BookTok, Bookstagram, and Book Twitter are just a few of the nicknames people have
developed to discuss one thing, books. Many people used to think that the act of reading a
physical book for fun was dying. Generations today weren’t interested in doing an activity so
closely related to school, instead chose to spend time on social media. However, that changed
when social media began to discuss books and bring them back into the limelight. Booktok is
filled with thousands of individuals reviewing literature and discussing what books to read next.
Additionally, the platform acts as an opportunity for new authors to put their work out there.
Bookstagram is filled with beautiful edits and reviews of the most popular books. Book Twitter
is short messages on what people are thinking toward certain authors. All of these platforms
have come together to help people bond over books, which has caused reading to skyrocket.
Books that become popular on these apps are suddenly increasing in sales and marketing for
these books is at an all-time high with videos tagged with #booktok being at 111k views or
more and #Bookstagram having over 90 million posts under it. As a result, sales have increased
over the last couple of years, resulting in more individuals using Kindle Unlimited, buying
Kindles, buying books from bookstores, and even more bookstores opening. Shows that social
media is contributing to people’s desire to read and makes finding new books more accessible
for all ages, genres, and interests.
However, with this increasing popularity, there are drawbacks too. Many authors find
themselves unable to market themselves in any other way beyond social media, because of its
popularity. This results in publishing industry standards that want new writers to have some
social media presence or marketing experience before considering their works, which adds one
more thing against new authors. For new and upcoming authors, social media is a double-
edged sword. If you don’t go viral, your work can often go severely unnoticed, or it can go viral
negatively and create a bias for years to come. Social media and books are directly connected
and will continue to be for many generations to come.
