Why You Should Use Hashtags as an Author on Twitter

 

Twitter has a large and supportive writing community, so take advantage of it by using the current active hashtags for authors. Why? Because hashtags help you grow your reach. They let your tweet be seen by an audience outside of your followers. It’s kind of the only way, really, besides getting a coveted retweet. And speaking of retweets, posts with hashtags are 55% more likely to get retweeted, according to Buffer. Plus, it’s easy. So, why not? But you can’t just go making up hashtags all willy-nilly or you’ll be wasting your time. Unless you’re trying to build a branded hashtag, don’t just throw it out there. You need to use relevant and active hashtags. So, I’ve created a list of the most current and popular to get you started. 

 

Which Hashtags For Authors Are Best to Use Now?

Although Twitter doesn’t change as much as Facebook and Instagram regarding tactics to get organic reach, it’s still good to remain current on hashtag usage and trending hashtags. Once you’re more engaged, you’ll notice these changes are easier to track. You’ll spot new hashtags as they come up, and hopefully integrate them where appropriate. The writing community on Twitter remains pretty consistent in their hashtag use, and there’s quite a list of hashtags for authors to choose from. But certain hashtags that were pretty popular just a few years ago, didn’t stick around. For instance, hashtags like  #writerswednesday and #bookgiveaway are no longer active. 

 

Writer Community Hashtags and How to Use Them

These hashtags are used among the writing community in more general ways, and can be included in your posts with other subtopic hashtags. 

#writerslift

This hashtag is a more recent way for the writing community to support each other. The purpose of this hashtag is to help yourself while helping other writers. Usually they work by asking the community to tag, comment and/or retweet for a follow in exchange for a follow back. It’s like a chain letter, but more acceptable. It’s also great shameless self promotion without being so shameless. 

 #writing

This can be used as an add on or subtopic hashtag. It could be added to posts about what you’re writing or thoughts on some other piece of writing. It’s also a good one to add to your bio.

 #amwriting

This one is perennially popular among hashtags for authors. It’s also a common one to add to your bio. Use it when you talk about your book, what you’re writing, or just general usage for writing community posts 

 #writingcommunity

Another popular hashtag—maybe the most popular among the writing community on Twitter. It’s a great one to add to your bio. It can also be used in just about any tweet concerning the community. It’s a good one to use to introduce yourself, or your book, or blog. You can also ask the community questions, or share relevant news, etc. 

Some Smaller But Still Active Hashtags

 #authors

You can include this hashtag for authors like you would its synonym hashtag, #writers.

 #authorslife

This is a useful one for tweeting about your day, to vent, to celebrate—anything that pertains to the writing lifestyle. Ditto with the hashtag, #writerslife. You can get creative and personal with these two! 

 #writerscafe

This hashtag is used as a kind of forum. It seems that all topics related to being a writer, from advice to promotion, are incorporated with this hashtag. I advise you check it out first to make sure it’s a useful and relevant hashtag for you. Just search the hashtag and see what people are talking about. And feel free to chime in! 

 

 

Some Weekly Hashtags for Authors

These hashtags are often trending, especially in the AM hours across all of Twitter. And most of them are pretty obvious. Just don’t add these hashtags simply to get attention. It won’t work. 

 #mondaymotivation

Here’s one of the most popular Monday hashtags out there. Use it when you’re sharing something motivational. If you have goals, are aspiring to something, or just want to share some inspiration, use this hashtag. 

#tuesdaythoughts

Share your thoughts on anything current in the community with this hashtag. 

#wednesdaywisdom

Ditto with this one. But, more specifically, share advice or something you’ve learned that you think may be helpful. This is also a great hashtag to use when sharing quotes from your favorite author or anyone else you admire. 

#thursdaythoughts/#thursdaymorning

This hashtag, like #tuesdaythoughts, is self-explanatory. Use it to share your thoughts on Thursdays about a book, an event, or your opinions on something relevant. 

#followfriday 

Follow Friday is a popular weekly Twitter activity. It’s most effective in creative communities and is sort of like #writerslift but more general. You can use this to shout out to new followers or to list your favorite accounts and suggest that others follow them. This will likely come back to you in the form of more followers or mentions. 

#sundaythoughts/#sundayvibes

This is a good one for sharing something personal—a photo of your reading or writing, what you did over the weekend, or what you’re excited about for the coming week. Just a note: If you use the words “thoughts” or “vibes” after any day of the week, it will likely work as a hashtag.

 

Timely and Event-Focused Hashtags

#booklaunch

This one is also self-explanatory. Use it when promoting your book launch!

 #selfpub/#selfpublishing

If you’re a self-published author this one is a good one to include not just for your book launch, but while your in the process of publishing, and with any tweets pertaining to your book. 

 #wordcount

This is a popular hashtag. It’s the one to use if you want to either brag about or commiserate over your daily word count. It’s a good one to use when self-motivating, or to ask others in the community about their progress.

#editing 

You guessed it! This one is used when in the editing process. You can use it when you ask questions or for recommendations too. Many editors use it and you’ll often see this hashtag in their bios. 

#bookbirthday

You can use this hashtag along with #booklaunch to promote your upcoming book! You can also use it for your books anniversary. It’s an important day after all. 

#amreading

This is another popular one with the writing and reading community on Twitter. If you’re reading something popular, or something you’d like to recommend, use this hashtag in your tweet. 

 

Book Promotion Hashtags

 

#shamelessselfpromo 

Yes, there’s a hashtag for this. Because there’s nothing worse than always, and only, shamelessly self-promoting on social media. But if you admit to it with a hashtag, it’s totally fine! Pretty easy workaround, right? 

#bookpromo

You can use this one, along with the hashtag above to promote your book, but it’s more often used by publishers, reviewers and readers. It’s a good way to promote a book you love and support your community. 

#bookboost 

The same standards apply to this hashtag. Use it with the #shamelessselfpromo hashtag if you’re boosting your own book. Otherwise you can use it along with #writerslift to support those in the community, and to get their support in return. 

 

Genre Hashtags for Authors 

 

The following are popular genre hashtags that you’ll see most often. These can be used along with most of the other hashtags on this list to grab the attention of your core audience. You may have to do some research on this one if you wrote a book as a thought leader or entrepreneur. In that case, I suggest using what you do, and adding a hashtag in front of your title or industry. For example: #marketing, #entrepreneur, #publishing, etc. There’s likely active hashtags associated with your niche, but I’d search first to make sure they are useful.

 

• #selfpub/#selfpublishing 
• #fiction
• #nonfiction
• #selfhelp 
• #scifi 
• #fantasty
• #romance 
• #romancereaders

 

Remember, all these hashtags for authors can be used separately or together, but it’s good to use any that fit. As long as you don’t do overkill. I think a maximum of five hashtags in one tweet is plenty. There are exceptions for when it makes sense though. Just remember that character count! So tweet often, hashtag wisely, and more importantly—engage! Like all social media, you can’t just tweet something out every once in awhile and get a big following. I’m working on this myself lately. It can be tough to remember to keep up, I know. But the good news is, that a great way to get followers on Twitter is to simply follow, like, retweet, and comment on the tweets of your #writingcommunity members! 

 

Do you use any of these hashtags regularly? Are there any I’m missing that you see a lot among your online tribe? Let me know in the comments section of the original post!