6 Things Every Author Needs To Know About Wattpad

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Wattpad has carved a very comfortable resting place for itself in the online reading market. With 16.9 million unique global visitors per month and an average of 30 minutes spent reading per visit, it’s easy to understand why it’s getting a lot of attention.

Hype and hysteria aside, I’m sure you’re left wondering what the real benefit is. You’ve heard that it’s a “must-have” exposure tool and that it has “revolutionized the relationship” between authors and readers, but what does all of that really mean and why should you care?

Wattpad in a nutshell

Wattpad has been referred to as the Youtube of writing because of the way it enables authors to share their work with the world. This has to be my favorite description of the social media platform as it really captures the interactive nature of the site.

Authors can upload either the completed or working version of their books for readers to read. It is not possible to upload a book as one single file, it has to be done on a chapter-by-chapter basis.

Wattpad is entirely free for all of its users which means that authors are actually giving their work away for free with no option to sell on the site.

How does it work?

Wattpad is for everyone with an interest in books. Setting up an account takes a matter of minutes and is just a case of creating a username, uploading a picture and mentioning a bit about yourself.

When authors post a chapter to the site, there is the option to customize the chapter by adding searchable keywords, pictures, and videos. There is also the option under the “Advanced” tab section to add an external link to your book, although I would not necessarily get too excited about this as readers won’t and don’t click it (I don’t know why, but they just don’t).

Wattpad upload chapter
Uploading content to Wattpad

That being said, you can (and you should) add external links to your book on your profile page as well as on any comments that you post relating to your book or chapter. For example, if a reader asks where he/she can read more of your work, you can post the link in your reply and send them off to your Amazon page or author website.

At the end of the day, Wattpad is ultimately a social media site and should be treated as one. In other words, if you are willing to adopt a systematic approach, there are certain benefits that are yours for the taking.

Let’s have a look at this in a bit more detail.

1. You have a captive audience

People who sign up to Wattpad are clearly interested in books and because of that, there are millions of engaged readers looking for their next great read. But before you minimize my article and rush over to Wattpad right now, remember this: Wattpad is a social media platform and as such, the golden rule applies:

Always actively engage with people who are reading your chapters. If someone has left a comment, make sure that you respond to their comment as soon as you can. Take the time to look at your reader’s profile so that you can engage with them on a personal level.

If you want to breed reader loyalty, spending a bit of time getting to know your audience will go a long way to increasing sales. It will also help you better understand your readership which in turn will help you focus your marketing efforts outside of the site.

2. Serialization keeps readers interested

Serialization, if done correctly, can lead to reader loyalty and Wattpad is acutely aware of this. You have to release your content on a chapter-by-chapter basis which in turn encourages continuous engagement with readers. Loyal readers can register themselves as a “fan” and as such, will receive email alerts whenever their favorite author posts something new.

This level of engagement is a very powerful thing as dedicated fans will be more inclined to follow your writing beyond the realms of Wattpad.

However, things can go wrong very quickly if you do not post chapters regularly as readers could lose interest and move on. Consistency is crucial to the success of serialization so it is best not to join Wattpad if you don’t have a completed book (even if only in the first draft) to share. Readers like knowing that once they’ve invested in a book, they will be able to read the story to the end.

What this also means is that you need to be prepared to give your whole book away for free. Posting just one or two chapters of your book will not generate interest and will end up irritating readers.

Side thought: After chatting to a few of our clients about their Wattpad experiences, it became clear that timing is everything. Chapters that are posted on a Friday afternoon and a Saturday morning have the most visibility.

3. Interaction is encouraged

Wattpad is all about interaction and as such, the site actively supports dialog between authors and readers. Readers are allowed to rate and comment on whatever they are reading, giving authors a chance to refine their work or test out new ideas for characters or story development.

Wattpad readers certainly seem very willing to engage with an author and provide feedback as a startling 5 million new comments are posted every month. It goes without saying that the quality of the comments will vary from the inane to the constructive.

Receiving reader comments and feedback is definitely one of the main benefits of the site, but author-reader interaction can be taken one step further. Authors are also given the option to broadcast messages to their readers.

Think of a broadcast as a tweet or a Facebook status update that is posted on your homepage and emailed out to your fans. This is a very useful feature as authors can post teasers, external links to their books, and even create reader polls to garner more detailed information about their readership.

The broadcast feature is exceptionally useful to an author, but should also be used with care as too many broadcasts can annoy your readers.

4. Meet some like-minded people

This is a benefit that is often drowned out by the idea that social media should do nothing but “work” for you. At the end of the day, social media is social, and as such, it provides a great opportunity to meet some like-minded people.

One way to connect with people is to read and comment on other author’s stories. Many authors that we work with dismiss this as a waste of time, but if you are serious about building up your network, there is no better way to do it. Of course this is a slow and steady approach, but you have to start somewhere.

