My journey into the realm of book reviewing, content creation, and BookTok.

120,000 words…that is the higher end of how many words are in the average adult fiction novel. Reading a book a week brings you to 480,000 words read per month, and in a full year you’d have read 5,760,000 words. This is often the bare minimum work that book reviewers put in when reviewing books as many reviewers read several books a week.

As someone who more recently started reviewing books, my numbers are much less than the average reviewer, but the journey into the book reviewer/content creator world has been an interesting and fun ride. I have been a lifelong reader, but more recently gained an interest in writing my own stories and reviews for the books I read. I write under the name Frank Atlas, which I have used for art based ventures and find that it’s nice to be able to separate my personal identity with the writing and content I create.

As someone searching for a community to be a part of, I found one in readers and BookTok. I am someone who is primarily a very introverted person, and I know that can often be a stereotypical attribute of many readers. So I found connection with people who also fall into the realm of introversion. As I became more involved in the BookTok space a desire to start making content began to build within me.

I started primarily reading the horror genre as that is something that has always been of interest to me, all the ways in which terror can be instilled in a reader, the twists, the turns, everything that makes us feel a sense of fright and dread. Through the exploration of the horror genre I have discovered wonderful authors by the likes of Ania Ahlborn (The Devil Crept In, Brother), Nick Cutter (The Troop, The Deep), and even diving into the extreme horror genre with Aron Beauregard (The Slob, Playground, Nightmare Nirvana). Aron Beauregard in particular was my introduction to indie horror and publishing. I started with his book “The Slob” which is a massively disturbing story of a vacuum saleswoman who is kidnapped by a disgusting and horrifying human being. The descriptions are stomach churning, but the book itself, while incredibly disturbing, is still such a well written story, proving that extreme horror can be just as well written as the more mainstream literary fiction.

One book I read that really solidified my passion to begin taking book reviewing more seriously was “Migrations” by Charlotte McConaghy, a book under the Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction) genre, about a woman who join a commercial fishing boat who is following the migration of the last remaining Arctic Terns. Exploring the themes of climate change and its effects on the world and animals in it as well as diving into themes of grief and mental health.

While traversing these reader spaces I’ve been able to meet some great people from all over the world. All of us have our own unique voices and interests, but the one thing that connects us is our love of reading. To be able to share that with each other and our respective audiences is such a captivating ride, being able to combine something we love while also entertaining and providing insight into books thematically. To be exposed to a spectrum of different viewpoints and insightful musings pertaining to books I have read and want to read has helped me grow as a reader and reviewer.

One challenge I faced as a beginner book reviewer was finding my own unique voice amongst the pool of other reviewers as is still something I’m still working towards, but with that challenge to face it has provided me ample opportunities to try new things. To explore the different approaches to reviewing books, whether it is a more cinematic aesthetic, creating eye-catching visuals while providing an engaging voice over, or a talking head video where it feels more like a conversation with a friend. While balancing wanting to more academically approach literature there is also the challenge of maintaining the joy of reading and not allowing it to become a chore or task that causes distress.

An approach I have had a lot of fun with is introducing comedic elements to the content I create. Combining my love of books and making people laugh in the process is such a fulfilling feeling, and even pursuing this as a fun hobby has allowed me to be introduced to such a variety of different books and independent authors. With developing more of a style and becoming more confident in myself I have also been exploring being an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) reader and reviewer where I receive a digital copy or a physical copy of a book that has yet to be published, in order to read and write a review for it. While I don’t put my primary focus on trying to get ARCs I do enjoy the opportunity to provide my feedback and insight on books before they are released, especially since I tend to have such a shifting mood for the types of books I feel like reading.

In the space of book content creators I am what you would call a “Mood Reader”, which is someone who chooses what to read based upon their mood, and as someone who has a constantly shifting mood this can make the volume of books I read rather large(sometimes up to 13 books at a time!) while others are able to just choose whatever book they want to read next, I essentially have to “feel out the vibe” of the book before picking. At a given time I could be reading a horror book, non fiction, fantasy book, graphic novel, and a romance all at once, but what I do love about being a mood reader is the diversity of stories I’m able to engage with. This has opened me up to many readers who may have a specific genre they prefer, which allows me to be able to engage with a larger audience.

With my book content I primarily make videos for my TikTok, utilize Instagram Reels as well as photographs and post written reviews to my website. By entering the book review space I’ve been able to grow my knowledge in SEO (Search Engine Optimization), keyword optimization, data analytics, content writing, and social media marketing. While becoming more experienced with these skills, I hope to be able to apply them when growing into a career field related to SEO & Marketing as well as content writing, and maybe even one day write a book of my own. As someone who is still finding joy in learning new things and developing new skills to not only help me in my personal life but professionally as well, I look forward to continuing this adventure in book reviews and see where it could take me. Just like the stories in books full of twists and turns, life is also filled with them, and I am excited to face them head on and embrace every new chapter in life.

- F.A.

You can follow my book review journey on my social media accounts and website!

Tiktok frank_atlas

Instagram: frankatlaswrites

Goodreads

Storygraph