Create a Scene on TikTok

By “create a scene” on TikTok, I’m not suggesting you do something crazy, although sometimes that can work very well to build followers! 

What I really mean is: What is your book about? Where does it take place? Think about the ways you can show viewers the scenes from your book. 

Here are a few ways this is currently being done on BookTok:

• Some BookTokers will do posts “Convincing you to read books based on their aesthetics.” 

Here’s an example from @darcey_reads:

@darcey_reads

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo aesthetic #booktok #books #favouritebooks #bookaesthetic #sevenhusbandsofevelynhugo #darcey_reads #fypシ #foryoupage

♬ original sound – Alisa

She has a dramatic sound in the background and her video flips through images of Hollywood, the 1950s, a movie theater, glamour, an award, and more. All of these give you the vibes from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Can you apply something like this to your book?

• If your book took place in another country and you’ve been to that country, do you have images you can put together into a montage or videos you can share? 

As I was writing this chapter, I saw this video by Mark Wells (@markwellsauthor) in my feed:

@markwellsauthor

Reader Tour #readersoftiktok #authorsoftiktok #booktok #fantasybooks #urbanfantasy #bookloving #collegeofshadows

♬ Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra

The video is a montage of pictures from a tour of the “College of Shadows” (Cambridge University). He shows 8 photos from his tour and ends with the cover of his book: College of Shadows by Mark Wells. College of Shadows is the first in Wells’ Cambridge Gothic fantasy series which takes place at…Cambridge University.

• If a scene in your book took place in a park or the airport or a cemetery, can you go to a similar location and talk about the scene from your book? Maybe read a portion of that scene in that location.

• Is something about your book similar to a movie or a television show? If so, you could do a video saying “If you liked this…”, show the movie cover, then you’ll love this, and show yourself holding your book.

Here’s a video where BookToker @itsashtaylor does this with movies/shows:

@itsashtaylor

What’s your favorite tv show?? #booktok #booktokfyp #bookrecs #romancebooks #books #bookreview #bookrecommendations #gilmoregirls #outerbanks

♬ dont stop singing red tv –

Text on the screen:

“If you liked this show/movie, read this book”

Then she shows: 

• Outer Banks <—> We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
• Schitt’s Creek <—> It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
• Knives Out <—> The Inheritance Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• Gilmore Girls <—> Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy

Search “if you liked this movie read this book” and you’ll find hundreds of similar examples that may help you come up with ideas.

And here’s a video where @itsashtaylor does this with just books:

@itsashtaylor

comment your current read #booktok #booktokfyp #bookrecs #romancebooks #books #bookreview #bookrecommendations #coho #colleenhoover #thehatinggame

♬ all too well x betty jerryidek – jerry

Text on the screen:

“If you liked this book, read this book”

Then she shows: 

• The Hating Game by Sally Thorne <—> Dating You Hating You by Christina Lauren
• Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey <—> 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne
• Most of All You by Mia Sheridan <—> Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Search “if you liked this book read this book” and, again, you’ll find hundreds of similar examples that may help you come up with ideas.

There are many ways you can create a scene from your book. Get creative and help readers visualize what they’ll experience when they read it.

For more tips, see this post on 19 ways to promote a book on TikTok.