Author from Texas was feeling ‘super defeated.’ Then a TikTok changed his career
A chance encounter in a Fort Worth Kroger helped dramatically boost the career of one struggling author.
Arlington author Shawn Warner was busy promoting his novel “Leigh Howard and the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor” inside the grocery store when Jarrad Swearenjin took notice, WFAA reported.
“This new author seemed super defeated when I first walked past him,” the caption on Swearenjin’s July 2 TikTok video reads. “So before I left the store I decided to go back.”
Swearenjin ended up purchasing a couple of signed copies, even though he said he doesn’t “read books nowadays” on TikTok.
“It’s about a teenage girl who teams up with a ghost of multiple personalities to solve the mystery of her parents’ murder,” Warner said in the video when asked about the plot of the story.
And then something happened.
The video since has had over 17 million views, 3 million likes, and over 21,000 comments, and has been shared over 20,400 times on the social media site, which helped push Warner’s book straight to the No. 1 best-seller spot on Amazon.
The attention hasn’t stopped, Swearenjin told WFAA. “I can barely open the app without it freezing and crashing because it’s getting so much love.”
The love on the TikTok video is pouring in as well.
“He was filled with pure joy when you asked him to sign the book,” one poster on TikTok said.
“A ghost with multiple personality issues sold it for me,” another said.
“He seemed so down. his face completely changed after you guys went up to him,” someone commented.
“As a new author myself, I can only hope for this kind of support! thank you for doing that. I’m going to go get his book,” one person said.
“I’m an audiobook narrator and producer and I’m reaching out to him right now. I would love to help create an audiobook for him!” another commented.
Warner even recorded his response to all the positive attention.
“I’m in shock, I don’t even know what to say at the moment,” Warner said in a TikTok video that now has over 355,000 likes. He also went on to say that he doesn’t know exactly where his next book signing is going to be, but it will take place in Dallas.
This story was originally published July 6, 2023 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Author from Texas was feeling ‘super defeated.’ Then a TikTok changed his career."