An author who took his fantasy novel online because he thought ‘no one would print it’ talks about his shock when it becomes a bestseller after fans on TikTok spark a six-figure war
- Olivia Blake, 33, became a TikTok literary sensation after self-publishing a novel.
- A California writer sparked a publishing war with The Atlas Six.
- The novel, the first in a trilogy, is now available in UK hardcover and has topped the fiction bestseller charts.
The author described how she went from self-publishing a book that she felt was not widely popular to top of the best-seller list after TikTok users loved her novel so much that publishers snapped it up.
Olivia Blake, who lives in California, says she still can’t comprehend the success of her book Atlas Six, which hit the ground running after a publishing war.
The fantasy novel quickly amassed over 20 million views among book lovers on TikTok and is currently at the top of The Sunday Times Fiction bestseller list, just a week after its UK hardcover release.
She told The Sunday Times, “It’s completely impossible for me to think it all through.”
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Olivia Blake, 33, from California sparked a publishing war when she posted her fantasy novel online.
Olivia Blake is the pseudonym of California-based writer Alexen Farol Fallmuth, who said she couldn’t predict the reaction to her novel.
The author, who self-published the book two years ago, says she had no idea that her book would appeal to a wide range of readers, and did not even think about contacting a publisher.
Thanks to social media, she didn’t have to – seven leading publishers approached her to apply for the book last September – and Pan Macmillan paid six figures.
British publishers described Olivia’s novel as “the must-read fantasy novel of the year on TikTok”.
On March 3, a British publisher published the novel under their Tor Imprint label for fantasy and science fiction.
TikTok has shed light on unpublished creators – thanks to a part of the platform known as “BookTok” that has attracted 43 billion visits since it became popular.
The novel The Atlas Six was won by British publishing house Pan Macmillan for six figures, published under its Tor imprint for fantasy and science on March 3rd.
Amazon has acquired the film rights to the series and is developing it with Brightstar, the production company founded by The Crown producer Tanya Segachian and Cold War producer John Woodward.
The plot of Atlas Six follows a group of ambitious magicians who compete for positions in a secret society in London that guards the knowledge of ancient civilizations.
The 33-year-old writer — real name Alexyn Farol Fallmuth — has contributed to fanfiction websites, written new stories about characters from other writers’ books, and self-published several other largely ignored novels.
Alexin took her pseudonym from a randomly generated name that misspelled Olivia; but she liked Olivia’s sound much more.
Atlas Six quickly attracted millions of TikTok views, with Olivia saying it was a “really weird experience” that she “didn’t fully understand.”
The book is only the first in a planned trilogy, and the next volume, The Atlas Paradox, is due out in October.
Moving from one force to another, Amazon has acquired the film rights to the series and is developing it with Brightstar, the production company founded by The Crown producer Tanya Segachian and Cold War producer John Woodward.
Bella Pagan, director of publishing at Tor UK, described the plot of Atlas Six as “one of those classic storylines where people compete for space and there’s a Lord of the Flies element where people form shifting alliances against each other.”
Reviews posted on the Waterstones and Goodreads websites are mostly free of charge.
One reader said the book was “incredibly entertaining and voraciously challenging.”
However, others complained that the book was “overhyped” and that the characters were annoying.
Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (Pan Macmillan) £15.29