Social media is an ideal space to think about how you present and to begin interacting publicly as a writer. Twitter is a Nazi Bar, but alternatives Bsky and Mastodon have good Writing Communities. Instagram is (or was?) a great space to share your writing life and books with personal contacts. Any of these plus Pinterest, Youtube and others are potential spaces to reach readers and promote your published works. And Tik Tok? If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ll know writers are selling books over there. So which social media is most appropriate to you as a writer, which account is best to start with and how do you get started on your writer social media?
(Author’s Note: this blog was written before Musk broke Twitter from 2022-23, and well before Zuckerberg allied with Trump early in 2025. It has been substantially edited, as well as updated since then.)
Social Media Introductions
Twitter used to be a great starting point, because of its #WritingCommunity. The pandemic hit it hard and Musk virtually destroyed what was left. The final tweets I saw before deleting my account were people asking if the community still existed. Algorithms and Musk’s garbage were hiding most people they knew. I don’t recommend it now, as much for moral and ethical reasons as site dysfunction and #WritingCommunity disintegration. With Musk heiling King Trump, it’s time to delete the (formerly extensive) Twitter section of this blog. Which is fine, because the new Twitter/ #WritingCommunity is Bsky, for which I wrote a separate blog.
Twitter Alternative: Mastodon
This is a different category of social media, because it isn’t algorithm based. You can go offline as long as you like, and it won’t change your visibility or content on your feed, unlike Instagram. Unlike Insta and Facebook pages, you can’t even see how many impressions your toots get. Best of all, its crowdfunded, so it isn’t littered with promoted posts. It’s decentralised, so you join a server and can view toots on it’s feed. You also have access to the Fediverse, which is every server linked to the one you join.
It’s tricker to be seen there, as algorithms don’t boost you hours after you toot. But boosts (re-toots) put your toots on the feeds of people following your boosters, and on the Fediverse. As a nonbinary, neurodivergent person, I can report that it’s a friendly space to marginalised people, especially in terms of accessibility.
I recommend checking out the daily #WritersCoffeeClub, #WorldWeavers, #PennedPossibilities and #ScribesandMakers prompts. And not just posting and running; reading other’s prompt responses and interacting. (This is how I’ve gotten to know writers on Mastodon and my favourite thing about it.) These prompts are a great bridge, connecting writers across Mastodon instances (servers). You may also find daily prompt hashtags to stimulate your shorts or poetry toots (alas the ones I listed here are no longer active).
Twitter Alternative: Blue Sky (my new home)
Bsky is basically Twitter. It looks the same same, and has most of the same functions (group DM’s being the only thing I’m missing as of May 2026). It doesn’t have sponsored ads, an algorithm, or transphobes or rage tweeting. It’s got feeds filtered by topic (and keywords on posts.) It’s a friendly, inclusive space with A LOT of writer prompts and chats, and plenty of pitch parties.
If you like text based or shorter post social media; this is my top recommendation for that. I don’t just interact with writers and authors there, I also talk to fellow Aussies, queer, neurodivergent and disabled people. Bsky uses feeds (explained here) which mostly filter posts by keywords, instead of depending on people remembering and appropriately selecting hashtags. Feeds make it an easy platform to find and interact with whichever kind of posts you like. You can also make your own feeds, via Skyfeed (no coding skills needed. I’ve made writing and diverse book, and queer identity feeds, which you can browse via Bsky profile.)
Twitter Alternative: Threads
Having not used Threads, I didn’t add this section in the original Twitter alternatives updates to this blog, circa 2023. I’m adding it now because all I’ve heard about Threads on Bsky is non-stop drama. I’ve heard of (quite a few) silly writing ‘community’ arguments about genre over there. And of general toxicity and a trend of posts provoking disagreement over banal, time wasting topics. It sounds like a pointless time suck.
If you have a personal Instagram account and feel at home there, its #WritingCommunity are welcoming. Check if #MeetTheWriter and #FindMyWritingCommunity are still being used. If so, I suggest introducing yourself on them, including a photo of yourself for increased engagement). Instagram also has #Bookstagram and is a great place to promote your books to readers. For more see Getting Started on Social Media below.
Who can you reach there? Hootsuite’s 2022 research found Insta still more popular than Tik Tok for Gen Z, and most popular with Gen Z and millenials (18-34).
2025 Update: I’m not hearing of the same toxicity issues as Threads. Though again, this is a Trump aligned platform, and has Meta’s hate speech policy, which Amnesty International say risks inciting violence. Human Rights Campaign are one of many groups concerned about how the policy endangers queer people. Myself and many fellow queer writers have deleted our accounts over this policy change.
