- Katie Siegel is the author of newly published mystery novel, “Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective.”
- Siegel didn’t originally envision the story as a novel, but as a video series for TikTok.
- An editor at Kensington Books saw her videos, and Siegel ended up with a six-figure book deal.
Katie Siegel didn’t get onto TikTok thinking she’d get a book deal.
Writing fiction had been a lifelong dream for Siegel, and as an avid TikTok user, she was well aware of the power of #BookTok — the hashtag and community dedicated to reading on the platform, which had over 160 billion views as of early August. TikTok has been credited with helping generate the highest US print book sales in two decades, reigniting a love for reading among some in younger generations, and forging a string of bestsellers.
But Siegel, now 26, had amassed a TikTok following of over half a million with comedy sketches and other types of scripted content like episodic web series, and for several years, she stuck to that.
“I wasn’t actively pursuing publishing because I had a good thing going on with making videos and hosting on the internet,” Siegel told Insider. “I had that instant gratification. I liked being able to work on something for a very short amount of time and put it out there.”
The only clue she left online about her writing ambitions was a line on her website bio, a simple “I also really want to write a book (or books) someday!”
That line on her website turned out to be crucial for Shannon Plackis, now Siegel’s editor at independent publisher Kensington Books.
In May 2021, Siegel wanted to gauge her audience’s interest in a new web series about Charlotte Illes, a once-kid-detective who unexpectedly finds herself solving a mystery as an adult. She published a one-minute pilot episode that went viral (the video now has over 600,000 views).
Plackis was one of the viewers that day.
“When it came up on my feed, I thought, ‘This would be such a great mystery series,'” Plackis said. “There’s always talk in the publishing world about what young, cool sort of stories can speak to younger mystery readers. I felt like this ticked all those boxes.”
Plackis had no indication the video creator would have any interest in bringing her character to the page. But after perusing her website, she found the line about Siegel’s writing ambitions, and reached out. The two decided to work together on a proposal, and a few months later, Siegel had a six-figure, two-book contract with Kensington Books.
Vida Engstrand, the director of communications at Kensington, said there are no hard and fast rules when calculating debut novel advances, but that Siegel’s pre-existing following on TikTok, as well as the audience interest in the specific video that went viral and the BookTok phenomenon in general were certainly considerations when devising her contract.
Siegel’s first novel, “Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective,” was published in June, and has been described a “rollicking debut” in The New York Times. Siegel even ended up making the web series she originally envisioned, as an “alternate universe” for her main character, she said.
BookTok is powerful, but success can’t be forced
BookTok has taken publishing by storm, and many in the industry, from independent booksellers to the CEO of Barnes and Noble, recognize its power. But success on the platform can’t be engineered. Everyday users and publishers alike depend on the platform’s powerful algorithm.
“It seems like playing the lottery,” author and writing coach Michelle Schusterman told Insider in May.
Siegel was the first and, so far, only author Plackis has found on TikTok. It was serendipitous — Plackis does not actively use the platform for discovery. Still, having a viral video and an audience that’s already engaged in a story can be a predictor of success, though not a guarantee of it.
“Knowing that there are people out there who are already clamoring for this story is always going to be a bonus and a plus,” Plackis said. “But it also has to be a good story. That was obviously still the most important [thing].”
Authors have also discussed the pressure of using TikTok as a means of promotion and becoming “author-preneurs” who do their own marketing. Siegel herself has tried different types of content to publicize her novel, both before and after publication, but said she tries to have realistic expectations.
“I’ve gotten used to the frustration. I have a very large audience on TikTok and more often than not, my videos are not getting shown to the majority of them,” she said. “I think authors and creatives get hung up on the pressure to post that one video that gets a million views and changes their life. But as we’ve seen from my experience, it really just takes one person to see your work and your ideas, see your potential, and give you an opportunity.”
Read the full article here