How I’m Using BookTok to Promote My Blog, My Book, and My Inner Chaos

BookTok is a powerful beast. It can turn obscure books into bestsellers, revive decade-old stories, and sell out paperbacks at a speed that makes publishers sweat. And here I am, 23, running a convenience store, writing a murder mystery, and now… trying to swim in that ocean. I’m not on TikTok yet. Not officially. But I’m about to be. And this is my quiet war cry.

I’m diving into BookTok not just because everyone else is doing it (although let’s be honest, it helps), but because I actually care about the kinds of books BookTok thrives on. I love the dark stuff. The dry humor, the twisty murder plots, the what-the-hell-just-happened kind of reads that make you throw the book across the room and then go pick it up lovingly. That’s my genre, my playground. And if I’m already yelling about these stories in my store, to myself, mid-shift while restocking overpriced energy drinks, I might as well yell online where someone might actually yell back.

My vibe on BookTok is simple: sarcastic and witty, nothing polished or forced. I’m not trying to become the next girl with fairy lights and a stack of aesthetically pleasing hardcovers she hasn’t read. I’m not making mood boards or doing lip-sync skits. I just want to hold up a book, say something half-intelligent and half-feral, and maybe, just maybe convince someone to click over to my blog, plottwist.blog, where the full breakdown lives and the chaos is always welcome.

What’s wild is how influential BookTok is. I’ve seen books I loved quietly three years ago suddenly explode with attention. And that excites me. But here’s the truth: the idea of starting out on TikTok also freaks me out. Social media is a sea. A huge, deep, wild sea. And right now, I’m a sardine with a sarcastic streak, hoping to get noticed before a wave hits. How will people find me? Will anyone care? These are the late-night, neon-lit thoughts of someone who runs a convenience store by day and writes about murder at night.

But I’m not doing this to be famous. I’m doing this because I write, and I read, and I want to find the others who do both. I’m doing it because I still believe blogs are alive, and there’s something electric about long-form thoughts and book rants that don’t fit into 60 seconds. TikTok will just be my way of luring people back here with quick reviews, bold opinions, and maybe the occasional “WTF was that ending?” face zoom. My dream video? It’s not flashy. It’s just someone me holding up a book I love or hate (strong emotions only), and speaking like I mean it. No ring lights. No voiceovers. Just truth, sarcasm, and vibes.

So if you’ve ever thought about starting on BookTok but felt like the algorithm gods wouldn’t bother with you, same. But maybe we scream into the void together.

If you made it this far into the post, let me ask you this: what book would you hold up and rant about for a full minute, unscripted, unfiltered, just pure chaos and emotion?

Because I might just start with that one.

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