Jessica Mendoza

And the Romantasy genre has grown into a $471 million category. So Penn Cole was able to ride this wave on BookTok. How did you try and build a following or a community on BookTok? What's the secret sauce there?

And the Romantasy genre has grown into a $471 million category. So Penn Cole was able to ride this wave on BookTok. How did you try and build a following or a community on BookTok? What's the secret sauce there?

And the Romantasy genre has grown into a $471 million category. So Penn Cole was able to ride this wave on BookTok. How did you try and build a following or a community on BookTok? What's the secret sauce there?

Penn didn't have all the answers, but she did have a strategy to win over book talk readers. She published the first three books of her four-part series quickly, within a few months, knowing Romantici fans love a good binge. And she used the self-publishing platform on Amazon so Kindle readers could access the book and physical copies could be printed on demand.

Penn didn't have all the answers, but she did have a strategy to win over book talk readers. She published the first three books of her four-part series quickly, within a few months, knowing Romantici fans love a good binge. And she used the self-publishing platform on Amazon so Kindle readers could access the book and physical copies could be printed on demand.

Penn didn't have all the answers, but she did have a strategy to win over book talk readers. She published the first three books of her four-part series quickly, within a few months, knowing Romantici fans love a good binge. And she used the self-publishing platform on Amazon so Kindle readers could access the book and physical copies could be printed on demand.

Penn also posted about once a day on TikTok and other social media platforms. Was there a specific goal you had in mind?

Penn also posted about once a day on TikTok and other social media platforms. Was there a specific goal you had in mind?

Penn also posted about once a day on TikTok and other social media platforms. Was there a specific goal you had in mind?

The video was posted just a few months after Penn released her first book.

The video was posted just a few months after Penn released her first book.

The video was posted just a few months after Penn released her first book.

So Penn refined her strategy. She made sure every post had details like what hashtags to use and a description of her series.

So Penn refined her strategy. She made sure every post had details like what hashtags to use and a description of her series.

So Penn refined her strategy. She made sure every post had details like what hashtags to use and a description of her series.

So all of the time. Eventually, Penn found her footing on TikTok. Readers who were fans of other Romantasy books started picking up on her series.

So all of the time. Eventually, Penn found her footing on TikTok. Readers who were fans of other Romantasy books started picking up on her series.

So all of the time. Eventually, Penn found her footing on TikTok. Readers who were fans of other Romantasy books started picking up on her series.

A lot of this growth came from e-book sales. But Penn felt that if she wanted to get bigger, she needed to actually get her book into bookstores, which is really hard to do without a publisher.

A lot of this growth came from e-book sales. But Penn felt that if she wanted to get bigger, she needed to actually get her book into bookstores, which is really hard to do without a publisher.