5. You can (potentially) crowdfund your book

Wattpad have very recently announced their new crowdfunding platform called “Fan Funding”. Fan Funding is based on the same principles of any crowdfunding campaign in that authors can appeal to their fans to donate money to self-publish their book. Authors can offer incentives (i.e. t-shirts, signed copies, ebooks, etc.) for donations, and campaigns will run for a standard 30-day term.

Perhaps the largest distinguishing feature of Fan Funding is that all books partaking in the program will still be free to read for Wattpad users. In other words, readers can read the book before deciding whether or not to donate which means that donations are more likely to come from people who actually enjoy your writing.

As Fan Funding is still in its trial phase, I am wary of commenting on its success. However, I will say that Fan Funding is a very natural step for Wattpad as the site has an established reader-base and of course, many Wattpad authors have existing relationships with their readers.

6. Science fiction, fantasy, and YA are the dominant genres

Although Wattpad has over 20 genres available on the site, science fiction, young adult, and fantasy books are without doubt the most popular genre. A large part of this trend is because the majority of Wattpad users are teenagers and 20-somethings who lean more toward these genres.

So, if you’re a fantasy, YA, or science fiction author, this will be music to your ears. However, if you write historical fiction, the uptake on your book may be less than you expect.

Wattpad author categories

Do you have the urge to sign up now?

Receiving honest feedback from real readers is an invaluable part of the writing process, and for that reason, Wattpad is a useful tool for authors. But the market research possibilities are not to be sniffed at, as authors are able to connect with and gain deeper insight into their readership and indeed their genre.

However, as is the case with all social media, there is no guarantee of success or increased sales. There is no harm in putting you and your book out there, as long as you are realistic about the response that you are after.

I’d love to hear about your experiences or concerns with Wattpad. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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168 thoughts on “6 Things Every Author Needs To Know About Wattpad”

  1. Arabella Sheraton

    I write Regency romance and I took a chance on that and Wattpad. Great response. I was disheartened at first, seeing other authors with 22000+ reads. However, readers find what they like. I have gained over 9000 reads on my very first novel. Lots of great comments. I think it works although, sadly, I kept thinking if only I had a dollar for every read of that novel… Yes, one must be prepared to give away a whole book. I found putting up chapters made people edgy. And I didn’t have time to keep copying and pasting so I eventually surrendered to demands and put the whole books up.

    1. Hi,
      I didn’t know how to post a new comment, so am responding to an existing one. I was very excited about Wattpad when I saw the number of readers and I did follow your advice except participating in discussions. I shall do that but I thought for a new post with a beautiful cover, at least a few readers are bound to click. But there hasn’t been any views and it has been almost 14 hours. How could it be? One explanation: it is not even visible to people. I posted under Romance, General Fiction, added my Amazon link, uploaded the lovely cover and posted the first chapter. The formatting changed from the original but that can’t be the reason for people not reading it? Everything is left aligned due to the conversion to text format. I sent a message to Wattpad folks. However, if there is something else, please let me know.
      Many thanks.

      1. I am also a writer on wattpad and have been bouncing around between genres for years. After being a member for a little less than a year, I personally love the site. So far, I really only have one question: Is there a way to see who views your stories/books without the reader leaving a comment?

        1. Maybe if it says, “blah blah blah added your story blah blah blah to their library or reading list or whatever.” That’s how i usually tell but if there is nothing i don’t think it is possible sorry. :/

        2. No, thats sort of invasion of privacy. If they don’t vote or leave a comment then they don’t want people to know they read your story. And either way its not really important who reads it.

      2. Lol you expect reads to a new story by an unknown author in 14 hours? Time to answer the clue phone. To stand out amongst the millions of authors in wattpad you’re going to have to work at it!

        Get into the community and start talking and answering in the club forums (that are the same as your book type.) Make sure you post a chapter at lest once a week. Go through wattpad and search for other authors story’s that you enjoy ad read the whole book. Make honest comments on every chapter that you enjoyed.

        Make friends with readers, anthers and critics. Ask politely for critics to critique a few chapters of your book. If they ask for a payment of a follow, a comment or to read a few chapters of theirs do so.

        Make a new cover every few months to peak more interest of your book. Check your notifications for anyone new followers and always thank them and follow them back.

        Rince repeat for about two years and you’ll be sitting on about 3k or more readers.

        Also never beg for votes as its bad taste. Votes are rare expecually if your book is loved as most readers they become engrossed into it to the point that they forget to do it. lol So just ignore votes they’ll come with time.

        Learn good grammar, spelling say/vs tell (need both one is not better then the otehr as some writing styles side heavily one or the other. People seam to like a good balance.)

        And engaging story with a good plot is key.

