Social Media for Authors
can feel overwhelming. It’s important to remember that as a writer, you don’t need to be on every platform, and you don’t need to post every day! Hopefully, this list of social media post ideas for authors will make it more fun, and a bit easier!
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Like a lot of my blog posts, this one started out as a brainstorm for myself. 🙂 Although I’m breaking this down into Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, a lot of the ideas could be used in several places, including on Twitter/X. Needless to say, many of these ideas could be adapted to blog posts, too!
You might want to pin this post to Pinterest for future reference. Let’s get into it!
Facebook for Authors
In my own experience, at least, Facebook is the least toxic space for authors. Most people are using their real names, and their parents or children can see their comments; those are two big incentives to be civil.
With Facebook, you’re speaking to an older demographic. Personally, I don’t mind that at all. If you feel like sharing 1980s or 1990s nostalgia, or humor about getting older, Facebook is the place to do it. However, if you use slang that’s popular on TikTok, some people may not know what you’re talking about.
01
Share a Quote You Love
It can be funny or inspiring. It can be about books—or about life!
02
Share a Cartoon or Meme
Everyone can use a little humor in their day, so I share funny things about writing, books, and whatever on my Bryn Donovan Facebook page all the time! I find these do particularly well on Facebook. With cartoons, I credit the artist and link to their Facebook or Instagram page whenever possible.
03
Share a Snippet from Your Book or Work In Progress!
With so-called AI tools snapping up people’s personal creative writing, you don’t want to share too much, but a short paragraph or even a sentence can be intriguing.
04
Ask for Movie-Watching or TV-Bingeing Suggestions
Even writers need breaks. Suggest a genre or mood—comedy, drama, feel-good, whatever—and see what people have to say!
05
Poll People About a Title
If you’re on the fence between two different titles for your new project (or your finished project!), ask people to vote on their favorite! If you’re torn between two new books and you don’t know which one to write next, you can solicit opinions on that, too.
06
Tell People to “Share a GIF About How Your Week Is Going.”
This is a fun mid-week post!
07
Tell People to “Share a GIF That Expresses Your Personality.”
This is an easy way to express yourself and get to know your followers better, too.
08
Tell People to “Share a Piece of Advice…Big or Small.”
Who knows? You might learn something from this one!
09
Talk About a Book You Loved As a Child…and Ask Them Which Books They Were Obsessed With
This is also a great way to express who you are and get the conversation going.
10
Discuss the Best Things About Being an Author
What are those moments in the brainstorming, writing, revising, or publishing process that make it all worthwhile for you?
11
Share a Funny Error or Typo You Found While Editing
Hey, that’s why we edit! Recently on Twitter/X, people were cracking up at my revising fail (and yes, I do know the proper way to do this…it was years ago!)
12
Ask, “If You Could Teleport to Any Place In the World Today, Where Would You Go?”
This is especially good for a Monday or Friday. Don’t forget to share your answer, too.
13
Share a Good Review of Your Book…
Get a screenshot of a positive review, and mention how thrilled you are to get it. Don’t forget to link to your book for sale!
14
Share a Hilarious One-Star Review of Your Book!
It really does need to be funny, though! Examples include:
“I can’t believe this book had EXPLICIT BEDROOM SCENES.”
“I can’t believe this book had NO BEDROOM SCENES.”
“This is the worst mystery I’ve ever read”—and it’s not a mystery novel.
“I couldn’t stand the Delilah character”—and there is no character named Delilah.
Completely unfair book reviews are social media gold. Again, DON’T FORGET the buy link!
15
Ask for a Review!
Yes, you can say to people, “If you enjoyed my book, please leave a review—it will help more readers discover it. I would appreciate it so much!” Accompany the post with a picture of you smiling and holding the book—and again, a link to the book for sale, for those who haven’t read it yet!
Instagram for Authors
For years, Instagram hasn’t had a solid identity of its own because it’s copied elements of other platforms. If you make short videos, you can put them on both Instagram and TikTok. Personally, I like my Instagram and my TikTok to be different, so I’ve gone back to doing only photos on Instagram, and most of these Instagram ideas for authors are about photos. Reels on Instagram may get more traction, but it’s hard to say, as the algorithm gets tweaked all the time. One of my mutuals said this week that after posting only Reels for thirty days, she saw no difference in the results.
16
Vote on Author Headshots
As some of you know, I just got new headshots! If you do this and you’re torn between a few choices, let people on Instagram vote on their fave. People love to vote and comment! If you do this on Twitter/X, you can set up a poll.
17
Introduce or Re-Introduce Yourself
I just did a post like this on Instagram! It was actually inspired by getting a new headshot, but you can do it any time. Let people know what you’ve written or what you’re writing, and any other info about your personality type, your hobbies, your favorite things, and/or your pets. If you want inspiration for writing about yourself, check out my book 5,000 Writing Prompts!
18
Celebrate holidays!
Post a pic of you with birthday cake so people can wish you a happy birthday. And wish people a happy St. Patrick’s Day with the wearing of the green, a happy Halloween with you in your costume, a happy first day of summer…you get the idea. If you have a cat or dog, you can dress them up for a holiday wish!
19
Post a “National ____ Day” Photo With Your Book!
Don’t forget the minor holidays (or “smallidays”!) Every day of the year is the National or International Day of something. Here’s a website with all these little-known holidays. If your book is about a taco truck, post a photo of a taco with your book on #NationalTacoDay…if it’s about pirates, post a pirate flag with the book on international #TalkLikeaPirateDay…you get the idea. Don’t forget to use the hashtag!
20
Post a Photo of Your Favorite Writing Snack…
And ask people what their favorite reading snacks are!
21
Let Everyone See Your Editorial Assistant…
Otherwise known as your cat or dog.
