I joined TikTok in my late 60s and survived
When I signed with Regal House Publishing for my second novel in the summer of 2024, I challenged myself to learn the ins and outs of TikTok before my book was published. I heard the platform had a growing book community. Was it true? Could I find readers there? How?
So I set a goal: reach 1,000 followers before publication day—October 27, 2026—because that would allow me to add a link in my bio so people could actually find my work outside the app.
I already had an account, but my reels lacked focus. So, I started making videos about writing, writing tips, personality quirks, anxiety, overthinking, and the narrator of Love and Other Incurable Ailments.
I’ve learned a lot since then.
I’ve learned views are not an indicator of who you’re reaching. I’ve learned honesty and vulnerability go a long way. I’ve learned how to edit—to cut dead space, “ums,” and fluff because people’s attention spans are short. How to add captions to be inclusive. What lighting flatters my face. Which angles work. What filters can do. (Yes, to subtle makeup. No, to fake eyelashes.) I’ve learned how to fix mistakes, and the value of a funny outtake reel.
Most surprisingly, though, I’ve gained confidence.
Somewhere along the way, I stopped worrying so much about how I looked and started concentrating more on the message. (Filmed in soft light from my best angle, of course. I’m not a martyr.)
Please don’t read from your book on TikTok
If you’re thinking about making reels, spend time watching them. Pay attention to what holds your attention and what makes you scroll away. Don’t worry so much about trends, perfection, or gimmicks. Just be yourself. You already have something worth sharing.
But please don’t just sit there and talk. Don’t talk only about your book. And for heaven’s sake, don’t read from your book.
So, what do you do?
When I was a kid, my father used to entice me to ham it up for the camera, accidentally teaching me to enjoy the spotlight. In photos with my husband, Don, I’m usually leaning in, making a face, flinging out a leg, or squeezing him while he stands there calmly with his hands at his sides.
Once he asked me, “Can’t you act normal?”
When in Amsterdam, we had a photo shoot opportunity where we sat on a high beam with a background that made it appear as if we were way up high. We posed politely, then I suddenly decided to “fall” for the second shot. There’s Don, staring straight ahead as if nothing’s happening while his wife flails about.
It’s one of my favorite photos because it’s so completely us.
And that’s the sweet spot I finally found with videos, too.
I made a video about the awful country music at my dentist’s, the time a hunky furnace repairman approached a sale to me by comparing me to his mother (so disappointing), books I’ve loved, books I didn’t finish, the joys of having ADHD (hahaha), being a late bloomer, my book Love and Other Incurable Ailments…
The little account that finally grew. Slowly
I also reached 1000 followers, with intention. I removed followers who clearly weren’t part of the community I wanted to build—the fake doctors, pretend generals, random muscular men, suspicious widowers with young children. I didn’t want inflated numbers. I wanted readers, writers, artists, crafters, and creative people.
I share my TikTok reels on Instagram and Facebook, and I’ve learned that the same video flops on one platform and does well on another. So I don’t sweat low views. I’m happy when a reel reaches 200 views. I don’t want to go viral. (Who wants to be recognized when you’re in sweatpants at the drugstore shopping for hemorrhoid cream?)
What matters most is my core base of followers.
I’m sharing all this because maybe you’re wondering whether learning to make reels is worth the effort. I want you to know that if I can figure this out at my age, so can you.
If I can find my comfort zone, so can you.
If you want to.
If you think you might enjoy it.
Thank you for visiting!
My upcoming novel, Love and Other Incurable Ailments, is about an anxious overthinker whose fixation on a stranger pulls her straight into chaos, heartbreak, and the inconvenient unraveling of her carefully constructed life. Serenity avoids social media. In fact, her therapist insisted she do so.
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