Authors on Social Media

Reading a book can be a very personal experience, so it’s not surprising that avid and casual readers alike want a chance to contact their favorite authors. A decade ago, people sent letters to their favorite authors. Now, getting in contact with them can be as easy as a tweet. Check out this infographic and learn all about the most popular authors on social media. This infographic is not only designed to help you get in contact with a few of the most popular authors alive today but also to shed more light on social media trends among authors.

While there definitely wasn’t enough information for any definitive conclusions, a few interesting trends did arise. All but two authors on the list had a Facebook and a Twitter. Four of the authors don’t have Goodreads accounts, which was the most surprising finding; I thought every top-selling author would have a profile there. Only three use Tumblr, a blogging website that’s currently more personal than professional. While more authors are on Google+, half of those have only a few hundred followers. The numbers are far from predictable — books sold don’t correlate to followers, and popularity on one site doesn’t mean popularity on another.

The follower counts are also interesting. Facebook and Twitter are the clear winners in terms of pure numbers. They’re the most popular social media accounts from the ones listed, which probably accounts for the insanely high numbers. Authors with an older median readership tend to have more popular Facebook accounts, while the YA authors dominate on Twitter. There are outliers, such as George R.R. Martin. Only time will tell if those discrepancies will remain the exception or become more normal. But there’s no reason for you to wait — send your favorite author on the list a tweet or message today!