Prompt Response Week Seven

As I was reading the article "How the New Celebrity Book Clubs Are Boosting Literary Sales," I was
struck by just how much of an influence they have over the publishing industry. Not only does their stamp of approval skyrocket the sales of the books they choose, but they also get attention on the books for movie and TV adaptations, as well as highlighting local bookstores and boosting sales in the indie arena. As one example in the article states, "The day that Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine club posted the news on Instagram last summer, the relatively unknown novelist (Maria Hummel) watched her Amazon sales ranking skyrocket to No. 11 and No. two for Audible audiobook sales...(and she) saw a 103% jump in sales over three months."

Even with the publishing industry weakening in recent years, there are still so many books being published that it's hard for new authors to stand out. Kristen McLean, a representative from the publishing industry featured in the article, said that book club stamps and other celebrity endorsements are crucial for new authors. Overall, these endorsements appear to be a net positive. Increasing overall profits in the publishing industry, curating ready-made lists for celebrity's fans to choose books from, and diversifying the book world with new authors on the scene. The article quotes Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden, “The whole mission of [Hello Sunshine] is putting women at the center of the story who have agency, who are not the side character, they are driving the narrative,” Harden said. “All of our book picks have that in common. Our company is founded on the belief that storytelling can shift culture, and if we can shift culture, we can shift the way that women get to walk through the world.”

As this article was written nearly five years ago in August 2019, there are new kids on the block influencing what people read - namely influencers - but that's not to say that celebrity book clubs still don't hold huge sway. I just couldn't help but think of BookTok as I was reading this article, and wonder if this is the next Oprah for the publishing industry. In recent years, we've seen what BookTok can do, making a star out of Colleen Hoover, shooting Fourth Wing and Iron Flame to the one and two spots of the New York Times bestseller list for 11 weeks straight, and even catapulting self-published authors to the point they're picked up by traditional publishers years after their books came out. While this method may be more fickle, less intentional and less diversifying than the celebrity book clubs like to advertise as, it's still worthy to note as the powerhouse influence it is on the industry. 

And if the "'heart of a book club' hearkens back to groups of women meeting and connecting with friends through their love of storytelling," then I'd say both BookTok and the celebrity book clubs manage to accomplish some aspects of that sentiment, maybe BookTok even more so.