        Do be so assured that your book is gods gift to the world, yes bereave in your self and your book but falling in love with it is only going to hurt you.

        Listen to the critics they are not trying to be mean they are trying to help and teach you. When they point out something scour goggle/yahoo for author help sites on the problem.

        Do all the above and your reader base will grow, anything worth doing takes time!

        1. TheEccentricAuthor

          Well, you may be wrong. I joined wattpad 5 hours ago and I already have 53 reads! If you don’t believe me, my wattpad name is MA310703, and you might have guessed from my name, I’m eleven years old. The type of novella I have written was in the romance genre. If you wish to read my new novel, it is called Romantic Fates. It will not show, for some reason, on the google search. However, if you do wish to check it on the actual site, it will pop up. Regards, a wattpad writer

          1. Same here. Since a few weeks, Wattpad stories no longer show up on Google.

            If I search for “Michelle Rowen Wattpad” on bing or yahoo, I get a link to Michelle Rowen’s Wattpad page. If I do the same search on Google, I get a link to Goodreads (an Amazon company) and Facebook.

          2. lol I searched for your username, MA310703 and there is not account by that name. You have to be 13 or older to join Wattpad. I’m not playing the “I have more reads then you game” it’s immature.

            If anyone wishes to find me you can look up darkocean and the story Soul Tear. For a while their it was ranked #164 in Fantasy, it’s hard to get ranked at all in that category as there’s lots of competition.

            I am always looking for a critic that is willing to give constructive feedback, as so often they can spot things I can’t.

            Anyway, stop worrying about the reads and if they go up or not and if the book is something -worth- reading in the first place.

        2. You may want to re-read your own advice. There are so many typos and grammatical errors in your post that I personally wouldn’t take you seriously as a writer. That’s just a little constructive criticism for you!

          1. It frankly isn’t that hard to get views in the Fantasy genre as long as you have the right strategy. I started my book some time back, I’m guessing a month or a month and a half and my highest ranking has been #18 in Fantasy while my reads are around 1.3K

        3. Thanks a bunch!
          I also have a few questions.
          I’m a writer on wattpad. I’ve posted a few chapters, I regularly update, but unfortunately my phone got spoilt and I have no backup whatsoever. I’ve forgotten my password and everything. How do I get my work back, and how do I tell my readers about it?

      3. I believe that there are forums out there for just that purpose.

        One word of advice- Do NOT, for any reason, advertise you book in the comment section of someone else’s. Its rude to the writer and honestly, how would you feel if someone cared so little about your book that all they wanted to do was advertise theirs?

        I personally am more likely to click on a book with a nice cover and remember, the moment you get a few people to vote on your book the reads skyrocket. Maybe ask for, say, 5 votes for the next chap? Then you could increase to 10, then 20, then 40 or at a slower pace, again, depending on interest.

        Be sure to respond to as many comments as you can and respect it if someone is trying to be helpful. If the comment is rude, delete it and don’t let it get to you (remember, if the person cannot give a reason why that actually has something to do with your writing, what do they know?). If it is kind respond and if it is a constructive critique then even if it is not flattering, at least look into it as you may learn something important, after all that is what wattpad is all about!

      4. Gaining reads on Wattpad is a slow process for most people, if you got any reads in less than a day of posting a story then you are lucky. If you have no reads by New Years, then you can freak out. The key to getting reads on Wattpad is to go on the forums. Focus on being active in your genre forums, the cafe, and the improve your writing club and talk to people outside of the forums. Something as simple as striking up a conversation with someone through private message about something you have in common can go a long way toward getting you followers and reads. Read other people’s books and give thoughtful comments on them. But most importantly, FOLLOW PEOPLE WHO WRITE SIMILAR STORIES, comment on their stories. In my experience as a Wattpad user the more active you are on forums and commenting on books, the more reads you get. And follow back people who follow you, it increases your exposure.

        1. For my story i got 67 reads the first day then 100 reads two days later…is that good? Well now im at 749 reads which is average after it’s been on for about a month.

          1. As a dedicated Wattpad reader AMD a long-time user of this app, I can offer some advice on a personal front and from what I have seen other readers like and dislike.
            •NUMBER ONE RULE- be consistent.
            You can have the worst story in the whole community of Wattpad and still have readers with this one simple step. I myself have read and stayed with multiple stories with many grammar, spelling, plot line/flow mistakes just because my sleep deprived self thought the story was funny and how adorable the author was because of the dedication. That simple.
            •RULE NUMBER TWO- Be kind to your readers and other authors.
            I have dropped wonderful stories because of how toxic the author can be or because of how they don’t seem to be involved with their audience. Another ‘be kind’ part is to explain yourself clearly. Replying comments can be tiring for authors but exhilarating for us readers, especially if it is to explain something we didn’t understand about the story. Another thing authors can do is to simply correct mistakes readers find. I often go back to reread stories and love when I see that an author corrected something I or another reader noticed and pointed out. This tells your readers that you ‘hear’ them even if you don’t reply to comments.
            RULE NUMBER THREE- Have fun.
            I can tell when the author is upset or really passionate about what the are writing. A lot of other readers I have ‘met’ can see this too and it brings a personal touch to write when you are in a mood that matches your writing.

