According to a report by The Bookseller, 8th Note Press, the book publishing arm of TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, is ceasing operations.

TikTok’s #BookTok community has been a significant driver of book sales, with many publishers and self-published authors achieving unprecedented success after gaining traction on the platform. In 2023, ByteDance decided to venture into book publishing, likely seeing an opportunity to capitalize on the app’s influence on the book market.

However, ByteDance’s publishing endeavor is being discontinued. Despite initially attracting authors with the promise of TikTok-driven sales, 8th Note Press is now informing writers that it will be shutting down and returning their publication rights, as reported by The New York Times.

The reason behind ByteDance’s decision to close 8th Note Press after a relatively short period remains unclear. The company has not provided a comment to TechCrunch or any other outlet, leaving the circumstances surrounding the closure uncertain.