Okay, if you have been following my Wattpad experience at all, you know I am still new to the site, but I have been chronicling my experience for anyone out there who is on Wattpad or is considering using the site.
Last time, I talked about how to build a readership on Wattpad.
Now, I am going to talk about why Wattpad is worth your time as a writer, and how you can hopefully get the most out of it.
But first, an update on my personal progress.
I have been posting twice a week for about 4 months now, and the momentum continues to build. If you’re a person who cares about stats (and Wattpaders tend to watch their stats pretty religiously), here are mine: my fantasy novel, THE SHADOW WATCH, has reached 8.3K reads and 1030 votes. The first couple months brought me to about 2.5K reads, the next month saw that many in one month, and now I am averaging about 100 reads per day (all-time high was 250 about a week ago, which was fun). I am also typically ranked in the top 200 in Wattpad Fantasy (high of #88 a couple weeks ago)
A few factors that [may or may not] have helped along with a steady increase in dedicated readers:
- THE SHADOW WATCH got added to a list on Wattpad’s Fantasy profile, which has led to a lot of users adding my story to their reading lists. I didn’t request the add, but apparently some HQ person discovered it and liked it.
- TSW also did well in several contests (I would highly recommend submitting your story to some contests! It is a great way to meet other writers, and to make your story more visible to more people. And it’s just fun!)
- I also got had a couple interview questionnaire thingies posted in preparation for the 2016 Watty Awards, which I did have to submit.
Possible factors that [may or may not] have detracted from further progress:
- I’ve had a busy summer and, while I have found time to keep at my writing every day (nearly), I have not been as active on forums and interacting with other users, outside of readers and a few writers I’ve connected with. In other words, I am not very actively networking and building online relationships right now.
- I’ve also not been reading as much on Wattpad, for the same busyness reason. How much that has affected things, I don’t know, but Wattpad is a social network and the more interaction, the better, I think.
So I want to get better about both of those.
So there you go, you can now discredit me as an amateur and move on to another blog, if you wish. If not, then read on, my friend.
As you’ve gathered, I am not a Wattpad star. Just another writer figuring out what writing looks like in the digital age. I think Wattpad is a fantastic tool for writers in that age. And I will tell you why…
But first of all, you should know that Wattpad is not a likely track toward publication.
What I mean is that you have probably read about the stars, and you’re right, it could happen to you. Your story could garner millions of reads and lead to an instant publication contract. But it probably won’t. In fact, some of the best writing on the site will not go viral, simply because it is not OneDirection fan fiction.
Most of the writers I have met on Wattpad (some of them being the top fantasy writers on the site) are going through the normal channels: write a book, query it, (hopefully) land an agent, and then follow the traditional publication path. In other words, the agents aren’t calling them at 2am, begging to represent it because they saw it went hot on Wattpad.
But that shouldn’t discourage you. Because Wattpad has lots of things to offer writers:
- Building readership — agents and publishers are asking about this more and more these days. Can you market yourself? Can you build a readership? If you write a good book and post it on Wattpad wisely, you can have thousands of people who are following you and care about your stories. That’s thousands more than the person who wrote a book in the closet and hasn’t even let their mom read it.
- Testing Grounds for your Book — Some people will tell you that Wattpad is not the spot to find beta readers. I would say that’s not true, but that you have to pay attention to who you listen to. There are lots of book clubs on Wattpad where writers will essentially trade feedback. Some of them are high-profile writers and Wattpad Ambassadors. Probably better than most beta readers I will find in my small town, and I can know who they are. On most beta sites, it is all anonymous, but on Wattpad, you can know who they are and determine how credible they are by reading their stuff and seeing the quality of their own writing. Normal readers will often leave reaction and feedback as they read, which can also be very useful. You can see things readers like and dislike about the plot. Was something too far-fetched? Too predictable? Was a scene confusing? They will often tell you.
- In-Line Comments — You can get real-time feedback from real readers of your genre. My novel, THE SHADOW WATCH, is teen fantasy. I am able to interact with teen readers, see what they like, what they hope will happen next, etc. I often have readers shipping (a term I learned from readers, which means they hope they end up together, in case your out of touch like me) different characters. This doesn’t change the plot, but may remind me not to forget about my romantic subplots, because readers like a little romance in fantasy. I also have readers who catch typos. I proofread quite a bit, but I still am human, and I miss things. Pretty helpful to have hundreds of eyes on your work.
- Connecting with other Writers — Writing can be a lonely endeavor. But the community of writers on Wattpad is typically very kind and sincere. I had several major Wattpad fantasy writers who welcomed me gladly as a newb to the site. Writers often trade feedback and encourage each other regularly. It’s not a narcissistic site. Obviously, we all want to succeed, but on Wattpad, writers are rooting for one another. They also often shout-out other writer’s works to their followers. Pay it forward, folks! Writers are also keen to help each other out with plotting and ideas. When I wrote a large scale battle scene (my first attempt at it), I asked some writers in the forums for time period information, battle strategies, and weaponry, and received wonderful tips and information. That scene turned out infinitely better the first time around as a result. Writers are also supportive of endeavors beyond Wattpad, and are keen to share their experiences with agents, self-publishing, querying, etc. It is great to have a network of writers who are so helpful and supportive. Go be part of it 🙂
All right, I know that’s not exhaustive, but it is all for now.
Are you a Wattpader? What do you love about the site? Why do YOU think it is a useful site?
LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!
If you want to check out my story you can follow the image link below: 
S.A. Klopfenstein 