5 Things I learned on BookTok
Every adult in America knows a young person who’s mentioned the wildly popular social media app: TikTok. (not to be confused with the fun pop song by Kesha that shares the same name.) As a Zellenial, I have to say, Vine was better, but that’s hearsay.
TikTok is a place where users create and interact with 15 second long videos made by other content creators on the platform. Celebrities such as Charli D’amelio and Bella Poarch found their stardom through the platform.
Similarly to Bookstagram, BookTok revolves around readers’ shared interests of books. There are sub-niches of BookTok that include the different genres of books. (i.e.: HorrorTok, RomanceTok, YaBookTok, etc.), but overall, a person who finds themselves on BookTok, will find themselves surrounded by people with a shared interest of reading and storytelling.
Some things I’ve learned about BookTok/TikTok in general:
1. Engagement is key
Especially as a creator (a user who makes videos for others to view/interact with), it is important to be consistent in posting content, and responding to comments whenever they do flutter by. I personally am guilty as charged with inconsistency in creating content for this platform, but I rationalize it by telling myself I’m there for fun, and not to broaden my author career dreams.
2. It is possible to land a publishing deal
Since joining TikTok, I have met countless authors and readers alike, all who share the common goal of sharing books, and getting more people to invest in the joys of reading. There have been a few instances where I have seen an author land a publishing deal through BookTok after releasing an aesthetic video related to their book, or a really well-rounded pitch.
Word of caution: while publishing deals have happened, I wouldn’t recommending all of your time and energy into the platform. The success of these videos has a lot to do with algorithms. These authors, while extremely deserving of all of their success, happened to catch their algorithm at a positive time. It took them countless videos beforehand to grab the attention of the TikTok/BookTok community, readers, and eventually publishers. TikTok is definitely not the future of the publishing industry, but it is fun to see a few of these origin stories of authors through TikTok!
3. Controversial Videos Generate the most Interactions
As controversial as that sounds — I mean who in their right mind wants to start fights for the sake of gaining popularity — this is exactly what a large portion of TikTok users do to generate the interactions they need to gain more views and followers.
From things such as: unpopular book opinions, to books that were popular that a user didn’t care for, TikTok users have cracked to controversy code to generating conversations (even unproductive ones). Honestly, this fact alone is one of the reasons I say TikTok drains me. I have never really been a part of a platform that encourages its users to act like reality tv stars before.
4. Book Recommendations
I try to give this next aspect the benefit of the doubt. In saying that though, a majority of the books that are recommended on TikTok are only the books most adults have already heard of, if not read. I say I give this the benefit of the doubt, because it is assumed that most of TikTok’s users are young.
If you’re seriously on the hunt for new book recommendations, do not go to TikTok. GoodReads, What Should I Read Next, and Readerly are far better places to start if you are looking for book recommendations. (Note: in my opinion, Twitter is still one of the best places to find Indie books. Indie authors are always promoting their books via their Twitter accounts!)
To put this into perspective though, I had asked for a book recommendation during one of my reading slumps. The very first recommendations I received were: The Hunger Games, and Divergent. I couldn’t help but laugh! The users described them as indie classics, which only furthered my humor. I thanked them for their recommendation, deciding not to mention that I had already read both of these titles at least five times each.
5. Age Matters
As I mentioned in the introduction of this article, many younger people use this platform. It’s important to differentiate your account based off of this aspect alone. As a BookTok user, your whole goal is to interact with your niche of a community. TikTok’s algorithm only works if you push interactions with books/accounts/creators in your favored category. If you like or interact with a video simply because it is about books, you will be all over the map, and getting recommendation for books you have no interest in.
Are you a children’s/middle grade/ya author? Fantastic! Your target audience (for the most part) can be found on TikTok. Remember to post content within the realm of younger audiences. They’re kids after all. There’s only so much they can understand without it being considered too old or too mature for them to grasp.
Do you write/read material meant for an older, more mature audience? Tell us that. Be honest about what you do on your account. There are plenty of grown-ups on TikTok who would love to interact with your video about an S.J. Maas book, or to agree with that opinion you have about the blue alien romance.
Remember:
TikTok, like any other social media site, has its pros and cons. While it can be a fun, stress-less place, it also has the power to be the opposite. It really depends on the social media hole a person accidentally falls down.
It’s best to remember that you have the power to log off, or deactivate your account if you no longer enjoy the platform, or feel unsafe from other users. Social media is meant to bring its users a good time.