> With a ban looming, some in the publishing business are preparing to pivot, and are hoping that other apps will fill the void, noting that they’ve seen social platforms wax and wane. Others fretted that nothing will replicate the alchemy of TikTok, where a single viral video can send an author soaring up the best-seller list, and readers evangelize to other readers, a far more effective form of marketing than traditional advertising.
> **“Will it be replaced by something that has the same value and impact? No, it won’t,” said Thad McIlroy, a book industry analyst. “Something unique happened with BookTok.”**
> Over the past several years, TikTok has dramatically reshaped nearly every aspect of the book business. **Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart created store and online displays of books that are trending on TikTok. Booksellers track what’s bubbling on the app and stock up on titles that have gone viral.**
> And publishers have found new writers on the platform. Authors like Lucy Score, Hannah Grace and Jasmine Mas, who all got their start self-publishing and saw their books take off on TikTok, signed major deals with publishers.
> **“It dragged a lot of publishers into the 21st century,” said Shannon DeVito, the director of books at Barnes & Noble. “It’s pushed them to be more flexible and pay attention to what readers are looking for.”**
CHRISKVAS on
On the other hand we might slow down and get books that have actually went through developmental and line edits. The speed at which some of these authors are dropping books can not be having a positive effect on their quality.
DunnoMouse on
I don’t know if BookTok was such a positive influence. Sure there were some good creators, but a lot of books that were pushed through BookTok were of… questionable quality and merit. At least in my opinion, not gatekeeping anyone’s reading experience here.
Chiho-hime on
Well all the books recommended by booktok that I’ve read were books I found mediocre or hated, so that is not going to be a loss for me. But couldn’t Youtube shorts create the same phenomenon for authors?
MockeryAndDisdain on
No more BookTok?
Wherever shall middle-aged women gush over smut fiction?
5 Comments
Here’s the non-paywalled [article](https://archive.ph/20250117164857/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/books/booktok-publishing.html)
And some key takeaways from the article:
> With a ban looming, some in the publishing business are preparing to pivot, and are hoping that other apps will fill the void, noting that they’ve seen social platforms wax and wane. Others fretted that nothing will replicate the alchemy of TikTok, where a single viral video can send an author soaring up the best-seller list, and readers evangelize to other readers, a far more effective form of marketing than traditional advertising.
> **“Will it be replaced by something that has the same value and impact? No, it won’t,” said Thad McIlroy, a book industry analyst. “Something unique happened with BookTok.”**
> Over the past several years, TikTok has dramatically reshaped nearly every aspect of the book business. **Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart created store and online displays of books that are trending on TikTok. Booksellers track what’s bubbling on the app and stock up on titles that have gone viral.**
> And publishers have found new writers on the platform. Authors like Lucy Score, Hannah Grace and Jasmine Mas, who all got their start self-publishing and saw their books take off on TikTok, signed major deals with publishers.
> **“It dragged a lot of publishers into the 21st century,” said Shannon DeVito, the director of books at Barnes & Noble. “It’s pushed them to be more flexible and pay attention to what readers are looking for.”**
On the other hand we might slow down and get books that have actually went through developmental and line edits. The speed at which some of these authors are dropping books can not be having a positive effect on their quality.
I don’t know if BookTok was such a positive influence. Sure there were some good creators, but a lot of books that were pushed through BookTok were of… questionable quality and merit. At least in my opinion, not gatekeeping anyone’s reading experience here.
Well all the books recommended by booktok that I’ve read were books I found mediocre or hated, so that is not going to be a loss for me. But couldn’t Youtube shorts create the same phenomenon for authors?
No more BookTok?
Wherever shall middle-aged women gush over smut fiction?