My previous story reported on the opening of a new romance-only bookstore (one hopes the wedding venue license will be coming soon for literary lovers’ very own HEA!). Needless to say, the owner of the store in question cited TikTok as one of the driving factors in the decision to open the store. This is a theme. The resurgence of bookstores and the influence of BookTok go hand in hand.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
You will remember that TikTok has made its own moves to capitalize on this seeming symbiosis. Of course, there is the TikTok Shop, which publishers work with influencers to use as a way to capture sales the moment someone is captivated by content on the platform.
From Platform to Publisher
But under a year ago, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance announced that it would be starting its own publisher, 8th Note Press. It seemed like an obvious move—lucrative for all concerned—as the publisher would have clear insights on what was and wasn’t selling at that moment, giving it invaluable intelligence in signing exactly the right authors for the right time. And for authors, surely this would be a chance to find sales in the most enticing marketplace on the internet.
But all has not gone well, it seems. Jane Friedman has done a lot of in-depth research on the way in which 8th Note has dealt with—and often let down—a significant proportion of its authors. One of the issues she notes has been the pushing back of publication dates. This has had a big impact on sales for indie authors who removed their books from Kindle Unlimited upon being signed, so they have lost a regular source of income without it being replaced by new sales from 8th Note.
Reports Point to Closure
Now it seems 8th Note is to be shuttered. There is nothing official from either it or its parent, ByteDance, but The Bookseller reports that authors have been contacted and are in negotiations to get back the rights to their works.
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