How has your experience on Instagram been?

[Dimaeiya333]

I was hesitant [to go on Instagram] because I didn't want to stress myself out trying to work on two platforms. I started posting on Instagram Reels and it just didn't work, nobody was watching them. But then one video took off, then the next, and it just kept going. I grew that community in a matter of months, which was crazy.

What I've found is that I like Instagram a little bit more than TikTok, solely because it's easier to engage with the community that you build on a daily basis through stories, texts, and polls. It's easier to build a community, whereas on TikTok you're always sending to new people, so there's always new people seeing your content, which makes it harder to build a community.

Do you notice any differences between TikTok and Instagram communities?
There are a lot more Gen Z people on TikTok , and there are a lot more millennials on Instagram. In my experience, the Instagram community is more positive, whereas on TikTok people always want to have an opinion on something. On TikTok you can get really rude comments, which I've never gotten on Instagram. It's interesting to see that dynamic.

How do you deal with haters?
The content I make for myself is usually a hate-free zone . But when I do sponsorships and paid ads, I send them to God knows who. I got a comment on one of my queer book promotion videos today that said, “How do I block this stuff?” It only happens to me when it comes to ads. Most of the time I don’t look—it doesn’t help at all. There was one really bad experience where I heard it. For a while, I was censoring words so that if people said certain things, their comment wouldn’t show up. People could still comment, but I didn’t have to see them. That way people have the satisfaction of saying whatever hateful thing they want, and I get protected from having to see it.

How is the ecosystem around books developing on social media?
What really helped was the pandemic, because a lot of people stayed home and turned to reading and social media. On social media, they see people talking about books and they get passionate about them. It started to grow over time. It was a perfect mix of what was happening in the world, this new platform, and past hobbies coming together.

There's more and more content now. It's interesting because before, books were always nerdy stuff or not cool . Now it's trendy because people see it on social media and I think people are more comfortable saying, "Oh, I l vp design officers email database ove to read too, let me create some content." It's going to continue to grow.

How many books do you read a week? Do you feel pressure to read and publish a lot?
It’s hard. I don’t think I read as much as other creators. I’m also a very slow reader. I have a trick: I listen to audiobooks and read along with the physical book because it helps me focus. I feel a lot of pressure to read certain books that I might not be interested in just so I can participate in conversations and create content. It’s weird because sometimes I feel guilty about sitting down to read, because I feel like I should be brainstorming content or filming or researching. I have to remind myself that reading is part of my job . It’s okay to take time to sit down. It’s not wasted time. Sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my head around that.

How do you select your readings?
Publishers ask me if I want to endorse a book and offer me a brand deal. I usually say yes because they are books I agree with. They have an idea of ​​what I like to read based on my content. I get a lot of queer books, which is great. If a book is really popular—there’s a book called Fourth Wing right now that everyone’s talking about—I get an advance for that book and put it on the back burner because they send me a lot of books. It was interesting to see that book blow up, which made me want to read it so I could join the conversation and understand what all the hype is about. Of course, it was a book with a premise that I definitely would have read, but it wasn’t at the top of my radar until everyone started talking about it.