Omega Writers sat down to chat with Nicole Partridge, a journalist, speaker, literary agent, writing coach, mentor, and co-author of several bestselling books. Her work has been featured in Marie Claire, The New York Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, and Reader’s Digest (Australia and Europe) and her feature article published in the Guardian Weekend Magazine (UK) on the Hudson River Plane crash, has been reproduced as a sample text in Pearson English textbooks. Nicole advises and teaches emerging writers through her masterclasses on creative writing, and since 2013, has successfully mentored and facilitated publishing deals for several Australian authors whose work has gone on to become bestsellers. While her preference is for strong prose, a great narrative and an established author platform, Nicole knows the most significant element of any book is the story itself and her passion is to help authors bring their books to life and take that scary leap into the world of publishing.
Tamika: Hi Nicole, I am so happy to ask you a few questions on behalf of Omega Writers today! To begin with, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Nicole: We are blessed to live in the leafy suburb of Dural, which is about 45 minutes from the Sydney CBD. We have an eclectic family, which includes my husband Scott, my 23-year-old daughter Emily, my 20-year-old daughter Georgia, my 15-year-old foster son Tyson, and my 21-year-old nephew James. And if the house wasn’t full enough, we also have two fluffy ragdoll cats and a naughty golden retriever called Winston. I am a freelance writer and agent and in my free time, my husband and I like to bike ride and walk.
Tamika: With all these long-term commitments, how do you find time for writing, and what inspires you?
Nicole: I had a boss once who used to say to me, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” While I found his dictum a little irritating at the time, I have come to realise the article/book/story won’t write itself. It requires planning and scheduling. I try and carve out at least 2 hours each morning from around 10am – 12pm to write, because that is the time of day when I am most creative and productive. I am inspired by good writing and each day I try and read several articles from the New York Times or the Washington Post (stunning writing) and a chapter or so from a book that is written well and has all the elements of good storytelling.
Tamika: What first drew you to this kind of work?
Nicole: Writing is in my blood. My great-grandfather was a pulp fiction writer in the UK in the 1940’s, and my mum was an English teacher and a writer. I always loved reading (Enid Blyton when I was a kid and — I am ashamed to admit it, but — Mills and Boon in my teen years). At school, I loved media studies, and then the journalism bug hit me years later, when I was working for World Vision. I can recall sitting opposite a bearded jet-setting journalist who, after returning from one of his overseas adventures, would bluster into the office, dump his satchel on his desk and start clacking away at a story. I was in awe of what he did. Ten years on, I enrolled in several journalism courses and accepted my first assignment for a Christian magazine.
Tamika: You mentioned you are also a literary agent. Your official title is, in fact, ‘Christian Book Literary Agent’ and you are the first in Australia with this title! Can you tell us a bit more about what that role entails and why this title is so rare in Australia?
Nicole: Many years ago, I discovered that you couldn’t get through the door of any Christian publishing house in the USA without an agent. Australia, of course, is a much smaller market, and our publishers have been open to direct submissions, but I figured an author would stand a much better chance of getting published if they had some guidance with the process. At the time of launching my agency, I wasn’t aware of any other Christian agents — but this may have changed.
Tamika: That’s quite impressive! As a freelance journalist, where do you find your stories?
Nicole: My stories have come from many different and unexpected places: my own experience, personal connections, church, editors, The Oprah Winfrey Show (two of my stories), and PR firms connecting with me through my website. It was a Public Relations firm that reached out via my website asking me to write a few stories on behalf of an architectural firm that was based in London. My stories also come from observation and conversations. One time a friend was visiting from Texas, and I made her try Vegemite. It was a funny exchange and a story about her Aussie initiation ended up in the New York Times.
Tamika: They come from various places, indeed. Would you mind sharing any of your career highlights? Has your work taken you to any places you didn’t expect to go?
Nicole: Working on Heart of a Lioness was a highlight for me as was travelling to Northern Uganda for research. Another thrill was working with Harper Collins for a book I co-wrote, called Lofty, My Life in Short. In terms of my journalism, getting published in The Guardian and The New York Times was a dream. By far, my greatest satisfaction is seeing people I have mentored publish their own book.
Tamika: Another exciting skill is scriptwriting — something we would love to see grow within our Omega Writers community. Have you done any?
Nicole: Years ago, I did some script writing for World Vision for some of our TV specials, and more recently, I worked with the team at the Australian Christian Channel, scripting their on-air promotions.
Tamika: I know that you have supported Omega Writers for several years now. We have been so blessed to have you run workshops, presentations, and provide sponsorship for our CALEB awards. Is there anything in particular that draws you to Omega Writers?
Nicole: I love that Omega Writers champions authors of all genres and at all skill levels, and it’s an honour to be part of this team.
Tamika: As a Christian writer, can you share a time God has been very evident in your writing career?
Nicole: I feel like God has always been a part of my writing career and over the years has opened many incredible doors, but the story I love to share is this: Many years ago, I wrote for The Guardian about a woman in the USA whose boyfriend infected her and 12 others with HIV AIDS. You can read Diana’s story here (https://nicolepartridge.com/my-boyfriend-went-to-prison-for-infecting-me-with-hiv/).
After the story ran, Diana and I became good friends and over the years, I would send her Hillsong CDs. When I travelled to the USA to promote Heart of a Lioness in 2014, we spoke about her coming to the Hillsong Colour Conference. In 2018, she made the trek to Australia and that’s where she gave her heart to the Lord.
Tamika: What projects are you currently excited about?
Nicole: I am excited about so many elements of my work from teaching creative writing to guiding new authors through the process of writing their manuscript and securing a publishing deal. I am particularly passionate about storytelling and my current role — which involves writing testimonies for social media — as I know the power of story to reach a searching heart.
Tamika: If our Omega Writers community would like to work with you personally, how can you help them move forward in their writing journey?
Nicole: Writing a book and getting it into the world can seem so daunting, and many give up trying. What I can offer is one-on-one mentoring, manuscript review and feedback, marketing advice, and guidance with traditional or self-publishing.
To contact, work with, find out more about or keep up to date with Nicole’s writing, head to: