I’ve seen quite a few people confused over the use of tags for their books on popular writing sites like Inkitt and Wattpad. Tags aren’t new and shiny anymore, but they can be hard to navigate, especially if you don’t know what’s trending.
What exactly is a hashtag? Usually, it’s a phrase or keywords that have a ‘#’ in front of them. For example, I may use #lucifersdaughter or #demonicforces for my book Brimstone. It gives a reference to what my book may be about, and these tags help readers figure out if you’re book fits their interests. Think of hashtags as search words that you might enter into the Google search bar to find something. Those are the types of hashtags you want to use for your stories.
Some websites limit how many hashtags can be used in a post or on a book. If there’s a limit, then you may want to do some research on the website for books that are trending and are similar to yours, and see what kind of hashtags they use. While some people might think unique hashtags are easier to find, they’re not. It only makes your book harder to find since most people wouldn’t search for that word or phrase when trying to find a book to read. You want hashtags that are more commonly used so your story pops up in the search engine.
When there’s a limit, you’ll want to choose the hashtags that fit your story best. You don’t have to put the book genre again because websites like Inkitt and Wattpad already have a special place for you to list your genre. No use in wasting your limited hashtags that way. Instead, you want to take the main tropes in your story and highlight those features. For example, if your story is a romance novel, then you may want to use #enemiestolovers or #friendstolovers to show what kind of romance trope it fits into. Then you may want to highlight the setting. Is it a #periodsetting? Is it at a #collegecampus?
Also, what do you want the readers to feel? Is it a #cozyromance? Does it have some #romanticdrama? Does your book have a theme or unique characters like an #arrangedmarriage or #witches?
While all these hashtags sound great, don’t forget to check the trends! If you think your book fits into a trending hashtag, then use it! And remember, you can always update your hashtags whenever. They’re not set in stone, so you can always test them out to see which ones spark more reader interest.
As for Inkitt, there is no limit on hashtags. To this I say, hashtag to your heart’s content. If your book is even a little bit like a popular hashtag, then use it. There’s no harm in having your book show up for as many readers as possible.
Author Lauren Eason 