#haley pham

The Publishing World: Influence vs. Integrity

Haley Pham’s Book Reveals a Bigger Issue with the Publishing Industry

Haley Pham recently released a book, and the book community on social media caught on fire. Haley is a YouTuber or “Booktuber” as many followers would call her. In recent years, she has fallen in love with reading and committed her channel with over 3 million subscribers to being a space for reading vlogs, book reviews, and general discussion. She has primarily been a romance reader with interests in fantasy, thrillers, and general fiction.

On March 3rd, she released her debut novel, Just Friends, a second-chance romance about two childhood friends reconnecting later in life after the main character returns to her hometown. (Disclaimer: I did not read the book; this is based on descriptions I found online.) The release of this book sparked a social media storm that had been brewing long before the book was publicly available. One of the earliest reviews came from TikTok user @Ilanaslibrary (Ilana). She got early access to the book through her ARC website, and to say she wasn’t a fan is an understatement. The review detailed the book’s flaws, including writing and general storytelling. The overarching sentiment was that the book was poorly written and suffered from what most modern romance books do: shallow, one-dimensional characters and lacklustre storytelling. Now, Ilana received a mixed response to her review, with some users agreeing with her and sharing the sentiment that Haley only got this deal because she was an influencer. While others labelled the review as bullying and uncalled for.

When the book was officially released to the public, the tides seemed to turn in favour of Ilana’s review. As romance readers and fans of Haley Pham got their hands on the novel and formed their own opinions, many went online to express similar critiques on social media and review sites like Goodreads. Readers echoed Ilana’s points, arguing that the book was poorly written and that Pham likely received the opportunity because of her influencer status. These reviews quickly flooded the online book space, with some arguing that the deal should never have happened. To these users, this was an injustice to real authors who have worked for years to perfect their craft and still don’t have access to the opportunities Pham did despite her minimal experience.

​This online discourse reveals a larger issue within the publishing industry: the conflict between influence and integrity. And this is not a new problem. Would these publishers rather publish a high-quality book by an author with little to no social media following or a poorly written book by an influencer with no real writing credibility? The answer has been waved in our faces many times before. Publishers do not always prioritize quality; they prioritize profit. And they are often willing to sacrifice quality to ensure success.

Many publishers see influencers with a steady following as a business opportunity with guaranteed success, not because they are experienced writers with years of experience, but because they have dedicated fan bases that will treat their books like “merch” and buy them without question. Publishers are comfortable with exploiting this ready-made community and, to some extent, the influencer to make money, because at the end of the day, that is all that matters to these companies, profit.

Now it is important to separate Haley from her publisher in this situation because, at the end of the day, this is not her fault. She got an opportunity to do something that she had dreamed of, and let’s be honest, who wouldn’t take that opportunity? At the end of the day, it is on the publisher, in this case, Atira Books (an associate of Simon and Schuster), as they were the ones who gave the book deal in the first place. They saw her inexperience and threw her into the world of being an author with no consideration for how this could backfire on her. In my opinion, all that mattered to them was profit, and Haley’s platform made her a convenient business opportunity. They did not care about her future as an author or if she was ready for this challenge; they simply approved whatever was put in front of them because she is a popular influencer, and regardless of the quality of the book, it would be a guaranteed success.​

I would like to take a minute to discuss the hard work that goes into writing a quality story that people can immerse themselves in and truly engage with. Many authors spend years perfecting their craft, and many have multiple degrees or self-published works before they are ever considered by a publisher. I am not saying that you have to go through this exact journey to be a good author, but it does take years of dedication and hard work to develop your writing and storytelling abilities to the point where you can create an engaging story with complex characters. These authors deserve recognition, and in many cases, they do not get it because of publishers and their concern with profit over quality books and unique stories.

When publishers choose to platform authors who bypass the process of developing their craft, it contributes to the current state of the book space, where readers complain that “all books are the same story in different fonts” or that “characters are not developed beyond superficial descriptions of their looks and two personality traits.” Fanfiction and watered-down stories from “popular” authors or influencers are pushed into mass production because they are considered “easy to digest” and have a proven track record of success. The focus on profit over quality has fostered an environment where repetition and a lack of individuality are valued, and quality work from authors who have dedicated their lives to their craft struggles to get recognition.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying an easy-to-read story that reminds you of the fanfiction you read in middle school (trust me, we all had a Wattpad phase). However, when publishers exploit this market and saturate the romance genre with predictable, one-dimensional stories, readers become frustrated by the lack of variety. This issue stems from publishers’ focus on profit, often at the expense of both authors and book quality.

Well, besties, it seems as though the era of fast fashion has infected the book space, and I encourage you all to do some research and maybe find authors who are not mainstream. Who knows, you may find a story you love and connect with.

Thank you for reading!

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