How To Optimize Your Facebook Author Page to Sell Books [Updated October 2026]

Facebook remains one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. Authors are acting accordingly, taking advantage of the platform’s vast audience to get books in the hands of new readers.

If you’re already using Facebook for its Author Pages, great. If not, it’s time to tap into this venue for readership!

Since we first wrote this post, Facebook has moved every page to its new page experience, and the old “classic” pages are gone. The big change? Everything is much more simple and uniform, and every author now follows the same steps.

Updating your page can be a bit of a hassle, but don’t worry, we have you covered. Set aside 15 minutes, grab a cup of coffee, and check out these tips to help your Author Page get more engagement and get your books into the hands of more readers! Don’t have a Facebook Author Page yet? Check out our post on how to create one.

How To Optimize Your Facebook Author Page

Optimizing your Facebook page means putting forward the information readers want in the best, most efficient way possible. When optimizing your page it helps to imagine that you are a reader. Why are you on an author’s Facebook page? What are you looking for?

By putting yourself in the shoes of your readers, you will be better able to create a page that gets the results you want.

Before you start, make sure you’re working as your page. Click your profile photo in the top right of Facebook, click “See all profiles,” and select your Author Page.

Select “Author” as your Facebook page category

To begin, we want to define what your page represents, and the best way to make this clear to readers is to categorize your page.

How to categorize your Facebook page:

1. Click “About” on your page.
2. On the left side, select “Category,” then click “Edit” next to it.
3. Start typing your category (we recommend “Author”), and select it from the dropdown.
4. Hit “Save.”

Choose an eye-catching cover photo

One of the first things a reader sees when they visit your page is the cover photo across the top of their screen. Use a tool like Canva to create an image that has good color, but is not too busy. Bonus points if you are able to promote a book or include a call to action in the image.

Your Facebook cover photo should be around 851px wide and 315px tall (and at least 399px wide and 150px tall). For the fastest loading, Facebook recommends an sRGB JPG under 100 KB, or a PNG if your image includes a logo or text. Click here for Facebook’s exact guidelines.

Mark Dawson does a great job with his cover photos. The one below promoting his then-upcoming release has brilliant color and works well with the positioning of the profile photo on the bottom left. The image is eye-catching, but a reader can understand the entirety of it in a quick glance. It’s not so busy as to distract from the rest of the page.

Use a real headshot as your profile photo

To update your page’s profile photo, simply click on it and follow the prompts.

Our recommendation is that you use a real photo of yourself for this photo. Readers who visit your page want to connect with you. They value the human behind the work, and by using a real photo of yourself, you can deepen that connection.

Of course some authors won’t be comfortable with this, and that’s absolutely fine. But, if you’re ok with using a real photo, you should.

Write a 255-character intro/bio

The intro text on a Facebook page is short, so make every character count. If you haven’t looked at yours in a while, now is a good time to update it.

How to update your Facebook page bio:

1. From your page, click “Edit.”
2. Select “Edit” next to your intro and write your 255-character bio.
3. Select “Save.”

Your bio can be 255 characters max, but you don’t need to use it all. Write a short intro about yourself, consider including your genre, or use it as an opportunity to promote your email list.

Looking at what other authors in your genre are doing here can be helpful when coming up with ideas.

Edit your action button to meet your goals

Your action button is your primary call to action (CTA) on your page, and you get to customize it. But, before you do, decide on your primary goal for the page. Do you want readers to join your email list? Go to your website? Buy a book?

Decide on your ideal goal, and then select the action button that meets your needs.

How to customize your Facebook page action button:

1. From your page, click the “Options” button (the three dots).
2. Click “Add action button” or “Edit action button” from the menu.
3. Choose the action button you want from the options, then click “Next.”
4. Follow the prompts on screen and click “Save.”

Many authors will choose the “Sign Up” option and include a link to their email signup form. Others will use the “Learn More” button to send readers to their Amazon Author Page or author store, where readers can find all of their work with just one click. Pick what works best for you. You can always change it later on.

List your books as Offers

Facebook’s Offers section is a great way to show readers the books you have for sale. You can add up to 10 promotions, so you can give each title its own offer with a direct link to buy it.

How to add an offer to your Facebook page:

1. Click “About” on your page, then select “Offers” from the menu on the left.
2. Under “Give your promotion a title,” enter your promotion, like “10% off” or your book title with the deal (“Book Title – 20% off”). This is the only required field, and readers will see it next to your discount code.
3. If you’re running a sale or have a promotional code, enter it under “Discount code.” Otherwise, leave it blank.
4. Under “Link,” enter a URL of a page where readers can buy your book. For most authors, this will be an Amazon link, but you can also link to your own author store.
5. Under “Add a description,” write a short pitch for your book. You have 150 characters, so think of it like a tagline: genre, hook and a reason to read.
6. Repeat for each title, then click “Save.”

Your offers will appear under “Promotions” in the About section of your page, so readers can see your title and discount code at a glance.

Once a promotion has ended, simply click “Remove” next to it in the Offers section so readers don’t try to use an old code.

Adjust your page tabs

Facebook pages no longer offer different templates and layouts to choose from. Customization is a little more limited, but there are still some options for authors. You’ll need to use a computer for this step.

How to customize your Facebook page tabs:

1. Select “More” at the top of your page and click “Manage Sections.”
2. Check or un-check options to have them appear on the page. Some essential sections, like About, Reviews, Followers, Photos, and Videos, can’t be removed.
3. After you have made your selections, hit “Save.”

Create an Event

Are you going to be at a conference or a local event and want to let your readers know? Set up a Facebook Event to let your followers know when and where you will be. To create an event, go to your Author Page, open the Events section, and click “Create new event.”

Fill out all of the information for an online or in-person event in the form that appears. Then, publish or schedule the event for when you want it to go up.

That’s It!

Once you’ve followed these steps, you’ll have a Facebook Author Page optimized for book sales and event engagement. With billions of Facebook users, devoting some time to optimizing your Author Page is a great way to reach more readers. The easier it is to purchase a book, the more likely readers are to buy it. With a clear call to action, event listings, and advanced publishing tools, Facebook is a great platform for turning potential readers into fans.