We were lucky to catch up with Lacey Wallen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lacey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

When I was a kid, I hated reading with a passion. I couldn’t focus on the story and I found it to be a waste of my time during the summer months. For my first job, I started working at my local library. This helped me be able to see what books were popular at the time and what books got checked out the most.

In late 2016, at 21 years old, I read my first book for fun. It was Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews. This sent me down the rabbit hole of reading. I was finding books that were keeping my focus and flying through them. I was trying to tell my patrons at the library about the books I was reading, but with the clientele, I never got too far. An idea popped in my head as Instagram was really big at the time… “why don’t I create a social media page to discuss?!” So, that’s what I did. I started my Instagram, @laceyslibrary, took pictures, and posted my reviews. It was just for fun and a creative outlet for me. I found that I wasn’t the only account to have this idea, and quickly found myself in the “bookstagram” world. Books are such a niche market, you really target readers and people who are interested in getting into reading. My goal was to share the books that I loved, and hopefully get some readers for the authors out there. I wanted to help these authors!

Lacey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Lacey and I’m the creator of Lacey’s Library! I am almost 30, married and have a crazy but adorable dog named Gavin. I have my Bachelors Degree in Marketing from Rutgers University. At 21, after a lifetime of hating to read, I picked up a book that had a really cute cover. I went into full reading mode, finding books that really piqued my interest. I realized that working with the patrons of my public library that I wanted to have a broader audience of who I wanted to discuss books with! I created my Instagram @laceyslibrary and made my first post on July 10, 2017. I quickly realized that there was an entire book community on there and I started posting my reviews.

I found myself completely immersed in the industry – tracking new releases, making graphics, and getting the ability to work with publishers directly to read books ahead of their publication date. This was truly becoming something that I was using my marketing degree towards. As much as it is just posting, it’s still also a business. I joined multiple reading PA companies to read books and get the name out there. This really helps authors (especially self-published) get their book out there.

If there is one thing I learned about social media and gaining a following, it is to be consistent. Take your pictures or now with TikTok/Instagram Reels, make your videos, edit them and get them posted. Content is content. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to reach your market. I love posting more than just reviews because it sparks a conversation, and that’s what is needed.

I’m most proud of the growth I’ve seen in my socials throughout the years. In the beginning, I was mortified to show my face anywhere on my socials. I didn’t want to be the “girl who always talks about books”. I kept that a secret for a while. I came to realize that people really like to see the face behind the account. It helps make a connection that you’re not a robot, you’re a real person!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that a long break is okay. A break on socials is still okay, but only for a specific amount of time if you really are trying to make this a career. I started posting for fun, but when I realized that I could make money off of this, I really had to change my brain about consistency. For these socials, it’s best to post at the minimum – once a day. A lot of social media algorithms like when you post 2-3 times a day. I took a pretty long break in 2019 and I lost so many followers during that time. People want to see active accounts!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients is having multiple social media platforms. I didn’t find TikTok to be important in the book community all that much until it really took off under “Booktok”. Having a Booktok not only had my following boost on there, but also helped my Instagram following. When publishers / authors are looking for someone to collaborate with, they look for follower count a lot of the time.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laceyslibrary
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@laceyslibrary?_t=ZT-8ug6074Hptu&_r=1