"I'm the problem. It's me," Taylor Swift sings in her smash hit "Anti-Hero" from her latest album "Midnights." But over the weekend, one could have swapped out BookTok as the singer of the song. Or more likely, the publishing industry. They're the problem. It's them.
Someone needs to take responsibility for the strange case of the as of yet untitled — and as of yet unauthored — memoir from Flatiron Books that has an initial purchase order of one million copies. As ET Canada writes, that's "an unusually large number for a book that hasn't even been announced yet."
Swift fans, with the detective work of true crime podcasters, began to find signs of the impending book everywhere.
The rumors about Swift being the author of said memoir began to swirl after a TikTok video from Good Neighbor bookstore posted. The TikTok, which has since been deleted, allegedly "at the request of the publisher," talks about a "non-political" and "fun" book that "skews toward a younger audience." The TikTok also mentions a recent social media post from Swift that includes the phrase "dear reader." Which . . . also happens to be a song title on one of the editions of Swift's "Midnights."
What's a book fan to do? If that reader is also a Swift fan, apparently start pre-ordering this mystery memoir in record numbers, despite the fact that the publisher has neither confirmed nor denied it's by Swift (or named anyone as the writer at all). It's now the No.1 book on Amazon in the Photography & Video category. Does this memoir grab illustrate the power of Swift — or of BookTok — or the desperation of the publishing industry? Is it genius or unethical to accept pre-order money for a book which has no listed author yet? Or is it simply the latest in our culture of scams and swindlers?
After the TikTok from Good Neighbor went viral, some Swift fans, with the devotion and detective work of true crime podcasters, began to find signs of the impending book everywhere. It was not simply the "dear reader" remark and title, it was the numbers game. The untitled memoir is to be released on July 9, which Swift referenced in her social media post. That falls on a Sunday, and books, especially by traditional publishers, are usually released on Tuesday.
Continuing the number theories, the publisher has promised details about the book, including its mystery author, will be revealed on June 13, Swift's lucky number, which she is very public about. As ET Canada writes, "even more tantalizingly, the [TikTok] video also revealed that the mystery book has a length of 544 pages, which is seen [as] a numerological clue, since adding up the numbers reveals that 5+4+4 = 13."
This fervor and flurry of book purchasing could be seen as an example of the power of BookTok.
These number clues both feel like a lot of work to puzzle out, and have the air of hopeful desperation about them, when you want something to be true so badly you're willing to fall prey to magical thinking. Publishing, as an industry, isn't exactly known for being cutting edge or trendy, but many of its marketing employees certainly are young. There would be Swift fans on staff at the publisher, and Swift, as an artist, definitely has enough power to dictate that her hypothetical book should be released on a certain, non-standard day.
But the larger question is who cares? It doesn't matter if the book is by Swift or other notable, likely candidates, including Britney Spears (though her book contract is allegedly with a different publisher). This fervor and flurry of book purchasing could be seen as an example of the power of BookTok. One video launched a thousand (likely, many many more) pre-orders, one video based on a rumor, a feeling and insight one bookseller had.
It reeks of exploitation, particularly the ready acceptance of those pre-orders.
The darker side of it? Perhaps this is an example of manipulation on the part of the industry. Either the publisher knows the book is by Swift and is not saying. Or, they know it's not by Swift and are not saying. Regardless, it reeks of exploitation, particularly the ready acceptance of those pre-orders. Swift has a huge number of young, female fans (teens and kids especially aren't known for having a lot of disposable income). The musician also has a devoted following of queer listeners, many of whom hope Swift is queer too and might come out someday; maybe this book is that day. To give listeners, especially young ones, hope that may be entirely false feels disingenuous.
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Perhaps news was leaked that the book might be by Swift, but once the publishing industry found out about the leak, they had a chance to hold off on pre-orders or to collect that cash. At least Good Neighbor, the bookstore whose video started this avalanche, had the decency to promise if the book is not by Swift they will return pre-order money to fans. Another log in the fire that this is a Swift memoir? At the end of the film "All Too Well," her character is a writer headed to perform a reading of her latest hardcover release. But that book? It's a novel.
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