Bluesky for sapphic fiction authors

While many sapphic fiction authors (myself included) are still on Twitter, many are also looking for an alternative. Bluesky seems to be increasingly popular right now, so I thought I would share some tips for Bluesky for sapphic fiction authors.

Bluesky works similarly to Twitter, so there’s not much of a learning curve.

Posts can have up to 300 characters; you can like, share, and reply to them.

You can download the app on your phone via the app store or access it on your desktop computer.

Get an invite code

Right now, Bluesky is still invite-only, but more sapphic authors are on Bluesky now, so it’s easier to get an invite code. Ask your author friends who might already be on Bluesky.

If you are already using Bluesky but don’t know how to find your invite codes: Swipe right in your Bluesky app to see the invite codes that Bluesky handed out to you. Most users get a new code every 1-2 weeks.

Create an account

• Download the Bluesky app from the app store. It’s the one with the cloudy sky.
• Open the app.
• Click “create a new account.”
• Paste in your invite code, enter your email address, choose a password, and enter your birthdate.
• Choose your Bluesky handle. Usually, you want your username to be your author name.

Set up your profile

Once you have created your account, edit your profile.

Tap on the profile icon (the one on the right in the bottom menu), then click “edit profile.” Here, you can choose your display name, which should be your author name.

Under “description,” mention what genres you write and other interesting details about yourself. Add your website URL too.

Also upload your profile pic and a banner. You can use the same profile picture and banner, with the same image sizes you’re using on Twitter.

Here’s what my Bluesky profile looks like:

Find fellow sapphic authors & reviewers to follow

I put together a Google doc with the handles of sapphic authors and reviewers who have already joined Bluesky. If you’d like to follow me, I’m @jaeauthor.bsky.social on Bluesky.

Once you picked a username, add yourself to the Google doc and use the list to find fellow authors on Bluesky.

Follow feeds

Instead of following certain hashtags, you can follow certain feeds. I recommend following the “Mutuals” feed, the “sapphic books” feed, the “queer romance” feed, and the “queer bookworms” feed.

How to find and follow these feeds: Tap on the “feeds” icon in the bottom menu. It’s the icon in the middle, next to the search icon. Where it says “discover new feeds,” type in a keyword such as “sapphic.” From the list of feeds, pick those you want to follow by clicking on the + symbol next to it. Below, you’ll find a few suggestions.

Use keywords instead of hashtags

Bluesky hasn’t implemented hashtags yet. Instead, you can use certain keywords to have your posts show up in LGBTQ book-related feeds.

I just created a “sapphic book & WLW” feed that will show your post if you use any of the following keywords:

• sapphic + any of the following words: book(s), novel(s), fiction, story, romance, romcom, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller.
• lesbian + any of the following words: book(s), novel(s), fiction, story, romance, romcom, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller.
• WLW + any of the following words: book(s), novel(s), fiction, story, romance, romcom, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller.
• Sapphfic
• Lesfic
• Sapphic September
• Sapphic Book Bingo
• IHS Reading Challenge

All you have to do is to use any of those words in a post; you don’t have to use hashtags. For example, if your post says “My sapphic romance Unexpected Love is on sale,” the feed will pick it up because you included the keyword “sapphic romance.”

There are also several other feeds for sapphic and LGBTQ books:

• “Sapphic books,” “lesfic,” or “sapphfic” for the “sapphic books” feed.
• “Queer romance,” “LGBT romance,” “sapphic romance,” or “lesbian romance” for the “queer romance” feed.
• The rainbow + bookstack icons for the “queer bookworms” feed.
• “Queer adult SFF” for the “queer adult SFF books” feed.
• The book stack + earth/globe icon for the “diverse books” feed.

Write an intro post

Once you have set up your profile and followed a few people and feeds, post an introduction. Here’s a screenshot of the type of intro post many sapphic fiction authors have posted: