After 11 years with virtually no sales, he was a father Vermont He’s now a bestselling author — and it’s all thanks to going viral Tik Tok Video posted by his daughter.
In the midst of his career as a lawyer and his role as a father-of-three, Lloyd Devereux Richards took 14 years to complete his passion project: a 343-page serial killer thriller titled Maidens stone. Although Richards spent more than a decade hoping his novel would take off, it never did.
That is, until his daughter, Margaret, posted a TikTok on February 8th encouraging people to buy her father’s novel.
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“My dad spent 14 years writing a book. He worked full time and the kids came first. But Margaret wrote,” she shared a video of her dad with his head buried in papers on his desk.
“He’s very happy even though sales aren’t great,” she continued. “I’d like to get some sales.”
Since the video was posted, her TikTok has been viewed 43.3 million times. with a rush of support, Maidens stone Jump up Amazon Best Seller existing. As of this writing, Richards’ novel is the #4 book on Amazon.
Stone Maidens, originally published in 2012, is a newsletter about an FBI anthropologist who tracks a serial killer who leaves choked victims with a specific calling card: a creepy statue carved out of stone. The novel has a five star rating on Amazon.
Richards may have drawn inspiration from his career as a lawyer. According to his author page on Amazon, Richards has spent many years “search and writing drafts of dozens of published opinions, including a plea for a serial killer who was sentenced to death and then electrocuted.”
His reaction to the news of his best-selling book was less than chilling. In another TikTok, Marguerite shared sweet comments from new readers with her dad, who got emotional.
Although he doesn’t understand TikTok, Richards was moved to tears by the support and kind words. As he wiped away his tears, Richards joked that he was “ready to take a nap.”
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Richards and his daughter, Margaret, celebrated their success with a milkshake.
“These past few days, I just can’t fathom it,” Richards said in another TikTok video. “I feel blessed.”
TikTok has become useful tool For book sales over the past few years. According to the New York Times, the popular hashtag #BookTok helped authors sell 20 million print books in 2021. In 2022, those sales increased by another 50 percent. The outlet claimed that no other social media platform is ever so influential when it comes to book sales.
According to his Amazon author page, Richards is already working on a sequel to Maidens stone.
When Margaret Richards asked if he had any advice for aspiring writers, the novelist had a few words of wisdom: “You write it, rewrite it, and write it again,” he said. “And you never give up.”
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