Hi,
I'm Vik and I'm an indie author writing my first cozy(ish) mystery series.
I write this blog to share my experiences of publishing my first fiction series as a chronically ill mum on a shoestring budget who is choosing to be an indie author.
I'm in the process of trying to get my first book published this year. You can see my lovely cover designed by 'Get Covers' and read the blurb here.
In my last blog post, I was mulling over what my plans for building my indie author career and platform were going to be in 2026 - you can read what I was thinking at the tail end of 2025 when I knew some things had to change going forwards.
And as we roll into mid-February 2026, I've actually gone much further with my changes.
Below, I outline what these changes are and why I've made them.
Even if they run counter to received wisdom - that I had previously bought into - about the need for indie authors to have a good social media platform in order to reach readers and crucially, sell their books.
Quitting - most - social media platforms after spending a long time building them up
Over January, I realised that I was going into another new year still trying the same things over and over and getting the same - unsatisfactory for my goals - results.
I also found that being on the main social media platforms that I had preferred and taken time to build up - Instagram and Tiktok - were not actually helping me with book related work; rather, they were taking me further from it and further from what I actually care about and want to have in my life.
I am, of course, talking here about the ongoing and overwhelming commodification and selling first purpose of these platforms.
I even fell down that rabbit hole for a couple of months myself before I realised that I had no interest in trying to sell anything other than my words.
It helps too that there is a growing trend towards more 'conscious consumption' at the moment with the trends - ironically, perhaps, showing up as content on social media - calling for 'analogue year' alongside the seemingly large scale move over to Substack and other platforms.
These broader trends certainly have helped me make the decision to take a break and to not feel much, if any F.O.M.O after deactivating my Instagram and Tiktok in early January.
Having the audacity to be quiet for a while: what I am enjoying about not scrolling or posting on Instagram & TikTok
Contrary to received 'wisdom' about discoverability and connection, I have realised that I am make more progress with my indie author goals by NOT posting on socials.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that quitting the scroll has increased my focus, calmed my doom comparisonitis, and stalled yet another burnout.
It may also not be much of a surprise that since deactivating these platforms, I've realised how little I actually used it for book work - the blurry lines of connections with family, friends, former colleagues, online strangers, old and new identities - all get jumbled on the feed - well in mine at least.
The ease of the rabbit hole scroll from the algorhythm's whims serving what you might like - or not - make it far to easy to get caught up in consuming and creating content that are not really related to book work.
When I add to this that even the book related content that I made had very little chance of actually reaching the 'ideal reader' - research shows that most of your content is not even seen by the people who follow you - daily creation, consumption, and 'connecting' on certain socials feels redundant.
Why don't I just set up a 'book work only' set of socials?
This may be a future task.
BUT. I know myself. After almost 15 years of Instagram, I know having these platforms open to me is as tempting and unhelpful as picking a scab.
I have finally accepted that I simply cannot be trusted to stay on task on these platforms! Moreover, the platforms are designed exactly for that purpose - to make you fall down rabbit holes to stay on the platform and spend money. It's like fighting against a very heavy and unrelenting tide.
Not entirely offline: chronically ill indie author life
All this being said, I'm still 'online'. Only much less often and in far fewer places. As a chronically ill person, online connections are still a lifeline.
However, it feels good to be out of the reflex of continually 'checking' and posting and liking and commenting - actually, since deactivating my profiles, I feel an intense relief. I am not experiencing F.O.M.O and I'm enjoying putting my creative energies into writing, reading, thinking, knitting.
I have found that I do enjoy the less noisy content of Substack and I have my own publication there where I write occassionally too.
Like many in 2026, I am craving more considered, slower, quieter and longer-form content.
I have never been interested in chasing visibility and followers in the hope that this creates a readership (spoiler - research shows extremely low conversion rates) - but being on Instagram and TikTok kind of pushed me in the direction of flow anyway.
Getting real: without a published book, none of this matters anyway
My final thought for this post and at this stage of being off most of my social media platforms is; I have still to publish my first fiction book.
Without a book to offer potential readers to read, all of this now feels like a bit 'cart before the horse'.
Of course, the audience I have built up may still be there once my book/s are published - and that is why I have deactivated, but not finally deleted my accounts.
There is still something at the back of my mind that is afraid of going completely without these places - they are were many people choose to hang out and they are a place where you can be 'found'.
And yet... I feel so much better about not being there. And perhaps that is the key litmus test
Taking time away and being less online has been a powerful, viseral, embodied reminder of why I choose to concentrate of building an indie author career - I want to be able to control not only what I write, but also how I want to produce, publish and publicise my work.
This is so informed by my growing acceptance - with ambition - as a chronically ill person. I
I left a career behind to try to find a way to work better in sync with the limitations of illness - to find a way to work that worked with me.
To continue to write and work the same things, in the same ways, in the same rhythms, against some 'ideal timetable' goes completely against the reason why I am trying to do all of this.
I'll end this post as I often do - none of this is new or even surprising, perhaps - but it is always worth restating and reminding one another.
Can I do things differently in a way that makes me feel better? Let's see...
To be continued :)
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