TikTok in the UK is now selling books directly through TikTok—which isn’t a surprise, given TikTok’s recent investment in fulfillment centers and its efforts to compete against Amazon and others. So far TikTok’s book partners include HarperCollins UK, WHSmith, Bloomsbury, and BookShop. Some avid TikTok users say that while it’s a nice development, many books they recommend are not available yet in the TikTok bookshop.
Note that this direct sales feature differs from the recent announcement of Penguin Random House’s exclusive TikTok partnership, which allows US and UK TikTok users to link to PRH books in their video captions.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
