Every author understands the value of people recommending their books, driving exposure via word of mouth and ultimately boosting sales. But what some authors might not know is the value of making book recommendations themselves. Recommending books can be a great way to engage with fans, find new readers, and boost fellow authors.
Sharing recommendations with your fans lets them get to know you as a reader just like them. Nearly half of BookBub’s readers find new books through recommendations from people they trust — and they trust their favorite authors as much as they do their friends and family. This means your recommendations not only give you a chance to connect with your readers and help them discover new books, but also allow you to boost fellow authors whose work you really love.
There are so many creative ways authors are recommending fellow authors’ books to drive exposure for both themselves and their peers. To give you some ideas, we’ve compiled examples of authors recommending books across a variety of channels: BookBub, social media, newsletters, and more. We hope they inspire you when making book recommendations of your own!
How authors recommend books on BookBub
Recommending a book on BookBub lets you engage with your fans on a platform where they can add the book right to their wishlist! You can include a rating and a review, which lets you dig into the details of what you enjoyed, and the recommendation is displayed on the book’s page on our website. Seeing a glowing review from an author they know can help convince new readers to take the plunge.
AlTonya Washington vividly described her admiration in her recommendation of The Book of Night Women, discussing in detail why she enjoyed the book so thoroughly. She also gave her followers a tip, both in the review and in the comments, to give the audio version a try!
BookBub will also notify you when a reader interacts with your recommendation by liking it or leaving a comment. Toby Neal kept up with her review of Raven Black by liking the comment that a fan left on it. Connecting with readers is one of the many benefits of recommending books on BookBub, since it will boost your visibility in our discovery algorithms and give you a chance to be featured on the BookBub reader blog.
How authors recommend books on Instagram
On an image-driven platform like Instagram, your recommendations need to be short and sweet — and, of course, accompanied by an image of the book you’re recommending! K.K. Allen ran a giveaway for Girl, Wash Your Face on her Instagram, telling readers that she loved the book so much she had multiple copies. Asking readers to tag a friend to enter also helps you expand your Instagram audience!
Anne Korkeakivi went a different route, showcasing a selection of books that she wanted to highlight for International Women’s Day and giving her followers a little blurb about each.
If you’re ready to dedicate a bit more of your time to giving your followers regular recommendations, you can draw inspiration from Kate White, who posts a regular “Mystery Monday” pick. Tools like Hootsuite and Later let you schedule these posts ahead of time, so you can set them and forget them!
How authors recommend books on Twitter
If you want to be really concise in your recommendations, then Twitter is the place to post. It’s a great platform for sharing your favorite reads, and writing a snappy message that your followers will want to retweet can put your name in front of thousands of fresh eyes. Esmé Weijun Wang shared this beautiful image of Sick: A Memoir, encouraging her followers to preorder the book as a gift to their future selves.
Another way to share your recommendations on Twitter is to add them all with the same hashtag, so that anyone browsing that topic can find your tweet. Lawrence Block shares recs with #MyFavoriteBooks, but another popular one is #amreading.
How authors recommend books on Facebook
If you’re already in the habit of regularly posting updates for your fans on your Facebook page, then adding a few recommendations for books you love is a fun way to mix up the content that you’re sharing with them. Susan Mallery recently posted a recommendation for a new Netflix special based on her friend’s novel The Maverick’s Christmas Homecoming, released just in time for the holiday season. Sharing that detail gave her fans something personal to connect with in addition to giving them plenty of content to get excited about!
Mark Greaney also shared a recommendation of an author friend’s new release and linked his fans straight to the Amazon page for the new book. His fans let him know in the comments how much they appreciated the post!
How authors recommend books on their author websites
Your personal website can be a great resource for connecting with your readers — they can sign up for your newsletter, get the latest updates on what you’re working on, and access any extra content that you put out for them. It can also be a one-stop place for them to find books and authors you recommend! James Rollins keeps an entire page of recommended works on his website, so his fans can keep going back for more with every book they finish.
How authors recommend books on their blogs
Some authors just can’t do enough writing. If that’s how you feel, a blog linked to your website is a long-form way of sharing your favorite recommendations and sparking discussions with your fans. Heather Sunseri regularly shares what she’s currently reading with her followers on her blog, and recently devoted an entire post to Educated: A Memoir. In it, she wrote not only about why she loved the book as a reader, but how it affected the way she thinks about her own writing.
Tim Tigner shared what he called a life-changing book on his blog — in fact, the book had been recommended to him! In his recommendation, he describes why How Not to Die had such an impact on him, and why he believes it’s important reading for just about anyone.
How authors recommend books in their newsletters
Fans who are excited to open your newsletter every time it lands in their inbox may also be thrilled if they get some extra book recommendations along with it! Kate Canterbary includes multiple recommendations in her newsletter, sharing books that she describes as a “vacation” while she’s writing — and giving her readers something to curl up with while awaiting her newest release.
Sharon Lynn Fisher introduces a pair of recommendations in her newsletter by describing her favorite reading spot for the season — outside and with her family. She also links back to other recommendations that she’d made earlier in the summer, ensuring that any new followers could still check out the picks she’d shared previously.
How authors recommend books on Pinterest
Pinterest is a great resource for finding cozy recipes, DIY projects, and… books! Pinterest boards are a creative (and beautiful!) way of showcasing your favorite books to your fans. Rayven T. Hill created a board called “Some of my Favorite Books,” with each pin linking to a retailer page where the book is available for readers to purchase.
Laura Bradbury keeps a “Currently Reading” board, where she includes a little blurb about the book in each individual pin.
How authors recommend books on YouTube
If you’re tired after writing all day for your next book and can’t muster the will to start typing up a review, why not make a video? Brothers John and Hank Green cohost a YouTube channel called Vlogbrothers, which features videos including everything from silly jokes and challenges to travel videos to — you guessed it! — recommendations for their favorite books.
Author Jen Campbell also posts video roundups of book lists, like this one of her top picks for books about books.
Do you have other ways of sharing book recommendations with your fans? Let us know in the comments below, and get started by recommending a favorite on BookBub!
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Click to tweet: Recommending books can help you engage with fans and find new ones! Here are some ways authors have done it. #amwriting #authorlife https://bit.ly/2SsZaeJ
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