Introduction

BookTok is one of the biggest communities on the social media platform TikTok (Johanson et al., 2022). With the rise of social media, I will investigate why and how authors are utilising digital communities to achieve success. I will be exploring the roots of BookTok, as well as its growth and influence in the publishing industry. I will look into the type of content that is being published and the factors that determine virality and how that affects a books success. Finally, I will explore the ways in which authors can utilise online communities such as BookTok to achieve success, either through working with influencers or building their own platform. I will specifically look at Lauren Roberts, an author that effectively utilised BookTok to achieve her overwhelming success.

The Online Community of BookTok

Community is defined as a group of people that share similar interests, attitudes, or attributes (Cambridge, 2025). Specifically, an online community is a group of people on social media that share common interests (Cambridge, 2025). The online community known as the book community, began to gain traction in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns (Viswanathan et al., 2024). As the world was sent into isolation, people turned to the internet and social media as an outlet, as an escape (Viswanathan et al., 2024). A prominent community that emerged was on TikTok, and is commonly referred to as ‘BookTok’ (Viswanathan et al., 2024). TikTok is the quickest growing platform in history, with BookTok having a total of over 55 billion views (Johanson et al., 2022).  A range of interviews with teenagers all over the world showed the distinct pattern of BookTok becoming apparent during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic (Johanson et al., 2022). With many of the young readers crediting their reinterest in reading to the digital community (Johanson et al., 2022). BookTok quickly became a place to share opinions, compare books, and even to promote work (Viswanathan et al., 2024). It is considered a safe space for readers to express their opinions without fear of judgement (Franklin, 2021). Typical content featured on BookTok is short form videos that utilise popular audios and topics (Johanson et al., 2022). BookTok mainly consists of teenagers and young adults (Johanson et al., 2022). The most popular genres that are featured on BookTok are romance and fantasy, as well as the mixture of the two, referred to as romantasy (Johanson et al., 2022). TikTok allows for users to replicate other users and imitate viral posts (Johanson et al., 2022). The power communities and platforms such as BookTok have over the ‘Bestselling’ list exploded over the years (Viswanathan et al., 2024). Authors such as Colleen Hoover, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sally Rooney, Rebecca Yarros, Lauren Roberts and many others achieved the title of ‘Bestselling Author’ with the help of BookTok (Viswanathan et al., 2024). Furthermore, BookTok has aided in the film adaptations of books that go viral on the platform (Viswanathan et al., 2024). A perfect example of this is the book It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (Viswanathan et al., 2024). It Ends With Us was published in 2016 but picked up steam in 2021 due to the online book community (Viswanathan et al., 2024). The book became a ‘New York Times Bestseller’ in early 2022, with a movie adaptation featuring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni being released in 2024 (Viswanathan et al., 2024). Another example is Taylor Jenkins Reid’s book Daisy Jones and the Six (Viswanathan et al., 2024). The book set in the 1970s was published in 2019, gained popularity through BookTok, and later adapted into a TV series in 2023 (Viswanathan et al., 2024).

How Social Media Makes Books Viral

Virality is crucial when determining a book’s success (Viswanathan et al., 2024). This can be seen in the previously mentioned authors, Colleen Hoover, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sally Rooney, Rebecca Yarros, and Lauren Roberts (Viswanathan et al., 2024). There is a list of factors that determine a videos virality (Delemos, 2024). The most prominent is following the trends (Delemos, 2024). The algorithms favour and push content that is deemed popular or trendy (Delemos, 2024). Whether in the form of trending hashtags, audio clips, music, or video formats and structures (Delemos, 2024). Other factors that impact virality include the simplicity of the content and the ability to recreate the content (Arjona-Martin et al., 2020). TikTok is the perfect platform for virality as it is easy and common for users to reuse or replicate viral content (Johanson et al., 2022). Examples of this within the book community is the use of specific hashtags (Nicoll, 2023). Millions of videos on TikTok have the hashtag #Booktok attached to them (Nicoll, 2023). This shows the enormous audience within the BookTok community and the countless opportunities to achieve virality (Nicoll, 2023). Furthermore, a singular viral video surrounding a particular book can spin into thousands of videos (Flood, 2021). A key to virality also comes from BookTok influencers (Flood, 2021). Influencers such as Kate Wilson (@kateslibrary), Ayman Chaudhary (@aymansbooks), and Faith Young (@hellyeahbooks) amass millions of views on their book reviews and recommendation, practically sky rocketing books into popularity (Flood, 2021). Users on BookTok follow creators that hold similar taste in literature and are highly influenced by their reviews (Flood, 2021). This in turn spikes conversation and discussion surrounding particular books, further increasing the virality (Flood, 2021).

