TikTok to Authors: “Show Me the Money”

This is no surprise: TikTok’s owner ByteDance will be expanding from e-books (which it jumped into last year) into physical books. (The New York TImes wrote about it here.)

That development isn’t what’s interesting.

What’s interesting is how ByteDance’s imprint, 8th Note Press, will select books. As the head of editorial marketing explained it to the Times, “8th Note is closely tracking what’s trending online, including on BookTok, and is ‘building backwards’ by acquiring books that feed into those trends and conversations…”

Did you get that bit? What they’re saying is, “If your book has buzz, we’ll be interested.” And if not? Not so much.

THIS is the admission that’s much more important for authors than a new publishing opportunity. I’ve already seen this trend in my conversations with editors at major publishing houses. They are increasingly looking for ways to de-risk their book acquisition process. That means pushing the risk onto authors.

In practical terms, de-risking translates into publishers saying to authors, “show me the money.” If you can demonstrate to a publisher that you, dear author, can sell a lot of books on their behalf, then they’ll talk to you. If not, don’t wait by your phone.

All of this begs the question for an increasing number of authors: “If I can sell a lot of books myself, why do I need a publisher at all?”

Indeed.

As the publishing industry continues its bumpy journey along the path of creative destruction, expect to see lots of stories like this.