Us Vs. The Algorithm

Welcome to Five On Fridays, my monthly straight-no-chaser newsletter where I help demystify the publishing industry for new writers and early-career authors. Let’s jump right in.

Welcome, new friends, and good to see you again if you’ve been with me since this newsletter launched back in January. Thanks for sticking with me while I got settled and found my rhythm. I think I’ve found a sweet spot: sharing monthly thoughts on the publishing world (mine and the industry’s) with insight geared especially toward new and early-career writers. Look for new posts on the last Friday of each month and, possibly, a name change in the near future. (I’ll keep you posted about that and may even get your thoughts on the proposed change.)

Today, I’m talking about social media and publishing: how the relationship has evolved and where it might be headed. And then I’m sharing five ways authors can stand out without selling their souls to the algorithm.

Phase 1: The Past

Those of us who have been in the game less than twenty years, probably don’t remember the heady pre social media days. Prior to 2005, publishers handled print ads, media tours, author events, and galley mailings and, for the most part, authors were expected to show up for interviews and signings, but they largely remained in their writing lanes.

And then social media happened.

First Facebook in 2004, followed by YouTube (2005), Twitter (2006), and Goodreads (2007). Around the same time, publishers started looking for author platforms, especially in nonfiction proposals: blogs, mailing lists, some kind of online presence. The 2007 launch of Amazon KDP made self-publishing far more accessible, and with it came the expectation that authors take charge of their own marketing, especially if they weren’t backed by the Big Five.

Phase 2: The Present

BookTok showed up in late 2019, early 2020, right when everyone was stuck at home. The pandemic drove a shift toward doing everything online, and bookish content exploded. Today, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok dominate the book-social mediasphere.

But even before that wave, authors like Colleen Hoover and Hugh Howey were building devoted readerships with behind-the-scenes content that felt authentic and organic. That kind of authenticity created long-term loyalty and fanbases that follow them anywhere, on or off the apps.

Today, platforms are a requirement, and the more followers you have, the more likely you are to attract attention from agents and publishers. It’s now common to witness entire careers being launched as a direct result of social media. BookTokers and content creators like Eden Victoria, Kevin Norman, and Tierney Page have landed book deals thanks to the audiences they built online. 

In April of this year, footballer and former reality TV personality Luke Bateman joined BookTok, picked up 100K followers in under a week, and announced a two-book fantasy deal a month later. He didn’t have a manuscript and, reportedly, had never written fiction before. But he had a synopsis, a writing sample, and of course, a fanbase. Bateman’s announcement was met with praise and criticism, but whatever you think of the arrangement, in today’s attention economy, his social media presence was obviously enough.

So what’s next?

Phase 3: The Future

If virality, celebrity, and content creation become the clearest ways in, where does that leave the average writer who just wants to write?

The future will likely include even more competition for attention as TikTok, YouTube, and similar platforms continue to grow. At the same time, short-form video content (15 seconds to 2 minutes) offers an opportunity for authors who can create meaningful, engaging micro-content to stand out. But it has to be authentic and original. “Buy my book” posts, which were never all that effective to begin with, will have to fight even harder for attention against AI-generated content and mass repetition: If it all starts to feel the same, people tune out.

So, how can authors, particularly those already reluctant to engage in social media, stand out?

Create individual, personalized content.
Make something only you can make. Something that reflects your writing, your voice, and your perspective. I’ve seen plenty of TikToks where it’s clear the author wants to be anywhere else but there. It shows. And it doesn’t attract readers, so, again: Be authentic.

My friend, author Margeaux Weston, recently leaned into this type of authenticity with fantastic results. She’s originally from Louisiana and has always been drawn to stories about haints and hoodoo. Inspired by the horror film Sinners, she dusted off a few short story outlines and launched a serialized Substack newsletter called Haintland. The series is steeped in Southern folklore and lived Black experience. It’s deeply atmospheric and uniquely hers. She started sharing teasers in early May and dropped the first episode on May 15. Two months in, she’s picked up over 500 subscribers and even had a post go viral on Threads. Haintland resonates because it’s honest and hard to duplicate.

Create community, not just content.
Before social media turned into a nonstop advertising feed, it was about connection. Reconnecting with old friends. Finding people who liked what you liked. Building little corners of the internet where you belonged.

That energy is returning. Writers and readers are once again carving out niche spaces via newsletters, private Discord groups, and communities like Substack and Beehiiv. This kind of engagement is less about being an influencer and more about being part of something meaningful.

You don’t have to center your community online if offline feels more natural. We’re also seeing a return to in-person gatherings: bookstore events, pop-up salons, retreats, and book club meetups. This demonstrates a micro-creator over macro-influence economy, and I foresee this continuing to grow. 

Choose platforms strategically.
Readers can tell when you’re forcing it. Pick a platform that aligns with your creative style. Hate video? Try newsletters on Substack or Beehiiv. Prefer visuals? Instagram might be your place. And don’t limit yourself to just book promo. Share what you’re reading, your process, the messiness of the writing life, or just life in general: Things that resonate with you will likely resonate with your future readers and fans.

Email lists remain queen.
The algorithm giveth and the algorithm taketh away. Your email list is the one place no algorithm can touch. It’s direct, it’s yours, and it’s still one of the most effective tools for building loyalty and selling books. If you’re not building a list yet, start. Speaking of starting …

The best time to start is now.
Some of you are probably thinking it’s either too early or too late. It’s not. Whether you’re brainstorming your first book or querying your third, the best time to start building your platform is right now. You don’t need to be an expert. You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t even need to be particularly good. Okay, maybe you have to be a little good. But mostly, you just need to show up consistently and authentically. The sooner you start experimenting with what feels natural and sustainable, the more confident you’ll feel when your book is ready to meet readers.

That wraps up this week’s Five On Fridays. Thank you for subscribing and reading. If you found this newsletter helpful, please share it on social media and forward it to your writer friends. Happy writing!

-Grace