TikTok can be a powerful platform for indies, whether your content strategy is growing a readership or educating other authors. As one of the most active reader communities online, BookTok is the place for book lovers to share what they’re reading — and for authors to promote their books! — while AuthorTok gives writers a place to learn from each other’s writing and publishing experiences.
If you’re interested in trying out TikTok or need new content ideas, follow these self-published authors for inspiration. These authors stand out as exemplars of all the ways to succeed on TikTok: posting consistently, being authentic, interacting with readers, and participating in subgenre and TikTok trends. We hope this list is a helpful overview of what’s working for authors in this corner of the internet!
1. Eden O’Neill — Dark Romance
If you’re an author who doesn’t like being on camera, Eden O’Neill is a great source of ideas for videos that don’t require showing your face. Most of her posts utilize the popular BookTok trend of holding a book sideways or opening it to the blank endpaper, slowly revealing a quote from her book and finally the cover to keep readers watching until the end — a great way to show the algorithm your videos are engaging!
@edenoneillwrites he made her forget.#fictionalmenwrittenbywomen #bookswhereheisobsessedwithher #fairytaleretellings #creatorsearchinsights
2. Z.S. Diamanti — Epic Fantasy
Z.S. Diamanti engages his audience with genuine passion for his genre and excitement about his book updates. When he’s not posting previews of upcoming or new releases, he breaks down book tropes and reviews recent reads to show fans how avid a reader he is himself.
@zsdiamanti Tomorrow…. Tomorrow, my latest book will be released and it’s the 7th book I’ll have published in about 2 years. It’s been a crazy road to this, but this may be my most fun book yet! “Onward meets Oregon Trail (but nobody gets dysentery)” in this heartwarming, feel-good fantasy. From behind the throne to trails unknown … Zarnikorek spent much of his life in the service of a wicked orc king. When a new rebellion seizes control of the kingdom and overthrows the king, Zarni has no choice but to move back to his quaint hometown in the Ghun-Ra valley. With his life of regal service seemingly in the past, Zarni must live a quiet and inconspicuous life of loneliness to avoid being recognized. But when the new king’s mage adviser pays the goblin a visit, Zarni is tasked with a quest that could change everything. Teaming up with a jovial halfling wagoner, he embarks on an unforgettable road trip for the ages to follow an ancient and mysterious trail. But as their friendship grows, Zarni might just discover something he thought he’d never find again. Embark on a wholesome journey of forgiveness and self-discovery. A cozy fantasy tale of forging new friendships and overcoming fears. A quaint quest of adventure and magic. Come enjoy the hospitality of dwarven taverns and halfling homes. Meet new friends as you sing with the Griffin Guard, play a game of Castle Brick at the tavern, and enjoy a flapjack breakfast with a mad sorcerer. Take to the trail and discover what magic awaits. Find Wagons & Wyverns InMyBio. 😊🤙 #cozyfantasybooks #cozyfantasy #fantasybooks #fantasybooktok
3. Caroline Peckham & 4. Susanne Valenti — Young Adult Fantasy
Sisters and coauthors of the popular Zodiac Academy series, Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti are both fun accounts to follow for hilarious book memes, character portrayals, and updates from their “writing cave.” They created the #ZodiacAcademy hashtag to encourage fans to post their own videos discussing the series, and like many TikTokers, they use trending sounds for even more reach!
@carolinepeckham #zodiacacademy #sethcapella #booktok #fantasyromancebooks #vegatwins
@susannevalenti June roundup #hollow #kingshollow #zodiacacademy #ageofvampires #romantasy #susannevalenti
Pro Tip: Trending sounds are songs and audio clips that have gone viral on TikTok, and using them can give your videos a chance of getting in front of a larger audience! You can search the app for popular sounds and add them to your video editor.
5. Jonathan Stanley — Nonfiction
You might know Jonathan Stanley for his viral book signing, but you don’t need to go viral to succeed on TikTok! Jonathan has built an audience just by showing up authentically with videos that feel like he’s chatting with a friend, sharing his experiences as a debut author, stories from his book, and commentary on relevant topics like leadership and work culture.
@purposefulperformance Thank you for the encouragement! You’ve heard my voice, now read what’s on my heart. My Substack is where I say everything I can’t squeeze into a TikTok caption. authorjonathanstanley.substack.com Thank you for sharing and following! 🙏🏼🫶🏼 #substack #bookish #booktok #leadership #community #hope
6. Abigail Hair – Young Adult Fantasy
Abigail Hair’s account offers great inspiration for new and aspiring authors, as it invites readers on her journey publishing her Myths of Revelore series. She shares short writing updates and teasers of what to expect from her books, reminding fans to follow along for more.
@authorabigailmhair She’s the last daughter of a cursed bloodline. He’s the boy chasing ghosts through music. And the song between them has teeth. 🌙🕯️🌿🎻 I’m currently querying for the first time in four years, and I’m SO anxious about it 🫣 hoping A Dark and Tender Overture will find a home one day!! • • • #yafantasy #gothicfantasy #yafantasybooks #bookaesthetic #authorsoftiktok #authortok #writersoftiktok #yabooktok #amquerying #queryingauthors
7. Hannah Parker – Young Adult Fantasy
Author and publisher Hannah Parker uses TikTok to share writing and publishing advice for new authors. She shares her tips in a snappy, step-by-step format, making them easily digestible, while adding extra motivation in each video’s description. Check out her recent series of posts on how to write a book — you can find it in the “How to Write a Book” playlist at the top of her page.
