When Pity Becomes a Marketing Strategy

What Paul Castle’s Videos Reveal About Authorship and Branding

Scrolling through social media this week I came across another video by Paul Castle. You might know him. He’s a children’s book author with over 3 million followers on TikTok. His videos often feature playful pranks with his partner, snapshots of life living with blindness and sweet moments with their service dog. They’re a charming couple, and his books fit perfectly into his brand.

On this video, I paused. He was crying.

That, of course, was the point.

He sat in front of a wall of his own books, visibly upset, saying, “The book deal didn’t go through.” My first instinct, as writer myself, was to empathize. To support. To boost a marginalized voice in the publishing world. But then I paused again, because haven’t I seen him do this before?

Yes. In fact, I’ve seen it several times.

It’s a tactic known in sales called, pity marketing.

In the video, between tears, Castle shared that a bookstore chain required him to change the title of his book if he wanted them to sell it. He did, but then the bookstore still didn’t take the deal, leaving them with a wall of books. The implication being, “we’ve been wronged, please help us get rid of this stock by buying a book on the TikTok shop (the apps native built in store).”

And it worked. It garnered pity. Tons of commenters rushed to share, “just bought one for my grand babies!” and similar comments.

But many others challenged what Castle said, myself included, because that’s not how bookstores work. A bookstore would not ask an author to change their title and they’d be very unlikely to order directly from the author. Like… VERY UNLIKELY. Independently published authors like Castle, have two options. They can approach individual bookstores (not a chain) and place books on consignment with them, a very manual process, or they can work through a distributor like Ingram who will do that for them.

So if you knew how publishing worked, this story was not adding up.

But as it turns out, Castle wasn’t just speaking as an indie author, he was speaking as a mirco-publisher himself, which his audience doesn’t understand. In this case, Paul is his own publishing house, a micro-press called Paul Castle Studio. He represents his own three titles and because Ingram Content Group requires publishers to have ten titles (and other boxes they must check), Paul Castle Studio, the publisher, does not currently meet the criteria for being included in the distributor giant’s services.

So when Castle was upset in his video about “the deal with the bookstore not going through” his audience did not have all the information. They naturally thought he'd being slighted as a gay disabled author, because that’s what he lead them to believe. The reality was the bookstore chain could not work with him because, as a PUBLISHER, Castle was not in the system the bookstore orders from, Ingram.

Imagine if Scholastic made a TikTok crying that The Hunger Games didn’t get picked up by a retail chain. Or if Anchor Books wept publicly over The Handmaid’s Tale not being stocked at Barnes & Noble. It would be bizarre. We would think that strange.

Castle was not being discriminated against, he was misrepresenting basic simple everyday business. He’s not a struggling indie author, he’s a too-small publisher. A lot of his viewers won’t realize because they don’t work with publishing.

What's worse is Castle is literally banking on their not knowing.

They see a queer, disabled man trying to share his story. When Castle adds falsehoods about being discriminated against, people just want to help. They want to support. They want to buy the book. They feel pity.

And that’s exactly the point.

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Now, don’t get me wrong, marginalized authors do face incredible barriers to distribution. Disabled, queer, and BIPOC creators are routinely undercut, underfunded, and devalued by traditional gatekeepers. That’s real and it matters that we talk about it.

But we also need to talk about how visibility and identity can be weaponized in marketing, especially when the story being sold is selective, or misleading. Castle’s content walks a line I don’t like, one that’s damaging to other queer or disabled people who are actually facing discrimination in the publishing industry each and every day.

When someone controls both the narrative and the product, things get murky.

Readers want to support authors. They want to support good causes. But they also deserve transparency, especially when their sympathy is being used to move units.

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Bookstore Botherer

This is not the first time Castle as slandered and lied to sell books. In fact, almost exactly a year ago, in June 2024, he went viral with a similar video.

