BookTok Sparks a Backlist Boom, Reviving Old Guides

Viral BookTok videos are reviving overlooked backlist titles—like Monte Burch’s 1992 barn-building manual and Catherine Newman’s What Can I Say? and How to Be a Person—driving sales spikes, restocks, and even first-time NYT appearances; Big Five publishers report 1,300% YoY growth in platform sales, and TikTok Shop now lists 4.5 million products with BookTok posts totaling about 80 million.