Transfer over Oprah’s Book Club, we have now TikTok.
In case you’re in want of a pick-me-up, one daughter unexpectedly modified her father’s life in a outstanding approach utilizing the facility of social media.
Regardless of having a full-time job as an lawyer, together with three kids, Lloyd Devereux Richards spent 14 years discovering time to pursue his dream of writing a e-book, and one other 11 years attempting to market it.
Gross sales have been sluggish, however he persevered. His daughter observed all his laborious work and shared the story on TikTok — the place it caught the eye of tens of millions.
In a easy 16-second video, she catapulted his e-book to Amazon’s bestseller list.
The video was posted to an account titled “stonemaidens” — the title of Richards’ novel. Within the video, Richards’ daughter reveals that her father
doesn’t even know what TikTok is,” and says she would love to see his e-book get some gross sales.
“My dad spent 14 years writing a e-book. He labored full time and his children got here first,” says the video’s textual content. “However [he] made time for his e-book.”
The video reveals Richards sitting at a desk writing and a fast clip of the e-book cowl, titled Stone Maidens. She added within the caption that the e-book is obtainable on Amazon, and tapped into a couple of communities on TikTok with the hashtags, “#booktok” and “#authorsoftiktok.”
TikTok has been a brand new drive on the earth of e-book gross sales, particularly by means of the hashtag #BookTok, which readers use to debate their favourite authors and books. In 2021 alone, the ‘BookTok’ neighborhood helped authors promote 20 million printed books, in response to a New York Occasions report.
With the assistance of the TikTok neighborhood, Stone Maidens shot to #1 on Amazon’s Serial Killer Thrillers checklist:
In a follow-up, Richards’ daughter captured the emotional second when her father sees the now-viral TikTok and learns of his e-book’s sudden success.
The information of his in a single day fame is visibly overwhelming to Richards, who cried whereas studying the feedback part of his daughter’s TikTok put up. She additionally started to cry, thanking followers for the purchases. “Due to them, you’re primary,” she advised her dad.
Based on the Stone Maiden’s Amazon description, the thriller tells the story of Christine Prusik, the chief forensic anthropologist for the FBI’s Chicago subject workplace. Within the novel, she investigates a serial killer who strangles girls and dumps their our bodies within the ravines of southern Indiana.
Richards says Stone Maidens could have even been impressed by his personal life. His personal writer bio reads, “Lloyd Devereux Richards was born in New York Metropolis and traveled extensively in Europe, Africa, and Central America earlier than attending regulation faculty. He beforehand served as a senior regulation clerk for an Indiana Court docket of Appeals choose, researching and writing drafts for dozens of printed opinions, together with the attraction of a serial killer sentenced to demise.”
The outpouring of affection that Richards acquired is outstanding. One consumer wrote “I’ve by no means ordered one thing so quick in my life” whereas one other added, “the time he took to write down it and every little thing was intentional and purposeful. Nice storyline that retains you on the sting of your seat.”
His daughter added that her father has been “saying thanks all morning.”
“These final couple days, I simply, I can’t perceive it. I really feel blessed” Richards mentioned. He was content material simply having completed the e-book, and sure by no means anticipated to have a bestseller — or tens of millions of recent followers world wide.
His sudden success is a reminder of the facility of perseverance– by no means giving up in your desires. Although he clearly didn’t pursue this challenge with the aim of fame or recognition, the outpouring of affection he acquired is earned, and a real response to his thankless dedication.
Nevertheless, Richards just isn’t letting the newfound success distract him an excessive amount of and he’s already engaged on a sequel to his novel.
