We’re witnessing in real time how corners of the publishing industry have become akin to fast fashion: pushing out a steady stream of content because they know readers, influenced by social media reviews, will keep buying despite any glaring ethical concerns.
A publisher shouldn’t be comfortable with having an author so openly take inspiration from a subject matter they’re not intimately familiar with. But social media has shifted things.
Mentions of Rebecca Yarros and her books alone have racked up more than a billion views on TikTok, where a subset called BookTok has boosted the popularity of the “romantasy” genre.
So, are books like Iron Flame being driven by a problematic hype machine?
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From Bloomberg Opinion columnist Jessica Karl:
We’re witnessing in real time how corners of the publishing industry have become akin to fast fashion: pushing out a steady stream of content because they know readers, influenced by social media reviews, will keep buying despite any glaring ethical concerns.
A publisher shouldn’t be comfortable with having an author so openly take inspiration from a subject matter they’re not intimately familiar with. But social media has shifted things.
Mentions of Rebecca Yarros and her books alone have racked up more than a billion views on TikTok, where a subset called BookTok has boosted the popularity of the “romantasy” genre.
So, are books like Iron Flame being driven by a problematic hype machine?
[[Column is **not** behind the paywall]](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-08/fourth-wing-and-iron-flame-author-rebecca-yarros-needs-a-reality-check?srnd=opinion)
what subject matter does the book deal with.
me, a random european : nope
Who cares? People are reading. That’s great.