Less than two months ago, in his first-ever TikTok video, Luke Bateman spoke to the camera from a truck in Toowoomba. The former NRL player, who also appeared on the 2023 season of The Bachelor, and who now works as a tree-logger, smiled and greeted the “BookTok” community, saying that he’s loved reading his entire life.
“I’ve never really had anywhere to talk about it or share those things,” he says, “… cause obviously being a male in a lot of blue-collar work”. Bateman said he hoped to speak to like-minded people about the stories he loves – fantasy, in particular – and find recommendations.
For the unfamiliar, the BookTok community first boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when readers started to use TikTok to discuss their favourite books and authors. Colleen Hoover, for example, found herself on the New York Times bestseller list after her novel, It Ends With Us, gained traction via BookTok.
To date, the BookTok hashtag has hundreds of billions of views and tens of millions of posts. It has also reshaped the publishing industry. Naturally, brands, publishers and authors have pivoted to focus on infiltrating the space as part of their marketing campaigns in the hope of going viral and seeing sales skyrocket.
Bateman’s first post quickly racked up 2 million views and within weeks, the former footy star had become a poster child for BookTok, amassing 150,000 followers and launching a book club with close to 6000 members.
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Then in late May, Bateman posted something a little different. Trading in the front seat of his truck for a cosy room in front of a bookcase, he announced that he’d signed a two-book deal with Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Australia. “It’s a childhood dream come true,” he said. “I’ve wanted to be an author my entire life.” He became emotional, thanking the community for giving him the opportunity “to put my heart on the page for all of you”.
But as is often the way with social media, it didn’t take long for the tide to turn.
“This is literally enraging. Absolutely unbelievable.”
