Let's say the quiet part out loud: BookTok isn't hitting the way it used to, and it's not just you.
The algorithm is less predictable. Viral spikes don't last as long. Creator followings have dropped 20–30% as the platform's legal drama pushed people to migrate elsewhere. And underneath all of it, the market is just saturated — more releases, more competition for the same shrinking pool of attention. Indie, hybrid, traditional, it doesn't matter: authors across the board are watching income dip, and a lot of them are quietly panicking because their entire marketing plan was “post and pray.”
I'm not telling you to quit TikTok. I'm telling you it can't be the whole plan anymore. Here's what a plan that survives the next algorithm shift actually looks like.
1. Own the list before you need it.
Every author I talk to who's panicking about BookTok has the same thing in common: a thin email list. Every author who shrugged off the algorithm shift has the opposite — a list they've been building for years that doesn't care what any app does. If yours is thin, that's this month's project. Not “someday.” Now.
2. Give your website a job beyond “buy my book.”
Your site should be doing marketing work while you sleep — capturing emails, recommending backlist, showing up in search, giving readers a reason to bookmark it. A three-page site with a bio and some buy links isn't a marketing asset, it's a business card. Big difference.
3. Diversify where readers actually discover you.
Pinterest still sends steady, unglamorous, compounding traffic. BookBub ads still convert. Newsletter swaps with authors in your subgenre remain one of the cheapest, most effective list-growth tactics going into fall — especially in romance, where reader overlap across authors is huge. None of these depend on one app's mood.
4. Build content that works even when nothing goes viral.
Viral is a bonus, not a strategy. Evergreen content — series guides, trope-based landing pages, a well-tagged backlist — keeps earning attention long after a TikTok's 48-hour window closes. Build the stuff that still works in six months, not just the stuff optimized for today's For You Page.
5. Measure what actually pays your bills.
Views and follower counts feel good and mean less every year. Track what converts: newsletter sign-ups, direct sales, ARC team growth. A modest, boring, steady channel that converts beats a viral video that got you 40,000 views and four sales. Every time.
Ready to stop patching your website together and get one built to actually sell books?
Book your first chapter call and let's talk about what your site (and your brand) needs to do the selling for you.