People are buying a lot more books these days, in part because the pandemic has trapped everyone indoors with little to do. But among younger readers, another factor is driving sales up: The social-media site TikTok, where users post short videos they create themselves. suddenly shot to the top ofbestseller list late last year – and also a little bewildered. The book had come out four years before.
It's hard to quantify how big BookTok is, because TikTok doesn't release a lot of analytics. But publishers say it has become a major force, especially in the market for young adult and contemporary romance books. "It just warms my heart as a book publisher. Because that's what we always strive for, is that word of mouth. And we know that that's what takes a book from one level to the stratosphere," says Libby McGuire, who heads Simon and Schuster's Atria division.