Sonia M. Rompoti, MSc, Bsc

There is a strange modern tragedy happening in the author world.

People sit down to write a novel, build a universe, bleed onto the page, revise seventeen times, survive formatting, survive Amazon dashboards designed by goblins, and then freeze completely because someone on social media might think their TikTok was cringe.

An astonishing collapse of priorities.

Somewhere along the way, many authors started believing that content creation means universal approval. That if you post online, every stranger must understand you, like you, applaud you, and instantly convert into a loyal reader with excellent taste.

That is not how this works. That is not how anything works.

If you are an indie author, especially one writing from the heart, from the strange corners of your imagination, from grief, passion, witchcraft, romance, healing, rage, softness, or rebellion, you need to understand one liberating truth:

People who are not your audience are not your problem.

And frankly, what a relief.

Not Everyone Is Meant to Get You

One of the most exhausting habits creators develop is trying to pre-manage everyone’s reaction before they’ve even posted.

Will they think I’m weird?
Will they think this is too much?
Will they laugh?
Will they judge my niche?
Will they think witchcraft is silly?
Will they think romance is shallow?
Will they think I’m trying too hard?

Probably some of them, yes.

Human beings have opinions the way pigeons have droppings. They distribute them everywhere, often uninvited. But none of that changes the real question:

Did the right person need to hear what you had to say?

Because while one person rolls their eyes, another person may feel seen for the first time in months.

While one person scrolls past, another clicks.

While one person judges your confidence, another borrows it.

While one person mocks your magic, another remembers their own.

That is the game. Not mass approval. Connection.

Your Energy Finds Its Readers

Some people call it vibration. Some call it branding. Some call it authenticity. Some call it resonance. The label matters less than the truth behind it:

When you consistently show up as yourself, the people meant for your work can recognize you.

Not the polished fake version.
Not the algorithm-chasing version.
Not the version trying to sound like everyone else.

You.

Your humor. Your obsessions. Your voice. Your weird little themes. Your aesthetic. Your honesty. Your perspective on healing, desire, power, grief, transformation, softness, survival, joy.

Readers are not just buying books anymore. They are choosing energy. They are choosing worlds. They are choosing creators whose presence feels like something.

That can’t be copied well. It can only be embodied.

The People Who Judge Still Chose to Watch

Here is an inconvenient truth.

Even the people who criticize you are still engaging with you. They stopped. They watched. They felt something. They reacted.

Now, do not build your career around haters. That is a filthy little trap. But understand this: not every negative response means failure.

Sometimes people react strongly because your confidence exposes their fear.

Sometimes your visibility irritates those who abandoned their own creativity.

Sometimes your niche reminds them they never gave themselves permission to be specific, bold, sensual, spiritual, vulnerable, ambitious, loud, soft, or different.

Sometimes they are just bored and annoying. Civilization remains inconsistent.

Either way, their interpretation belongs to them.

Reception Is Not Your Responsibility

This may be the most mature lesson a creator can learn: Once you share the work, it enters someone else’s hands.

They may love it.
They may misunderstand it.
They may ignore it.
They may need it years from now.
They may mock it publicly and secretly think about it for weeks.
They may buy three copies and tell no one.

You do not control reception.

And trying to control it will choke your creativity faster than low sales ever could.

Your job is expression.
Your job is consistency.
Your job is courage.
Your job is craft.
Your job is showing up enough times for the right people to find the door.

Everything else is weather.

Why This Matters for Indie Authors Specifically

Traditional systems once acted as gatekeepers. They filtered who got seen, who got shelved, who got promoted, who got considered “marketable.”

Now indie authors have something both glorious and inconvenient:

Freedom.

You can publish the witchy romance.
You can write the plus-size heroine.
You can blend mental health and magic.
You can write niche nonfiction no committee would approve.
You can speak directly to readers.
You can build your own ecosystem.

But freedom comes with visibility, and visibility asks for nerve.

Many indie authors are not struggling with talent. They are struggling with being witnessed.

They write beautifully in private, then panic in public.

Yet readers cannot fall in love with books they never discover.

Post Before You Feel Ready

A common fantasy is this:

“I’ll show up when my branding is perfect, my confidence is stable, my graphics are elegant, my follower count is respectable, and I no longer care what anyone thinks.”

Delightful fiction. No notes.

Confidence usually comes after action, not before it.

Clarity comes after repetition.

Voice sharpens through use.

Audience trust builds through consistency.

Momentum comes from movement.

Post the imperfect video.
Share the quote.
Talk about your book.
Show your desk.
Explain your process.
Tell the story behind the story.
Speak to one person who might need your words today.

Not later. Now.

Focus on the Ones Who Know What to Do With It

This is where peace lives.

You are not posting for everyone.
You are posting for the person who lights up when they find you.

The reader who wanted exactly your kind of heroine.
The woman who needed softness after heartbreak.
The neurodivergent creator who needed permission to do things differently.
The tired mother who wanted magic again.
The reader who thought nobody wrote books like this.
The future fan who has no idea you exist yet.

They cannot choose you if you stay hidden to avoid people who never would have chosen you anyway.

A Practical Ritual for Creators

Before posting anything, ask yourself:

• Is this true to me?
• Is this useful, beautiful, entertaining, or honest?
• Could this help the right person feel something?
• Am I delaying because of fear or because it truly needs improvement?

Then post it.

Light the candle. Hit publish. Terrify yourself mildly. Repeat.

Final Thought

It is none of your business how everyone receives your work.

It is your business to make it. To share it. To refine it. To trust it. To keep going.

Some people will scroll past. Some people will judge. Some people will misunderstand.

And some people will quietly think:

Thank God I found this author.

Those are your people. The rest can continue wandering the digital wasteland, reviewing things nobody asked them to review.