Kate Halena

Fiction Author & Editor · ♛ · Debut novel SOMEWHERE BETWEEN LIES out now! (Available on Kindle Unlimited)
🐾

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

Somewhere Between Lies ~ New Cover and Intro Chapter #ComingSoon

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

Well...

Either the curse has finally been lifted, or the witch from Etsy got to work before I hired her. 😅

My sales dashboard has finally shown signs of life. It's not a bestseller, but after the drought, this is beautiful to see! 🥹

A massive THANK YOU to the lovely and supportive people who purchased, downloaded, read my book, or even clicked on my book.❤️

As any self-published author knows, every reader means the world.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@RudyMonaco I agree visibility is important. The interesting part is that I've already been running ads, which is why I made the post. 😅 Sometimes there seems to be no clear formula for what takes off and what doesn't.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

Reality of self-publishing:

My book has achieved the impressive milestone of exactly 0 sales and 0 pages read over 90 days.

Not one.

At this point, I'm convinced it's protected by an ancient curse. Maybe I should hire a witch off Etsy to remove it.😅

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@BootlegCityTCG It sure does. The kangaroo may only have a brief appearance, but a highly judgemental one 😅

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@_Anthonyverse_ I think people still read, but there are so many books, audiobooks, podcasts, videos, and other forms of entertainment competing for attention now. Sometimes the hardest part isn't creating the content, it's helping people discover it.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@TheFootBaptist @JosIsenberg 🤔

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

Some have, thankfully! 😂 Most of my family doesn't speak English and keeps asking when the Polish translation is coming.

The book is about a young woman who moves to another city to start over and rebuild her life after losing her partner, and gets tangled up in a mess because of someone's lies...

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@HwCumming I'm starting to think there is. Everyone keeps giving me marketing advice, but nobody has handed me the sacred manuscript containing the sales summoning ritual. 😂

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

I agree. Marketing is definitely important. The frustrating part is that I have been marketing it and paying for advertising, which is why I made the post. 😅 Sometimes it feels like there isn't a clear formula--two books can do the same things and get completely different results.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@Pennerstories I can definitely relate to the "sea of invisibility" part. 😅 The writing was the easy bit... the challenge seems to be helping readers discover the book. I'm not quite ready to give up yet, but I can see why so many writers end up treating it as a hobby.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@cterlson I love goats, so that might explain the sales problem. I'm unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices. 😂

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

It's definitely changed. Years ago it felt like books had a better chance of being discovered organically. Now there are so many books competing for attention that marketing often feels like a full-time job in itself. I think that's one of the biggest challenges facing authors today.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@jcrosby2k Thank you! ❤️

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@jamiekwil Thanks for the feedback. 😊 I've actually just updated the blurb recently, so depending on when you looked, you may have seen the previous version. Marketing and blurbs are definitely a learning curve for me!

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@BradleyPoage1 Thank you! Thank you so much! 😊 I really appreciate you giving it a chance. I think you're right—there are so many great books out there that never get seen. As a self-published author, getting people to discover your book can sometimes feel harder than writing it.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@GThompson92511 @akajayowens Promoted it -- I continued doing that, but it didn't maintain or improve the sales.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@SMarson_Author There's a heap of work that goes into promoting the book. Paid advertising, I realised, isn't always the best option.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@323nolan323 I'll be doing paperback giveaways soon.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@malharrisauthor Sounds like a good idea!

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@GCeciwriter I'm looking at releasing a hard copy edition as I've been asked for one.

[Kate Halena @KateHalena]

@JohnnyCageInk Most of my family doesn't actually speak English.😂 They keep telling me they'll buy it when I release the Polish translation... and they're also disappointed that I haven't done that yet.