@hannahparkerbooks Step 1: Brainstorm: The first thing you need to do before you begin writing your book is letting yourself brainstorm. Get a piece of paper out and let yourself think about the stories you love to read. Write down your favorite books and characters and what you like about them. Do you like morally grey characters? Enemies to lovers? Fight to the death tournaments? This will help you with the feeling you want your story to evoke. Don’t worry if you feel like your idea is original. No idea is original—it’s what you do with your story that makes it unique. When you look at your brainstorm, you’ll see everything that makes you excited to write your book. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments about brainstorming, and meet me back here for step 2 tomorrow! #howtowriteabook #authortok #writertok #brainstorming #authorsoftiktok #newauthor #newwriter
Pro Tip: Use playlists to organize your videos by series and topic, so visitors can see what your page is about and easily find the videos you want to highlight.
8. LK Wilde – Historical Fiction & Women’s Fiction
Most of LK Wilde’s posts are no-frills videos of her talking into the camera, showing that even simple video styles can engage your audience. We love her authentic, chatty style! She shares her experiences as an independently published author and also supports fellow authors by sharing publishing tips and reviews of her favorite recent reads.
9. Elizabeth Stephens – Sci-Fi Romance
Elizabeth Stephens shares updates with her readers on new releases and new formats, like this title she discounted on Chirp and listed for sale on her website as a special edition. She keeps readers up to date on her books’ release days, sales, and rankings with reaction videos sharing her excitement.
@elizabethstephensauthor The Bone King and the Starling is an interracial Vikingish romance featuring a Black female lead and the Viking king who will slay any enemy to have her not only for the night, but for his queen 👑🖤 For romance fans who need more Vikings in their lives, grab this one f🖤r🖤e🖤e today and tomorrow only #touchheranddievibes #spicybooks #romancebookrecs #specialeditionbooks
10. A.E. Valdez – Contemporary Romance
In between release updates, A.E. Valdez sparks lots of engagement in her comments with conversational videos inviting readers to imagine themselves in the scenarios she puts her characters in. She ends with a friendly reveal of the book she’s discussing for fans who haven’t read it yet!
@a.e.valdezwrites Not too much on my girl Eve now. She stood 10 toes down for herself. Winter’s Eve: Then, Now, & Always #aevaldez #romanticreads
11. Emily Blackwood – Young Adult Fantasy
Emily Blackwood’s TikTok strategy is smart but wonderfully simple: She posts tropes and scenarios from her books along with her writing updates, adding genre-specific hashtags like #enemiestoloverstrope to draw in a wider audience. This means she can draw on the wealth of content from her books to keep her fans engaged, while also growing her audience.
@authoremilyblackwood The TENSION AND LONGING BETWEEN THEM 😭😭 (book is Wings So Wicked) #romantasybooktok #bookscenarios #enemiestoloverstrope #bookscenes #booktokrecs #booktokgirlies
12. Ashley Muñoz – Contemporary Romance
Ashley Muñoz largely uses TikTok to share creative previews of the books she’s written. In this example, she uses “books that wrecked me” — a trend Booktokers use to recommend books — to share a trope from the latest title in her Stone Riders series.
@ashleymunozauthor this book still ruins me #booktoker #booktok #bookrec #writertok #writing
13. Eden Beck/Analeigh Ford – New Adult Fantasy & Romance
Eden Beck/Analeigh Ford uses TikTok to connect with both readers and writers, targeting her videos accordingly by adding community-specific hashtags such as #authortok and #authorproblems to talk about the author life, or #booktok and #bookrecommendations to share scenes from her books. She often repurposes her content by adding new text overlays and trending sounds to old videos — a quick and easy way to post often and jump on new trends!
@reverseharemauthor 50,000 words minimum is like barely cutting it tbh, I think I’m gonna start going for the 100-150k mark because I need seven words say what you can in one #books #authortok #authorproblems #writing #bookish #booktok #author
14. Jessica Cage – Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance
Jessica Cage also creates content that appeals to readers and writers alike. As you can see from her many playlists, she gets creative with lots of different types of posts and trends — from bookish memes and replies to reader comments to #packanorderwithme TikTok Lives and #stitch collaborations with other authors.
@jcageauthor #stitch with @Kyle Time for me to start taking notes again. lol
15. A.P Beswick — Epic Fantasy
Adam (A.P) Beswick, whose book A Forest of Vanity and Valour went viral on TikTok, primarily uses TikTok to promote his books. Many of his posts are carousel (slideshow) posts following a simple format: photos of himself, then his books, with captions describing his books’ tropes. A.P often repurposes and reposts old videos, and pins his most-viewed posts at the top of his profile — check those first for his best examples of book promotion!
@a.p_beswick_author Hi there 👋 #authorsoftiktok #authortok #authorlife
Pro tip: Carousels are a great format to use on TikTok if you don’t want to shoot and edit video. According to one study, video is the most engaging format on TikTok, but videos earn only 7% more views on average than photos or carousels.
16. John G. Doyle — Sci-Fi & Fantasy
On the less promotional, more entertaining side of the spectrum, John G. Doyle is a great example of an author who uses TikTok to engage personally with his readers. His hilarious writing updates and responses to reader questions are always relatable!
@johng_doyle Replying to @marypopnlockins #audiobooks #audible #selfpublishedauthor #selfpublishing #writersoftiktok #writer #indieauthor #fypシ #fyp #indieauthorsoftiktok #jerichojohnson #thephoenixcycleseries #greenscreenvideo
