Rising Talent - These BookTok Creators Are Looking For New Reads
Halie and Victoria are creators on TikTok, the social media platform renowned for making books go viral. They both agreed to give us the inside scoop about their impressive growth.
It’s been a privilege to follow Halie (@Haliereads_) and Victoria (@Victoria.thatsit) on TikTok and witness the growth they’ve experienced on the social media platform. Among their busy lives of raising children and attending medical school, they put their passion for reading front and center on #BookTok by sharing their favorite books, hosting book clubs and meeting people from all over the world. I began following Halie when she had maybe 5,000 followers, and that number has since grown to almost 17,000. Victoria was the first BookTok creator to read my debut thriller novel, The Rising Order. At the time I reached out to her, she already had 30,000 followers. This number is now almost 50,000. These creators have a huge influence over the book buying space, especially among Gen Z, and can play a critical role in helping spread the word about our books. They’ve also made reading…dare I say it… trendy?
The content Halie and Victoria create takes a huge amount of time and effort, on top of reading an overwhelming quantity of books. I asked them a series of questions so they could share their wisdom about what they’ve learned while growing their own following. Here’s what they had to say:
1) You both have really grown your platforms tremendously over the past few months, what do you attribute that success to?
Halie: I feel there are a few main contributors to what’s helped me in terms of growth on TikTok, these things being passion, consistency, and effort.
I think success starts with passion. If you aren’t passionate about what you’re trying to succeed in, effort will never come easy. Doing anything for a long period of time needs passion to thrive. Consistency seems like a basic answer but it is so true. Posting at least once a day, but preferably more than once, as well as posting content similar to what does well previously, is something I think really helps push your content to the people who you want to see it. It also gives insight on what does and doesn’t work for you.
Effort is key in my opinion. Putting in time to not only make the content, but edit it, work to improve it, and spend time figuring out how the algorithm works is so essential in growth. Some videos can take 20-30 minutes to edit, I can spend over an hour or two filming content, even the planning of content can take lots of time. But I believe this effort is what separates you from all the other creators doing the same things.
Victoria: For me personally, Booktok is just for fun! I love having a safe place where I can talk about what I love while also making real lifelong connections with other readers like me.
2) What do you look for in new authors' work? What really stands out to you and wins a 5 star rating?
Halie: This may be an unpopular opinion but the quality of the editing is a pretty big factor for me. I’ve read quite a few indies and debut’s at this point, and the ones that end up on my favourites list are always well edited, and have a really clear flow to the story.
I find it usually quite obvious when a book hasn’t been editing thoroughly, and grammatical errors and awkward sentence flow usually stands out for me and pulls me out of the story. A 5 star book has great flow, a clear plot, entertainment value, and overall structure!
Victoria: When it comes to what I read, I’m a mood reader through and through. I enjoy books that are a great time from start to finish and keep me wanting more. A five star read to me is a book that captivates me from the start and leaves me with an everlasting impression.
3) Are you open to new authors reaching out to send you their books? If so, what's the best way to reach you and which genres do you read? Should an author 'pitch' their work to increase your likelihood of reading it?
Halie: Absolutely! I always put it out there that it does take me more time than some others to get to books, as I am a full time medical student and work 3 part time jobs currently, so as long as authors are okay with me getting to it when I have a chance, I’d love to!
The best way to reach me is via email:
My preferred genres are fantasy, romance, YA, thrillers. I am open to others but the genres I do not read typically are: non-fiction, Middle-grade. I don’t need any kind of “pitch”, but just a general run down of the genres, tropes, and trigger warnings is appreciated!
Victoria: I am open to new authors reaching out to me but I am very particular about the books that I actually agree on reading/reviewing, not because I don’t want to support every author but I want to read only books that I genuinely know I’m going to love based off of my own personal interests so I’m able to give a fair and honest review! I would hate to give a low rating on a book that could have been a 5 star read to someone else just because it’s not my preferred genre. So mainly thrillers, or fantasy would be the genres for me!
4) Do you enjoy following authors' lives outside of their writing careers -- whether it be on TikTok or Instagram? Do you think that sharing this is very important?
Halie: I don’t personally look for personal life when I’m following authors, but I also think it’s fun to see! In terms of growth, I don’t necessarily recommend branching out from your “niche” content by posting things completely out of the book/writing/reader area, only because this can confuse the algorithm and TikTok/Instagram may not know who to push your future content (example: they may start pushing your author content to lifestyle vlog viewers if you were to start posting lifestyle content). I hope that makes sense!
Victoria: I personally like to keep readers and authors creative spaces separate only because I think it puts less pressure on readers to be able to give honest reviews.
5) Anything you want authors or your followers to know about you?
Halie: As a reader, I just want you all to know that I appreciate what you do! Keep doing what you’re doing and you WILL make it where you want to make it.
Victoria: I love reading more than anything, and my reviews will always be 100% honest and fair!
What do you love most about TikTok and has it helped advance your author career?
Excellent insight into Halie's and Victoria's process! TikTok is a mystery to me and I love hearing how they have grown their platforms and how much passion they have for reading and sharing stories!