Website: www.eckersleywrites.com
Instagram: @eckersleywrites
Check out our #Agent121 page to book an appointment.
Maggie Eckersley is a romance author living in Scotland. When she isn’t daydreaming about the next love story she wants to type out, she’s studying Medicine or working as a medical writer. In 2023, Maggie won the I Am In Print Novel Award for the book that became Back in the Saddle. In 2024, she was shortlisted in the I Am Writing Romance competition and longlisted in Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers’ Prize with another contemporary romance novel.
IAIP: What was the inspiration behind your debut novel?
ME: Back in the Saddle? This book has changed so much since I first thought about it that it’s now hard to pinpoint the inspiration, but at the very start, it was inspired by some early marriage struggles I was having. My parents divorced when I was sixteen, and it wasn’t very amiable. I suppose I always wanted to believe that sometimes love isn’t the problem and that it also isn’t enough to make two people thrive in a relationship; sometimes things just don’t work out. That was initial inspiration. I wanted to have a head-strong female main character who was the proverbial ‘fish out of water’ and lost the footing in her life. There are so many books that do it well but I wanted to do a quieter version of a heartbreak when it’s just… life and no one’s fault.
IAIP: Was this the first book you attempted?
ME: Yes, this was the first book I’ve written – though the final version is very different to earlier drafts. I used to write fan fiction and short stories when I was much younger, but then stopped writing fiction when I moved to the UK at 19. I got swept up with figuring out my life, with university, needing to work part-time, then applying for jobs and what not. It wasn’t until my late 20s that I got back into reading and started thinking of trying to write again.
IAIP: How long did it take you to write?
ME: I started writing this book in July 2022; I remember it well because it was the summer before I started medical school and just bought myself a new laptop for the occasion. I was editing as I went, but altogether I finished it in May 2023. I then edited it more over the summer that year, and the version that I entered in I Am In Print competition was ready then. The book changed a lot and underwent a lot more editing after I got my publishing deal though.
IAIP: How did you end up finding your agent / securing a publishing deal? After
ME: After I won the first prize in I Am In Print Novel Award competition, I tried querying agents again with my debut, sadly with no luck. On a whim and feeling courageous, I spotted online that Avon Books UK had Open Submissions back in December 2023. Still on a confidence boost of having won the award, I sent my manuscript, then forgot all about it. In February 2024, I decided to shelve the book that became Back in the Saddle – what it means is that I gave up querying it, and focused on writing another standalone contemporary romance, completely unrelated to my first book. In June 2024, I was ready to start querying that second book, when I got an email from an editor at Avon Books UK asking if Back in the Saddle was still available. Things moved from there over that summer, with me querying the other book and waiting for news re my debut. I signed with my first agent in October 2024 and officially got the deal on my debut via Open Submissions in November 2024.
IAIP: What has happened since that offer of representation / publication?
ME: Back in the Saddle published in July 2025. Before that, back in May 2025, I parted ways with my first agent – turned out we weren’t a good fit. I jumped back into the querying trenches for the third time right away, this time with my urban time travel romantasy. I signed with my current agent in September 2025, have gone out on submission with that second contemporary romance that I’ve queried back in 2024 and will be going out on submission with the romantasy soon. Publishing wise, I had one book deal on Back in the Saddle and since then got another deal through, sold as option proposal – it’s an interconnected standalone to Back in the Saddle, SECOND CHANCE SALOON, and it’s out in September 2026. It was a very different experience to selling a completed ms, as I only had sample pages and a synopsis when the book sold. I quickly learned how to write on a deadline. I’m very proud of this book and hope readers are going to love it as much as I do! Also, Back in the Saddle is being translated to French and has since came out in paperback in other English-speaking countries across the world, including the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It’s been very fun seeing it across the globe!
IAIP: You took part in a few #Agent121 sessions to help strengthen your book. Do you believe that these helped you secure your agent? If so, in what ways did they help?
