I took the leap. I made a Tiktok account. Apparently it’s what all the hip authors are doing these days. 

It’s going to be a mix of author/writing posts, fantasy and scifi humor, and whatever else pops up. You can find it here: www.tiktok.com/@samuelflemingbooks I might even throw in some dad jokes or something. Apparently, my kids think I can be pretty cringe.

It was either try out Tiktok or pour more money into ads. Here’s hoping there’s still organic discovery available. I’m betting there is. 

I think that’s why I’m liking Tiktok so far, and that’s why I like Reddit so much more than Facebook. There’s still a chance of organically finding new things on Reddit and Tiktok. Facebook pretty much seems pay to play at this point. The only way I can get any traction on a post is to boost it. It doesn’t even seem like people that follow my FB page see much of those posts unless I like a few bucks under it. 

Maybe that’s the natural progression of things. Facebook used to be organic, wholesome—okay, maybe that’s a stretch. But it used to be more genuine. Now, Facebook feels like an obligation. 

I’m not going to get into the merits/detriments of social media or of targeted advertising, but I think there’s something to be said for apps/platforms like Tiktok and Reddit. I’ve found more interesting books and art in the past five years thanks to Reddit, and seen a whole new world of humor and creativity on Tiktok. The best part is that I stumbled on those things naturally. I didn’t even know that I would like China Mieville and weird fantasy as much as I do, or A.I. could be written so captivatingly like in C. Robert Cargill’s Sea of Rust. Or that there was even such a thing as flintlock fantasy: Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage Trilogy.

In many ways, we are living in a second Renaissance. There is so much media to discover—untold stories, books, movies, video games, music… You name the niche and it’s probably got material in it! It’s probably never been a better time to be a creator. 

The only issue is getting eyes on your stuff. There’s so much art out there that standing out is hard. 

And that’s where the magic of advertising and organic discovery comes in. I wholeheartedly believe that there’s a way to stand out from the other noise—it may take work, it may take time, but keep at it and eventually you’ll break through. 

I didn’t expect this to turn into a motivation post, but here we are. 

Share your art. Find your tribe.