:  05:11

For sure, yeah, we were talking a bit before the recording, I was saying, I don’t seem to know many agents. I know a lot of people who formerly were agents and have gone on to do different roles. So, I think there is something and maybe that’s in the contracts that you’re talking about just wanting to pursue that best deal for the writer, and that’s a little bit of a different brain, I guess, than the one that’s like, oh, I know, I want to work on the language level, I want to develop this writing to be the best it can be.

Megan Beadle:  05:39

Oh, man, I know, some incredible literary agents, Canadian literary agents, and they’re all so good at what they do. I think for me, I would fall in love with a manuscript, and if the market wasn’t right for it at the time, it would absolutely break my heart. I would feel so disappointed. It’s one thing dealing with rejection on your own behalf. I’m quite good at that. I’m quite resilient. But when you’re representing somebody, and you can see the brilliance and what they’re working on.

06:12

But for whatever reason the market saying,

06:14

“Oh, I want another retelling of Cinderella.”

06:16

You’re like,

06:16

“No, no, you don’t need that. This is what you need.”

06:20

But for whatever reason, it’s not taking, I always felt so responsible, and yeah, I just didn’t always have the stomach for it, to be honest.

06:30

The industry is really interesting. It goes through fads and things like that. But being able to trust my own gut on what I really believe is worth publishing is something that I get on the acquiring side, and I get so much value from that. You get to decide what you think, is worthy and beautiful, and why and help when it reached an audience, and so that’s really special, and that’s something I think I was really missing on the agency side.

Rachel Thompson:  07:03

I mean, I just love that and understand how that would feel where it’s like, oh, I’m rooting for this book, and I didn’t make it because of whatever’s happening in the market right now.

07:13

Thinking of all the different roles that you’ve played; maybe can you tell us a bit about a more satisfying experience you had in one of the writerly environments that you have been in?

Megan Beadle:  07:24

Yeah. So, just recently, I was able to acquire a mystery for Dundurn by a new author, who I met in an emerging writer series, and he’d had some short pieces published, a novella. I met him through that, and I read his manuscript, and it was absolutely brilliant, and Dundurn does mystery really well. So, I was able to bring it to our acquiring board and fight for it and get it through. It’s called The Road to Heaven. It’s by Alexis Stefanovich-Thompson. I’m so excited for everybody to be able to experience it.

08:15

It’s such an interesting mystery. It’s riveting. It’s set in the 1960’s, Toronto in the Parkdale area, after we acquired it, his novella was actually put up for a best Crime Writers award in Canada. So, I was like, yep, my instincts are correct. It was good, and so I’m really excited for that manuscript to just reach the right audience, and I know he’s going to have a long career as a mystery author. That’s always such an exciting part of the process is to be part of that journey for other authors, and to help them find their way in the industry.

Rachel Thompson:  08:41

I love that. I’m just like, super excited about this book just for me talking about it. That’s really wonderful.

09:02

I want to turn to the idea of agency when it comes to, I guess what you were saying a bit about being at the wrong time, wrong time, marketing wise, because many times I’ll have writers come to me and say,

09:17

“Oh, well, what I’m writing isn’t particularly marketable.”

09:20

I think of mystery writing too, like ten years ago, nobody was saying, oh, you should write a mystery. That’s going to be the best way for you to break into this market. Maybe some certain genre publishers were publishing that, but it wasn’t as popular as it is right now. It’s a super trend right now.

09:38

So, I’m wondering what you would say to writers who are choosing between different paths and looking at the market and letting that influence their choice in terms of what they want to write?

Megan Beadle:  09:49

I think that is a really interesting question. I think you actually covered it a little bit in one of your newsletters that you sent out a little while ago.

09:57

Obviously, you probably want to make money with your writing at a certain point in your career, and you have this idea of what you want your publishing and writing career to be.

10:09

I never think that you should write for capitalism or for any other idea, you have to write for you and what feels honest and true to you, and what you love, and that can be a broad spectrum.

10:23

I think following trends is a losing battle. Because for me, there might be certain trends that are happening in the industry, but wonderful story, wonderful character, and staying true to your writing voice and your passion is always going to be the best path. Because you can tell what authenticity looks like, and I think that that rings true in any piece of writing. I think that you have to write what you love.

10:56

You can have ideas of what you want your career to be, and that can help guide your decisions. But it has to be from a place of passion, it has to be, and I suppose it depends on what kind of career you want. But I just think it’s so much more honest, and it will resonate, when you’re writing what makes sense to you, and what comes from the heart, and that will be part of your voice, and that’s going to be what makes it stand out. Because trends come and they go, you never know what’s going to hit at any given moment. But if you’re being honest to yourself, you can always be proud of the work that you produce.

