First Word

On Tik-Tok, they have this thing called “Storytime”. Something kind of interesting plays in the background video while someone starts with a question: “Am the asshole”… I know it’s crude, but the question leads to some salacious tale about all sorts of family ridiculousness, bad relationships, cheating boyfriends and girlfriends, etc. Then in the comments, people answer whether or not that person was in the wrong. I have to admit, almost every story leaves me with my jaw on the ground. The point is, it’s shocking behavior told in a way that just sucks you right in.   Storytime prompted me to think about anthologies. Storytime is great because over the course of about four to six parts, you hear what is essentially a short story. It’s perfect for quick entertainment. Then after wandering into a bookstore to find a few anthologies right upfront in the most coveted display areas, it piqued my interest. For many years, anthologies weren’t that popular. So, it begged th...

I am intrigued and excited to discuss a major trend in book promotion: BookTok (aka TikTok). I already started building my TikTok platform. I recently read how BookTok is rapidly becoming a viable book promotion platform. According to the article “Publishing Trends: Predictions for the Book Industry in 2022” by Kaelyn Barron, “BookTok appears to be here to stay, with all trends indicating that even more authors will join the platform to market their books in 2022. So far, the hashtag #BookTok has garnered over 34.7 billion views on the platform. We’ve seen the impact of BookTok firsthand with one of our own authors, Maclen Stanley, who has accumulated over 424,000 followers and 6 million likes in just a few months since his book The Law Says What? debuted in July. Many reviewers on Amazon have commented that they bought the book specifically because they enjoyed his related TikTok videos. Book reviewers have also taken to the platform to share their thoughts on ...

  Some people have been watching the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial religiously -- almost on the same scale with the OJ Simpson trial back in the 90s. This high-profile defamation case has played out in an interesting way when it comes to a public relations perspective.  Depp's team has masterfully used social media to show how he's kind and genuine with people. If you watch mainstream media versus social media, the difference in attitude is totally opposite. Mainstream media has villainized Depp and seems to lean more toward Amber Heard. Meanwhile social media and experts and fans do not see it quite the same way.  Most of social media and average people watching this trial soon realized that Heard's testimony is questionable.  Social media's portrayal of Depp has been masterful at repairing his image. I assume that Depp's team is well aware of the tactics they've taken, which are brilliant. We see Depp doing a live performance in his iconic character Captai...