Marketing My YA Fantasy Novel: Why I Finally Started Using Personal Social Media to Promote My Writing

At first, I avoided using my personal social media for one reason: Judgment. Plain and simple.

The Allure of an Anonymous Writing Account

The attraction of an anonymous social media account that none of your friends can ask you about when you go home for the holidays is exactly that: freakin' attractive. Why would I want Ruthie Sue to come asking about the poem I wrote, prying if it was about that really awkward-looking ex of mine? Or why would I want Bobby Brown to come pressing about the rules of my magical world when, um, I don't even know my main character's best friend's name yet? Or better yet, if she even has a best friend?!

And that, my friends, is the magic of anonymity—where plot holes and world-building crises can thrive in freakin' peace. But let’s be real, even in our secret little corners of the internet, there’s always something lurking, waiting to shove us into the spotlight like a bad dream where you showed up to school in nothing but your underwear. It's rude, really, but necessary.

The Reality Check: Building a Fanbase from Scratch is Hard

So, in favor of avoiding those issues, for the longest time I didn't share on my personal social media. But you know what was even harder? Sitting alone on an anonymous account trying to build a fanbase from scratch. Those 3 spam robot followers were super fun and all, but I wanted to connect with people. I wanted real humans to read the words I created, to feel something when they read them. Isn't that what writing is all about?

The Turning Point: NaNoWriMo Changed Everything

I remember the day I announced I was doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The response? A flood of questions—mostly WTF is NaNoHooligagin? (A+ effort, guys.) But beyond the confusion, there was genuine curiosity. For those unfamiliar, NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit writing challenge that takes place every November, where writers aim to draft 50,000 words—about 1,667 words per day. The whole point? Just keep writing. And suddenly, people were cheering me on, shouting encouragement into the internet void. Friends I hadn’t spoken to since grade school popped up, asking when they could read my book. Like… OKAY?!

Dipping My Toes into Sharing My Writing

From there, I started casually dropping poems onto my Instagram, using those super-trendy minimalist designs that Instagrammers love (you know exactly the ones I’m talking about). It was part of a series I called Standing Still in the Rearview Mirror of a Moving Car—because, apparently, I enjoy titles that take up half a page.

My personal favorite? A haiku I wrote, which I’m including here for your amusement:

This is a haiku,

so who the duck are you, then?

Autocorrect, f*.**

— By Leah Channas

That one, in particular, got a lot of laughs.

I also shared a huge milestone—the moment I finally finished the first draft of the novel I’d been writing for years. And let me tell you, the feeling was pure freakin’ HECK yeah. But what made it even better? The wave of support that came flooding in from friends and followers. People who had never read a word of my book were suddenly cheering me on, asking about my story, and making me feel like, hey, maybe this whole writing journey wasn’t so lonely after all.

Fully Embracing My Writing Personality on TikTok

After that, I decided to make my TikTok account my full-on writing personality. A huge shift from the weird filter trends and dog videos I was posting before (don’t worry, my dog still makes guest appearances). But it felt right—a way to be authentically myself while showing people my writing life. Sort of a “Hey, I’m a writer, but also a human. Here’s a video of my dog being weird.” And honestly? My 400 TikTok followers are thriving.

The Numbers Game: Why Follower Count Isn’t Everything

See, this is where a lot of writers get stuck. We think we need 10,000+ followers overnight for our marketing efforts to matter—because otherwise, what’s the point, right? But that’s not reality. The internet is chaotic. It’s a swirling digital void where content disappears in seconds, and people get trapped in endless scroll holes. But books? Books demand to be read. And new writers can always pop up and carve their own space—as long as they find their people.

Finding My Ride-or-Dies (And Why You Will Too)

That’s my focus for 2025. Sure, I have only 400 TikTok followers and just over 1,000 on Instagram. But those 1,400 people? They’re my people. My ride-or-dies. The kind of readers who would walk to the ends of the universe with me and whatever I decide to write.

Oh, I decide to write a collection of fables centered on the adventures of talking llamas with butts for hands? They’ve already pre-ordered five copies each.

Final Thoughts: Your Readers Are Out There—Go Find Them

This is why I’m sharing this tangent about using personal social media—because eff it, you’re going to find your ride-or-dies. And when you’re just starting your writing journey, those are the people who will form the foundation of your fanbase. So go find them.