I love sharing posts on my blog written by other authors. This one was by Fantasy author Andrew McDowell and is the most viewed post of the year! Follow the link to the post to discover more about him and his books.
Please let me know if you would like to write a post for my blog.
I am pleased this post was so popular as it took a long time to create and a lot of research. I basically wanted to help other writers by creating a calendar with useful literary dates. For example it has Twitter pitch events and book festivals.
This now has its own dedicated calendar page. Click here.
I used to always write my stories by hand but since going digital I don’t have as much need for a notebook. I still get an excited feeling when I see one and after an Instagram challenge to write somewhere different I rediscovered my love of notebooks.
This post reflects on how writing by hand can boost your creativity and my own personal experience with this.
This series started in October through to November. The fact it was posted towards the end of the year and still made the list shows how popular it has been.
The most popular in the collection was Part 6 (Insta Hashtags for Writers For Each Month) with 38 views. I felt it would be more meaningful to give you the full collection rather than list all the parts below that made the top 5.
This post is a cautionary tale. I always research who I am querying and spend a lot of time on it. I know how exciting it can be to hear an agent or publisher are interested in your novel. But check out who else they have signed and how their experience was.
There have been a few occasions I have felt the interested party may not be who they say they are and it feels like pop-up publishers are becoming more common. I have spent years on my novel and refuse to sign with someone I don’t feel confident can deliver on their promises. This is one of the reasons I have now chosen to self publish.
My About Me Page
During 2019, I wrote a blog post (About Me – Spring Clear). It was about making sure your About Me page is up-to-date on your website. It is one of the first pages you crate and easy to forget about.
I was shocked how out of date mine was and wrote a post to help prompt other to update theirs too. I’m glad I did. My About My Page has had 79 views!
Guess what? I checked it when writing this post and it needs updating again! If you haven’t checked your About Me page in a while, go check it out. In the meantime, here is mine: About Me (page)
Click my link tree to discover more ways to connect
You are going to want to save this blog post. This post is going to share all the links to the previous hashtag series in one place but it’s going to do more than that. It’s going to share my final tips to help out any writer getting started on Instagram.
Have a public profile
If you are looking to connect with writers and promote your writing, then you need to be visible. If you make your content private people won’t be able to see if they want to follow you.
Complete your bio
Tell people what you are about. If you are a writer/author put it in you bio. I feel I need to add some more detail to mine but it’s way better than nothing.
Create a Link Tree
Instagram only allows you to share one link. Link Tree is a clever site that enables you to link to a page where you have listed all your links. This is useful to sign post people to your other social media accounts (I.e. Twiter, Facebook, etc), your website and/or blog, and sign up to your news letter.
Make use of the name space
I only discovered this recently but when you fill in the field for your name you can also write “author” or whatever else you want to be identified as. This gets picked up by search engines.
Don’t exceed 30 hashtags
You can have up to thirty hashtags on your post. Every hashtag helps you get discovered. However, don’t only use the most popular hashtags. These are good as the hashtag will have lots of followers but your post could get lost in the volume.
Mix up your hashtags
Don’t use the same hashtags all the time. Instagram will think you are spam and ‘shadow ban’ you for using a hashtag too frequently. This means that the algorithm won’t favour you and you are less likely to be seen.
Use different volume hashtags
I don’t know the technical phrase for this but this is what I mean. Some hashtags are very popular I.e. #writersofinstagram (275k posts) . Using a hashtag like this means your post could get lost in the volume as your competing against lots of images being posted frequently with the same hashtag. However, popular hashtags also have more followers and you could be spotted by someone you’ve not connected with yet.
Low volume hashtags tend to be more niche. For example #writersblocksucks has 1k+ posts. People searching for this are likely interested and your post has less competition. Recent posts stay near the top for longer.
Follow hashtags
Follow hashtags that relate to things you are interested in. This will help you to see what others are posting and discover new accounts to follow & engage with.
Create a hashtag collection
Note down hashtags you find useful. It’s useful to store these on your phone so you can copy and paste when you need them. To discover more hashtags to add to your list, look at what others are using that post similar content to you. So, if your a poet, what hashtags are other popular poets using?
Take part in follow loops
Choose a loop that feels relevant to what you wish to achieve, I.e. similar interests. Follow the loop rules but remember if someone is posting content you don’t like, you don’t have to follow them. What you should not do, is follow to unfollow – it’s just bad etiquette and not how you engage with others.
In addition, a lot of people have ‘follow apps’ to tell them when someone does that. Plus Instagram will detect accounts that follow and unfollow a lot and delete them as they will think you are a bot. The same goes for liking then unliking lots of posts.
Use apps
I have an iPhone and love certain apps for creating content:
Unsplash has so many free stock photos.
Canva is easy to use to create images and add text and embellishments.
Typorama is great for addding text.
B612 has great filters for taking selfies or animating pictures.
Preview to see how your posts will look in your feed prior to posting.
Planoly to schedule posts enabling you to create your posts ahead of time.
Try new things
I have figured this out over the last few months by daring to try new things. Social Media and trends are constantly changing and you need to move with it. Keep it fun and do what you enjoy. You may even start a new trend.
THE HASHTAG COLLECTION
Click the picture to go to the part of the guide you want to read.
Extra Advice
Stay true to yourself. People like personal posts, so post selfies. It’s social media, be social. But, don’t get hung up on followers, likes, comments, etc. Remember, if it gets too much, you can take a break. Writing is what is most important to a writer.
One last tip that works for everything… Create a Pintrest Board to save useful tips and advice.
During the warmer months you can post pictures of reading or writing outside, perhaps a book by a pool with a cool drink like a cocktail. In flat lays you could decorate with fresh fruit and fresh flowers.
With spring there is new life. Get out to farms to see newborn animals, meadows to see wildflowers.
Recommend books to take on holiday. Attend book festivals – check out my calendar.
#nationallibraryweek (7-13 each year there’s a new theme) #libraryweek , #nationallibraryworkersday (Tuesday of library week) , #nationalbookmobileday & #supportteenliterature (Both on Thursday of library week). According to Wikipedia.
Here is a collection of other useful hashtags that are popular with writers.
General Writing Challenge hashtags
You could take part in challenges for writers like Nano and post progress updates on IG or do a photo prompt challenge and add any of these tags that are relevant.
If you are a writer that also blogs here are some general tags for you although you will also want to add some that are specific to the content you’ve created.
I know many writers are stationery addicts and can’t resist a planner. If you are sharing your planner, here are some general tags although you may also wish to add tags relating to the type of planner you are using too.
I only discovered recently how important reviews are especially for indie books. If you can find the time, write a review, share it on IG and everywhere else to help it get discovered.
When tagging you may also want to tag the picture with the books genre, where you bought it and what media it is. See part 2 for bibliophile tags or part 3 for genre tags.
Also, check out #storysnippetssaturday where each week @jjotisauthor @bridieblake @amandalyncreek @rynthewriter and @sondaewrites host a weekly prompt to encourage everyone to share a snippet from their work in progress.
When publishing you have to pin point your novel to a specific genre so bookshops know where to put it on the shelf but when you are tagging you can put every genre that applies to your novel.
Think about your target audience too – what age is the intended audience. Think about the length of your story too. Think about the setting and time period.
In that regard, this list is endless but here are a few examples get to get you started.
If you’ve been following my blog you may have noticed that this year I’ve been really enjoying Instagram. I recently achieve 3,000 followers and I created next months #WIWOctober photo prompt for @worldindiewarriors.
My idea for this post was to share my personal collection of hashtags but as I started writing it I realised it was getting too long! So, I have broken it down into a series of posts.
I am going to start off with tags associated with writing communities I have connected with via Instagram.
Tags for writing communities
There are lots of people looking to connect on Instagram. Here are some of my favourites and tags associates with them:
World Indie Warriors
This is a great group for any creative or indie looking to collaborate and make meaningful connections. This supportive group share tips, resources and support each other’s growth.
Follow @worldindiewarriors and join their group on Facebook. Use hashtags: #wiw #worldindiewarriors
Founder @michelleraabwrites also encourages the use of the hashtags #readersheart #everyonehasastory
Hustling Writers Community
This group is aimed at anyone that aspires to be an author but has to juggle writing alongside other commitments making your dream the side hustle. There are people working full time, studying, parents, carers etc but they are all dedicated to squeezing writing in wherever they can.
Follow @midnightstarlightwrites and become part of her group on Facebook. Use the hashtag #hustlingwriterscommunity
Fellow Creative Minds
This is a networking group to connect creatives together. There is a good mix of artists, writers, musicians, etc. If you would like to meet fellow creatives follow @lizthewritingwiz and join her Fellow Creative Minds group on discord. Use the hashtag #fellowcreativeminds
Authors Challenge 2019
Follow @debratorreswrites and pm her to take part in her monthly challenge. She will add you to an IG chat group so you can get to know other authors taking part in the challenge.
Use the hashtag #authorschallenge2019 and post pictures for the daily picture prompt.
Tags for Wattpad
One of the most popular online platforms for sharing writing is Wattpad so it is no surprise that people are posting to IG about it. You don’t have to follow @wattpad but it is a great way to stay up-to-date regarding the platform.
If you are a Wattpader (reader/writer) here are some tags you may find useful.
