For some writers, BookTok is an extremely important part of their books’ success. According to a recent post by the New York Times, BookTok “has gone from being a novelty to becoming an anchor in the publishing industry and a dominant driver of fiction sales.”
So, for the writer who wants to make a career out of writing, BookTok is an important topic to study. With attention spans shorter than ever, condensed videos dominating social media, and even Instagram focusing on reels rather than still images, to keep up with sales it’s crucial to keep up with BookTok.
In this article, we share the ultimate BookTok guide to use for your book, career, and overall success.
If you are new to social media, don’t let yourself get overwhelmed with the content of this article. On the other hand, if you’re a social media guru and want to continue learning everything you can, be prepared to take notes.
So open your TikTok account or download the app, grab your notebook, and let’s dive in!
What is BookTok, exactly?
BookTok is what we call the niche community of TikTok users who love books and reading.
BookTok is short for “Book TikTok.”
People in BookTok interact with each other using hashtags. Such as #romantasy, #bookrecommendations, or (of course) #booktok.
Most BookTok creators are women who post videos about popular book genres such as romance, new adult fantasy, young adult fiction, and more. But there are plenty of men on BookTok, too.
It is estimated that the BookTok community has amassed over 112 billion views on TikTok – and that’s a lot of potential exposure for a new author!
Readers on BookTok talk about books, recommend books, and even give full reviews on their TikTok channel. While this may not seem like a big deal, the community on BookTok is what can make or break a book launch for many authors.
For example, if BookTokers think an author was racist in a recent press release, you can be sure that will trend all over TikTok and the author could get canceled. Certainly, it will impact their sales!
But what is BookTok actually used for? Let’s have a brief discussion about the uses and benefits of this community.
What is BookTok used for?
BookTok is what book lovers use to find new recommendations, review their favorite books, come up with book theories, and keep up with the latest from their top authors and genres.
And BookTok is what authors use to promote and launch their new books!
What is BookTok’s benefit to writers?
What BookTok is best known for is its benefit to readers, but there are many perks of BookTok for authors, too!
BookTok is a way for new and lesser-known authors to gain recognition, boost visibility, and, in turn, pull in more sales. Authors can even use BookTok to advertise their unpublished books leading up to their book launch.
This advertising could actually help new authors find an agent to publish their very first book!
BookTok is what helps books go viral. If your video happens to go viral, you could see your book hitting bestseller lists repeatedly!
Many authors are starting to find their fame on BookTok, like Chloe Gong, the author of These Violent Delights. BookTok is what launched her into the limelight, and who knows how long it would have taken her to find it otherwise!?
In other words, BookTok is a fabulous tool for book marketing, and you are missing out if you aren’t using it yet!
What is BookTok’s benefit to readers?
As we mentioned above, BookTok gives readers a community to gush about their favorite books, discuss theories, and find riveting new reads.
The ease of finding book recommendations is what BookTok is so popular for with readers.
A BookTok review is way more fun than reading a written review of a book. For one, BookTokers can physically show their emotional reaction to a book, which doesn’t always come across in a written review.
And, the reviews are a lot shorter, so it doesn’t waste your time when scrolling. You know you are getting the book boiled down into just a few sentences, and it makes it really easy to decide which books you want to pick up based on the comments section.
I’ve been lost down the rabbit hole many times and walked away with 20-30 new book recommendations that I am super excited about.
If you aren’t sure where to start, we have a list of the best BookTok books from recent years that you can dive straigh
BookTok’s rise on TikTok
Much of what contributes to successfully publishing a book comes down to how well you market. The term author platform is not uncommon to writers, and building a launch team, writing a marketing plan, or hoping for great reviews is the everyday life of writers.
However, when the publishing industry noticed readers taking to TikTok to talk about their favorite reads, they also noticed those same books hitting bestseller status.
Due to the influx of readers voicing their feedback via this free app, today, BookTok is a contributing factor to a successful book launch. If you are used to building your platform on Twitter with the hashtag #WritingCommunity, you may want to add the TikTok app and use the hashtag #BookTok. The rise in sales is astounding.
If you are an introvert, going from typing in solitary silence behind your computer screen to a viral sensation sounds intimidating, don’t give up yet. First, listen to why BookTok matters and how you can use it with purpose, without losing your alone time.
Why BookTok matters
In the marketing world, if there is a method that skyrockets sales, it’s at least worth looking into. BookTok is the current trend and one that aligns with the current trend social media has turned to: video.
Social media is a viable way to make more book sales, and TikTok is perhaps a greater opportunity than any other social media platform at present. BookTok is a part of TikTok, and follows much of the TikTok culture.
Additionally, TikTok is known as one of the best ways to obtain reach, organically. If you are just starting out, this is a great time for you to engage with this platform, grow your reach, and once you have a following, consider more formal advertising opportunities.
On the topic of ads, you can pay to promote your TikTok video in hopes of getting more views, and ideally, more book sales.
Tip: Play around with creating videos and test engagement with organic (free) posts, prior to paying for advertisements.
How to start your own BookTok account
Want to create your own BookTok account? You absolutely can. It just takes a little thought and effort to do correctly if you want to gain a big following.
Starting a BookTok account will give you a chance to share your love of books with the world and maybe even shape upcoming publishing trends! It can also push you to become a better writer and/or reader.
Here are the steps to follow when creating your BookTok account:
Pick a niche
Determine your motivation for becoming a BookToker. Is there a genre you love? Do you want to promote POC or queer voices? Are you a huge fan of audiobooks?
Picking a niche will help you gain a more devoted following, so niche down as specifically as you can!
