Rising Talent - What I wish I had known about BookTok before releasing my debut novel

At first, TikTok can be both intimidating and overwhelming for many authors, but I've found the BookTok community to be more supportive than almost any platform.

I resisted TikTok for a long time. I dreaded the day when I knew I would have to download the app responsible for making many books and authors go viral. I couldn’t escape it, even at Barnes & Noble where there is now a table dedicated to books featured on BookTok. To be honest, I was extremely intimidated by the thought of my book’s success being at the whim of yet another algorithm, and also I didn’t need another app to take up more of my attention. So I refused until about two months before my debut novel’s release date.

When I begrudgingly downloaded the app, I was lucky enough to chat with a friend of mine from college who has a side hustle consulting with brands about their TikTok strategy. The main takeaway from our conversation was consistently posting is key and other than that there is no rhyme or reason about which video will yield the most views and take off. I decided to take a glass half full approach, and a little spark of excitement about the possibilities of this untapped platform grew. I mean, how hard could consistency be? Even better, not many of my millennial friends are on TikTok, at least often, so a majority of my content would be for people who didn’t know anything about me or the book, which can be quite liberating.

Except creating content consistently is hard. Especially when you are trying to be active on at least five other social media platforms at the same time (Facebook, Instagram, X, Reddit, Threads…). And what I realized after making a few videos is you have to speak to viewers differently on TikTok than on other platforms.

A glimpse into my TikTok profile

I spent the next two months trying desperately to make original videos on an app I was unfamiliar with, although after making a few I became more comfortable thanks to TikTok’s easy editing capabilities. Finally, I realized meeting people on BookTok was way more fun than making fresh content, and looking back I wish I had approached the platform from that angle. I wish I had focused on following BookTok accounts to not only study their content, but engage with it before my book debuted. Instead of making content myself, I should have found and followed as many BookTok accounts as I could, and commented on their posts. Many BookTok creators are extremely responsive, and if you are participating in their videos it helps them get more views—cue reciprocity. Inevitably, they’ll recognize your name if you reach out to pitch your book.

TikTok account, StephReadsAlot, pictured with The Rising Order

And here’s my *hot take* … I, personally, have found BookTok to be more receptive and open to new authors than Bookstagram. I also (again, this is my personal experience) think BookTok tends to feature more diverse books that are different from the same titles and authors that seem to cycle among Bookstagram. I have connected with BookTok on a more personal level than I have with Bookstagram. I still can’t put a finger on why that is. Maybe videos on TikTok make it easier to get to know someone’s personality, rather than static and staged aesthetic posts on Instagram? I also think BookTok is more receptive to indie authors who don’t have the publicist support of traditional houses. Again, I welcome anyone who believes differently to add your thoughts and experiences in the comment section! This is exactly how I hope to make this Substack more collaborative. I also wonder if any authors can attribute more book sales success to BookTok vs Bookstagram?

Lastly, when it comes to BookTok, follow and engage with accounts even if they seem ‘small’. A few I started following last fall have since grown their audience by over 10,000 people. It can be very pricey sending books to various BookTok personalities, so be selective at first and choose accounts to reach out to who post consistently (those tend to be the ones who grow the fastest) and who show an interest in your genre. With how quickly BookTok can grow, and how supportive the community is, engage with accounts regardless of follower count. Like, share, comment, repost. Study what books they’re reading and what they seem to love so you can draw comparisons to your book. See what other books might make great comps for your own. See what tropes frustrate and annoy readers in the comments — for example, my book is the first in a series and I didn’t realize cliff hanger endings are so controversial.

As you might be picking up on, my posts all point back to a central theme that is integral to the longterm success of a book — using tools and platforms as connectors for your ever growing network. I hope to always cheer on the success of many BookTok creators, just like I hope they’ll continue along with me on my author journey.

What’s been your experience with BookTok, and do you find it’s more supportive of debut authors than Bookstagram?

Next Week: I will feature two amazing BookTok content creators who are supportive of new authors, want to read your new titles, and have agreed to answer some of our burning questions!