The 12 Best Hashtags for Writers
Hashtags are one of the best things about Twitter. (In case you’re brand new to Twitter, a hashtag is the # sign followed by a term.)
Normally, your tweets are seen only by people who’re following you, but if you add a hashtag, everyone who’s watching that hashtag sees what you’ve tweeted. If we’re using Twitter to build our author platforms, making connections with new people is one of the key things we want to do.
But hashtags on Twitter do more than just build our author platform. When we know which hashtags to follow, they can be amazing learning tools, provide us with inspiration and motivation, and help us keep up-to-date on the industry.
So today I’m going to share the twelve best hashtags for writers.
Genre-Related Hashtags
Sometimes, you just need to ask a question of someone who writes the same thing you write. Or you want to talk about an issue that really only affects others who write in your genre. That’s where genre-related hastags can be great. Not every genre has an active one, but these three do.
#SciFiChat – This chat is held Fridays from 3:00–4:00 pm Eastern. You can find more details on David A. Rozansky’s (the moderator’s) website.
#KidLitChat –You can find more details at www.kidlitchat.blogspot.ca. It’s held on Tuesdays at 9:00 pm Eastern.
#ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) – This isn’t a chat, but it is an active hashtag for faith-based writers.
Industry-Related Hashtags
Keeping informed on what’s happening in the writing industry, what’s working and what isn’t, and what the current taboos are can be headache inducing (at least for me). Here are the hashtags I’ve found help me keep up-to-date on the latest, greatest, and worst of the writing world (without wasting a lot of precious time).
#getpublished – This hashtag contains information on exactly what it says—ways to get published. You’ll find calls for submissions, contests, and articles offering tips on how to increase your chances at publication.
#publishing – This hashtag focuses on publishing “news” such as the newest author programs offered by Amazon, ways to avoid common publishing snafus, and how the publishing industry is changing (plus what that means for authors both indie and traditional).
#promotip – Book launch promotion tips, whether or not free still works, the importance of author branding, ways to market your audio book, etc. If a tweet or link to a post deals with helping you spread the word about your book, you’ll likely find it bearing the #promotip hashtag.
#askeditor – This hastag has been around for years for a good reason. While it doesn’t seem to have a set time of use anymore, you’ll still see editors and small publishing houses announce that they’ll be taking questions for a certain period of time on a certain day using this hashtag. Even if you can’t attend, it can be fun and informative to read through the conversations afterward.
Bonus Hashtag Tip: Go Conference-Specific – There are too many of these to list, but a great trick is to find out the hashtag being used for some of the bigger conferences in North America. Many people use these hashtags during the conference to tweet awesome tidbits they’ve learned. It’s not as good as being there, but it comes close.
Creativity and Productivity Helpers
Let’s face it—the well occasionally runs dry. We’re out of good ideas (or so it feels) or we’re struggling to put fingers to keyboard. Hashtags come to the rescue for this as well.
#writingprompt – I don’t keep this one open because some people abuse it. However, when you’re needing a kickstart, this is a good hashtag to scroll through. You’re sure to run into a prompt or idea that gets the juices flowing again.
#storystarter – This is the sister hashtag of #writingprompt. I find this one to be a touch less spammy, so if you’re really in a time crunch, I recommend going here first.
#1k1h/#1k1hr – Have you ever noticed how you get more done when you have to report your progress to someone else? (I sure hope that’s not just me.) That’s what these two related hashtags are for. The idea is that you go internet black for an hour to write, and when you return, you need to report your word count. You can either put out a call for other people to join you or you can watch for someone else to ask for joiners. Even though this hashtag implies you need to try to write 1,000 words in an hour, the real goal is to write as many words as you can. Beat your own personal best.
When You Just Need to Talk
No list of the best hashtags for writers would be complete without some hashtags where you can share your blog posts (both non-writing and writing-related) and simply talk with other writers. The non-writers in our lives won’t always understand what we’re going through, so being able to share with other writers can often be what saves our sanity.
#MyWANA – This is my absolute favorite hashtag. Author Kristen Lamb created it as a place for conversation and human connection. You’re fine to share your blog posts on the #MyWANA hashtag so others can support you with re-tweets, but only if you’re a regular and active participant there. No spam allowed.
#amwriting – If you need encouragement, this is a great place to hang out. Writers post their words counts, cheer each other on, share funny anecdotes, and link resources they’ve found particularly helpful.
Are you regularly using any of these hashtags? Are there others you think fellow writers should know about?
Want to know more about Twitter and how to use it to build your author platform in a time-efficient way? Check out Marcy’s newest book, Twitter for Authors: A Busy Writer’s Guide. It’s available in both print and ebook versions!