22
Reminisce With a #TBT (#ThrowbackThursday)…
A photo from a past vacation or happy day can brighten up your feed.
23
Or Share a Favorite Old Movie You’re Rewatching for #FlashbackFriday and #FridayFeeling
“Who remembers this one?” You can take a photo of your TV screen or go old-school and share a picture of the DVD. You might want to make it a movie that has a similar vibe to your book!
24
Do a Giveaway!
Give away a copy of your book—and maybe include a couple of other authors’ books that are in the same genre! If you’re giving away paperbacks rather than ebooks, you may want to limit the giveaway to people in your country.
25
Share Your Weekly Writing Schedule
Many people are curious about when novelists work, and for how long! This could be in a planner spread, on a chalkboard, or on a piece of paper tacked to a bulletin board.
26
Post Your Book Launch To-Do List
This is a fun way to remind people that your book is coming out soon…and to show your passion!
27
Share 5 Books on Your TBR Pile
A “TBR pile” is, of course, your “to be read” pile, or the books you want to get to soon!
28
Put Up a “Where I’m Writing Today” Post
If you don’t want to show your face, that’s fine…you can just take a photo of your notebook or laptop that captures some of the setting. This is fun whether you’re on an enviable vacation, at your favorite neighborhood cafe…or on a couch that you’re sharing with a pile of laundry. 😀
29
Show People Your Favorite Mug or Mugs
for #MugMonday. (If you don’t have a favorite mug, are you even a writer?)
30
Share a Photo of You at a Library or Bookstore
Living that #bookish life.
TikTok for Authors
I dragged my feet for so long before setting up yet another social media account. I was especially reluctant because even short videos take more time than Instagram posts or tweets, at least for me. But as it turns out, I do have fun making little videos. I have to give TikTok credit: it does an amazing job of showing your videos to the exact people who might be interested in them.
A big difference between TikTok and other social media platforms is the importance of trending sounds. By using a trending sound (such as an audio clip from a TV show, movie, or another TikTok) or a trending song, you can get more visibility. On my own Bryn Donovan TikTok account, I use some trending songs, although I rarely use other trending sounds and I don’t do the lip-synching thing.
If you don’t like showing your face, steal an idea from me and say something with cards! I’m going to do some more like this soon.
Trends can provide a lot of ideas and inspiration for TikTok videos, but here are some other TikTok ideas for authors you can try!
33
Share a 1-Minute Book Review
of a book in your genre!
34
Say, “If You Like This and This, You’ll Like My Novel”
Share some books, movies, or TV shows that have a similar vibe.
35
Share Something You’ve Overcome As a Writer
Imposter syndrome, writer’s block, an illness, a soul-sucking job? How did you overcome it to write your book anyway?
36
Talk About What Actors You’d Cast in the Movie Version of Your Book
I think this is harmless and fun! I recommend not publishing barely disguised fanfic about real people, though. It’s creepy.
37
Talk About How You Learned Your Craft
Did a teacher, a YouTuber, or a book give you help in improving your writing? Share your journey!
38
List 5 Random Objects That Appear in Your Book
This can be really intriguing!
39
Read a Passage of Your Book Out Loud
I’m sure authors do this all the time, but for whatever reason, it hasn’t come across my For You Page. I would love to see and hear an author do this.
40
Share the Top 5 Books You Read This Year…or That You Read So Far This Year
You only need to say a sentence or two about each one.
41
Say, “The Main Character In My Novel Is Nothing Like Me,” and explain.
Or, conversely, “The Main Character In My Novel Is a Lot Like Me.”
42
Celebrate Finishing the First Draft…or the Final Draft
Print it out and hold it up! If you don’t want to show your face, just show your hand as you set it down and do a quick flip through the pages.
43
Celebrate Getting an Agent and/or Getting a Book Deal
This is such a big deal, so share a celebrator post! I do recommend including your picture in this post. You can even follow it up later with a “How I Got an Agent” or “How I Got a Book Deal” story post, because people want to know.
44
Give People a Tour of Your Bookshelves,
with some commentary!
45
Create a “Day in My Life” Video
Here’s one example. Admittedly, this is a time-consuming TikTok to put together, but I think it’s really interesting to see what other people’s ordinary days are like. I would watch just about anybody’s!
5 Important Book Launch Social Media Posts for Authors!
When you’re launching a book, these are things you definitely want to post, regardless of the platform.
46
Reveal Your Book Cover Art!
It’s so exciting to see your new book cover art, and other people love cover reveals, too! Often, this is two posts…you can tease it before you reveal it.
47
Announce Your Book Is Up for Pre-Order
When your book is available for pre-order, encourage people to get their orders in! Explain to them that it could positively impact Amazon algorithms, retail store orders, marketing decisions, and more.
48
Unbox Your Books
This is classic author content for a reason! Opening a box of your books and holding one of them in your hands for the first time is a real thrill. Capture this in video form if possible. Let others share the moment with you!
49
Celebrate Your Book Release Day!
You want to show yourself and your book here!
50
Thank Everyone for a Great Release Week!
This is a Friday morning post that shows genuine appreciation…and reminds people about your book again. You can also thank people for reviews and say why they matter so much!
Thoughts? Comments?
Do you have other ideas for social media posts for authors? What social media platform or platforms do you like? Would you like to share a link to your social media account? Or do you avoid social media altogether? We’d love to hear all about it!
As I said, if you’re looking for more inspiration, be sure to check out by book 5,000 Writing Prompts. It includes hundreds of prompts for personal writing and for blog post ideas, and both of those could inspire social media posts for authors, too!
I’m getting ready to release my first in a series novel. Your list came at a perfect time. Thank you so much, Bryn. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Bonnie, I’m so glad! A new first in series novel is so exciting!
great list!
🙂 Thanks, friend!