That time, he posted a tearful video claiming a bookstore had “banned” his picture book, The Secret Ingredient, after returning 100 copies and canceling a signing event. That is a serious and huge accusation. On camera, he said the store’s decision was because of the book’s queer content, that “he couldn’t think of any other reason they wouldn’t stock it”, prompting immediate outrage. His followers flooded the comments with support and then, flooded the bookstore with harassment.

Castle included the name of the employee he spoke with (Tanya), which led to a wave of attacks against multiple bookstores who had staff of that name. In fact several Tanyas across the country completely unrelated to the incident were hunted down and flooded with threats. The actual Tanya’s bookstore was overwhelmed with negative reviews, messages and threats of safety. And as it turns out, the situation was not what it seemed.

@bydonmartinThere are real people being caught up due to a lack of information and clarity. @matthewandpaul you owe it to your impassioned fans and those on the receiving end of these comments to provide closure. As people with large platforms, we have a duty to be good stewards of the privilege that comes with it.

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Industry professionals were quick to point out that no bookstore places an order for 100 self published books and certainly not without working through an established distributor.

For context a single bookstore might have on hand 3-10 books depending on popularity and that’s for best selling authors. They don’t typically risk holding a lot of stock.

According to later reports, the original staff member who placed the order had left, and the store simply chose not to move forward with stocking the book. A disappointing decision, but not a ban. Not censorship. And certainly not deserving of online harassment crusades that Castle’s following gladly partook in, and which Castle did nothing to quell.

Once again, Castle benefited from the backlash. His book sold out on tiktok shop. My mom even bought one. Dozens of indie bookstores offered to carry it in solidarity.

But a false tearful plea for justice became a campaign that hurt real people, people without the same platform, reach, or safety net.

And now, here we are again. June 2025. Another video. Another vague story about rejection and mistreatment that turns out was very simply everyday business for a publisher.

It’s hard not to notice that both incidents took place during Pride Month, a time when visibility, identity, and allyship are at their highest, and when marketing campaigns around queer authors are most active. Is it coincidence? Maybe.

But it’s also hard to ignore the pattern of emotional storytelling, injustices, and a viral payoff.

Next Day Decision

Remember how we discussed a publisher needs ten titles to work with Ingram….

The day after Castle’s pity marketing videos, he returned with a new video promoting a follower’s suggestion—that he should publish other children’s book authors under his imprint. Because once he represents ten titles, he might be eligible to distribute through Ingram and gain traction. Many felt it a premeditated choice by Castle. Some even think he falsified this “follower” who works in the publishing industry, yet has no internet footprint. Either way, my gut reaction to this news was… Red FLAG!

Eager debut authors might perceive this as a fast track to becoming published aligned with the allure of being “on the ground floor” with a queer, disabled author they admire. But what happens when reality hits? Unlike authors protected by agents or traditional presses, these newcomers would have no legal advocate watching for fair contracts or ethical publishing terms. They’d be financially, artistically, and reputationally vulnerable.

Moreover, consider how risky indie presses really are. Even well-funded imprints have collapse rates of 20–30% within a few years. Building a press on emotion and social momentum (not infrastructure) can be disastrous for trusting writers. Not to mention that if you believe all of Castle’s stories, thus far, he has failed repeatedly to get his own books into bookstores. Why would he be more successful with yours?

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If you’re moved to support queer, disabled, BIPOC, and otherwise marginalized authors, please do! Just make sure your support is going where it matters. Here are a few trusted organizations and resources doing the work:

• PEN America – Advocates for free expression, fights book bans, and uplifts voices that are often silenced.

• We Need Diverse Books – A nonprofit dedicated to putting more diverse books into schools, libraries, and the publishing pipeline.

• Disability in Publishing – Supports disabled publishing professionals and pushes for accessibility and representation.

• Lambda Literary – Champions LGBTQ+ authors through awards, fellowships, and writing programs.

Instead of falling for viral pity marketing, consider donating, amplifying, or buying books through these channels where it will make a real difference.

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