Dear reader,
It’s hard to talk about the publishing industry these days without “TikTok” coming up almost immediately.
There have been a lot of discussions about the role that booktok (the book community on TikTok) has played in influencing book sales. What started as a very organic, book club-esque space where readers share and recommend what they’re reading, has now morphed into this strange feedback loop where writers and publishers seem to be consciously pushing out stories to cater to these spaces.
For so many creative industries, the merit of a work will be reduced to the elements that can be tracked with numbers and categorized into boxes. In the case of publishing, whether it’s pre-orders, Goodreads adds, or social media engagement, art will always be evaluated by imperfect metrics. These metrics, while supposedly objective, are in fact not objective at all.
Many readers don’t feel drawn to pre-order books because they might want to spend their money when the book actually comes out instead of spending it now and waiting months to feel the gratification of receiving the book.
Similarly, Goodreads is such a flawed platform and we see, time and time again, instances of terrible “review bombing” (downvoting books simply to sabotage an author’s ratings). Those targeted are disproportionately BIPOC and marginalized writers. By now, I’m sure everyone in the book space online has heard of review-bomb-gate but if you haven’t—well, it quite literally made national news.
There are certain genres and tropes that do well on TikTok too, and almost exclusively, these are genres and tropes that are romance-driven. If, like me, you’re a writer that doesn’t write stories that can be easily marketed this way, TikTok can feel like a difficult place to invest energy in because when we see the breakout books on that app, the element that usually hooks people in is the romance.
To be clear, I don’t think that marketing to romantic tropes is a bad thing at all. (I do it too and yes, in an informal way, it is fun.) I do, however, think that writing based on tropes instead of writing utilizing tropes is very different and prioritizing the former will lead to repetitive books being published. Tropes, in and of themselves, do not sustain a plot or even indicate what a book is really about. Rarely do tropes alone entice me into a book. I’m sure it’s the same for many other readers.
I bring this up because as someone who writes stuff that doesn’t quite fit perfectly into TikTok’s boxes, I often stress about how I’ll find the right readership when I do eventually publish. So why do I still “do” social media as a writer?
I’ll talk more about why I started out on YouTube, how my attitudes towards social media have evolved since and what I’ve learned along the way.
A quick recap of my journey.
In 2021, I began writing the second draft of my first fantasy novel (my second manuscript ever). We were deep into COVID restrictions, I’d been working from home and I decided I was going to be serious about finishing this book. Right before this, I was working on an earlier iteration of what would eventually become my cyberpunk novel LOCAL HEAVENS (the book that got me an agent this year), but I didn’t feel I was a strong enough writer to write the concept of that book at the time. So I’d put it aside and returned to this fantasy project I began in 2018.
Writing, as all writers know, gets lonely very quickly. I had no community back then. I watched some authortubers on YouTube (people who would go on to become my acquaintances and genuine friends, for whom I am so grateful) and I found myself drawn to documenting my own writing journey.
[my channel @ krismf]
I’d done a lot of video editing ever since I was a kid. I took classes in high school, made student short films, etc. I knew the bare-bones basics of how to edit videos and in my day job, I work as a digital designer. So the urge to start a YouTube channel came very naturally to me. I posted a few vlogs, left them on private, and on a whim—sometime in May 2021—made them public. I’ve since re-privated many of my early videos, if only because I think they’re pretty incoherent. Back then I had no intention of building an audience. I just didn’t have anyone else to talk to my writing about so I’d talk to a camera.
My channel grew a tiny bit and I was able to foster a small, meaningful community. I also invested time in turning my Twitter and Instagram towards my writing. This year, I downloaded TikTok.
The more serious I got about my writing over these past few years, the more detached I’ve had to be from social media.
Do writers need social media?
I wish I could say “of course not” and move on, but many people will tell you that being on social media in some way is unavoidable.
I do agree that unless you’re coming in with some pre-built clout, it’s going to be tough to be a writer and pretend that the internet doesn’t exist. Marketing your book is the dreadful reality of both traditional and self-publishing. It’s especially important for the latter since the promotion and distribution of your book is entirely in your hands, but even in the traditional space, publishers don’t cut big cheques for each and every writer’s promotional budget (unfortunately).
More and more, we are hearing of writers who have had to shoulder a huge portion of their own marketing—the bare minimum of which seems to be making book graphics, moodboards, and keeping an active Instagram, Twitter, newsletter and/or TikTok.
I’m constantly overwhelmed at the prospect of having to market myself on top of actually writing. The more serious I got about my craft over these past few years, the more detached I’ve had to be from social media. Scrolling endlessly through the apps, aside from being a time-stealer, just isn’t the most creatively stimulating activity.
I stopped rating books on Goodreads. I no longer check YouTube Analytics or keep track of every single person that follows me on every app. I had to instate a rule that I only check comments a few hours to a few days after a video goes live and then any notifications after that, I only peek at if I’m in the right headspace.
