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Is the BookTok Reign Letting Up? A New Analysis Suggests That It Might Be

BookTok has proven to be a force to be reckoned with, but has its influence come to an end? A new book sales analysis sheds some light.

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Publishers Weekly reported on a new analysis by BookScan that shows the current state BookTok’s influence on book sales.

Since 2020, BookScan has been tracking around 180 BookTok authors and found that the group’s book sales went from 13 million copies sold in 2020 to 27 million sold in 2021. With these numbers in mind, it makes sense why TikTok’s influence on the publishing world has been huge.

But BookScan’s new analysis seems to suggest that the BookTok surge has already reached its zenith. In July, sales for the BookTok authors BookScan follows dropped by around 4.5%. Additionally, compared to a time window of July 2021-July 2022, which saw a 9% increase in sales of adult titles, July 2023 was stagnant. And, after increasing July 2021-July 2022 by 4%, sales for young adult titles were down by 1% in July 2023.

It’s understandable that TikTok’s astounding influence on book sales couldn’t last forever, especially considering that the entire industry is experiencing a shrinking due at least in part to less reading time since the onset of the pandemic. But even with this new, flat state of book sales, BookTok is still very influential when it comes to new writers.

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.

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