“The Kissing Booth” + Writing & Publishing Advice = Best Combo
I just can’t get over The Kissing Booth…but movie is not the reason—not the biggest, of course.
I watched The Kissing Booth yesterday.
All three of them. Yeah, I know I’m late, but stop, I’m just 15 right now, so I think I didn’t miss much. Right?
And like many teenagers, I can’t get enough of it. (Fun fact: Beth Reekles started writing the first book when she was 15, yes as a teenager!)
I watched all of the three movies in one day. Technically, in one night!
So let me tell you a little why I decided to watch it in first place.
Look, a trailer is enough to convince you to watch movies but that’s definitely not the case with me.
I want context. More of it! Hype? If it has, better. But that leads to disappointment, a lot of times.
Before this movie, I watched Money Heist all because of the buzz. Just to clear, it didn’t disappoint at all.
The Kissing Booth was no exception. I had heard about the author and had know the story of how the book came into being a lot earlier. Although, had forgot the details, obviously! And I vividly remember how I felt when I first read, some two years ago!
Not much has changed since then, I guess. It all started with Wattpad — where Beth started writing The Kissing Booth and I first heard about it.
The Wattpad thing
“What is Wattpad?” you may ask.
In simplest words, it’s the Medium for authors. Authors can publish their novel, chapter by chapter, and make it available to their readers for free.
It’s kind of Amazon KDP but with a bonus of writing in public. You can take in constructive criticisms from your last published piece and use it in the next chapter itself. It’s that fast.
You must atleast check this site out if you’re a fiction writer. It has got a huge audience for that niche.
So I discovered this platform back in 2017 or ’18. And on their website I found out about Beth’s story.
Beth’s story—in brief
I just can’t stop obsessing over her—her journey, her books, and their movie adaptations. Let’s start from the start.
She started writing The Kissing Booth when she was just 15.
She’s said multiple times — I know cause I’ve binge-watched all of her interviews, TED talks, seminars, etc. as well — that she was bored of reading vampires, werewolves and all those paranormal stuffs (remember that was Twilight’s era).
And when she didn’t find the book she wanted to read, she decided to write it instead.
Out of pure curiousity and just for fun, she started to upload chapter after chapter of TKB (The Kissing Booth) on the platform.
Little did she know that her casual writing would become the next big thing, thanks to Wattpad and internet.
Soon, her story started getting eyeballs and then…
…Penguin Random House approached her to publish her Wattpad story. She signed a three-book contract.
…Netflix made 3 films inspired from her book, of the same title, The Kissing Booth.
And before she knew it, The Kissing Booth had taken off. It suddenly became the talk of the town—and yes, I know I’m late at talking about this on the Medium town haha.
But I can’t help. Plus I’m 15. So, you know, teenage thing.
I’m obsessing over it at the same age someone started to write it—over a decade ago!
That’s probably why I cannot stop reading and watching the author.
Did you know?
Did you know the author also has a blog where she talks about writing, books, getting published, etc. She shares her journey of starting from Wattpad, to getting published by the biggest publisher, to getting her books adapted to not one, not two but three Netflix Films.
It must’ve been hell of a ride, haven’t it?
Her blog
She loves to write from a very young age. So it doesn’t come with a surprise that she runs her blog too.
And here’s that. I’m Beth Reekles’ blog; read me!
I absolutely loved reading it and I think read more than a dozen posts all at once. She writes on a variety of topics ranging from social media to blogging, books to movies and everything in between. Here are my favs—
- How I grew my Instagram Audience by More Than 40k Followers in Seven Months — writers, you need to read this!
- Do You Need an Author Website?
- 2021 All Wrapped Up — after a break from the blog, the author summarise what 2021 was all about.
- Writing Wednesdays: 2 years on from #TKBmovie — a quick reflection on the years that have passed since the movie first hit Netflix. This one’s nostalgic.
Plus, she has an YouTube channel and you can find that here: hey, I’m Beth Reekles’ YouTube; watch me!
Here’s one of her videos in which she talks about turning 25 and 10 years of being a writer.
And if you too loved The Kissing Booth and have cried watching it (because I had, multiple times) then you would also love to take a dive into its author’s life—it’s really inspiring!
Also, I’ve ordered the third book “The Kissing Booth: One Last Time” and can't wait to read it. Even after watching the movie. Did you like the movie or the book? Do lemme know.
Until next time, bye! 👋☺️
