Felicity Valance
Appearances
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
Hi, I'm Felicity. I'm the director of digital marketing for Penguin Young Readers at Penguin Random House.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
So obviously the algorithm when we talk about TikTok is the more you scroll and engage with certain pieces of content, the more it will feed you that content, whether it's creators that you follow or things that you save. TikTok will then say, oh, this person likes this. We'll give them more of that.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
In the past, correct. Yeah, it used to be either chronologically or just like who had the most clicks and engagement, who had the most views. That's what you were being served.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
So I think there's a lot of listening to readers that TikTok has really amplified. We're able to sort of see trends emerge. You know, romanticism isn't a word that we all talked about three years ago. So seeing romanticism come out of places like TikTok, publishers and editors were able to sort of say, right, what could I acquire that suits this?
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
Our sales team are able to say, what do we have that already exists on our list that could suit this reader's interests?
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
we are aware of books from our backlist that the read itself really speaks to what the reader's interested in, but maybe it doesn't look right amongst what's on the shelves right now. And so, is there an opportunity for a reader to rediscover that if it had the new jacket? But also, I think it's more a case of new readers discovering it.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
We're aware that a book that we know to be existing for a long time, they may have never heard of. I'm still flabbergasted when people sort of bring up old books and be like, I found this new great book. It's called The Fault in Our Stars. And I think, what? How is that not monolithically heard about? But people do. And so we're really aware of it's not an old book repackaged to them.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
So we kind of pivoted our resources a little bit and said, you know what, let's focus on creating content for this platform more for our key core audience.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
It really depends on the book. It totally depends on who the readers are. And I think all of those things still matter in their own way. And the lightning strike of TikTok can be happening one day and then the next day it's not. And if I had the viral button to press, I'd press it every day. Yeah. If only. If only.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
I have absolutely heard that. And I will fight people about that. No, this sounds very aggressive. think to judge someone's reading tastes like that is really dangerous. Reading is such an enjoyable pastime that we want people to not feel pressured to read the right books. We want them just to be entertained and have fun or be serious or learn.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
And yeah, I don't like the idea of saying book talk books are bad. I think people have different tastes. And also the taste of someone who reads 20 books a year versus the person who reads two books a year are wildly different.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
I mean, I think it's like all entertainment orientated towards women that that tends to be given a side eye. And I don't love it because I think that's wrong.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
Hi, I'm Felicity. I'm the Director of Digital Marketing for Penguin Young Readers at Penguin Random House.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
So obviously the algorithm when we talk about TikTok is the more you scroll and engage with certain pieces of content, the more it will feed you that content, whether it's creators that you follow or things that you save. TikTok will then say, oh, this person likes this. We'll give them more of that.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
In the past, correct. Yeah, it used to be either chronologically or just like who had the most clicks and engagement, who had the most views. That's what you were being served.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
So I think there's a lot of listening to readers that TikTok has really amplified. We're able to sort of see trends emerge. You know, romanticism isn't a word that we all talked about three years ago. So seeing romanticism come out of places like TikTok, publishers and editors were able to sort of say, right, what could I acquire that suits this?
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
Our sales team were able to say, what do we have that already exists on our list that could suit this reader's interests?
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
we are aware of books from our backlist that the read itself really speaks to what the reader's interested in, but maybe it doesn't look right amongst what's on the shelves right now. And so is there an opportunity for a reader to rediscover that if it had the new jacket? But also I think it's more a case of new readers discovering it.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
We're aware that a book that we know to be existing for a long time, they may have never heard of. I'm still flabbergasted when people sort of bring up old books and be like, I found this new great book. It's called The Fault in Our Stars. And I think, what? How is that not monolithically heard about? But people do. And so we're really aware of it's not an old book repackaged to them.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
So we kind of pivoted our resources a little bit and said, you know what, let's focus on creating content for this platform more for our key core audience.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
It really depends on the book. It totally depends on who the readers are. And I think all of those things still matter in their own way. And the lightning strike of TikTok can be happening one day and then the next day it's not. And if I had the viral button to press, I'd press it every day. Yeah. If only. If only. I'd love it.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
And have you heard that? I have absolutely heard that. And I will fight people about that. No, that sounds very aggressive. But I... I think to judge someone's reading tastes like that is really dangerous. Reading is such an enjoyable pastime that we want people to not feel pressured to read the right books. We want them just to be entertained and have fun or be serious or learn.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
And yeah, I don't like the idea of saying book talk books are bad. I think people have different tastes. And also the taste of someone who reads 20 books a year versus the person who reads two books a year are wildly different. Yeah.
The Journal.
Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In.
I mean, I think it's like all entertainment orientated towards women that that tends to be given a side eye. And I don't love it because I think that's wrong.