Rachel Thompson:  11:39

When you said the word passion, and whenever I hear that, I always think of what we’re willing to suffer for. Because that’s sort of the origin of that word, and there’s such a long slogan writing a whole book.

11:45

So, I’m just picturing the person following the trend and going, I’m not willing to suffer for this anymore, and just being in the middle of that process, instead of picking the project or the idea that they would have died on a hill for because it’s like the thing that they just really have to be writing.

Megan Beadle:  12:08

There’s always a place depending on where you’re looking. Rare Machines is one of our imprints and we specialize in creative and non-traditional, more experimental fiction. That’s something that we love to see, things that do push the boundaries and break those barriers and might not necessarily just be created for this capitalist function, we love to see that, we love to see things changing.

12:40

I think there’s so much advice out there, you know, when it comes to writing, when it comes to saying, exposition is bad, and no prologues and clean, concise prose and not purple prose and catch your adjectives and all of these things, when, in reality, it really depends on the story and what the purpose is.

13:01

Being authentic to that. One of the pieces that I wrote for Room, I think there was one line of action until the very end of the entire story, the first eight pages were basically inner monologuing. Everyone would say that is terrible writing don’t do that. But there are ways to do it right, when you’re being authentic to the story that you’re telling, and so any generalized rule, it’s just that.

13:28

Being someone who’s neurodivergent, I always think of, there is no formula, there is no rule that you can’t play with or break or do properly, if it is authentic to you, and if it works for your voice, for your story, for what you’re doing.

13:44

So, I don’t know, it’s so hard to give advice for exactly that reason.

Rachel Thompson:  13:49

I always kind of fall myself on the side of like, awareness, because I was thinking, oh, yeah, I did that. I have a Revision Love Course, and I tell people look for your adjectives.

13:59

But in the end, I just want them to know that they’re doing that and if it works for the story, then keep doing it. But if you don’t know, which is often what happens, is people don’t realize that they have all these adjectives in their story, and they can fix it, but it’s like about intentionality and awareness.

Megan Beadle:  14:14

I think I was talking to someone for whatever reason, do you know what they were like? Oh, I just go and I take out all the adjectives and I was like, try to describe a striptease without an adjective, you’re going to be missing something, you’re something truly missing from that scene.

14:28

So, it’s what is appropriate for what you’re doing. Again, there’s no perfect formula. There’s no rule that is general enough to encapsulate everything that we can do with writing and creativity.

Rachel Thompson:  14:42

I’m thinking of neuro divergence is a superpower too to go, oh, there isn’t one way because I’m this other way that isn’t the norm, and I see that how I think and how I exist is this different thing but it’s totally valid and brings all these other gifts with it as well, too. Would you agree with that?

Megan Beadle:  15:03

Yeah, I can definitely see the trends, but I often don’t follow them. I guess having been neurodivergent my entire life, but only having known later on, like, oh, these are the reasons for a lot of the things that I’ve experienced.

15:19

But I think knowing that authenticity, that intuition of oh, this is right for me, or this is right for my story, that the world that we live in is structured in a capitalist consumerist way.

15:34

But having the goals of the end of that being like, why do I write? What is it that I want out of this process, not only for myself, but for my career? What does that look like for me, and making the decisions based on that instinct of knowing yourself and knowing what you want out of it, it’s really the only way to do it, because everybody is different.

15:57

There aren’t a one size fits all career or story or edit, even if an editor is saying,

16:05

“Look, this is my vision for the story. It’s going to be more market, and we’re going to add a love story, and we’re going to do all these things.”

16:12

You go,

16:12

“No, that’s not what this is meant to be. That wasn’t the purpose of this particular piece.”

16:19

I understand why that might be the way to go if what we’re looking for is a Bestseller.

16:26

But is it right for the integrity of the piece that I’m writing and for me and for my career? The answer is not always so simple.

Rachel Thompson:  16:33

I’m thinking of that cliché, the book only you could write, it’s like, you don’t want to write something that everyone else can write. Because that’s not really a way to stand out and it’s not going to be as fulfilling.

16:44

I love that passion and enthusiasm, that you put to that response as well too.

16:51

Rachel here with a short interjection into my chat with Megan Beadle, who, as I mentioned, is an Alumni of my Lit Mag Love course.

