Amy Daws takes her best-selling books from TikTok to a big publisher

Before she found an agent, and before a publisher found her, Amy Daws sold nearly 350,000 copies of one of her books, spun a movie out of another, and became a No. 1 bestselling author on Amazon, all from her kitchen table in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

She managed a seven-figure career and created charming video reels for more than 110,000 followers on Instagram and more than 150,000 followers on TikTok, and produced her own audio books.

Daws has written – and self-published – more than 20 books in 10 years, all adult contemporary romance. Or, let’s just call it what Daws does: “smut” writing. It’s the type of meet-cute tropes that never tire, that leave readers swooning, and that they read with gluttony. When will they kiss already?

Daws said she has mastered the “dangling of the carrot” for her readers, but now she’s caught the attention of an international publisher as well. After a decade of marketing her work on her own, she has signed a contract with HarperCollins, a publishing company well known among writers and readers as one of the “Big 5.” (Others being Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette and MacMillan.)

Moving from a self-published author to one signed with a large publishing house is a dream. It's also not very common to see a prolific writer like Daws make the jump. One of the most popular writers who made this leap recently was Colleen Hoover.

“We love all of (Daws’) work so much,” says John Jacobson, her editor with Canada-based Canary Street Press, which is an imprint under HarperCollins.

The company will release her newest book in her latest series next year, while also rereleasing a few of her existing books with new covers, in paperback, e-book and audio.

“There is something special about seeing your books in retail stores like Target and Barnes & Noble, and we’re so excited to bring that to Amy,” Jacobson says. “There will be readers discovering her work for the first time.”

'The master of girl talk'

For Daws, her work has been almost as much about marketing as it has been writing.

“I’m not just a writer,” says Daws, 41, who lives in South Dakota’s largest city with her husband and 12-year-old daughter. “I’m an entrepreneur. With success comes more responsibility, so I’ve been doing the marketing, advertising, writing, cover work and creative control. You want to stay relevant as an indie (independent) author. It definitely feels competitive out there, so I need to have a hand in everything.”

That includes relationship building with her readers. Like a suitor in her books, she’s unabashedly loyal to them.

“Readers will line up all day long to wait for a picture with her and to have her sign their books,” says Tricia Derbyshire, a reader from Chicago who met Daws at a book convention in 2022 and has read her entire backlist since then. “They’ll even bring her gifts. If there’s anything Amy does especially well, it’s drawing in new readers with her personality and humor.”

Jill Degen, a reader who recently attended a book club with Daws, says Daws’ book characters feel like best friends.

“The quick-wit humor and romance in her books make them so addicting,” Degen says. “She’s the master of girl talk.”

Daws’ editor, Jacobson, says they had been following her for quite some time and were immediately drawn to her humor as well.

“It’s difficult to make somebody laugh out loud, and Amy can do that really well,” Jacobson says.

But Daws also shares a depth to her characters that is just as enticing.

“Amy is incredibly complex underneath all the fun, often addressing personal, challenging topics,” Jacobson says, who impulsively emailed Daws earlier this year to see if she had signed with a publisher yet.

Jacobson was courting her more than she was courting the publisher.

“You always want that palpable connection between two characters – that excitement you seek – and Amy has it,” Jacobson says. “I think readers will find themselves moved by Amy no matter what.”

In good company

Daws will fit in when her books are displayed at national retailers.

Markell Boysen, manager at Barnes & Noble in Sioux Falls, said spicy romance fiction has “taken off” in their store and that some of their top-selling, national authors are fellow contemporary romance writers.

Boysen listed writers like Penelope Douglas, Lauren Asher and Elle Kennedy who sell equally steamy books with an equally voracious readership, as never writing fast enough to keep them satiated.

Even though Daws says she has fellow authors who “publish five books in a year,” she needn’t rush. With a publisher to support her now and a readership that adores her, she has more grace to give herself.

“It’s exciting that I keep going up, but I’m also content being where I am," Daws says. "It’s been a dream job to help me enjoy the one thing I’ve wanted most in my life, which is to be a mom.”

If You Read

Here is a list of Daws’ books, based on each series:

London Lovers, her first series

• “Becoming Us”
• “A Broken Us”
• “London Bound”
• “Not The One”

The Harris Brothers: Sports romance with British heroes (Daws calls herself “a tomboy at heart.”)

• “Challenge”
• “Endurance”
• “Keeper”
• “End Goal” (a short story)
• “Surrender”
• “Dominate”
• “Payback”
• “Blindsided” (went viral on TikTok, No. 1 on Amazon’s bestseller list and went on to sell over 330,000 copies and counting)
• “Replay”
• “Sweeper”
• “Strength”