Jessica Mendoza

Leah loves romance so much that in 2016, she and her sister opened up a bookstore devoted to it. It's called The Rip Bodice, and it's got locations in LA and in Brooklyn. The store is full of passionate experts who can help you find pretty much any kind of romance.

Romance has always had its audience, but Leah says that over the last few years, she's seen a surge of interest. At first, it was just a few people coming in with surprising requests.

Romance has always had its audience, but Leah says that over the last few years, she's seen a surge of interest. At first, it was just a few people coming in with surprising requests.

Romance has always had its audience, but Leah says that over the last few years, she's seen a surge of interest. At first, it was just a few people coming in with surprising requests.

TikTok, or specifically BookTok, the part of the platform that's all about books, was pulling in new audiences to romance. And it kept happening. Customers would come in and ask for a book because they'd seen it on TikTok.

TikTok, or specifically BookTok, the part of the platform that's all about books, was pulling in new audiences to romance. And it kept happening. Customers would come in and ask for a book because they'd seen it on TikTok.

TikTok, or specifically BookTok, the part of the platform that's all about books, was pulling in new audiences to romance. And it kept happening. Customers would come in and ask for a book because they'd seen it on TikTok.

Today, people are still showing up at the Rip Bodice because of TikTok. But the influence of BookTok has gone way beyond a single independent bookstore. Since 2020, BookTok has driven major sales, especially in the romance and fantasy genres. In one survey, TikTok found that more than a quarter of its users bought a book or started following an author after watching a video on the platform.

Today, people are still showing up at the Rip Bodice because of TikTok. But the influence of BookTok has gone way beyond a single independent bookstore. Since 2020, BookTok has driven major sales, especially in the romance and fantasy genres. In one survey, TikTok found that more than a quarter of its users bought a book or started following an author after watching a video on the platform.

Today, people are still showing up at the Rip Bodice because of TikTok. But the influence of BookTok has gone way beyond a single independent bookstore. Since 2020, BookTok has driven major sales, especially in the romance and fantasy genres. In one survey, TikTok found that more than a quarter of its users bought a book or started following an author after watching a video on the platform.

And some of the largest publishers in the US are finding new talent, rethinking their strategies, and seeing windfalls from old titles because of TikTok. Authors, influencers, agents, and publishers all told us that today TikTok's fingerprints are all over the book industry. Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza.

And some of the largest publishers in the US are finding new talent, rethinking their strategies, and seeing windfalls from old titles because of TikTok. Authors, influencers, agents, and publishers all told us that today TikTok's fingerprints are all over the book industry. Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza.

And some of the largest publishers in the US are finding new talent, rethinking their strategies, and seeing windfalls from old titles because of TikTok. Authors, influencers, agents, and publishers all told us that today TikTok's fingerprints are all over the book industry. Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza.

Coming up on the show, TikTok and the book industry, a love story. Author Penn Cole reads a lot of different books in the romance genre.

Coming up on the show, TikTok and the book industry, a love story. Author Penn Cole reads a lot of different books in the romance genre.

Coming up on the show, TikTok and the book industry, a love story. Author Penn Cole reads a lot of different books in the romance genre.

It's a whole thing. Penn's own books fall into a genre called romantasy, a combination of romance and fantasy that typically has a few main ingredients. A strong, usually female main character, a love interest who often starts out as an enemy, and then some kind of supernatural element like dragons or sorcerers, or in a lot of cases, fairies. And the plot is usually peppered with spicy sex scenes.

It's a whole thing. Penn's own books fall into a genre called romantasy, a combination of romance and fantasy that typically has a few main ingredients. A strong, usually female main character, a love interest who often starts out as an enemy, and then some kind of supernatural element like dragons or sorcerers, or in a lot of cases, fairies. And the plot is usually peppered with spicy sex scenes.

It's a whole thing. Penn's own books fall into a genre called romantasy, a combination of romance and fantasy that typically has a few main ingredients. A strong, usually female main character, a love interest who often starts out as an enemy, and then some kind of supernatural element like dragons or sorcerers, or in a lot of cases, fairies. And the plot is usually peppered with spicy sex scenes.

It's the kind of novel Penn had dreamed of writing, but she didn't think she could make any money in it.