            On another note, we can also tell when you force yourself to write. Sometimes you just need to have a separate file for writing prompts for yourself to be able to play with when you are in a dry spot. Remember that while there are haters the are also fans to support you throughout your journey. Consider joining fandoms and finding common interests/experiences with your audience as this is also a sweet spot to include in author’s notes, comments, and in your characters’ lives.
            Thank you for your wonderful stories!

      5. Hi! I am an accomplished writer on Wattpad, and just thought I’d share a little bit of my advise!

        First off, who ever commented and said that in 2 years you’d be at 3k, is crazy. It has been probably about 3 years since I started my first book and I am now almost at 700k. It is a romance/comedy book. You will definitely have more than 3k readers in 2 years, lol.

        -Now, that being said, just make sure you have clean grammar(people get annoyed with untidy writing).
        -Don’t Rush your story! Don’t move too fast, make the readers sit on the edges of their seats, wondering what will happen.
        -Cliff hangers! Readers hate them…but it makes them want more!
        -Whatever you do, don’t beg for votes, it annoys the crap out of readers.

        I wish you the best of luck! If you want to contact me for any sort of help, my username on wattpad is @AlwaysBe_a_Dreamer

        1. “You will definitely have more than 3k readers in two years”, that is very true. XD My story right now is pretty much 750 reads, and it’s only been a month. So multiply 750×24 and you get way over 3,000. Also if I follow you, can you follow back? And thanks for the advice. 😉

      6. Sometimes, users just don’t see you’re work. I’m on wattpad and one of my story didn’t had views for a couple of days even if I noticed my followers. Be patient. It comes. I only have 60 views but I know that someday I’ll reach more. I hope for you that people will see your work.

      7. My daughter started writing on this app. You do not get people immediately reading your book. It is a slow process, but after 6 months my daughter has 896k reads. I was inspired to upload my novel. I just started last week and I only have 56 reads. I’m @skywhitehorse . It takes time, but I think you need to be patient as it will not happen overnight.

      8. Wattpad is very popular, and however much work, tears, and sweat you put into it, it won’t become popular until you’ve gotten popular yourself. Do not advertise on others stories—unless it’s an ad book. Gain some followers via commenting and become friends with small writers—in the future, they’ll reference you! Getting reads doesn’t simply happen overnight—you need a compelling storyline and discription, not to mention an eye catching profile and good ground to stand on.

        Make a social media page for buessness only, and the right way to advertise is through tags. Since yours is romance, I’d suggest making it TeenFic and having a tag be Romance. TeenFic is the most viewed in romance and vice versa, so doing this is a smart move as it’ll be staying true to yourself as well as publishing the tags right.

        And finally: no one likes bad grammar! Make sure that all your words make sense and consider others’ views and opinions.

        —Bindi~

      9. The reason might be that you’re not following anybody. I have been on Wattpad for a couple of months and I learned that many people that you follow have a high chance to follow back and read your books. Another reason might be that you’re not taking the time to know the site and talk to people.

    2. My partner and I are experimenting with posting chapter by chapter. One piece of advice we saw elsewhere which we are currently testing went more or less as follows:

      01. After you post your latest chapter, add a new chapter. Title it.

      02. Thank your readers for reading thus far and give them a teaser for the next chapter(s)

      03. Give them the actual date when you will post your next chapter – and stick to it come hell or high water.

      04. Suggest that the reader becomes a fan so they are notified as soon as you update your story.

      05. Suggest that, if the reader likes your story, they should vote for it, comment on it (all feedback welcome) and explain how this will really help you to reach a wider audience, encourage you in your writing and make you a better writer. In other words, make the reader feel they are contributing something positive.

      Do these ideas work? We have no idea as we only started to upload my partner’;s first story, Araminta, a fantasy romance, this week so it is still far too early to tell! I offer the ideas in the hope that it might help you and others to make the most of Wattpad.

      Incidentally, thank you to the author of this post: there are a couple of ideas here which my partner and I will definitely be putting into practice – especially the one about including the external links in any comments we make on the stories of other authors. We publish on Amazon this weekend so it will be very interesting to see if Wattpad makes a difference!

