If you think you need a perfect aesthetic, a ring light, expensive props, and a giant stack of popular books before you can start a Bookstagram or BookTok account, you really don’t.
I started posting about books before I knew what I was doing. I still don’t entirely know what I’m doing.
And now I have more than 50,000 followers on Instagram and publishers regularly sending me books for free.
So, clearly, you do not need to have everything figured out before you begin.
Here is what I wish someone had told me when I first started creating book content.
1. Start Before You Feel Ready
Yes, this is generic advice that can apply to almost everything. It is also true.
I cannot tell you how many people I talk to who have been waiting for the perfect moment to start posting online.
They are waiting until they have better lighting. More books. A prettier bookshelf. A clearer content strategy. More confidence.
The perfect moment does not exist.
Perfection is not protecting you. It is slowing you down.
Your first posts will probably not be your best posts, and that is completely fine. Nobody expects you to be amazing at something you have never done before.
Also, and I say this with love, hardly anyone is watching your first few posts anyway.
This is great news.
It means you get to experiment without the entire internet observing your every move. Post the awkward Reel. Try the carousel. Film the video. Learn what works by actually doing it.
2. Choose a Vibe, Not a Strict Aesthetic
You do not need to choose one color palette and commit to it for the rest of your natural life.
It is no longer 2012.
Your Bookstagram grid does not need to look like one giant beige Pinterest board.
What matters is that people get a sense of your taste and personality when they land on your page.
What kinds of books do you read?
What makes you laugh?
What annoys you?
What kind of reader are you?
I once posted a hockey romance video that had absolutely nothing to do with a carefully curated aesthetic. It connected with people because it felt like me.
Your personality is more valuable than perfect color coordination.
Give people a person to connect with, not just a pretty grid to admire.
3. Make the Kind of Content You Actually Enjoy
This sounds obvious, but people build entire accounts around content they do not even like making.
Then they burn themselves out within three months.
If you hate filming yourself, you do not have to make talking-head videos.
If you love designing carousels, make carousels.
If arranging elaborate flat lays brings you joy, arrange the flat lays.
If you would rather talk into your phone while sitting in your car, that works too.
You will naturally improve at the types of content you enjoy creating because you will actually keep making them.
Your audience can also feel the difference.
They can tell when you are excited about what you are creating, and they can usually tell when you are forcing yourself through a format because someone online said it was the best way to grow.
4. Engage Like a Real Person
Bookstagram and BookTok are communities.
They are not galleries where you hang up your latest post and immediately leave the building.
Do not post and ghost.
Comment on other people’s posts. Respond to the people who comment on yours. Ask questions. Have actual conversations.
I once posted a carousel responding to an extremely judgmental post about the kinds of books people read. That person was discussing reading preferences with “biblical conviction.” (Don’t get me started.)
I responded honestly, and the engagement was wild because people connected with the conversation.
People remember accounts that make them feel something.
They remember the person who made them laugh, made them reconsider a book, validated their opinion, or finally said the thing everyone else was thinking.
A beautiful post might catch someone’s attention.
A real conversation gives them a reason to stay.
5. Be Clear About Your Reading Taste
Your opinion is what makes your account worth following. Anyone can post a picture of a book. Your audience wants to know what you thought about it.
Why did the book bother you?
Why did a character’s decision feel completely ridiculous?
Why did you DNF it?
Why did you stay awake until 2 a.m. reading it even though you had responsibilities the next morning?
I talked about Theo of Golden and the casual racism that kept appearing throughout the book without any meaningful consequences.
To me, those moments did not contribute to the character development. They felt like they were included without being properly examined or addressed.
People responded because the criticism was specific and honest.
“Great book!” is easy to scroll past.
“This specific character choice bothered me, and here is why” starts a conversation.
Specific is almost always more memorable than vague.
You do not need to be mean or manufacture controversial opinions for engagement. You simply need to be willing to say what you actually think.
6. Stop Comparing Your Beginning to Someone Else’s Middle
When you look at a Bookstagrammer or BookToker with 100,000 followers, you are seeing their middle.
You are not seeing their first awkward video, the post that got 11 likes, or the 20 captions they wrote before developing their current voice.
You probably have no idea what their first posts looked like or how long it took them to grow.
Give yourself permission to learn in public because that is how you actually learn.
Also, people are not analyzing your content as closely as you think they are.
Most people are scrolling while watching television, waiting in the school pickup line, or hiding in the bathroom for five minutes of peace. They are not building a detailed case file about your font choices.
Stop overthinking it and post the thing.
7. Keep Your Reels Simple
Yes, Reels can help your account grow.
No, you do not need to become a professional video editor overnight.
A simple talking-head video can work.
A short clip with text over it can work.
A video of you holding up books can work.
You can also create carousels, which have performed extremely well for me.
Canva will become your best friend if you enjoy designing content.
I once created a carousel about books that make it impossible to function like a normal human being while reading them. It performed well because the idea was relatable and the execution was simple.
Your content does not need to be complicated to connect.
In fact, some of the posts I spend the most time creating receive very little attention.
Then I will throw something together in a few minutes, and naturally, that is the post everyone loves.
The internet enjoys keeping us humble.
8. Focus on Consistency, Not Constant Posting
You do not have to post every day. You need to choose a schedule you can realistically maintain.
Posting three times a week for a year is more effective than posting seven times a week for two weeks and then disappearing because you are exhausted and resent your own account.
Choose a pace that fits your actual life.
You can also schedule posts in advance, which helps more than people realize.
Scheduling removes the daily decision of what to post and when to post it. That daily decision-making is often where people become overwhelmed.
Batch your ideas.
Film a few videos at once.
Design several carousels in one sitting.
Schedule them and move on with your life.
Your Bookstagram account should add something fun to your day. It should not become another full-time job you forgot to negotiate a salary for.
You Do Not Need Permission to Start
Bookstagram and BookTok are some of the most fun places on the internet.
Book people are my people.
I sometimes enjoy consuming book content even more than I enjoy creating it.
The barrier to entry is genuinely just showing up.
You do not need the perfect bookshelf, a ring light, hundreds of books, or to understand the algorithm.
You need a book, an opinion, and the willingness to post before everything feels perfect.
So, if you have been waiting for permission to start your Bookstagram, BookTok, BookTube channel, or book blog, this is it.
Consider permission officially granted.
Tell me where you are in the process. Are you just starting, a few months in, or still thinking about creating an account?
Share your channel or account in the comments. I want to see what you are making, and I will probably follow you because I cannot consume enough book content.
