It doesn’t matter if you’re off social media or chronically online enough to know what “faerie smut” is – if you’re a reader, you’ve probably heard of BookTok.
Reader communities are nothing new. But BookTok isn’t your grandma’s book club or the Facebook fan page of your mom’s generation – in fact, it gave online book communities of days past a run for their money by boosting book sales and birthing an entirely new generation of readers.
But on Friday, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments to determine whether it should block a law requiring TikTok to cut ties with the Chinese government or be banned Jan. 19.
What happens for booklovers if it all goes away?
BookTok has aided both new and seasoned authors
The 2020 pandemic lockdown days and TikTok’s growing popularity primed young adult readers for this online bibliophile’s paradise. Backlist sales soared, especially with romance and fantasy authors like Colleen Hoover and Sarah J. Maas. Hoover’s romance book sales increased 693% from 2020 to 2021, the Washington Post reported. Maas anchored a 75% year-over-year revenue increase in 2024, according to Publishers Weekly. TikTok’s algorithm also became the silver bullet for many independent and self-published authors.
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On a platform where anyone could go viral, any book was fair game for discussion, and some authors’ followings ballooned.
“Because TikTok is free, so to speak, it’s a very valuable, cost-effective marketing tool that authors have used,” says Regina Brooks, president of the Association of American Literary Agents. “If you find readers who really value your work, you as the author don’t have to do the same type of pushing because you have ambassadors who will do that work for you.”
Bloom, an imprint of Sourcebooks, became a big name in romance publishing by taking over the distribution and marketing of some of BookTok’s viral self-published authors including Ana Huang and Lucy Score.
“It really democratized social media and it really put voices all at one level, including those of our authors,” says Maranda Seney, the publisher’s senior online marketing manager. “What that did was really facilitate an openness and vulnerability and a new level of connection between authors and readers. And I do think that TikTok and TikTok’s algorithm were incredibly helpful in that.”
Before, authors were often encouraged to keep interactions with fans limited. Molly Waxman, vice president and executive director of marketing at Sourcebooks who has been in the industry for 25 years, remembers when the fanmail-answering guidance was “let the USPS be the barrier between you and your fans.”
Now, on TikTok, authors are encouraged to hop on a livestream or answer fan questions. Many agents and publishers look specifically to sign authors who already have a social following. Some TikTok users have even secured book deals from their viral videos like Alex Aster’s “Lightlark” and “Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective” by Katie Siegel, who both posted concept videos and caught the attention of publishers.
That emotional connection between authors and readers has been “powerful” to watch, says Dominique Raccah, publisher and CEO of Sourcebooks. Rather than being on a pedestal, authors are rewarded for their candidness and authenticity. “It’s about being human, you’re on this journey with somebody you admire and really love their books and you’re walking every step with them,” Raccah says.
But if TikTok does get banned, will that mentality sundown too?
Rachel Whitehurst is the founder of the marketing firm The Nerd Fam, offering public relations support to independent authors who don’t have a marketing team. She thinks the seed has already been planted – support of self-published authors will only continue on the next “BookTok.”
“It will be more important for (indie authors) to use that business acumen,” she says. “It’s unfortunate, and I do think that adapting is going to be the most important thing, but I’m not worried.”
It’s the algorithm for me: BookTok has been ‘life-changing’ for some
Authors may have benefitted, but really, readers and content creators are the ones driving the BookTok bus; finding bubbles of niche reading tastes thanks to an effective algorithm that uses large swaths of data to bring users videos tailored to their interests.
Rachael Beck, an author and owner of FanCornerCreations, makes fandom and fantasy-themed trinkets like “Harry Potter” wedding ring boxes, earrings and games. “We make the nerdy products no one else does, with the passion only a fellow fan can,” her site reads.
On BookTok, Beck found a loyal, supportive community that valued her creations as much as she did. Her success on the app allowed her to quit her corporate job and focus on her business fulltime. Half of the traffic to her website comes from TikTok, she says, and it’s how she gets people to visit her booth at Comic Cons.
“It’s been very life-changing,” she says. “I really feel like I found my voice because of TikTok.”
To prepare for a possible ban, Beck started cross-posting on Instagram but the community aspect didn’t translate, she says. When she posts well-performing, well-received TikTok videos on Instagram, they get fewer views and more derisive comments.
“I’m the same human, sometimes literally (posting) the exact same content,” Beck says. “I try to cater it to the different platform I’m on, but there’s absolutely no question that TikTok’s algorithm puts you in front of more people. And it’s a better algorithm, so the people you’re being put in front of are much more engaged in the content.”
She’ll continue no matter what happens with TikTok, but she worries about other small businesses, who she says need support to feel like they can keep going.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of small businesses who’ve never weathered a big storm before, who just capsize,” Beck says.
Where you lead, I will follow: Publishers will take cues from readers
Industry experts are looking to readers for the next steps, confident they’ll find them wherever they land if TikTok goes away.
“There’s always going to be an iteration of this. It’s about community,” says Pamela Jaffee, senior director of publicity and brand marketing at Bloom Books and Casablanca. “Twelve years ago, it was the in-person book club that made ‘50 Shades of Grey.’” The book community got online with Facebook, then blogging, then Instagram, with a dozen apps in between.
“The readers took that voice back on TikTok and now that they have that voice, they’re not going to be silenced. They’re going to share that love and that passion, and I think it just leads to more opportunity to reach readers widely,” Jaffee says.
Seney concurs: “At this point, it’s technology’s job to catch up with readers and then to meet us where we are, which is in this place of community and connection.”
Brooks also sees a silver lining in a possible eviction from BookTok – new creative endeavors.
“That platform also kind of turned books into status symbols, and I think in a way that other platforms have not done. And I also think that if TikTok goes away, it could spur a bit more innovation in marketing,” she says. “I would love to see people be a little bit more creative about how books can reach their intended audience.”
Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, check out her recent articles or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected].
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