We recently connected with Maggie Giles and have shared our conversation below.
Maggie, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I think when you realize that all successful people suffer from some form of imposter syndrome it’s a lot easier to embrace and get over. I will say positive reviews and my “hype” team are a huge help in overcoming those days where I feel like my writing isn’t worth the world’s time.
And it is also important to not take anything to heart. Bad reviews are not about you as a person and you truly cannot please everyone. Your book (app, project, art etc.) will find it’s audience and by going into any creative venture with the understanding that you will fill a niche and you will have a fan base, though it may not be large or everyone, you can let go of those insecurities and find joy in the art you are creating.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I fell in love with writing when I was just a young girl. I know, every author you speak to will usually say the same things. The words, the stories and the characters have just always been there. For me, this is very real. My oldest sister even has a story I wrote for her when I was around six still in her possession. I can say my writing has much improved since then and I’ve learned how to fill some very serious plot holes.
Because of this, writing is a passion for me. I love to dive into a new story and pretend to be someone else for a short while. It gives me a chance to breathe life into a new person and experience their world. I think this is also why I was such a big fan of the Sims growing up (Or, playing God, as my friends called it). And in a way, I get to be the ethereal being of my stories, pulling the strings and dictating what will happen to my characters.
I write mostly suspense stories, with a hint of romance and a ton of character growth. I will preface this and say, often people find my character unlikable. I don’t like that term, personally, because I feel that I make my characters very real and while some may find them less than stellar, others have had no issue rooting for them. It’s always exciting to see a flawed character grow and understand themselves better, something we as people all strive to do.
I am a published author of two novels, The Things We Lost which came out in 2022 and follows a woman in her thirties who gets sent back in time to live out an alternate past. And Twisted, which came out September 2023, and is a crime thriller following three points of view and revolving around a mysterious prescription medication.
My next book, Wicked, is due out October 2024 and is the sequel to Twisted, following three new points of view and exploring the history and release of the mysterious medication.
Stay tuned to my Instagram, website or personal newsletter for all the details surrounding pre-orders, upcoming launches and giveaways!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Patience, persistence and kindness are probably the most important qualities for getting your book published. I’ll explain.
Patience: Publishing is a long road. Writing takes time. Feedback takes time. Editing takes time. And that is only to get the pitch draft completed. Once you are ready to move forward, finding a literary agent or publisher is a time consuming process. Sending out queries can take anywhere from minutes to months for responses.
But then you get that YES! The one yes you need.
From there, depending on who you have signed your first book with, the publishing process can take anywhere from six months to two years, possibly longer if the publisher has a long publishing schedule.
All the while you are waiting and writing and hoping. Patience make this part a little less stressful.
Persistence: You will be told no, over and over and over again. Writers face countless rejection emails from early readers, agents, publishers, book promoters, reviewers etc. You have to be the biggest advocate for your book which means you need to be persistent in your outreach and throughout the publishing processes. If you won’t go to bat for yourself, how can you expect someone else to? Keep at it. Write that new book. And know you have something worth while to say.
Kindness: I say this but am referring to mostly being kind to yourself. While kindness to others is very important and building connections is necessary, you are your biggest critic and it’s easy to get down on ourselves when things aren’t going quite as smoothly as we expected. Take a breath, remind yourself that you have something worth people’s time, and don’t let those little negative voices take away from what you are trying to achieve.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I often tell new writers that community is one of the most important things throughout the publishing process. An industry like no other I’ve experienced, writing is solitary and emotional. It comes from your feelings and your heart, and as authors we feel very protective of the work we create.
But publishing is a business. While they love their authors, they don’t care that your heart and soul went into that one scene that is too long and isn’t working for the book. They want to kill your darlings. And this can be very tough to go through.
Your community makes this easier. It is the safe space for you to bounce off ideas, bring forward your woes, and find your cheerleaders when something great has happened. They are the people who will build you up, tell you the bad reviewers are wrong or softly coax you into making that tough decision.
I’ve been really lucky throughout my writing years to build an amazing community, from the women I write with weekly, to my local authors group and the writing groups I have been a part of over the years, each one has contributed to the success I see today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://maggiegiles.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maggiegiles_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maggiegiles225/
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/maggiegiles_
- Other: Find me on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maggiegiles_ Or Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16463527-maggie
Image Credits
Captured by Kirsten Alexis Lagos Laced Up Imagery Nat Mack – Twisted and Wicked Covers Ashley Santoro – The Things We Lost