16:58

The Lit Mag Love course will help you get a big YES for your writing from a literary journal. The five-week course will not come back around until January 2024, so this is a planning-ahead notice. You can join the course waiting list so you’ll be notified and also get some special bonus and other offers. Lit Mag Love course comes with lots of support and feedback, and with so much support for your own agency. Writers in Lit Mag Love join a warm cohort. You can learn all about the Lit Mag Love course, find out what writers say about working with me, and get on that waiting list at rachelthompson.co/litmaglove.

17:39

I mentioned that our theme is agency both in terms of finding an agent, and conceptually, thinking of intentionality and self-knowledge and reflection, all things you’ve touched on, I’m wondering if you can expand even more on what agency means for you?

Megan Beadle:  17:55

I think we can be really hard on agents; I think sometimes they can get a bad rap or a bad deal, and you send out submissions and you don’t hear back, and trust me, I have so much trouble being patient. I’ve been waiting to hear back for a submission for you know, 300 days for a literary journal. But the thing is, when an agent decides to take somebody on, not only do they have to love the piece, but they are a warrior for you and for what you’re doing.

18:28

It’s not always easy for them either. They have all of these emails and all of these submissions to get through, and then they’re really fighting to find the right editor and the right publisher for whoever they do represent. So, it does take time, and there’s a great deal on their plate. I think it goes both ways where it’s always a relationship.

18:52

There are great agents and less great agents. But it’s also about finding the right agent for you who has a similar vision both for your career and for whatever piece you’re working on, and knowing that those things align is great, because they can tell you look, are these realistic expectations? What are our expectations? I think that conversation is really important, especially up front like do we see this going in the same way? Are we aligned? Am I the right agent for you based off of these things as well?

19:28

But whenever somebody offers to be an agent, I think writers are very eager to go,

19:35

“Yes, please. I want to be represented.”

19:38

Because it’s difficult to get that but it’s a conversation back like is the agent the right person for you? I think a lot of finding that out too is finding out other clients and what these agents like and what they represent, what publishers they tend to work with, all of those things can help you find the right agent, but it can also help you navigate, queries, so that you are querying the right agents versus sending out tons and tons of queries to 1000 different agents and not adapting your query for the person on the other side of the screen.

Rachel Thompson:  20:22

As you describe that process of being an agent and fighting for the book, I’m also just thinking is passion all around, then this passion from the writer it’s passion from the agent to and it’s like everyone is willing to fight, as you said, for this story to come out in the world.

20:37

Thank you for reminding us of that, or letting us know that because I think it’s true. It’s like, oh, I have an agent, isn’t this so exciting. It’s easy to kind of get stars in your eyes and think. All the things that could be and maybe overlook, I can imagine anyway, overlook some of the things that maybe aren’t going to be a good fit for you with an agent.

Megan Beadle:  20:58

But it’s always exciting.

Rachel Thompson:  20:59

They’re seeing the fit already.

Megan Beadle:  21:01

Yeah, well, they’re seeing the potential there, they’re seeing what they could help you get to. It generally means that they believe in your work a lot, because they’re certainly inundated all the time. So, they see something in it, which is brilliant, in and of itself. Take huge accomplishment.

Rachel Thompson:  21:20

You’ve talked a bit about, I feel like the conceptual side of agency, but did you want to say anything more about what agency means to you like on the conceptual side?

Megan Beadle:  21:29

I think it’s always true that you have agency in the career that you’re building and in the writing that you’re doing, not just what you write, but how you go out into the world with that writing, and there’s so many different possible journeys.

21:46

Agency, outside of just the idea of an agent or a literary agency, it’s about taking on the journey that makes sense for whatever you’re doing and actively having that agency deciding which way to go, what is right for you, what isn’t right for you. How do you navigate something that feels authentic in your writing process, in your writing career? What advice does make sense, what doesn’t? All of those things, but you always have agency, when it comes to the decisions that you’re making, for the path that you’re taking in your writing,

Rachel Thompson:  22:26

I want to turn to your own writing, Megan, just wondering when you have felt the most agency in your writing life, and maybe the least even too?

Megan Beadle:  22:35

I think when it comes to writing for me, I have two very different types of writing that I do. I do literary writing, but I also do fantasy writing, and for me, there are two different sides of the coin.

22:49

The literary writing is something that is very things that I’m dealing with, therapeutic for me, but also a practice in empathy, self-love and love of others, but it’s, dealing with this real world that exists.

23:06

My fantasy writing tends to be more escapist, more something that I do, because it’s fun, and it’s engaging, and it’s something that I do to get out of this real world that I grapple with.