    3. Not sure authors are doing themselves a favor here. Feedback is important but putting your work out there where anyone can take the concept is risky. Publishers no doubt prefer it to amazon self publishing because less self published books are for sale, competing with theirs. More of the pie for them. So maybe self published authors will go away and leave them the monopoly they now have to hare with Amazon. They hate amazons set fee to them as it is. Now they over price their authors books and then claim they arent selling the numbers whether total gross revenue reflecting the increased cost increases or not. This seems like a creative writing sandbox. If you’re going to make your work available you have to treat it like a business.

      1. I used to think that, but actually it should be the opposite effect. With wattpad giving free material to read why would people pay for more expensive books? I got my kids are kindle and they download mostly free books now so I don’t have to spend money. Also the fact about people stealing your idea is not that likely and once you post it you should be able to prove that it was your idea first. If anyone makes money off of your idea you can Sue. My user name is @skywhitehorse

    4. I just came across Wattpad because I was looking up how to find Beta readers. My question’s are, do you have to put the full book up? (I do have a completed book, actually I have two completed books.) Or, do you put up a chapter a day? Do readers usually give you advice on what needs to be edited?

      Any feedback you could give me on how the site works would be greatly appreciated. I don’t want to put anything up yet until I fully understand how this works.

      Thank you for your time,
      Hali Chieffo

      1. You don’t have to post the entire work at once. I goes chapter by chapter. Some people only sign up on the site so they can read free books. You could start by doing that and see how you like it. And readers can post comments, but it is pretty slow at first. Your story has to gain popularity. I’m under @skywhitehorse

      2. Most readers don’t leave in depth critiques when they comment but if you decide to upload I will critique for you my user name: trozin.
        You upload chapter by chapter… you do’t have to upload the entire book but it often makes people upset if you don’t. If you don’t plan on posting the entire novel put that as a disclaimer in the beginning. There are options to select what kind of copyrights you want on your work. If you’re hesitant about posting I’d suggest using a novel you’re not so attached to as a test run. And yes is does take time to build up momentum. Maybe writing some fan fiction first to get people’s attention before posting your beloved completed novels.
        -wish you the best

    5. Be_true_be_you14

      It took me about a month for one of my books to become popular and compared to many others I’m still not there but with 74k reads I’m glad Its not to hard to become know on Wattpad if you Interact with the othrs, you just have to start following people getting to know authors and just having fun while reading

    6. Has anybody else besides me noticed you can only read part of a story without signing in? I refuse to make an account just to read. I think it’s very wrong to do that as it feels like they just want to spam and an honest website would not try to force readers to sign in just to read something.

    7. Hi, one thing that the article did not mention is that authors should also be thick skinned. A lot of the time, authors take down their pieces due to criticism. I must warn you, people can be very rude and unrealistic and their commentary allows them to share their opinion, which is not always helpful. It can be very degrading and hurtful.

      1. I used to think that, but actually it should be the opposite effect. With wattpad giving free material to read why would people pay for more expensive books? I got my kids are kindle and they download mostly free books now so I don’t have to spend money. Also the fact about people stealing your idea is not that likely and once you post it you should be able to prove that it was your idea first. If anyone makes money off of your idea you can Sue. My user name is @skywhitehorse . To Khisha- yes readers can post rude comment, but you can block them from making further comments.

      2. Just ignore anyone who is being rude, if they are realy bad there’s no need to take what they say to heart. Just move on and find another critic and see what they say, eventually you’ll find a few nice ones that want to help you grow as a writer, those are the ones that matter.

        I like to surprise the cridics that give critiques with a dedication on top of whatever kind of payment they asked for, even if I don’t like the critique they gave as they still took the time to try and help me. <3 Also always read their books too the back and fourth is great for both sides. My favorite is when a critic spots a logic error or plot hole, those are hard to spot.

  2. Thanks so much for your comment Arabella. Given that your books had such a positive response on Wattpad, did you find that this had an impact on your actual book sales at all?

  3. Arabella Sheraton

    Yes, I think so. Not huge, but I don’t think readers’ buying habits come in a huge surge. I noticed a 25% increase. Actually, I did not even connect it to Wattpad, so your question has given me an answer. The most important result from Wattpad was readers’ responses, saying they LOVED the books, how they enjoyed the characters, how they hated the villains. I think the best benefit of Wattpad is I discovered I can write great Regency romance, and I think all writers want that acknowledgement, whatever their chosen genre. Your article mentions sci-fi, fantasy and YA being the most popular. I think you should add romance (all kinds). I trawled through the various genres, and was astounded by the number of reads some romance writers had gained.

  4. Thanks for your comment Arabella, and good to know that romance should be added to the list of most popular genres.

      1. Standout Books

        Hi Skylar,

        I’m sorry to hear that your account has been hacked; how awful!

        Wattpad doesn’t have a phone number so I would suggest emailing them at [email protected] as well as mentioning that your account was hacked on their user forum.

        I know that site moderators regularly read and reply to comments made in the forum so this may be a good way to get someone to help you.