I’ve had to create mental boundaries and constantly remind myself that any time I’m forcing myself to make content (instead of it being a fun thing I get to do in my spare time), then that time would be better spent writing.
I became burnt out from YouTube very fast. I went from posting multiple times a week to posting weekly to now, posting whenever I can (at least once a month is what I strive for, but twice would be ideal). I have the utmost respect for writers who work full-time jobs, on top of balancing a writing career and social media because I’m learning very quickly how mentally/emotionally taxing it is to sustain this pace.
It’s a privilege to be a writer that doesn’t have to rely on regular social media posts in order to stay alive in people’s attention. Once you’re no longer a debut author, once you have several books under your belt and a steady sales track record, once your name speaks for itself—I’d like to think that the choice of being offline (or at least, not being chronically online) opens up for you.
In general though, I see writers sometimes say that they’re nervous they have to build a huge social media presence before even finishing their book or querying and this is not true at all. In fact, it might be detrimental to get too tunnel-visioned into that thought. If you’re very early on in your writing journey, the biggest favour you can do yourself is to prioritize your craft above all else.
I’m always a little bit glad that social media wasn’t what it was while I was a teen or younger. I feel like I would have been distracted by the way that some elements of the writing community glorify the aesthetics and accomplishment of being a writer over the reality of struggling through the long years it takes to truly improve.
Has social media made anything “easier” in this industry?
Non-writers often don’t realize that you can’t just write a book for a few months and then it’s ready to be published (lmao). A single book can take years of commitment.
The biggest thing social media gave me was a community of other writers and supportive friends who completely understand what I’m going through and I don’t ever have to explain or water down the hardships. I believe that a support system has helped me immensely. I’m so privileged and grateful to have trustworthy, like-minded, talented writers in my circle who I can send my work to and I know that my stories are in good hands.
If there’s anything that I think all writers could benefit from, it’s finding your people.
.[me and Kelley!]
When the industry beats you down, when you’re stuck in your story, when the rejections are killing your soul—your writer friends are going to be the ones to pull you out of the gutter. They’re going to remind you why you wrote your story in the first place. I thought LOCAL HEAVENS was a batshit insane book that would die in the query trenches, until I was told: “This might be one of my favourite books ever. Like, ever” and I basically stared at the wall for half an hour re-evaluating my whole life. (Thanks, Lynn.)
I honestly don’t believe that this book would have landed me an agent without the help of the writers around me who kept my head above water. I was prepared to give up long before my first offer came through.
That said, having my small YouTube channel made zero difference in querying and while it can play a role for bigger creators, it is not necessary at all for this industry. Keep writing. Focus on your craft and that will pay off way more than anything else. Your work—what you put on the page—is the only thing that’s actually in your control and I remind myself of that every single day.
Envy, resentment and redirection.
We’re all struggling together.
This could be its own post but the first thing I’ll say is that the easiest thing you can do to find community is to support other writers—just being able to genuinely and honestly feel excited for other writers’ projects and cheering them on wherever they are in their journey. Despite Twitter being a messy hellscape, one thing I do love is following other writers, watching them talk about their WIPs, and months/years later, they’re putting out their agent announcements, or even later, their book deals. It’s such a gratifying feeling to be invested in someone’s creative success and watching people who share your dream reach those goals.
Yes, there are some days where envy and resentment toward the industry overshadow those feelings (see again: review-bomb-gate!), but whenever that occasionally springs up, I’ve learned to track down the rotten root of where those feelings are really coming from and plucking it out quick. Sometimes that means logging off of social media for a while. Other times, it means returning to my own writing and making progress on whatever book or short story I’m currently working on. Redirection is everything.
Secondly, don’t think you have to do everything overnight. It has taken me years to get on TikTok and I only started it months after I signed with my agent because I knew I didn’t want any distractions while finishing my novel and getting ready to query. Everyone has different boundaries and it’s just about figuring out where yours are.
Take advantage of those in-app limits that send you reminders when you’ve exceeded a certain amount of daily usage. My limit on TikTok and YouTube is one hour on weekdays. Personally I also turn off all push notifications from my social apps and at least twice a week, I will swap screen time for reading a book instead.
Thirdly, remember that what is on anyone’s socials is such a small sliver of someone’s life and a narrow peek into who they are. I think it’s natural to overshare certain things online (the good & the bad) and it leads us to believe we can make deep judgements about a person or compare ourselves to them. Don’t do it. I get told all the time, even by my own friends, that I seem very organized, put-together and driven. Some days, sure, but most days, I’m honestly not. When I’m in between projects, you can find me sitting on a couch for an entire weekend playing Baldur’s Gate.
Thank you, as always, for reading to the end and hanging out with me — whether it’s here or any of my other socials. More updates on LOCAL HEAVENS and my publishing journey will be coming in the new year.
-Kris
I think this is something a lot of writers need to hear, I know I did. Thank you for your insights, they are always so valuable and motivating!