From high school rivalry romance to slow-burn Chinese historical fantasy, Ann Liang has successfully captured the hearts of many young adult [YA] readers since her 2022 debut with her quirky yet heartfelt stories focusing on Asian characters and their journeys. But has one ever wondered what it's like behind the scenes of a New York Times Best Seller author? Many imagine cozy days of writing with ideas flowing effortlessly as if each plot twist and joke reference magically appears with just a sip of tea and a deep sigh. But did you know that writing is just one part of the many roles an author takes on to bring their stories to life? From editing to choosing book cover designs, Liang finds herself with increasing external pressure to meet expectations as her stories grow in popularity. Liang has to juggle numerous tasks as she prepares the launch of her new books, and one of those tasks is marketing. So how did she do it? From an ambitious writer studying Arts at the University of Melbourne to a now fan-favourite YA author, how did social media and personal branding influence her success today? 
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Launching Your Social Media Marketing Journey From Ground Zero

In our digital generation dominated by Generation Z, digital content is one of the most consumed and influential mediums, shaping trends, culture, and communication worldwide. For many businesses, not incorporating e-commerce and digital marketing is seen as a missed opportunity in today's competitive industries. With over 76 thousand followers on Instagram and 61 thousand followers on TikTok, many may think the underlying success of Liang’s works may have been from her strong social media presence. But for Liang, her social media marketing journey started with a small following when her contract was finalised with her agent for her debut novel If You Could See the Sun. Liang emphasised Goodreads as a hugely important platform for authors after her official book deal announcement in Publisher Weekly, a trade publication. 
 

Goodreads is the largest book review platform, where readers discover new titles, share reviews and rate their reads. “At that time, we didn't have preorder links yet, but having people add it on Goodreads, that's something that your publishers will keep track of. There are basically all of these metrics to determine your performance, and so Goodreads is one of the platforms that’s heavily emphasised.” Liang states. 

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Liang initially began marketing her work on Instagram. About six months before the release of If You Could See the Sun, she expanded her marketing to TikTok, where she actively engaged with a new online community to promote her novel and connect with readers. “It was definitely a learning curve because at the time I wasn’t on TikTok at all. I started the account purely as an author account, so I needed a while to observe what other authors were doing and look at how videos were made and formatted, because every single social media platform has its own kind of culture. Right?” Liang further discussed the significance of immersing in TikTok to stay relevant and connect with new audiences. “You can only understand it once you’re in it. So I just scrolled and saved videos trying to find inspiration and figuring out how I wanted to present my videos.” 
 

Capitalising on the BookTok Wave

When Liang first created content for TikTok, BookTok was an emerging topic where readers connected through their mutual reading hobbies. BookTok content has gained widespread popularity where book recommendations, fan edits and review discussions were made. YA fiction authors thrived on TikTok due to the platform’s user base primarily consisting of young adults. 
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Liang felt the need to self-promote to reach more readers, which prompted her to seize the BookTok opportunity and create TikTok content about her story. “It was a really lovely and inviting community, and I was really, really blown away by how supportive people were, especially because I didn’t have the biggest and splashiest deal for If You Could See the Sun.” Liang’s efforts to promote her debut novel on social media attracted many new readers for her work and helped build her book community, “A lot of people initially found If You Could See the Sun through some of my TikTok videos and Instagram posts. And from there on, there was really, really wonderful word-of-mouth, which was not within my control and I’m just really grateful for it.”
 

Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and other social media platforms have different communication styles. For Liang, finding the right platform is important when reaching her intended audience. “I’ve never been active on Twitter, which is kind of ironic because I am a writer but I could never think of what to tweet.” Liang further discussed the ideal content she wished to create when promoting her titles, “When it comes to TikToks, there’s a certain type of content I find myself drawn to. I was making content I would have liked to watch as someone scrolling on their phone.” Moreover, Liang emphasised the significance of “authenticity and earnestness” in social media. “That goes hand in hand with sincerity because you don’t want to (be) doing things semi-ironically or holding yourself back and being super self-conscious. Because I feel like that comes through in what you're talking about which affects the presentation of your content.” 
 

Liang organised her content ideas into her notes app when planning her videos. However, she highlighted the need to execute the ideas in a timely manner when uploading content on short-form video platforms like TikTok. Trends can be difficult to predict and don’t last for prolonged periods. “If you take two weeks to make that, it’ll be over already. So you have to also be really flexible and react quickly to that.” Liang depicted it as her “Promo Brain” where there’s a part of her brain that’s responsible for marketing, which works differently to the writer part of the brain. “Social media is interactive and you are getting so much real-time feedback. Whereas with writing, I write best when I am isolated and really immersed in the story, and so social media can sometimes disrupt that process of immersion.” 
 

