#4 Can I Pull Off a TikTok Strategy? (A.K.A. Studying the Big Names in Indie Publishing)

Written By Maisie Meyers

This week, I studied self-published authors who made it big. The common theme? Many got there via TikTok/BookTok. That… might be a problem for me.

Authors I researched:

  • Lauren Roberts (Powerless): Built hype on TikTok, leading to a traditional publishing deal.

  • Sarah A. Parker (When the Moon Hatched): Also grew on TikTok.

  • Amanda Hocking: Self-pubbed 21 books in a year (HOW??) and used book bloggers for promo. (Granted, this wasn’t recent, but still!)

The challenge? As a chronically ill author, I can’t churn out books at that speed or be constantly on video. But I can adapt—maybe by using text-based TikTok posts, teaser graphics, or voiceovers instead of live videos.

Next up: 

  • Experiment with social strategies that don’t require my face.

  • Find ways I can make videos with a combination of on-screen text and voiceover to make them accessible to everyone.

  • Find other indie authors that are using other strategies. I don’t think this is a one-size fits all fairy shoe. There’s gotta be more than one way to get your book onto the top charts, right??

💬 Do you enjoy BookTok-style content? What kind of posts hook you? Please send them my way! (Especially the ones that don’t require your face plastered all over the video!!! Please. 😩)

✉️ Subscribe for updates! Follow along as I take deep breaths, try to convince myself to be brave, and actually think about making videos. 😬

Maisie Meyers
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