23:18

So, I like to do both of those things. But they’re very different writing careers, and I think one of the things that I’ve learned, and one of the things that I sometimes feel takes away from my own agency, or my writing practice, is this trying to juggle what’s right, in the sense of, do you do the thing that’s your agents doing? This is going to make us a lot more money. So, why don’t you finish this one first? But you want to do the literary work for what makes sense for you, and you just have to make the decisions that for your career for your life make sense, because it isn’t about money.

23:59

I think it is, at least for me about passion, about a career about balance, about being the best version of myself, and helping or using writing to reach that version of myself as well, in whatever way works for me. So, it’s sometimes stepping back from the industry and from capitalism and making those choices based off of what I need for me.

Rachel Thompson:  24:26

I love that, what you said about reaching for the best version of yourself, I’m really connecting to that idea.

24:33

I’m always just struck by writers who are doing that where they’re balancing kind of two very different types of projects and genres, and I think there’s something about that, that I resonate with, where it’s like, oh, yeah, this is how you can do the one because you have the other and you can kind of float between the two of them.

24:50

Thank you for describing that, because I also think it’s helpful for many writers who feel like oh, I have to pick this one thing or I have to choose like you said the more lucrative capitalist vibing project versus the one that’s like, heart vibing, and feeling like it’s letting me breathe and be that person that I want to become. I think it just soapbox your comments.

25:14

Anyway, I want to shout it from the rooftops because I really liked what you said. Thank you so much, Megan. Thanks for sharing all of that with us, and I wondered too, you talked about those two different genres. What are you writing right now, what are you writing these days?

Megan Beadle:  25:29

I’d say I have balanced, but I’m definitely writing and working on two different projects. At the same time.

25:35

I’m writing a short story collection. I’m in the last sprint to finish that up, and I got a recommender grant from Nancy, which is helpful.

25:48

On the other side of that I am finishing a fantasy novel as well.

25:52

So, I’m working on both, and it depends on my mood, and what I feel like doing probably going to end up finishing them at similar times, which is going to be interesting. But that’s what I’m doing, and I took your submissions course, and I’m still submitting the short stories as I go, which is good, because it’s a long process to hear back from things. It helps keep that balance in the sense as well, because you slowly get those publications in the literary world. You also get to develop kind of a larger project, out of those things, which is nice, like Piecemeal, short stories from different places that kind of fit together in a collection.

26:36

Then on the other side, I just get to write for fun and happiness when I feel like it for the other one.

26:44

I’m just trying to not put too much pressure on either one, and I’m also just taking on the acquiring editor role, which is new as well. So, that’s also a balance. It’s like life editing, writing, trying to keep them all balanced, and sometimes they do a better job, and sometimes there is no writing for a little bit.

Rachel Thompson:  27:06

I’m excited to read everything that you’ve described, and it makes me think, too, because I think there’s this conventional wisdom, which is a lot of what we’re balking at, that tells you oh, no, we’ll, you have to even write under a different name to write a different kind of book, and it’s like these have to be separate personas.

27:23

But when I think about just myself as a reader, I would love to read all of it, too. So, why don’t we consider that, the market is like the people that are enjoying reading fantasy and short stories and literary fiction. So, yeah. I don’t know if we can resolve the whole industry today. But I just thought I’d mention that.

Megan Beadle:  27:40

Yeah, it’s interesting, because that’s a marketing issue and a publishing issue and a capitalism issue where you are creating these boundaries, and these boxes of where do things fit. But it is honestly simply for this mechanism of sales and reaching people and publicity.

28:01

Whereas on the writing side, I don’t think it’s as clear cut. I even say, I write fantasy on the one side, and that’s for fun, and then I write literary. But one of the pieces that I wrote is pure fantasy. It’s about marionettes in Prague, dancing little marionettes, and it’s obviously complete fantasy, but it’s actually the closest to my real life of anything else that I’ve ever written, because I had the liberty and the space to be able to really talk about my feelings and what I was going through and the loss of my sister in a way that felt safe. So, I connected with very real things on that side of things, and it was very much an extension, I think, in some ways of the literary work that I do.

28:50

Again, the boundaries aren’t clear cut, and we as creators, we’re not creating simply to be recognized by an industry. We’re creating, at least for me, I create out of a sense of urgency and necessity and processing, healing and connecting.

29:10

I think I tried to separate that from the problems of the industry and being able to put things in boxes. It’s something that sure I will do later on, and maybe I will apply a box to it or try to find the right place in the market for it. But I never ever compromise my art for the sake of fitting into a category or for a market. Never! Play again via neurodivergence, [sysco 29:35] saying I can’t compromise myself to fit into other people’s expectations.

29:39

It’s just something I’ve learned, living and trying to be the most authentic version of who I am and the most authentic writer that I can be.