The Balancing Act: Should Social Media Promotion be Prioritised Over Your Work?

Measuring the impact of your content is challenging. Liang claimed this to be a struggle for many authors today. “It’s hard because you can’t really do A/B testing with this, there’s no alternate world and I wish there were different realities where you can compare your sales when you do not promote the book at all and when you do promote the book.” Liang further discussed the way many authors feel pressured to promote their work through social media as content creation has become a crucial component of marketing across not only the publishing industry but also a multitude of disciplines. “Musicians, songwriters, everyone is out there trying to get views and draw people’s attention to what they’re doing” Liang said “I know a lot of authors would like to maybe do less of the promotion, because honestly, marketing a book is kind of its own full-time job.”
 

Liang seeks to find a balance in energy investment between writing her book and promoting her existing books. As the engagement of social media isn’t always guaranteed, there are no definitive answers towards how much energy input one should delegate towards content creation. “And especially things like changes in the algorithm, there are just so many factors outside of your control.” Liang mentioned. “The current mentality a lot of writers have is that it’s better to have something than nothing. At least if I’m on social media, maybe someone will see it and buy the book.” 

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Despite the uncertain external factors of social media marketing, Liang continued to build her social media presence and self-promote her stories. Ultimately, her efforts allowed her to gradually build her online community and increase the readership of her work. This pathway also brought Liang recognition from publishers, bringing an advantage to her future book deals. “I’ve had more opportunities come about because of how my books are doing on social media. So, there are tangible results that you see from that.” Liang‘s book I Hope This Doesn’t Find You is one of her most well-received titles by the targeted social media community, nominated on Goodreads for Reader’s Favourite YA fiction. Many were captivated by the slow-burn and academic rivalry to lovers' trope. Moreover, the title has touched on many themes that young adults today resonate with, such as vulnerability, perfectionism, and being truly seen by those around you.
 

Asian Representation in Media and Marketing

A unique branding of Liang’s writing lies in her focus on the Asian representation of her stories. Many of Liang’s books revolve around Asian characters and narratives, as she seamlessly weaves their experiences into the heart of her storytelling. Liang’s stories often resonate deeply with readers who share similar upbringings to her characters, offering a sense of validation of readers’ own experiences as they live vicariously through her characters. 
 

In today’s generation, diversity, inclusion and representations are emphasised topics. Incorporating culture and identities into pieces of work encourages a sense of unity and exposure to a larger demographic of the audience, making it a widely used marketing approach across various industries. This explains the success of Liang’s work, as her stories dive into different settings and lifestyles that reflect her own multicultural experiences, such as her experiences of growing up in China and Australia, creating an authentic transference of cultural perspectives. “It all comes back to why I want to write books in the first place. I would never want to write a book that doesn’t feel true to me and what I care about most in my own life. So I knew when I was writing my debut book that’s set at a Beijing International School, I was like okay, this is not a setting that is super common and I don’t know how people will respond” Liang said, “But then it’s like, I wouldn’t ever not write a book about Asian characters just because I was concerned about the reception.”

 

When crafting a story, Liang cares deeply about the authenticity of her work that reflects her personal core beliefs. “I feel like you should write a book that you care deeply about. I really care about those characters and I didn’t want to dilute or erase any parts of their cultural identity.” Liang's writing process is similar to creating a “diary entry”, employing a personal, authentic and introspective style. “I don’t know if it’s almost naive, but a part of me always believes that sincerely producing art will allow you to reach the people that you want to reach. You do have to think about things like sales, marketing and branding, but I never want that to be my priority where it overshadows the heart of the work I am creating.”
 

Liang highlighted her willingness to embrace risk in the publications industry, where she mentioned how existing Asian American authors had allowed her to take the leap of faith in publishing Asian characters-centred stories. “They were releasing books and movies with all Asian casts, and just being able to see it and know that it was possible was just so inspiring” Liang discussed, “I don’t think my books would have been published if it weren’t for the success and hard work of these other authors who paved the way.”
 

Liang’s stories revolve around the genre of romance. She further explained the importance of Asian representation in stories and media, “This is very specific to romance books because that’s the kind of book that I’ve been releasing so far. I feel like when you grow up and you don’t see yourself as the main character, it can make you feel like you won’t get to have that in real life.” Liang portrayed art and reality as deeply interconnected, reflecting and influencing one another. “When the girl who all the guys fall in love with has a completely different look and lifestyle from you, it makes you feel like you won’t get to have that kind of love story. Now that we’re getting all these romances with Asian female leads, people recognise their beauty and the incredible things about them. I feel like that is comforting and affirming, and there’s a kind of joy in being able to relate to this character.”
 