        I hope this helps and you get an answer soon!

        Bronwyn

        1. I want my story to show up in the search but it never does it has 384 reads and 68 votes and 13 comments. My wattpad name is Asap_Nerdd13. I really want my story to be noticed when people search up other stories and my stories have similar tags but it doesn’t show up.

          1. Hello Sarah,
            I’m sorry to hear that. Everyone wants their story to be read and it’s probably hard when they might not even be able to read it. This never happened to me before, but I just wanted to say that I hope you can fix it/it will be fixed soon. Again, nothing like this happens to me so I probably shouldn’t even be talking but I just wanted you to know that I hope it will be okay.
            Best wishes,
            Nightwing

  5. Hi,

    I am the author of The Brighter Side Of Homelessness. Also an E-book. I have enjoyed your simple but very informative and friendly way of giving info to enhance our knowledge.

    You are great! God bless you.

    With Love,
    Eileen

  6. What do you think the reaction would be if you upload most of your book but leave out the last three chapters, with a link to your book at the end?

    1. Hi TM,
      That’s an interesting question.
      To be honest, I don’t think it would go down very well if you uploaded all but three chapters of your book. Wattpad users expect to read an entire book for free so I would recommend sticking to that. Readers like knowing that once they’ve invested in a book, they can read it to the end.

    2. Yeah, I really wouldn’t recommend doing that. People who only post teasers to their books or don’t post the whole thing and then expect you to buy it are the worst. I have previously gone to a book and taken back ever vote and comment and praise on other social network because someone did this.
      However, I have bought a lot of finished and whole books on Wattpad because the author was not only a great author but also understood that Wattpad is first and foremost a free site where the readers opinion is in charge.

      1. Em, I agree that posting just a teaser can cause resentment, particularly if the teaser is everything except the last three chapters.

        I have written a trilogy and have post the whole of book 1 in the hope that anyone who has enjoyed it will consider buying the other two books. I’ve had no negative comment about that so far and have sold a few copies so I’m happy.

        1. This is what I’m planning to do as well. Since my first experience on Wattpad saw over 350,000 reads and tons of positive feedback, I posted another novel today with links to my amazon page where they can find the other 2.
          I was hesitant at first but realized that as an artist who has been given some public validation, I shouldn’t be ashamed of trying to sell my life’s work.
          If Kanye can expect to be paid, so can I! 🙂

  7. Hi, Thanks, you’ve written an interesting article on Wattpad.

    I published the first book of my ‘ancient magic meets the Internet’ trilogy on Wattpad. I’ve had about 38,000 reads and plenty of useful comments. I’ve used the exercise to re-edit the book and tighten the writing so for me it’s been a useful experience.

    I do wonder how writers get real traction on Wattpad… some of the stories have millions of reads which is amazing!

    1. Hi Ken,

      Thanks so much for taking the time to read my article. I’m happy to hear that your Wattpad experience has been useful in the development and shaping of your book.

      Unfortunately there is no secret formula to gaining millions of reads on Wattpad as there are so many factors at play. That being said, there are certain things you can do to influence the situation. For example, it is not uncommon for users to ask friends/colleagues/family members to promote your stories on Facebook, Google+ and Tumblr. There are also a number of dedicated Wattpad bloggers who promote Wattpad authors on their blogs which increases traction and readership.

      Engaging with fellow Wattpad users in the form of commenting on a chapter, asking advice or being active in a forum is also a great way to promote yourself and your stories. Of course, this takes a lot of time and effort but it is very effective.

      1. Hi, Thanks for the reply. I think your advice is good… Wattpad’s similar to most social networks in that you get back what you put in.

        I tracked you down on Wattpad in the hope of checking out one of your stories… do you not publish any work there?

        Best regards, Ken.

        1. Hi Ken,

          Glad I could help.

          I work with many authors who do currently publish on Wattpad but as far as publishing my own work is concerned, I am about two-thirds of the way through my book and plan to start publishing on Wattpad as soon as my book is complete.

          Wishing you all the best,
          Bronwyn

      2. My cousin needs help. She’s gonna create a book that’s all about the life of Taylor Swift. What could be the effect? Will she get critisiscism s? Because she’s really worried that when she creates that book some might say she just got it on google. But She really got it on her limited edition book and she just summarized it. She’s really a crybaby so i’m really worried about her.
        Tnx. 🙂

    2. Mr. Ken,
      I think 38,000 reads IS real traction – a ton of traction at that! I suppose if a person had a million reads, though, they would probably still look at those with more views and wish to have three million. That is what I remind myself when I am disappointed with the results of views of my own writing. Keep your head up and keep writing! Maybe if people like your further works, they will feel compelled to take a look at your previous ones. Also, if you don’t mind, would you give me a link to your page? I would love to check it out and see what was so interesting as to gain 38,000 reads! 🙂

      1. Hi Michaela, I’m passionate about writing and I guess I always want to do better. I posted my first book on Wattpad in the hope that lots of people would love it and buy book 2 which is on Amazon… I’ve had a few sales through this route but I’m still no JK Rowling!

