Two years ago, the young, successful author published his first book, “Gathering sun rays from Mosul to Drammen”. In January she finished writing her second work, but seven months later she has not yet published it. The problem is that the young author does not want to be on TikTok to promote the new book. – It’s sad that how good a writer I am has less to say, and that the success of the book depends on how good I am on TikTok, she says. In her regular place at Espresso House, Rahma sits and writes, but there are many distractions. Photo: Balsharan Kaur / news Rahma does not want to be an influencer who will make the book sell, but wants to focus on being a good writer. She feels that there is an expectation from the book industry that she will participate actively on social media. She does not want to say anything about which publisher she has, as her criticism is not directed at her publisher but at the book industry in general. #booktok affects sales figures TikTok has become one of the most important places to get attention for their books. Going viral can have a big impact on sales figures. This is confirmed by the book chains Ark and Norli. Books that are popular on TikTok sell well. The books may be several years old, but they have become popular again and have been rediscovered through #booktok, says Sandra Lærum from Ark. The top lists at both Ark and Norli of the best-selling books in English are exclusively books from TikTok. What is new is the enormous spread that books can get through #booktok, says Heitmann. Photo: Caroline Heitmann / Private Marketing Manager for Norli, Caroline Heitmann, says many young people get book inspiration from social media. – There is a lot of sharing of books on Instagram and Facebook, but no forum has had anywhere near the effect that #booktok has, she emphasizes. Visibility important for sales Marketing manager at Cappelen Damm, Tanja Hoel, says that social media is becoming more important, and that they are spending increasingly large parts of their budget on digital platforms. Husby believes that authors who are on social media must engage and share, it is not enough to just post a picture. Photo: Torgeir Husby / Private Torgeir Husby from Forlaget Press says that visibility is important for book sales, especially for young and less established authors. – 30 years ago, it was like that if you as a new author appeared on the Lørdagsrevyen on news, you were potentially a big seller, because everyone was watching. Now it is much more fragmented, and social media is becoming more and more important for visibility, says Husby. Viral on TikTok When Rahma started writing her second book, she downloaded the popular app. There she posted videos of her writing. Suddenly, several of her videos went viral, where she received half a million views on most of the videos she posted. Rahma says she originally created TikTok to update her family, but ended up going viral and had viewers from all over the world. – At the start it was very fun to get so much attention, people from all over the world asked where they could get hold of my book, says Rahma. But eventually she noticed how much time she spent on the app and how much the feedback from those who watched her videos affected her. – I spent the whole time thinking about the perfect post, how many followers I had and how many views I got. Rahma says she wants to focus mostly on her writing. Photo: Balsharan Kaur / news All the focus on TikTok made Rahma feel that her popularity on social media had more to say than the fact that she is a good writer. Finally, she deleted the app. Reluctantly back at SoMe Rahma says that she has met with managers who have said they do not want to work with people if they do not have a platform or are on social media. Rahma fears that the books will be forgotten if she chooses not to be on social media. – I have a friend who has written an incredibly beautiful book, and it is doing so badly because it has not received the attention it should have on social media. Literally 50 pieces have been sold, she says. Rahma thinks it’s a shame that Norwegian writers don’t get as much attention on Twitter. Photo: Balsharan Kaur / news Rahma says she has gone back on Instagram for fear of having more appointments cancelled, and she will return to social media fully to promote the new book. Although it will cost her mental health. – In my second book, I write about the dark side of success, substance abuse, self-harm and rape. When I finished writing the book I was nervous about the content, but now it’s the fear of not going viral. Rahma says she often asks herself the question of what is most important to her, the books or her health. Low sales figures and little attention to the book will feel like she has worked in vain with the second book, says Hamed. – I feel I am too young to fail as a 22-year-old writer. Hi! Do you have thoughts about the case you’ve read, or tips on what my next case should be about? Feel free to send me an e-mail!
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Author Rahma Hamed (22) feels she has to be an influencer to sell books – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