You don’t always get to choose your Personal Brand

Personal branding is a powerful tool that enables individuals to stand out, embodying the unique traits and personalities that instantly come to mind when one’s name is mentioned. For Liang, it is her heart-stopping romance stories—though surprisingly, this wasn’t the branding she initially envisioned when publishing her debut novel, If You Could See the Sun. Like many authors, Liang entered the industry without a clearly defined personal brand, focusing instead on her craft and the story she wanted to tell. “As soon as you have that first book, people will kind of have their expectations based off of what they’ve seen from you.” Liang states “In terms of branding, it was never like I sat down and told myself, oh, this is what my brand is going to be. It’s something that really takes shape over time.” 

 

At the beginning of Liang’s writing career, she didn’t consider herself a romance writer at all, but when she first submitted If You Could See the Sun to publishers, many highlighted the fact that romance was their favourite part of the book. “During the editing stage, my editor actually told me to add in more romance scenes. Right now, I would still call the romance in it a subplot, but it’s already double what it was initially, where Henry Li the love interest in the story wasn’t even featured in that many scenes.” Liang states, “Interestingly enough, a lot of people know that book because of the romance at the heart of it.” 
 

Liang also emphasised the importance of direct feedback from her editors and readers, “[The romance] is something people are interested in and want more of. It was only because I received that positive feedback that I decided to try writing a rom-com because that was not within my plans at all.” And thus, Liang’s second publication This Time is Real was born as a direct response to her readers’ positive feedback, encouraging her to craft a stronger romance-centred narrative. 

Moreover, publishers have more power over what reaches the market. Their predictions towards shifts in market trends and preferences are often a primary determinant of whether a book gets published. “There are also books you don’t see on the shelves because it may not be the right time for it in the market. At least in traditional publishing, if your publisher doesn't want to publish it, you don’t really get a say in that.” Liang further discussed the publication process and depicted it as a team effort, where many talented individuals in different departments worked with her to make continuous improvements before launching the book. But what about the influence of her readers' opinions during the story-writing process?
 

The Delayed Loop of Feedback

When reading book reviews on Goodreads, 5-star reviews are a no-shocker, but so are criticisms and feedback. The discussions never stop, whether it’s about the plot twists, character development, or the underlying themes that resonate with readers. Sometimes constructive feedback is exactly what writers need to make adjustments to improve their work, but if that’s the case, why do readers feel that writers still fall short in their consequent publications? Significantly, many readers overlook the time lag between their feedback and the author’s ability to address it. Like many authors, Liang also has to face the challenge of delayed feedback loops.
 

“I always hope to keep improving as a writer. Let’s say the book they’re reading is something I wrote two years ago, so then I would have already grown as a writer since that book was first written. But then, let's say they give me feedback on that book that’s applicable to future works, and I were to action that. They’re not gonna see the result of that until 2 years later.” Liang explained how the non-sequential publication process contributes to delays in addressing the constructive feedback she receives. “I'm trying to incorporate the feedback that I'm getting now into my upcoming books, but people aren't going to see them until 2026 and 2027.” 
 

This challenge burdens the creation of publications that respond effectively and promptly to market demands, often leading to missed opportunities and struggles for many writers. “I’m sure that people will have their thoughts and constructive criticism, but I’m not going to be able to do anything about that until the next book.” Liang said. “It’s all part of the process of growing as a writer, you can’t just expect all your work to be perfect, or else you’re not going to have anything.” Despite the challenges of delayed feedback, Liang’s approach when faced with criticism highlights how marketing is more critical to bridge the gap between publication and reception. Liang communicates her growth and future directions through activities such as social media Q&As to bring transparency and deeper connections with her readers. This interpersonal marketing approach helped Liang build a loyal fanbase. Ultimately, to Liang, the overarching goal of creating art is not immediate perfection, but continuous improvement and joy in the creative process. Each and every title is a stepping stone in Liang’s writing journey.
 

Concluding Words

Being a writer is about more than just the writing. It’s about connecting with readers, embracing feedback, and staying true to your roots. Liang’s stories have a much-needed representation of the Asian community in today’s YA fiction, while her navigation through content creation and social media marketing brought the community closer together as a whole. Liang’s success in the publications industry proves that genuine storytelling transcends trends, reminding us that seeing ourselves in stories is powerful—and a little bit magical.