        Here’s the link – http://www.wattpad.com/story/2270469-dark-tidings . I hope you do get a chance to check it out… I’d love to know what you think.

        What’s your link and I’ll have a look at one of your stories?

        Good luck, Ken.

        1. Mr. Ken,
          I think it’s great that you want to do better because it causes a drive to keep going, but it’s also good to remember to be somewhat content with the success you already have or you will never have enough. Certainly, I’ll look at that story soon. 🙂 Thank you.
          At the moment, I don’t have any stories posted anywhere on the internet, but I have posted some poetry. So far, I have posted 26 poems and have 1,207 views overall, but that is on blogspot.com.
          I have only posted 3 poems (all of which are also on Blogspot) to Wattpad and I’m not sure if or when I will post any stories. I am still thinking about it, as I’m not sure what it will accomplish to post them. I may write some short stories just for Wattpad, but I have not started on that yet.

          1. Hi Michaela, I am extremely happy with what my writing has achieved so far, I didn’t mean to give the impression that I wasn’t. Like all authors, I want thousands, no millions, to notice and hopefully appreciate my work. As they say, if you shoot for the stars, you might hit the moon.

            I’d love to hear what you think about my Wattpad story… I hope you do get the chance to check it out.

            Best regards, Ken.

    3. Apply to have your book featured. There’s a simple app on the site to fill out. They may or may not feature it, but it can’t hurt.
      Good luck.

  8. Hi, I stumbled across your blog looking for information about Wattpad, because I was finding precious little on the website itself. I have some questions you may be able to answer for me.

    1) Is it possible to automate one’s chapter uploads so that they upload, say, once a week (or whatever the optimal spacing is) at a specified time?

    2) Is it possible to be notified of comments on the book via email? How do I deal with feedback? Deal with as opposed to reply to, which is a given — but what are the logistics of the site?

    3) The book I’m thinking about uploading there is a four-part short story, around 8800 words. Is that a good idea or will readers be ticked off that it’s not a full-length novel?

    Thanks! I’ve subscribed to your blog via RSS, because your articles look interesting.

    1. Hi Meg,

      Thanks so much for stopping by to read my article (and for subscribing to our blog).

      Those are great questions and I’ll try my best to answer them.

      1) The Wattpad platform is quite simple and straightforward so doing things such as automated chapter uploads is not possible. You will need to manually cut and paste your chapter into the text box as and when you post.

      2) You can opt to be notified of comments on the book via email, however you will also be emailed when people have read, liked or replied to something. This can be overwhelming and many users complain of email fatigue as users can easily receive anything from 2 to 20 emails a day. I know users have requested a notifications tab similar to Facebook’s, but nothing has changed yet.

      Regarding dealing with comments, there are two ways you can see the comments made on your book: 1. either click on “my news” on your homepage, or 2. scroll to the bottom of each chapter to read the comments that have been made (this can be a bit of a pain).

      3) There is a whole section dedicated to short stories and many short stories receive large numbers of readers. Short stories are becoming increasingly popular so if you have a short story, go ahead and share it (as long as you are prepared to share the whole thing).

      I hope this helps Meg, but let me know if you have any other questions.

      Good luck!

  9. Hey,
    This is a question that has been plaguing me for a while. If you put your story up on Wattpad, won’t somebody come across it, take it, and publish it as their own? And by publishing, I don’t just mean on Wattpad, I mean out there by a real publisher and all.
    Thanks!
    P.S. Your blog is quite useful and an interesting read.

    1. Hi Shagun,

      Thanks so much for stopping by.

      That’s a great question and is one that regularly crops up in Wattpad forums. As soon as you publish your work on Wattpad (or wherever for that matter), it is automatically copyrighted to you. That being said, I always advise adding a simple copyright notice at the bottom of each uploaded chapter to avoid any doubt.

      Of course, adding a copyright notice won’t stop people from stealing your work or ideas if they want to, but what it does mean is that you have the right to take legal action against the person that has stolen your work/idea if need be.

      Wattpad take copyright issues very seriously and encourage users to email: [email protected] as soon as users know that their work/ideas have been stolen so that they can investigate the issue.

      I hope this helps Shagun.

      Wishing you all the best.

