If you know me, then you probably already know what Booktok is, but I want to explain it to anyone who doesn’t know anything about it, or if you aren’t quite sure.

Booktok is the name for the book community on TikTok. Booktokers (Book-TikTokers) make videos recommending books, reviewing books, or just making jokes about them.

How did this all start?

I don’t know all the details, but there were 3 main users I noticed in late 2019/early 2020, outside of publisher accounts, who were posting bookish content on the platform: @kathyellendavis, @24hourlibrary, and @sararaasch. Kathy Ellen Davis was actually the first person I saw who actually used the hashtag “#booktok”.

They actually inspired me to post booktoks myself. I posted my first on at the end of December 2019, but I didn’t start posting regularly until March 2020, after one of my videos blew up.

From the end of March and on, more booktokers began to make content and the community grew. I’m still in awe of how huge the community has become. This was due to more booktok videos going viral, like those by @ya.books, @entangledteen, @abbysbooks, and so many more creators!

And that bring us to today. There are more booktokers than I could possibly name, and there is amazing bookish content being posted every day.

How To Become A Booktoker

The questions I get the most are how to start making booktoks, and how to do well on the platform.

Let’s start with how to begin.

1. Make a TikTok account

This is probably the easiest step, download the app and make an account if you don’t have one already!
TikTok Tip: Try and keep your username memorable, and something that hints about the content you’ll be posting.

2. Create Your First Video

I know, easier said than done. There’s a lot of different content you can find on booktok (comedy, recommendations, reviews, etc), but if you’re struggling to find a good video to start with, I recommend introducing yourself to the community. A great sound to use is this one created by @ezeekat!

And there you go! You are officially a booktoker.

If you want to learn more about how what to do beyond the first video and hear some of my advice, I’ll be posting a part 2 of the “Dive in BookTok” series soon!

I’m also planning a part 3 in this series, discussing some of the issues with the platform.

What do you think of booktok?

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