By Maria-Nefeli Andredaki,
Alexandra Pierson, known more widely as Alex Aster, is definitely a prime example of how young authors can achieve success in this day and age. Considering the saturation of the publishing world and the rejection one has to face before actually getting published (not that it is a given anyway), Aster used the tools available to her and showed the publishing world that her idea was worth it.
A lot of writers will tell you that being already published does not guarantee your next book’s success. That was the case when Aster tried to sell her new idea, not only to her old publisher but to a bunch more, knocking on door after door and being told that her book was not worth it. In what can only be described as a leap of faith, Aster employed her video editing skills and created a video using Pinterest pictures, which would later shake the BookTok world; “Would you read a book about a cursed island that only appears once every hundred years to host a game that gives the six rulers of [each] realm a chance to break their curses? Each realm’s curse is deadly and to break them, one of the six rulers must die. To survive, Isla Crown must lie, cheat, betray even as love complicates everything”.
The response to that TikTok, which was made out of desperation to prove that Aster was not the only one interested in her books concept, was what secured her the most lucrative book deal of her career with the publishing house “Amulet”. In her own words, it was “more zeros than I’ve seen in my life”. In order for her to show her gratitude to the audience that helped her achieve her goal, Aster let her TikTok viewers vote on the cover of her book. Plus, without meaning to, her original video started a TikTok trend with which small author pitch their ideas through edits, in order to attract following and boost their chances of securing a book deal. It is easy to convince a publisher that your book will sell, when you have thousands of followers to prove it.
The YA fantasy genre was paved by well-loved writers, such as Sarah J Maas, Cassandra Clare, Leigh Bardugo, and many, many others. These authors’ books created such strong, enthusiastic communities that, to this day, rival the die-hard fandoms of bands and singers. Thus, while it is true that the genre is saturated, it is quite evident that there is always room for one more good idea. As someone who grew up loving YA fantasy and spent countless hours of my teen years lost in these worlds, it is the nostalgia of those experiences that made me pick up the Lightlark series, a decision which I have not regretted! Let’s hope that the power of social media will always be used to shed light on talented artists and give them a chance they would not have had otherwise.
References
- Meet Alex Aster, The TikToker Changing The Publishing Industry For The Better. HuffPost. Available here
- ‘More zeros than I’ve seen in my life’: the author who got a six-figure deal via ‘BookTok’. The Guardian. Available here
