TikTok content ideas for authors
Whether you're confident on TikTok or entirely brand new, here are some easy TikTok content ideas anyone can do to promote their writing.
So, you’ve downloaded TikTok. You’ve probably scrolled through BookTok, seen a few viral videos, and thought: I’m a writer, not a performer!
But don’t panic. Whether you're traditionally published, self-published, or just gearing up to launch your first book, TikTok can be a powerful tool to reach readers and hit bestseller lists. Like it or not, TikTok is having an impact on book sales at the moment, and it is the hot place to be, which means that not only is it high-pressure, but it’s also over-saturated.
Two things to point out here:
If you don’t want to post on TikTok, don’t post on TikTok. There are plenty of other channels from which to find your audience. Contrary to current belief, you do not need to be on TikTok to succeed.
Secondly, and most importantly, if you do decide to post on TikTok, don’t go in blind. Have content ideas in mind, determine posting strategies and don’t post immediately. Bank a few pieces of content in your drafts, and then you’ll always be ahead, ready to post at a moment’s notice and build up your consistency and discoverability.
This post is a guide full of simple, strategic TikTok content ideas designed for authors who are just getting started, especially if you're more into words than wackiness.
Anyone can make a success of TikTok; it’s just about deciding what you will and won’t do. And if you want specific 1:1 coaching on TikTok, you can reach out to me through Messages or via my website eleanorpilcher.com for more advice on set-up, content and personalised TikTok strategies.
Carousels and Photos
For authors who prefer not to be on camera but still want to show up creatively, and share their writing, books and personality.
Book aesthetic mood board: Use copyright images from Unsplash or Canva, to reflect the tone, setting, and vibe of your novel.
Quotes from your book: Share visually appealing or branded slides - usa Canva Free to create - with key lines or emotionally resonant moments.
Your writing process: Post photos of your desk, notebooks, edits, or coffee-fuelled writing days to give a snapshot of your writing routine.
Behind-the-scenes draft to final: Show a messy first draft page vs the final published version in your hands or on your desk if you would rather not show you'r face.
Character aesthetics: Post images that reflect how you picture each character, or your ‘dream cast’ if your book or books were to be adapted for stage or screen.
What inspired your story: Share visual influences, for examples places, art, books, music that inspired you to write, or while you were writing.
Books that inspired your writing style: Create a carousel of other books that inspired you, by sharing their covers, your annotations or your favourite quotes.
Annotated pages: Be it annotations of your favourite books, or your annotations of a work-in-progress. Post photos of your process from post-it notes, scribbles, highlights etc.
Review round-up: Screenshot some of your favourite reviews or kind words from readers and share those with your TikTok audience.
Book cover design evolution: If you have it, share some behind-the-scenes of how the design process of your book came about from concept to final artwork. It could even be the email brief you sent to a designer and the final cover as a reveal.
Voiceover videos
Voiceover videos are great for when you don’t want to be on camera, but still want to connect personally. And it’s great way to build your confidence to share face-to-camera content.
These videos can be anything from 3 seconds to 10 minutes. It depends on what you’re sharing. Use b-roll footage, or clips from your everyday and add a voice-over on top to make it relevant and visually appealing for your audience.
A short reading from your book: Film footage of your bookshelf, a place or some scenary and record a short voiceover of you reading a passage or a line from your works.
How the idea for your book came to you: Share film footage of your writing desk, your hands as you type or write, and narrate your process over the top.
A typical writing day: Share a day in the life, with clips of your morning coffee, cleaning your desk, going for a walk, etc. Take your readers along with you.
Why you chose your book’s title: If there’s a specific reason, share a voice over of how it came to be.
Things you wish you’d known before writing a book: Reflect on your writing career with your voiceover over b-roll or stock footage.
Tips for writing a difficult scene: Share writing tips in general, or anchor it to a specific writing problem to make content regularly, sharing what worked for you and how you got through it.
Behind the scenes of publishing: Whether you’re traditionally or independently published, share the behind-the-scenes of publishing from meetings, edits, emails, type-setting. Share clips of your screen as your scroll over an edit or a design, or your notebook with notes marked ‘Feedback’, etc.
Your writing playlist: We all love a bit of music, show the titles or album artwork of your favourites, with your voiceover explaining your choices.
Share an emotional moment from your writing journey: I’ve seen a lot of videos of sunsets and beach walks with authors sharing an emotional message about their gratefulness or their difficulties in becoming a writer. These are great videos to connect more deeply with your readers.
Bookshop visits: Readers love books! So take them along to a bookshop and show them what you’re reading - and maybe show them your book if it’s in-store.
Direct-to-camera videos
Finally, for building connection and pitching confidently, I recommend sharing direct-to-camera videos. These are some of the highest performing videos on TikTok and they allow readers to get to know your personally and your personality.
These do not need to perfectly curated, professionally film - they can be done on your phone, in the app, while your phone is resting against a stack of books. Use the in-app functions to edit, or download apps like CapCut to add more transitions and text if you feel confident.
What your book is about: A simple but fun video, of you sharing details of your books in 60 seconds or less, maybe frame it with ‘If you love X, you’ll love this…’ to get you started.
Meet the main character(s): Tell your readers more about your characters, share a story like they’re a real person, or ‘I was inspired to write X, when I…’
Answering FAQs: Whether you are asked questions regularly - or if you make them up for the video - answer questions like: ‘Is your novel based on a true story?’ or ‘Will there be a sequel?’
The hardest scene to write: Have a conversation with your readers, and tell them about the writing process from behind-the-scenes.
A funny or emotional moment from the publishing process: Readers love it when authors are human and honest. Share your highs and your lows, and make sure to invite them into the conversation i.e. ‘Have you experienced anything similar when writing/publishing?’
Misconceptions about my genre/career: As a professional writer, you can share your perspective. My advice is to keep it positive or neutral, rather than overly negative. You do not want to alienate your audience.
How I…: Share tips and tricks with your readers and other writers, from ‘How I pitch my books to booksellers’ to ‘How I got a literary agent’ etc.
Share a comment or review that made your day: This can be a quit or long video, but share a comment/review and the impact it had on you. I recommend only sharing the positives - for your benefit! And to sell your book without being too salesy - and remember to encourage readers to leave a review if they enjoyed your work.
Walkthrough of your book formats/series: If you’ve publishied more than one book, or in different formats, walk your audience through this. Hold up your paperback(s), add an overlay of the ebook and audiobook covers, and talk through each of them.
Book recommendations: And finally, my personal favourite piece of content I use on my TikTok to grow my audience of nearly 20,000 followers, is book recommendations! From classics to contemporary, reviews or summaries, you can easily share book recommendations with your followers to find a voracious audience of readers to champion you and your work. If the authors are contemporaries - and you’re talking positively about their work! - remember to tag them for every reach and networking.
There we have it! Some simple but effective TikTok content ideas for author. Remember, you don’t need to be a performer to sell your book on TikTok, you just need to be: clear, consistent and yourself.
If you find you don’t enjoy creating content or posting regularly - I recommend daily, or every other day for maximum impact - then trial a different platform instead.
Remember, TikTok users are typically aged 18-30 years old, and the most popular genres are: fantasy, romance and literary fiction. So if your audience are crime readers who are 30+ maybe Instagram or Facebook is where you’ll find your audience.
If you do want to focus on TikTok though, start with any of the above idea, which feels the most natural to you, and build from there.
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