CAROLINE PECKHAM and Susanne Valenti prove the power of BookTok.
Ever since they were little girls, the sisters dreamed of becoming authors. But like many aspiring writers, their manuscripts were rejected by dozens of publishers.
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Thanks to TikTok, they are now best-selling authors, with 2.8 million copies of their books sold and 2 billion reads on Kindle Unlimited.
The hashtag for their novel series, Zodiac Academy, has been viewed 251 million times and they’ve been nominated for BookTok Breakthrough Author of the Year.
Mother of two Susanne, 37, says: “As little girls, all we wanted to do was write. We tried to get into publishing the traditional way, sending manuscripts to agents, and only got rejections.”
The sisters decided to take matters into their own hands. At first they only wrote material and published books separately under their own management.
But during lockdown they started writing together from their parents’ garden shed, while also working in the family cattery business.
‘We work so well together’
They completed the first book in their Zodiac Academy series – hailed by fans as a grown-up Harry Potter – and created a TikTok account to promote it.
“Covid had a huge impact because everyone was reading so much,” says Susanne. “We started writing the Zodiac Academy series together and made a TikTok account and it just took off.”
So far, the sisters have self-published eight books in the series, and last year six publishers offered them deals, all of which they turned down.
“It is important that we publish the books that we want to publish. We do not want anyone else to dictate to us,” says Susanne.
Instead, the sisters opted to enter into a distribution deal with Simon & Schuster, retaining the rights to the books.
“We edit each other’s chapters and have proofreaders to check for errors,” Susanne adds.
“We have learned so much and want to remain independent. The company is growing slowly and they are also hiring assistants and consultants to help.”
Caroline, 34, tells of their incredible journey: “At one point there was a $2 million deal on the table, but we said no because we wanted to continue doing things our own way.”
While the couple used to rely on work in their parents’ cattery, they now earn enough from writing to take a step back – and allow their parents to retire.
We have learned so much and want to remain independent
Susanne says: “We were able to allow our parents to retire and my husband quit his job as a mechanic and is busy renovating our dream home.”
The women still write from their parents’ garden. “I like that I am there for my children so much,” says Susanne.
“They might be working in the garden room, but I know they are in the garden with their grandma. That is really lovely for me.”
‘Real writing powerhouses’
The sisters are true writers and can, if necessary, write an entire book in a month.
Caroline says: “What we enjoy most is the writing itself. The business part is necessary, but writing stories is all we’ve ever wanted to do.
“We work so well together, and disappearing into a cave to write a new part is the best thing ever.”
- The BookTok Awards will be presented on Thursday, July 25.