How Authors Utilise Social Media to Promote Their Work

A new form of marketing emerges with the rise in social media and platforms such as BookTok (Nicoll, 2023). There are different ways in which an author can utilise social media (Nicoll, 2023). A common way is through the use of influencers (Nicoll, 2023). BookTok influencers have a significant impact on the popularity of a book and therefore its sales (Nicoll, 2023). Oftentimes, all an author needs is one video from a popular creator for their book to go viral (Pritchett, 2021). Authors and publishers are able to discover and contact influencers that are willing to do collaborations (Nicoll, 2023). On top of that, there are a range of BookTok influencers that are willing to do an honest review for a free copy of a book (Pritchett, 2021). The relationship between authors and influencers can be a crucial role in the success of a book (Pritchett, 2021).

On the other hand, authors can take the marketing into their own hands (Harris, 2021). Over the years and with the rise of social media, an author’s social media presence has become more and more important (Harris, 2021). Publishing companies are now looking at the audience an author has and the range of people an author can reach (Harris, 2021). Therefore, it is essential for new and upcoming authors to have a prominent social media presence in order to become that ‘Bestseller’ (Harris, 2021). There are a range of ways in which an author can connect with their audience (Hansen, 2019). This includes, giveaways, behind-the-scenes of writing, sneak peaks into upcoming books, sharing followers posts and fanarts, creating custom hashtags, as well as interacting with the community and other authors (Harris, 2019). For authors, there are some crucial first steps when attempting to promote work (Delemos, 2021). Finding your audience and your lane on BookTok is essential when approaching self-marketing, especially for indie or independent authors that don’t have the backing of publishing companies (Delemos, 2021). The key to virality on social media and platforms such as BookTok is to follow what’s trending (Delemos, 2021). Once an author has found their niche, it is essential to learn what is trending (Delemos, 2021). This can include, hashtags, audio clips, music, and video formats (Delemos, 2021). BookTok and similar platforms have become a game changer in the publishing world (Delemos, 2021). It has opened up a field of opportunities for new, upcoming, indie, or independent authors to connect with a huge audience (Delemos, 2021).

Lauren Roberts is a prime example of an author that effectively utilised social media to promote her work (Dam, 2023). Lauren Roberts wrote the overwhelmingly popular book Powerless (Dam, 2023). The story follows a girl, Paedyn, and how she navigates life as an ordinary in a world of people with powers (Dam, 2023). It follows the whirlwind of her journey being thrust into the annual deadly trials held by the king, and her every attempt to stay alive (Dam, 2023). The book also entails her growing relationship with the princes of the kingdom and how her hatred for a particular brother, Kai, blossoms into something entirely different (Dam, 2023). The book falls into the wildly popular genre known as a romantasy (Dam, 2023). An interview conducted with Lauren Roberts done in 2023, sheds light on the way social media transformed her success (Dam, 2023). Lauren Roberts journey shows the huge influence platforms such as TikTok have on a book’s success (Dam, 2023). Lauren decided to drop out of university to pursue her dream of becoming an author (Dam, 2023). She spent months juggling her jobs with her writing (Dam, 2023). Lauren stated that she began posting clips of herself to TikTok, interacting with the book community and giving behind-the-scenes of her journey of writing a book (Dam, 2023). She amassed a whopping 10 thousand followers in two days (Dam, 2023). She expressed that the virality of her account played a huge role in her success (Dam, 2023). Initially, Lauren was a self-published author (Dam, 2023). When Lauren self-published her book, her virality on social media allowed the book to flourish in the market, reaching number four in Barnes and Nobles within 24 hours (Dam, 2023). Due to her growing popularity on BookTok and obvious demand, she was picked up by Simon & Schuster, one of the big five publishing companies worldwide (Dam, 2023). Lauren Roberts credits her massive success to BookTok and other online book communities such as Bookstagram (Dam, 2023). Furthermore, she believes that social media is a brilliant and unconventional way for authors to connect with their audience, allowing for them to pursue their dreams (Dam, 2023). 

Conclusion

In sum, social media platforms such as BookTok are highly influential in the success of a book, whether through influencers or authors (Nicoll, 2023). From the birth of BookTok in the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic to now, the power social media holds in publishing continues to grow (Viswanathan et al., 2024). The influence social media holds has become so grand that publishing companies have begun to focus more on the numbers authors hold online (Harris, 2021). Virality of a book can send an author straight to the top of the ‘Bestselling’ list (Viswanathan et al., 2024). It also holds the power to open opportunities to film and TV adaptations (Viswanathan et al., 2024). The online book community is a new and innovative way for authors, specifically independent authors, to promote their work (Dam, 2023). Through real life experiences, such as Lauren Roberts, authors should be actively utilising BookTok and other online book communities to promote their work (Dam, 2023).

References

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Cambridge Dictionary. (2025). Definition of Community. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/community

Dam, J. (2023 November 7). EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Lauren Roberts On TikTok, Tropes, And Her Debut Novel Powerless. The Honey Pop. https://thehoneypop.com/2023/11/07/exclusive-interview-lauren-roberts-on-tiktok-tropes-and-her-debut-novel-powerless/

Delemos, R. D. (2021 September 10). TikTok for Viral Book Marketing. Publishers Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/87337-tiktok-for-viral-book-marketing.html

Flood, A. (2021June 25). The rise of BookTok: meet the teenage influencers pushing books up the charts. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jun/25/the-rise-of-booktok-meet-the-teen-influencers-pushing-books-up-the-charts

Franklin, M. (2021 September 9). The rise of BookTok and Bookstagram: UGA readers find community on social media. The Red & Black. https://www.redandblack.com/culture/the-rise-of-booktok-and-bookstagram-uga-readers-find-community-on-social-media/article_fb9278e8-10e9-11ec-8168-77d4d4691d8e.html

Harris, E. A. (2022 July 1). How TikTok Became a Best-Seller Machine. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/books/tiktok-books-booktok.html

Harris, E. A. (2021 December 7). Millions of Followers? For Book Sales, ‘It’s Unreliable’. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/07/books/social-media-following-book-publishing.html

Johanson, K., Schoonens, A., Reddan, B., Rutherford, L., & Dezuanni, M. (2022 May 9). What is BookTok, and how is it influencing what Australian teenagers read? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-is-booktok-and-how-is-it-influencing-what-australian-teenagers-read-182290

Julia Hanson (2019). How Authors Use Instagram Stories to Connect with Readers. BookBub. https://insights.bookbub.com/how-authors-use-instagram-stories/

Nicoll, K. (2023). Using BookTok and Bookstagram as an Author: Exploring how writers can use BookTok and Bookstagram to promote their work and engage with readers. Logos, 34(1), 38-43. https://doi.org/10.1163/18784712-03104057

Pritchett, C. (2021 January 2021). Influencer Marketing Tips and Tricks for Authors. Books Forward. https://booksforward.com/influencers-book-marketing-in-social-media-books-forward/

Viswanathan, L., Goodman, T., Levine, G., Crawley, A., & Lopez, A. (2024 October 2024). The Rise of BookTok: How it Has Influenced the Revival of Books to Today. Eastside Online. https://eastside-online.org/eastsidespecial1/the-rise-of-booktok-how-it-has-influenced-the-revival-of-books-to-today/