Facebook Page
Given the above hate speech changes, and Zuckerberg having aligned himself with the Trump Regime, I don’t know why anyone would be creating a Facebook page, which doesn’t connect you with friends, family, colleagues etc, but purely promotes books, in 2025.
Pinterest –Ethical Image Alternatives
Alas, Pinterest is now overrun with gen ai ‘art’, aka the produce of planet burning plagiarism machines. If you’re looking for photo inspiration, try unplash. It has many free images and tells you the photographer’s name, so you can credit them for their work. If you’re interested in Pinterest as a means of reference images for your cover artist, Adorkastock, which my cover artist for Sythe Series is using, and TrueRef have photos of humans in many different poses. They also display different body types and a mix of genders in different poses. So they’re a great option to support realistic character art.
Tik Tok
(Original content). I’ve seen a few posts in an author Facebook group (20Booksto50k), noting an increase in book sales which appears to correlate with an increase of book promo on Tik Tok. An advantage of Tik Tok is that hashtags are a big factor in how your posts are seen. So if you choose the right hashtags and use popular sounds, you’ll potentially be seen by more than your followers.
Another advantage is that when you start typing hashtags, TikTok will tell you how many people post on that hashtag. That makes it easier to select popular ones.
Lastly, Tik Tok’s like of people being themselves, not polished, scripted versions you may see more on Youtube, makes it friendlier to a budding writer. And if you don’t like showing your face, #BookTok is fond of book trailers, so videos of you aren’t necessary.
Hootsuite (2022) reports that 40% of Tik Tok users prefer it as a search engine over Google and Instagram, and that while still popular with teens, in 2022, 31% of its users were aged 24-35. Its still growing in popularity with all ages and many walks of life.
2026 Addition: Tik Tok also has Tik Tok shop, which a couple of authors at SelfPubCon 2025 reported selling very well on, so that’s another possibility to explore.
Youtube
(2023 content.) This may not be technically social media, but Youtube is competing with Facebook’s levels of active monthly users in the US. Hootsuite (2022) has lots of encouraging statistics about audiences reachable on it. A few writer friends with established channels have recommended Youtube. If you have an interest in film, acting or audio narration, or if your day job involves public speaking, this may be a natural platform to establish yourself as an author.
An advantage of Youtube is that it basically functions as the Google of videos. Users regularly search it for content, so again this it doesn’t depend on a large following or interactions nudging algorithms to display your posts to more users. If it isn’t in your comfort zone, again I’d get started where you feel more comfortable.
2025 note: if you feel strongly about gen ai/ our planet, note that Youtube has embraced using and enabling gen ai videos, the most environmentally destructive and wasteful form of gen ai. Not that gen ai ‘writing’ and ‘art’ isn’t terribly wasteful already. (More details on gen ai water and fossil fuel powered electricity guzzling in my Resisting Enshitification blog.)
Getting Started On Social Media
Whichever social media you start with, find and follow some writers. Consider also following people who share similar interests to you. Spend some time looking at what content they post, how they interact and getting a feel for that space. Consider which content could resonate with potential followers and readers there.
When you start your second social media account, post asking other writers if they are on it. Then begin your new account by connecting with and learning from writers you already know from your first.
Note: my guide to Getting Started On Bsky is a separate post, as it’s a comprehensive introduction, and would make this post too long. Bellow is a general social media starting guide, and original 2023 content.
Social Media Names and Profile Photos
I’ve read that your name is your brand —not your book title. So my name on all my social media profiles is @ElisesWritings. My first and last name are also the dot com name and header of my site. My social media profile photo and the most prominent head shot on my site are the same.
Consistency across all these spaces lets you build your brand —you— so when choosing a user name, think of something appropriate across every social media you plan to use (including Discord, even email, so fellow writers, beta and ARK readers can recognise you). I’ve seen some writers develop logos as profile photos, but I find logos easy to forget, while faces are memorable, as well as being more personable, so I prefer profile photos of the person/ their avatar/ portrait.
What Should I Post? -Generally, on any platform.
Marketing 101 —don’t only post book adds! Your account will look like spam and you’ll put people off following you. Vary your content. A ratio a few authors like to use is 80% give, 20% ask. That could be 80% entertaining posts —quotes, photos, jokes, discussion questions related thematically or by genre to your writing. It could be personal interest or update posts and some work-in-progress posts. Then 20% ‘sign up to my newsletter’, ‘here’s my latest review,’ ‘please vote for my cover,’ or ‘my book is currently on pre-order/ discounted’ posts.
On Instagram
Yes, if you’re time-pressed and mostly write Bsky/ other short posts, you can just share them on Insta. But Insta is a visually focused space. My favourite posts to view and read are ones with thoughtfully selected quality photos or images, which compliment a thoughtful personal update, or someone’s reflection on life or writing.
