Photo:Jennifer Trahan; Courtesy of Abrams Books
Jennifer Trahan; Courtesy of Abrams Books
After facing countless rejections for her young adult fantasy novelLightlark, Alex Aster became a #1 bestselling author after turning to an unlikely platform: TikTok.
“I posted the video to social media basically pitching my book to the world, because I truly felt at that point I had nothing to lose,” she tells PEOPLE. “I almost deleted it because I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m proving these publishers right. No one wants to read my book.’ But I luckily left it on, and then the next day it went viral.”
Courtesy of Abrams Books
Nightbane, the highly anticipated sequel, publishes Nov. 7 and tells a story that Aster is “so proud of.”
Aster grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. Her parents co-own the Jacksonville, Fla., car dealership Keith Pierson Toyota, and her twin sister, Daniela, co-founded the mental fitness platformWondermindwithSelena Gomez. Aster, however, has always known that writing was her passion. She began querying agents at age 12, and skipped her college graduation to sign with an agent. Though Aster was already a published author, having released her middle gradeEmblem Islandseries through Sourcebooks Young Readers, she was without representation when queryingLightlark.Aster’s presence on the app set her apart in a number of ways. For one, she utilized social media to make the publishing process more accessible for her followers. She included her fans throughout the book production process, which is usually kept under wraps, and took to TikTok to let them decide which cover to use forLightlark.
“I really wanted to include all of these people that have really made it possible for me to be published in this way throughout everything,” Aster says of her push for complete transparency.Lightlark’s publisher, Abrams, has been supportive of the decision from the start.
Aster’s rise to literary stardom has been both inspiring and confounding for users on BookTok, the book community on TikTok. Some people were skeptical of how quickly she received a publishing deal, while others were disappointed that scenes she teased on the app weren’t in the final book (Aster said ina statement to TODAYthat some of those scenes would appear in the book’s special edition or sequel, and reiterated that the publishing process includes cutting scenes.) She also acknowledges how grateful she is for her success, and how TikTok is becoming an accessible app for both authors and readers to promote and find new books.“Publishing has seen that it’s one thing to get views on your videos, and it’s another to sell books,” Aster says. “I think that BookTok, and TikTok in general, has shown that there are these readers who are hungry for these stories.”
DespiteLightlark’s success, or perhaps because of it, Aster admits that it was difficult to jump into writingNightbane,which picks up directly whereLightlarkleft off.“I have never talked about this, [but] I have never had writer’s block in my life before this book,” she says. “It was really tough to start writing this book, just becauseLightlarkhad become more successful than any of us had anticipated, especially myself as someone who was not used to actually having people care about my words or be waiting for my book.”
Alex Aster.Jennifer Trahan
Jennifer Trahan
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.As a Colombian-American author, Aster reiterates that Latin representation has always been an important part of her books. She incorporated Spanish names forLightlarkprotagonists Isla and Oro, and incorporated the myths her grandmother told her into her firstEmblem Islandnovel,Curse of the Night Witch.“There were people in my ancestry that weren’t even allowed to go to college or write at all,” Aster says. “For my family to know that I get to tell these stories and be part of publishing, I know it means a lot to them.” She also notes thatLightlarkwas the first of her books to be translated into Spanish, which made it possible to share her story with relatives who didn’t read English.Aster teases thatNightbaneincludes even more romance, adventure and plot twists, as well as a possibly divisive ending.
“Some people will be very happy with me, other people might be a little bit upset at me,” Aster says. “I can also exclusively share, because I’ve never shared this before, but readers can expect inNightbaneto learn what happened in the year before the events ofLightlark. And people who have readLightlarkwill know what that means.”Aster also wants readers to know that someone’s public successes don’t always show the full story.“Please don’t focus on the highlight reel if you’re working toward something,” she says. “I was a failure for so much longer than I’ve been a bestselling author. Our failures are always so much greater, and it’s just what you do after that failure, if you’re able to get back up and try again.”Nightbaneis available now where books are sold.
source: people.com
