Romance author, Tara Eldana stopped by to share her thoughts and experiences with TikTok #authorTok #bookTok marketing and the potential ban. I must admit that I'm shy when it comes to TT, but Tara has opened my eyes to the possibilities of becoming a creator and spreading brand awareness.
SHD: What genres do you write and what are you working on now?
Tara: I write spicy romance, (no closed doors) in contemporary and paranormal genres. Right now I’m working on a story that has been in my head for a while. It’s new to me in that it takes place in 1988, before cell phones and the Internet. It has been fun to write, (missed phone calls, unable to reach someone anytime, anywhere, and no GPS apps). It also features a multi-cultural hero and heroine. The story would not budge out of my head until I started to write it.
SHD: What has been your most viewed TikTok video?
Tara: My TT greatest hit was posted on Feb. 28, 2024. I spent $20 to promote it and got 5,392 views,
397 likes, and 2 new followers. I created this video using Canva Pro. I used a TT-provided song with words. Lately, most of the songs licensed for TT do not contain words. This TT video was posted during a BookBub featured deal of another book in the series. The BookBub featured deal ran in the UK, Canada, and Australia, and this title went up in the Amazon UK rankings. This title also sold on Kobo.
My announcement of a release date for Hotshot Mogul, released Aug. 27 of last year in the Cocky Hero Club series, received 521 views, 19 likes, and 1 new follower. I did not spend any money to promote it. It was not out for pre-order yet, so I can’t quantify any sales. The purpose was to build brand awareness and to connect with readers.
SHD: What genres do you think get the most traction on TikTok?
Tara: I think YA, romance, particularly dark romance and Mafia romance, and fantasy genres (romantasy) get the most traction on TT.
SHD: What software or technology do you recommend for creating content/videos?
Tara: I use Canva Pro. It costs $120 a year. I enjoy creating videos. I had some experience producing videos in my former life as a newspaper reporter. I tried CapCut, but I like Canva better.
SHD: Have you found that TikTok has increased your book sales?
Tara: I think it would be fair to say that it has increased my rankings and helped build brand awareness. I attribute all spikes in rankings for my latest release of Hotshot Mogul to TT. I don’t run paid ads for that title since the prices are static and the publisher controls that. I’ve found that paid advertising works best for me with a .99 price point or free title. I’m wide now with my self-published books, my erotic romance 4-book KinkLink series. It’s harder to get a free title on Amazon. You must make it free in other stores, (Kobo, Google, Barnes & Noble, Apple, etc), and Amazon notices, or you tell them, and they make it free, also, (hopefully).
But I like to remind romance readers and my 1,500-plus TT followers that Hotshot Mogul is available in Kindle Unlimited, in Audible (with voice actors, not virtual voices), and in paperback, too. Also, of the tropes, mistaken identity, time travel, amnesia, and second chance.
SHD: What's your take on the potential ban of TikTok in the US?
Tara: Lawmakers recently passed a foreign aid bill that included a provision requiring Chinese
TT owners to sell their stake within 1 year or be banned in the U.S. If that happens, I think the videos will migrate to YouTube Shorts, Instagram reels, and whatever the next new thing may be. Author’s Guild has sent an open letter urging against banning TT, stating that some authors use TT as a “powerful tool they use to build their careers, connect with readers, and generate significant income.”
I am not sure that had any impact since the TT provision was part of the foreign aid bill. According to a story in the Washington Post on April 24, “the likeliest outcome, then, may be an attempted ban of TikTok and almost certainly courts will have to decide whether a ban violates American’s constitutional rights.” China’s government has previously stated it would “strongly oppose” a forced sale of the app, according to the Post.
To back up my TT videos, I have requested that TT download my data into a file. I also save the videos I create from Canva (before they go to TT) in a file on my desktop. They are also saved in my photos app as TT videos, but I must periodically delete them to free up storage, as I currently post 2 videos every day. Sometimes I recycle content.
SHD: Do you plan to continue using TikTok for future book releases?
Tara: I do for as long as I can.
SHD: When can your readers expect your next release? Can you tell us a little something about it?
Tara: I finished a rock-star romance that has a mashup of tropes, enemies to lovers, mistaken identity, close proximity, surprise baby, and seasoned romance. It’s out on submission. If I decide to self-publish that, I would hope to release that by the end of the year.
I have requested the rights back on some of my backlist titles published with a small, indie publisher that changed owners and changed their focus away from romance. I plan to re-release those in Kindle Unlimited. They are paranormal, (mermaid shifters) and contemporary.
About Tara Eldana:
I am a very recently retired, multi-award-winning staff writer for a weekly community newspaper chain in metro Detroit. I became hooked on romance fiction when my 11th grade English teacher rejected the book report I wrote, saying the book was much too easy for me, and insisted I read and report on Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca." I read Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" that previous summer. After some life-changing health issues, and covering over a dozen murder and criminal sexual conduct trials, I decided to write the kind of stories I like to read, stories with happy endings. I love the romance genre and love letting my characters take control of their stories. I am a member of the Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America. I write under the pen name of Tara Eldana.
Website: https://taraeldana.com/
TikTok: @taraeldana
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