About Marcy
Marcy Kennedy is a suspense and speculative fiction writer who believes fantasy is more real than you think. Alongside her own writing, Marcy works as a freelance fiction editor and teaches classes on craft and social media. She’s also the author of the bestselling Busy Writer’s Guides series of books. You can find her blogging about writing and about the place where real life meets science fiction, fantasy, and myth at www.marcykennedy.com. If you’d like a free copy of her PDF booklet Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Hiring a Freelance Editor, make sure to sign up for Marcy’s newsletter.
39 comments on “The 12 Best Hashtags for Writers”
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And here I thought I knew Twitter, Marcy! These are wonderful! Thanks for sharing! I'm going to share this post now, and use them!
My pleasure. I always find it exciting when I stumble across another helpful hashtag, so I was excited to write this post for Jenny and the rest of the WITS crew.
I'm going to have to get a twitter account and fast.
What a great tool! Thank you! I''m sharing this in a couple of groups immediately!
Thanks for sharing the post!
I'm not too good with hashtags, You made great points about how a writer can utilize them.I will give them a try!
If you're not comfortable with hashtags, you might also want to check out my post on Kristen Lamb's blog: http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/twitter-basics-the-proper-care-and-feeding-of-hashtags/. I basically give a crash course in how to use them properly.
Don't forget #NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for November. great way to connect with other writers 🙂
Don’t forget #NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for November. great way to connect with other writers 🙂
P.S. please delete previous comment as link was incorrect. Thanks
Thanks for the great addition. #NaNoWriMo is an essential hashtag for anyone participating in the crazy November dash to finish a novel 🙂
[…] you want a little clarity on what hashtags to use on Twitter, check out this great post over at Writers in the Storm. Twitter is not my favorite social media to use, but hashtags do make it easier to find and follow […]
Very helpful post, Marcy!
For women's fiction writers there's also #womensfiction
#askagent is another helpful one - same idea as #askeditor but great for writers in the query trenches.
I'm really glad you added #askagent. I considered including that one, but I wanted to keep my post to a reasonable length!
[…] https://writersinthestormblog.com/2014/11/12-best-hashtags-for-writers/ […]
Marcy, since I am twitter challenged, this post is a blessing. I'll also check out your post on Kristen's blog. Much thanks 🙂
Thanks for the list!
These are awesome, Marcy! You know I adore Twitter - especially when I've got it filtered with hashtags or list so I see what I want to see. 🙂
We sure appreciate you sharing the "good ones!" I hope everyone runs out and buys this book. These "Busy Writers Guides" are marvelous. 🙂
Another to add to your list: #litchat. Great conversations about writing and books. I think they post twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Okay, Marcy. You're helping push me closer to the Twitter edge that Jenny, Laura and Orly have been bulldozing me to. These look great!
Wooooo-hooooo!! *does happy dance*
You won't be sorry. Take the leap!
This is a great list, Marcy. Thanks for sharing it! 🙂
This is great, Marcy. We should have a hashtag for this post! #WITSawesome to start with! I LOVE seeing all the people commenting here that they'll take the leap onto Twitter. It's so fun.
If I can convince more writers about the value of Twitter, then I've completed my mission. It's such a great tool and fun!
This is a great list, Marcy. I've also added your book to my Amazon wishlist. Twitter is such a struggle for me - I so often feel like I'm talking to myself most of the time.
#querytip and #pubtip are also good ones to know.
I used #pubtip all the time. Love it, Chris!
Two great additions. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful article, Marcy. I think I need to order your book!
[…] Writers in the Storm has this great post for writers who use Twitter. It has the 12 best Hashtags for writers. […]
You forgot the three main ones I use for sprinting... #writeclub on Fridays, #wordgrab and #wordsprint (or #wordprints)
Then you have others like #wordscrim #wordwar #1k30min
Excellent additions. What do you feel are the main differences between those hashtags?
I've always wondered what the heck the #amwriting hashtag meant. Now I know! Definitely good for future reference.
And what about indies and independent (self-publishing) writers?
I have seen the hashtag #writingtips quite often as well #kindle and so on.
Congratulations Marcy! This guide will be a great help in the Twitterverse! 🙂
[…] Hashtags on Twitter do more than just build our author platform - they can be learning tools, provide inspiration, and help us keep up-to-date on the industry. […]
Love your books Marcy and this list I did Kristen's social media course a couple of years ago (pre wanatribe website) and I really like her approach. Living in Australia though, I'm finding that when I watcht #mywana it is full of what I suppose are scheduled bits and pieces - it's hard to find someone "live". Thoroughly enjoying the #nanowordsprints at the moment so I'll be looking at the #1k1h very soon - thanks
[…] an extrovert, online sprints help me a lot. Marcy Kennedy’s post on Twitter hashtags will help you find all the […]
Great reading all the information on # I have a twitter account, still confused on using hashtags. I need to learn more for sure.