ME: Agent 121 sessions have certainly helped me sharpen my focus on what the industry wants, what to expect and shift my mindset from purely that of a writer to more of a business outlook on writing. I didn’t know much about publishing in general when I started writing – it’s been a very steep curve between 2022 and now! Ultimately, I didn’t find my agent through Agent 121 sessions; neither the first nor the second time. However, they helped me understand what agents pay attention to, including having a very clear hook and needing to be able to describe your book in one concise sentence to grab someone’s attention. So, in that way, I think these sessions have definitely helped me. I also wasn’t intimidated or shy when speaking with agents or my editors later down the line.
IAIP: Roughly how many rejections did you receive before becoming agented?
ME: Ha, that’s… a tough one. As I mentioned, I ended up shelving Back in the Saddle and pulled it from querying back in 2023/2024. I think overall, for that book I ended up getting around 30 rejections. I had quite a few full requests, most of them came in after I won I Am In Print Novel Award. I knew I could’ve kept querying but I was exhausted and felt that if I kept pushing, I would’ve ended up hating writing and give up. I didn’t want this to happen. So, I wrote a different book and shifted my focus to that one. For that second book, I think I got around 60 odd rejections altogether before I signed with my first agent. Then, the third time round – and I think this one is the most important because people often tell you it’s easier to find another agent after being agented, especially if you already published a book – it didn’t feel easier for me. Yes, agents were more receptive and I certainly got responses faster than the first two times around, but they were still rejections. I didn’t keep track of the rejections for my romantasy but it ended up being in the region of 20ish before I signed with my current agent. Fun fact: my current agent also had my full back in 2024 of that other book, but stars didn’t align on the deadline I was on. I admire her a lot, know her clients and knew I’d love to work with her so she was on top of my list when I started querying my romantasy. I’m thrilled that she signed me on and it’s been great working with her.
IAIP: What have you learned about the publishing industry since you published your book?
ME: A lot! And probably just as much of it isn’t really fit to discuss publicly (kidding, well, slightly ha). I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that it doesn’t matter how good of a writer you are – if your idea isn’t in line with what the market wants, you’ll have hard time finding a champion for your work. At the same time, trends change rapidly and chasing trends is silly because by the time you’ll have written your book and went through the whole process, new trends will be around and you’ll need to start the whole endeavour again, So, my advice: write the book you want to write. Don’t look at trends, but if you’re thinking of traditionally publishing, you need to keep an eye on the market overall. Also, gone are the days when you can sign a deal with a publisher and they’ll take care of all the marketing. You need to market your book and your publisher will expect that. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either very privileged and a super lead title or a liar. Look at successful self-published authors re marketing – they’re absolutely killing it! Don’t rely on one book and never lose sight of the kind of stories you want to tell. Remember if you want longevity you might need to pivot and invest in yourself as a brand. Networking, marketing, having a business focus, on top of continuing to work on your craft are all essential.
IAIP: What advice would you give to aspiring writers looking to get published?
ME: Find your community. Other writers are your colleagues, not competition. I wouldn’t have made it without the friends I met along the way. Yes, you need people in your life from outside publishing – friends, family – to decompress and not get too tunnel-visioned. But only a fellow author can truly understand what you’re going through. Also, never stop working on your craft. For me, the biggest goal is to improve and become a better writer with every book I write. Writing is the only thing you can really control in this industry.
IAIP: Do you have any tips on making the most of an #Agent121 or from entering a competition?
ME: For Agent121 sessions, choose agents in your genres and look at the books and authors they represent. Prepare your questions beforehand, knowing what you want to get out of the session. If you only want to do the session with the idea of signing with an agent after, that is both a waste of time and money. But if you have questions and curiosity re specific aspect of either your query package or the industry, these sessions are an amazing opportunity to have them answered. As for the competition, don’t overdo it – just enter! You definitely won’t win if you don’t enter, but if you do, you’ve got a chance.
Website: www.eckersleywrites.com
Instagram: @eckersleywrites
Check out our #Agent121 page to book an appointment.