The Rise of BookTok
An Online Community for Romantasy Booklovers
Faeries and Dragons and Magic—Oh, My!
When I was a kid, reading was my entire identity. I probably spent hundreds of hours in my bedroom, totally enchanted by fantasy books like Twilight, City of Bones, and Percy Jackson. I asked for books for every birthday and every Christmas, and if I had gotten money instead, I’d spend it on books. Books were EVERYTHING to me.
But then life got in the way.
I started working full-time, got married, and had my first baby. My time to read was quickly replaced by the responsibilities of being an adult.
Then came COVID.
From 2020 to 2021, I spent a lot of time at home cooking, crafting, and playing with my two-year-old son but I rapidly ran out of ways to fill my time. I wasn’t meeting up with friends, my husband was on deployment, and my family had all recently moved out of state. It was a pretty weird and lonely time.
It wasn’t until I stumbled upon a book review on TikTok that it even occurred to me to pick up a new book.
As soon as I saw a review for that “little red book” on BookTok, my life was forever changed. I had entered a virtual portal and stepped into a world full of faeries, dragons, and magic.
What Is BookTok Anyways?
If you’ve been on TikTok within the last few years, I’m sure you’ve stumbled upon “BookTok” at one point or another.
Dubbed “BookTok” as a play on “TikTok,” this sub-community for book lovers has taken the internet and literary world by storm.
It’s a place of magic, community, and stellar bookcase setups. Creators share everything book-related from ten-second reviews and book hauls to reading recommendations and fantasy-inspired cosplays. It’s every book lover’s online dream space.
Since its conception, the #Booktok hashtag has “garnered over 200 billion views on TikTok” (Shaw) and over 40 million posts, completely revolutionizing the publishing industry.
The Future of Publishing
BookTok is completely changing the publishing sphere.
With an outstanding rise in readers—“the average American user of TikTok is reading 60% more books compared to the period prior to exposure to BookTok,” (Curcic)—book sales are rapidly increasing.
According to Publisher’s Weekly, “In 2020, the sales for authors recommended on BookTok totaled around 13 million copies, which then skyrocketed in 2021 to 27 million copies,” (Milliot).
The stats don’t lie—this is astronomical growth!
Not only are book sales increasing, but retailers and publishers have also started looking to BookTok to gauge what’s trending and get the word out about new releases. Bookstores like Barnes & Noble have “Hot on BookTok” display tables, pushing recommendations from the mouths of BookTokers, and publishers collaborate with creators to spread the word about their titles (Harris). Presley Tyler of Shreveport Times states, “BookTok has single-handedly become one of the most influential word-of-mouth engines that the publishing industry has ever seen.”
There has also been a significant rise in self-publishing and indie authors since the establishment of BookTok. Self-published authors have power like never before—“The #BookTok community has been responsible for launching self-published authors and their books into a whirlpool of viral fame through fan reaction videos, recommendation videos, and authentic reviews,” (Regan et al.).
No matter which way you slice it, it’s clear that the future of books is #BookTok!
Romantasy on BookTok
A hybrid between fantasy and romance, the Romantasy genre in particular has seen out-of-this-world success. Books like Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black have skyrocketed, fostering community among book lovers and fantasy lovers alike.
And of course, we’ve all read the series by the Reigning Queen of BookTok, Sarah J. Maas. If you haven’t heard of A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, or Crescent City, have you even been on BookTok?
BookTok has no doubt had a tremendous impact on the rising popularity of Romantasy. Books like these are straight-up addicting. From their deliciously addictive tropes and strong female characters to epic worlds and swoon-worthy romances, Romantasy has earned a place in the hearts of millions of readers—and its place on BookTok.
Bibliophiles, UNITE!
Above all, BookTok fosters community among fantasy readers.
There is a sense of camaraderie and belonging on BookTok. People from all walks of life have come together on the platform to discuss their favorite books, fangirl over their favorite writers, and share their favorite theories. It’s the most relevant public space in which people can engage with literature, and everyone’s invited to the club.
There’s even been a recent academic study on BookTok that calls it, “a passionate community of readers who connect through the joy of reading itself,” (Teel and Lund). How amazing is that!? It’s so relevant, it’s being studied.
Popular Romantasy series like the aforementioned A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas have gained massive success on the platform, and it’s all thanks to BookTokers. Millions of fans across the globe have been so inspired by the story, that they’ve shared their ACOTAR-inspired art and started businesses, garnering hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of views.
And it’s not just TikTok that has book-related content, folks! The BookTok hashtag has inspired readers to create communities across a multitude of social media platforms.
From original fan art and officially licensed merchandise on “Bookstagram” and epic scores on Spotify, fans have unleashed their creativity, cultivating online communities of their own on various sites.
My favorite of the ACOTAR-inspired, fan-produced art has to be the “BookTuber” fan films! There’s something so special about seeing what you picture when you read come to life on screen. Taleen Productions and Whimsy Gossip have certainly made magic with their YouTube adaptations of the ACOTAR series!
The passion that BookTok breeds is absolutely mind-blowing, inspiring millions to follow their dreams of becoming writers, artists, and filmmakers!
If you want to see what BookTok has inspired, click the photos below!
BookTok Creators
The Reigning Queens of BookTok
Bookstagram Creators
Fan Films & BookTubers
There are so many FABULOUS creators across these platforms, friends! If you’re a book lover, I highly encourage you to search the hashtag “#BookTok” and explore all the wonderful creativity oozing from accounts like these!
Final Thoughts
BookTok is a beautiful and magical place—one that has changed the lives of millions. From revolutionizing the publishing industry to encouraging people to pick up a book (maybe for the first time ever), BookTok has made a significant and lasting cultural impact.
Looking for BookTok-Approved Romantasy recommendations? Check out my curated list of fantasy/Romantasy reads on Libib!
References
Curcic, Dimitrije. “BookTok Statistics.” WordsRated, 4 May 2024, wordsrated.com/booktok-statistics/.
Harris, Elizabeth A. “How TikTok Became a Best-Seller Machine.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 July 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/books/tiktok-books-booktok.html#:~:text=Early%20last%20year%2C%20the%20publishing,Hoover%20has%20written%20four.
Milliot, Jim. “BookTok Helped Book Sales Soar. How Long Will That Last?” PublishersWeekly.com, 18 Aug. 2023, www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/93014-booktok-helped-book-sales-soar-how-long-will-that-last.html. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Regan, Emma, et al. “From Self-Pub to Bestsellers: How Tiktok Has Changed the Publishing World.” The Publishing Post, 9 Nov. 2022, www.thepublishingpost.com/post/from-self-pub-to-bestsellers-how-tiktok-has-changed-the-publishing-world. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Shaw, Amelia. “Booktok Is Turning the Page to a New Publishing Era.” Grant Magazine, 1 Feb. 2024, grantmagazine.com/23387/in-my-opinion/booktok-is-turning-the-page-to-a-new-publishing-era/#:~:text=As%20of%20December%202023%2C%20%23Booktok,book%20reviews%2C%20recommendations%20and%20more.
Teel, Zoë Abigail, and Brady Lund. “BookTok community building: Dissecting fangirl behavior on TikTok.” Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, vol. 61, no. 1, 15 Oct. 2024, pp. 1102–1103, https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.1198.
Tyler, Presley Bo. “What Is “BookTok?” Here’s How Social Media Has Reinvigorated the Publishing Industry.” The Times, Shreveport Times, 29 Oct. 2024, www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2024/10/29/booktok-community-on-tiktok-brings-new-life-to-publishing-industry-books-authors-bookstores-media/75914800007/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.