In the last couple of years, Colleen Hoover’s romance and YA books have made it to nearly all bestseller lists. Here’s all you need to know about the author’s mega-success.
Colleen Hoover and her literary mega hits
Colleen Hoover’s literary career began with a romance novel dedicated to her mother as a Christmas present. Her Instagram bio reads, “I don’t get it either,” perhaps as a reference to her literary career’s phenomenal success. Her ability to use social media for reeling in readers is a huge part of her success. If you are a reader or on social media, there is a huge chance that you have come across CoHo fever, Her works may also be on your #TBR (to be read) list.
Colleen Hoover is also known as CoHo among her fans. Thanks to the dizzying popularity of her books, she is reaching the top of the commercial publishing world. The 42-year-old Texan author’s works are a mix of romance and Young Adult (YA) themes. Her 2016 book ‘It Ends With Us’ has been on The New York Times bestseller list for the last 62 weeks. Additionally, ‘Ugly Love’ (2014) and ‘Verity’ (2018) have been on it for 32 and 37 weeks, respectively.
From social worker to NYT bestselling author
Hoover, a mother of three living in east Texas was a social worker and nutritional counselor before dabbling with words. Her first YA novel titled ‘Slammed’ was a self-published book that made its way to commercial success. Since 2012, she has written over 20 novels in addition to short stories and novellas. After publishing her first book, she jumped into the BookTube community on YouTube for interacting with readers. She organized various giveaways and started something new in an industry heavily reliant on traditional marketing methods. However, connecting with book bloggers and social media users was a turning point in her career.
When Instagram became more popular, Hoover went on to #bookstagram, sharing snippets of her journey, writing, and family. As an avid TikToker, especially since the pandemic, she is a #BookTok favorite. Her CoHort is mostly made up of young women between the ages of 18 to 24 and who share several videos professing their love for her books. In addition to romance, her books take the readers through an emotional rollercoaster. They also feature lead pairs who have experienced sexual violence, domestic abuse, or another suffering that brings users to tears.