Insta is a great place to share mood boards for your works in progress, character art or sketches. Posting a good photo of yourself can signal a personal update or a reflection on your writing post. You might also like to post photos of and write about some of your other interests —especially if they tie in to your books— and make those connections clear to your followers.
Whatever content you choose, Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags to boost your post’s visibility. It has multiple equivalents of #WritingCommunity hashtags and many hashtags for posting about books. Here’s a list of around 70 writer and bookish tags to get you started.
#Bookstagram is full of book covers artfully arranged with props, coloured fabric backing, glitter ect. So if you’re posting book reviews or adds on Insta —be creative. Make your cover the focus of a visually pleasing scene, or explore short animated video add options.
If you want to share quotes or questions, I suggest getting on canva and designing an Insta post image with a coloured (or photo) background and a nice font. Using the same font on all Insta posts helps them become recognisable by it, as well as looking good.
No, you don’t have to do the above
Yes, people will follow you if you just take photos of your cat or not-very-visually-pleasing photos of your device with your work in progress on its screen and write comments about those. But if you want to gain (and retain) followers, and to attract potential readers to your account, I suggest making full use of the space by creating visually pleasing and interesting content and taking book add inspiration from #Bookstagram.
How Often Should I Post?
Until I hit around 500 followers, I routinely got unfollowed by multiple people if I didn’t post for a week or 2. You’ll gain the most followers posting daily —and may keep them if you post popular content like motivational quotes, but you’ll attract a lot of people follow for follow-backs unfollowing you too. For me, posting every second or third day was the best balance to gain the kind of followers who stick around and not be unfollowed for not posting.
Following & Bots on Insta
There are quite a few bot accounts on Insta —particularly those of single men following women— and some bots which write generic comments on your posts. The bots’ aim seems to be the same as that of people who follow you, wait till you follow back, then unfollow you —to gain followers (or ‘DM me to promote your books -for a fee). Its annoying. The best safeguard against it is setting your account to private, so bots can’t bother you. (Yes I’ve done this, and yes I get requests from people wanting to follow me, even though they can’t see my posts —my bio alone seems to be enough).
You can get apps to track follows and unfollows, but there’s a LOT of Insta following apps, so I’d choose one carefully. (I don’t use an app, ignore bots and follow back carefully, screening my followers by taking the steps in When Following Back on Instagram below.)
Promoting a Blog On Instagram
The provider of my social media share button (Social Warfare) doesn’t include an Instagram share button. Their research shows over 80% of Instagram users stay on Instagram and don’t want to visit other sites advertised there. However, having found great quality photos on unsplash to illustrate and promote my blog posts with, I post those on Instagram. I write a blurb relating to my personal experience of the blog topic and I include a discussion question for people to reply to. Then I paste the text of the link (which people have to copy and paste into their browser, as Instagram posts don’t do hyperlinks).
Generally my Insta posts about my blog get more likes than elsewhere. So if you have a blog to promote and you join the Writing Community on Insta, I encourage you to experiment with posting about it.
For more advice on creating an appealing look and on what to post, see:
Instagram for Authors: Building a Platform and Selling your books by Catarina Pinto.
Writer’s Guide to Instagram: Tips from Top Bookstagrammers & Authors by Francis Bogan.
For tips and Free Webinars, see Instagram Best Practices for Beginners by Mary DeMuth.
Following Back on Social Media
You might feel great gaining your first followers, and be tempted to follow them all right back. Don’t. Most writers following you in #WritingCommunity’s are probably fine (but don’t assume so). I only blocked 4 jerks on Twitter in my first 2 years -so I didn’t unwittingly follow them- but its always a good idea to screen accounts before following back, in case they happen to be a troll, a jerk or to post content you dislike. So before following back, check the account:
-has a bio and has posted (writing a comment and using hashtags on Insta, not just posted a photo) -so you don’t follow a (basic) bot account.
-look at posts and see if you want that person’s content on your feed.
-check if the account is only following a few hundred but followed by thousands -they’re an influencer who’s likely to unfollow you after you follow back.
Also be aware that while some writers will always follow back fellow writers, others may follow or follow back through interaction only (in my case when replying to people’s posts).
Further General Social Media Reading
Social Media Tips by Marc Guberti is aimed at businesses generally, but has some useful tips for writers.
Why You Should Join All Social Media Networks, yet not be active on all, by Jan Friedman. (Note, this is pre 2025 Trump regime advice.)
If you’d like to discuss writer and author social media, or other aspects of being a writer/ author, see my Writer’s and Author’s Discord.
Related Reading
Prioritising Writer Social Media
Becoming an Indie Author advice part 1
Becoming an Indie Author 2: Book Launch