You should also consider if this is just for fun, or if you are trying to promote your own books in the process. Think about how much money you’re willing to invest in equipment and books for this undertaking.
Choose your handle
Choosing the right handle for your TikTok account is important. Ideally, you want it to be recognized instantly as a BookTok, and it also needs to be easy to remember. The simpler, the better.
Set up your filming space
BookTok is centered around video content, so you need to have good videos! If you want to be competitive and gain lots of followers, you need to provide quality. This means good recording equipment, good lighting, a professional backdrop, and little-to-no background noise.
You also are going to need some editing skills, so consider watching some YouTube videos or taking a class or two online if you aren’t confident in it.
While most modern smartphones are adequate enough for recording, you will definitely want to invest in some lighting and decor to improve your videos.
Use TikTok to its fullest potential
There are so many options for content creators on TikTok. You can add sounds, special effects, filters, and more. Familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of TikTok so you can make the most of your videos and stay on top of the trends.
Stitching for authors
No, we’re not talking about asking your grandmother to fix your jeans or going to the doctor over a deep cut. If you spend much time on YouTube, you’ve likely watched a few reaction videos as influencers or vloggers respond to a new product, movie, book, or something else of their choice.
For BookTok, stitching is quite similar and uses the hashtag #Stitchthis. Rather than watch a video and react in another, stitching allows you to splice a clip of a video into a video of your own response.
This is a fantastic way to build engagement between authors and fans. Think of it as a live Instagram Q&A, but the questions are sent via video rather than comment.
Interactions such as these are part of what makes BookTok such a growing platform. People want their voice heard, to share their experience, and learn from the reaction of others.
Stitching is a way to share honest reviews, thoughts on books, and responses to author questions, all on one app via a short video.
Follow the 80/20 rule
With stitching in mind, it’s vital to also remember the power of the 80/20 rule. Yes, BookTok is a great way to promote your new book release, communicate with your readers about your new softcover edition, or if you’re really on your game, get readers excited to pre-order.
- Related: Advanced Reader Copies
- Related: Book Marketing Ideas for Every Author
However, your readers are real people with lives, needs, and feelings. It’s crucial not to treat individuals as commodities simply worth the price of your book, but as humans with likes and dislikes.
When using BookTok (or any social media platform) consider dedicating not more than 20 percent of your posts to advertising.
Readers don’t want to be sold to or feel like you are only online to get their money. No, readers want to see your writing process and feel like they are part of the experience. Dedicate 80 percent of your online time to engaging with other users.
Empathy and hashtags
Did you know empathy can play an important role in helping you determine the hashtags you use? Before choosing what hashtags to use, ask yourself the following questions:
Do I want to connect with:
- Readers?
- Other writers?
- Publishers?
Do I want my video to be found by:
- Readers of specific genres?
- A type of publisher (self-publishing or traditional)?
- Writers of my genre?
Once you know the answer to these questions, put yourself in their shoes and imagine what type of hashtag they would look up. Find those hashtags, choose the ones that have potential to give you the most exposure, and then post away!
BookTok guide for writers: next steps
Whether or not you hop on the BookTok trend is entirely up to you. If you are on TikTok already, it might work well for you to explore the BookTok hashtag, engage in the culture of bookcase backgrounds or wearing a crown, and try various hashtags.
If you’re not comfortable on social media, consider creating an account and viewing other writers’ videos before committing to regular posting on your own. There is a wealth of information you can glean from simply getting on the app and seeing for yourself how other writers use its many features.
With this many people using the platform, even if you decide not to, it’s helpful to be aware of the current trend, culture of the app, and ways writers use it to promote their books.
But whatever you decide to do, remember to keep your marketing on brand and use your book’s genre as a guide for branding, posting, and even Q&A sessions. Writing a book is a creative experience filled with trial and error.
No one uses BookTok perfectly, but you might enjoy trying it out, seeing what kind of engagement you get, and maybe even seeing your book sales increase. You never know until you try!
FAQs about BookTok
Here are answers to commonly asked questions about what BookTok is and how to use it:
How do I join BookTok as a reader?
Becoming a part of the BookTok community is easy! Just download the TikTok app to your mobile device and create an account. You can do this with an email or directly via your Google or Facebook account.
Once you have your account set up, you can follow the top BookTok accounts to instantly learn what BookTok is all about. You can also follow hashtags like #booktok #horrortok #newadultfantasy, and more!
Why is BookTok popular?
What BookTok is so popular for is its ability to connect like-minded communities of book lovers from around the world. It is also great for finding book recommendations, so you can never get through your ever-growing TBR pile.
You may also be able to get the inside scoop on authors and upcoming books from people in the BookTok community – which is super fun!
Is BookTok an app?
No, BookTok is not an app. As we mentioned above, BookTok is what we call the reader community on TikTok. As such, TikTok is the app you need to download to access BookTok.
What are the best BookTok accounts to follow?
There are plenty of fabulous BookTok accounts to follow, and here are some of our favorites.
- @aymansbooks 912.1K Followers 159.3M Likes
- @ezeekat 767K Followers 43.6M Likes
- @thebooksiveloved 494.7K Followers 33.6M Likes
- @abbysbooks 460.6K Followers 46.1M Likes
- @amyjordanj 458.3K Followers 32.1M Likes
- @sydneyyybooks 445.2K Followers 8M Likes
- @jennajustreads 329.3K Followers 15M Likes
- @munnyreads 329.7K Followers 16.6M Likes
- @caitsbooks 311.4K Followers 21.3M Likes
- @moongirlreads_ 209.6K Followers 21.4M Likes
