Meet Steve Grobschmidt

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Steve Grobschmidt. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Steve below.

Steve, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Whenever I started feeling like an imposter or convince myself that I’m a fraud and people are going to “figure me out”, I remember what a therapist once told me about those feelings — they are just thoughts. When you make up a thought and then spiral from it, remember the original thought isn’t real. You made it up. So every dot you connect from it is also made up.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’ve been in the design field professionally for over 25 years now. My whole life, I’ve had a passion for literature as well as writing. Two years ago, I finally began the journey to become a published author. I wrote the science fiction novella Gemini Girl and released it March 2023. Since then, I’ve published two sequels to Gemini Girl — The Divided Man and The Gorgon Void. I’m also in the editing phase of a fourth book in the same setting. It’s tentatively scheduled to release in 2025. In addition, I had the honor of being part of an anthology called Mosaic, in which I wrote a deeply personal short story. The whole writing journey has been amazing — I’ve learned so much and met many other great indie authors going through the same experience.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

One of the first things that come to mind that has applied to both my design career and writing pursuit is the ability to take feedback. If you want to better your craft, such as writing, you have to be able to hear constructive things about your work and learn from them. You can’t take it personally. That goes to reviews of your work too — all reviews are good, even the negative ones. If you get upset about them, that’s petty and amateur.

Also, don’t set expectations for yourself that are too lofty. One of the mistakes I learned from with my first books was holding myself to deadlines I didn’t need to. I set launch dates for the sake of it and then rushed my editing efforts to reach them. Especially if you are an indie author, spend the time to proofread, edit, and revise…over and over. It’ll only make your works stronger. You can never edit your work enough times.

Third, always be curious. If you’re a writer or aspiring writer, read as much as you can. In fact, I encourage you to broaden your horizons to genres you don’t normally read. Find inspiration from wherever you can. It’ll nurture your creativity and give you so many ideas for your own works.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

My parents both encouraged me to be myself. As a child, I loved to read, play games, and even write silly little stories. They always positively supported me. I remember my mom bringing me a couple books one time when I was home sick from school — two books that particularly fueled my creativity about the fantasy and science fiction worlds. I still have them to this day, as a reminder of that key moment. My parents never pushed me down paths I wasn’t passionate about or interested in — they let me be unapologetically me.

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