Rachel Thompson:  29:51

I love it. I just am so grateful to you for spending the time with me and for sharing everything you have today. It feels like it fits into, like it’s articulated in many ways, some of the thoughts I’ve had even just about how writing works in terms of those boxes. I really value that, and I’m grateful, especially someone coming from your experience too to be like, oh, I’ve been on this other side, and these boxes are arbitrary, and based on these other things that have nothing to do with our artfulness.

Megan Beadle:  30:21

Thank you so much for having me. It was lovely to be asked to be here. I’ve really enjoyed the process. Hope I got you some answers about agenting. I know we went on some little divergences but…

Rachel Thompson:  30:37

Yeah, I know, and I think it was helpful, I actually have a quick final round to where I want you to finish some sentences, I’ve been bringing out these sentences for everybody. The first is,

30:49

Being a writer is…

Megan Beadle:  30:51

Being a writer is having a voice.

Rachel Thompson:  30:54

Rejection for a writer means…

Megan Beadle:  30:57

You’re trying, putting yourself out there.

Rachel Thompson:  31:01

Then finally,

31:02

Writing community is…

Megan Beadle:  31:04

Everything. It’s what holds you up and keeps you going. I think.

Rachel Thompson:  31:11

I agree, and I just am grateful to you for being part of our writing community as well, too, and just my writing community in general, too. So, thank you again, Megan.

Megan Beadle:  31:20

Thank you so much, Rachel.

Rachel Thompson:  31:23

Megan is the final guest in this theme run on agency, and I hope it was helpful for you to hear from all these different perspectives—from writers who made their agent matches, writers working in their own form and own way, and literary citizens who want to foster relationships that help writers find their truths.

31:45

If you’re new to the podcast and started listening here, I encourage you to go back and check out those previous conversations, starting with episode 73, where Lacey Yong talks about how she found an agent and kept her own agency in the process, episode 74, in which Jessica Waite talks about navigating family relationships when publishing a memoir that spills some family tea, Episode 75, in which my colleague at Room Geffen Semach takes us through the vast landscape of literary folks who work behind the scenes, and Episode 76, in which Wendy Atwell talks about making her own map, finding the shape of her non-traditional formed memoir.

32:24

Thank you, dear writers, for all the feedback about this series, as I think it really hits on my philosophy and approach for teaching writers, which is (surprise!) not as the wise know-all editor who will tell you how to fix your work, and it’s also seemed like so many of you needed to hear this about agency and that you can go your own way and there isn’t one way to be a writer.

32:47

Thanks again, for all the connections that you’ve made with me regarding this theme run.

32:52

I loved that about my conversation with Megan too, in this episode, who encourages you to write what you love, to show up authentically, and to Come from a Place of Passion and Honesty in Your Writing Life.

33:05

Trends come and go as she says, but being honest to yourself, you can always be proud of the work you produce.

33:12

A reminder, dear listeners, that you can learn all about the Lit Mag Love course, find out what writers say about working with me, and get on that waiting list at rachelthompson.co/litmaglove.

33:23

The Write, Publish, and Shine podcast is brought to you by me, Rachel Thompson. Sound editing is done by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting. Episode transcripts are up usually within a day and are transcribed by Diya Jaffery.

33:38

You can learn more about the work I do to help writers, write, publish, and shine at rachelthompson.co. When you’re there, sign up for my Writerly Love letters, sent every week and filled with support for your writing practice.

33:50

If this episode encouraged you to take a moment to feel proud about the path you are choosing to follow as a writer, or gave you an a-ha moment of clarity about staying authentic to yourself on your journey, I would love to hear all about it. You can reach me at hello@rachelthompson.co

34:08

Please tell other luminous writers about this episode. I know I say this every time, and if you had a moment to share this episode, just know that it helps a lot and will allow me to keep going and making new episodes. I’m currently wrapping up the podcast season and there will be just one more episode before the summer months in the northern hemisphere. So maybe you’ll encourage writers you know to catch up on the pod over June to August and prepare for new episodes to come in September.

34:35

The way to do this is to send them rachelthompson.co/podcast or let them know to search for Write, Publish, and Shine wherever they get their podcasts.

34:44

Thank you so much for listening—I encourage you to keep writing with agency!

34:49

My guest Megan Beadle spoke to me from Tkaronto, colonially known as Toronto, which is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

35:10

I am a guest in the South Sinai, Egypt on lands historically and presently occupied by the El Muzzina Bedouin.

35:17

I have also benefited from being raised on Treaty 2 Territory in Manitoba, and living and working in various parts of what is colloquially known as Canada, including Montreal, the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka.