We all spend a lot of time thinking about and monitoring BookTok. Back in August, Publishers Weekly had this excellent article, with meaningful data and some great charts, not only illustrating that BookTok increases sales but also positing how much longer it will be a major sales driver.
As the article also points out, BookTok is an extremely important source for readers to discover new writers. Of course we know this as we have seen first hand backlist titles or lesser known authors go from languishing on our shelves to generating huge holds queues. But the article also considers, how long will all of this last?
Currently, the majority of libraries look to BookTok as a necessary evil. Yes, there are a few libraries and library workers who embrace it and add to the content, but overall, library workers are monitoring BookTok to stay up on what everyone else is using it for. We are using it to help prepare extra copies, while you wait lists, displays, etc.... However, as I talk to library workers, most don;t really know how to use BookTok to their advantage. We are more reactionary.
In 2024, why not try to use BookTok as a resource. With a little more information, you can go from reacting to the biggest BookTok trends to using it to help you discover trends before they explode.
Thankfully Book Riot is there to help and I have compiled some of the better articles to help you make BookTok work for you. Please note, within each link there are more links to explore:
- How to Diversify Your BookTok FYP (For You Page)
- Does Literary Fiction Also Work on BookTok?
- Why is Nonfiction Rare on BookTok?
- BookTok vs Bookstagram?
- One person's personal experience using BookTok to find more good reads
- This is a great example of how we can learn from BookTok and use it to help us reach more readers and get more books int heir hands.
- Want some inspiration? The Best Bookstores and Libraries to Follow on TikTok
- and of course.... The Next Big BookTok Books
Make 2024 the year you stop being annoyed with or overwhelmed by BookTok. It is not going anywhere. Sorry if you were hoping it would stop being a thing. Instead, take control of BookTok by learning how to make it work for you. You don't have to create TikTok's in order to use BookTok as a resource to help you reach more readers. Rather, you just have to get better as using it as a resource.
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