SerpApi.Org
A 1992 guide to building sheds and barns has become an unlikely hit.
Thanks to a handful of BookTokers — influencers who review and recommend titles on the platform — Monte Burch’s “How to Build Small Barns & Outbuildings” is having a moment.
Sales of the book, published by Hachette Book Group’s Storey Publishing imprint, recently spiked after creators @onedopepawpaw, @toddcawood and @masked_gamer_ caught on to the title and praised it in viral videos.
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A single 36-second post from @onedopepawpaw alone garnered 1.3 million views, telling viewers “All you guys who want to look like a man to your wife, but you don’t know how to builds–t here’s your step-by-step how-to guide.”
Charlotte Bryla, Hachette Book Group’s director of advertising and social commerce, who manages the publisher’s TikTok Shop business, said their website sold out of its inventory within days of the videos posting and had to restock. She declined to share specific sales figures.
“What has normally been a steady backlist seller for us saw an exciting spike in sales last year when it went viral on TikTok,” she said. “Our buyers have been really responsive to affiliate content.”
The barn building guide is just one example of how BookTokers are reviving surprising backlist titles.
Bryla said Hachette has seen a similar TikTok-related jump in sales for “Sandwich” novelist Catherine Newman’s children’s books “What Can I Say?” and “How to Be a Person.” Though the life-skills titles were published in 2022 and 2020, respectively, both found a place on The New York Times bestseller list for the first time this year.
“Books about crocheting, keeping livestock and other unexpected titles have become popular because of the BookTok community,” Bryla said.
According to data from TikTok, the Big Five publishers — Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Hachette and Simon & Schuster — collectively grew their platform sales by 1,300% year-over-year from the 2024 holiday season to the 2025 season.
Meanwhile, the number of books available on TikTok Shop in the United States swelled to 4.5 million products as of the first quarter of 2026. The hashtag #BookTok had generated 80 million posts globally as of June 1.
For some BookTokers, promoting overlooked and backlist titles brings almost as much satisfaction as the paychecks that come from their widely viewed videos.
“I feel like doing something good for the greater book community,” said Steph Pilavin, 29, a Jersey City resident who runs an online book club, Celestial, where she promotes backlist titles.
