Sonia M. Rompoti, MSc, bsc

Halloween might bring jump scares and haunted houses, but if you’re an indie author, you know the real terrors lurk elsewhere.

Forget vampires — try refreshing your KDP dashboard after launch week.

Forget witches — have you met Amazon’s algorithms?

October is spooky season, but publishing? That’s spooky season all year long.

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The Fear of the Blank Page

Every writer knows this one. The cursor blinking like a mocking ghost. The voice whispering, “What if this book is terrible?” or worse, “What if nobody reads it at all?”

Here’s the truth: every book starts in the dark. You don’t see the ending yet. You don’t even know if the middle will hold. But the only way to banish that ghost is to keep typing. Courage isn’t writing without fear — it’s writing through it.

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The Horror of Reviews

Let’s be honest: one bad review can haunt an author longer than a whole graveyard of good ones. It doesn’t matter if you have fifty five-star reviews — your brain clings to the single two-star that says, “meh.”

But here’s the thing: reviews aren’t about you. They’re about the reader’s experience. Some people want pumpkin spice; others hate cinnamon. Your job is to write the story only you can tell — and let readers decide if it’s their flavor.

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The Algorithm Monster

It waits in the shadows, never fully explained, whispering strange rules:

• “Change your keywords.”
• “Run more ads.”
• “Dance on TikTok with your cat.”

The algorithm isn’t out to get you. It’s just not your friend. The trick is to stop chasing it like a monster and focus on what lasts: authentic connection with readers. Write the next book. Build the email list. The monster quiets when you stop feeding it your sanity.

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The Costume of Confidence

Here’s a secret: most indie authors are wearing a costume. We present ourselves as confident, thriving, and totally in control. Inside, we’re often unsure, exhausted, and googling “how to market a book without losing your soul.”

The costume isn’t a lie. It’s survival. And the longer you wear it, the more real it becomes. Every launch, every post, every awkward author photo — that’s practice. You grow into your own confidence one shaky step at a time.

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Closing Thoughts

Indie author life is scary, yes. But it’s also thrilling. Every fright comes with its treat:

• Blank pages lead to books.
• Bad reviews prove your book is being read.
• The algorithm beast? Sometimes it actually boosts you.

Publishing is a haunted house, but you get to be both the ghost and the storyteller. And that’s the kind of spooky magic October was made for.