Until recently, I had been part of the book blogosphere for the better part of six years. Online communities may not have the best of reputations, but the book community is one of the friendliest, most inclusive and tolerant. 

However, whenever anyone with a platform announces their book deal, Book Twitter is up in arms, interrogating whether said person is truly deserving or seizing opportunities from hardworking writers. Now, I’ve read my fair share of books by influencers, and I do understand the frustration. We’ve all seen them: the memoirs by 16-year-old YouTubers littered with typos; the suspiciously large font; the poetry collections where an entire poem reads “Link … in bio” and the 100 page dramatic photoshoots accompanied by 500 words. Many simply side-eye all of this and move on, after all, these books would likely exist irrespective of whether they came from the latest TikTok star. But there is still an underlying resentment for people being awarded book deals seemingly for who they are online rather than their writing prowess or the value their books would bring to readers.