  10. Hi, Ms.,
    First, thank you for posting such a brief, though informative, article. It has answered quite a few of the questions and quieted some of the concerns I had. Second, I am thinking about posting my own writing on Wattpad, but I am hoping to research the website, its workings, and its general atmosphere a bit further before I begin. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions, technical and otherwise, which I have about the site, as not many resources have been provided on the matter. 1) Can the authors know which specific people read or have read their books? Can they see which readers put their books into their private libraries or public reading lists? Would I receive a notification if someone were to add my book or other work to their library? 2) I am a senior in high school and several events have arisen in my life recently where I believe I would not have had the time to spend writing and updating my work had I been doing so at the time. If I began a book on the website and progressively posted updates, do you think the readers would become frustrated with me if I did not update on a completely regular basis, such as every week on a precise day? Should I simply finish a full book before I begin posting to be sure that I am able to post updates regularly? Is this necessary for a loyal audience on Wattpad?
    I am sorry my comment was so long, but thank you for taking the time to read it. I would highly appreciate any light that you may be able to shed for me on this. ~ Michaela B.

    1. Hi Michaela,

      Thanks very much for taking the time to read my article.

      You have raised some really good points and I’ll do my best to answer them.

      1. You are able to see who is currently reading a chapter of your book at any one time. If you click on the chapter, there is a box called “Who’s reading” on the right of the page. This box shows all the people who are currently reading that chapter but not who have read (past tense) that chapter.

      I don’t think you would receive notification of whether someone has added your book to their library.

      2. When it comes to adding new chapters, it is best to be as consistent as possible. It is for this reason that I recommend you have a complete draft of the manuscript before you join Wattpad as you do need to regularly post chapters. If you think about, if someone has finished reading your first chapter and loved it, they will want to read your next chapter as soon as possible. If the next chapter is not ready or if there is too much of a delay in posting your next chapter, that reader could potentially lose interest and move onto another book that does have the chapters added regularly.

      I hope this helps Michaela.

      Wishing you all the best,
      Bronwyn

      1. Hi there! I couldn’t figure out how to write a new comment, so I figured I’d just reply to one that has answered some of my questions, and to add new ones:
        I’m currently in the process of self-publishing an e-book on Amazon, which I hope to have out by mid-November. I have read that I would be giving my book away for free on Wattpad, and I was wondering if that would have a negative or positive impact on my sales?
        Wouldn’t publishing it on Wattpad just have people reading it for free and then not buying it because they have complete access to it on the website?
        I would love to publish my book on Wattpad and receive an interested audience and get comments on the book, but I am afraid the above would happen, and I don’t want to risk it until I have other opinions on this matter.
        Thanks for your time!

        Smiles,
        Emily Welsh

  11. I want to sign up for WattPad but I’m concerned about copyright and people stealing my work and claiming it as their own. I know this might be a stupid question but is there anyway to prevent it?

  12. Hi Ms. Brownyn !
    Im a psychology student & im currently doing an undergrad. Thesis about wattpad and its impact on interpersonal relationship. Im just gonna say that your article enlightened me more about wattpad & it will surely be a good addition to my review of literature. 🙂

    1. Hi Jeisha,

      Thanks so much for your very kind words. I’m so pleased this article is proving to be a useful resource in your research.

      Wishing you the very best!

  13. Great post. My question is, can I just post to the site for a promotional period-say six months-and then unpublish my book or is it up and available for free there forever?

    Bryant

    1. Hi Bryant,

      Thanks for stopping by.

      You can remove your books from your Wattpad profile at any stage. All you need to do is go to your Library and click the Edit button next to your profile picture. Hover your mouse over the book cover you want to remove. An x will appear; click the x and then click save. Your book will then be removed from your profile.

      I hope this helps! All the best,
      Bronwyn

  14. Great article! Extremely helpful.

    As I’m just about ready to serialize my book on Wattpad, I’m trying to find the most optimal times/days to post/upload parts of my story. Are the days you listed previously (Friday & Saturday) still the choice days for posting. I’m in California, so I’m trying to gage the timezone thing as well, not to mention my book has an international twist…Any thoughts???

    1. Hi Melanie,

      Thanks so much for reading my article, I’m glad you found it useful.

      Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are by far the best days to post to Wattpad. California is currently 8 hours behind London so if you post your book in the early morning (around 9am), you will be able to reach readers in the US and the UK.

      Wishing you all the best,
      Bronwyn

  15. Theodora Koulouris

    Hello, I have written a story on wattpad and today I noticed that my story is taken off the “discover” section. You know the place I used to go and check my numbers, I was on the hit list for historical romance but this morning I noticed that it has disappeared from the list. Please help me, thank you.

  16. I’m worried about using wattpad because I dont want someone else to copy and paste it and claim it as thier own.

  17. Great post. I’ve been on Wattpad for a while, mostly posting poetry. I’ve been thinking about expanding into posting a novel, but don’t have an idea at this time that complete enough to post regularly and on time. I can see how it works well for some authors and I find it interesting that some professionally published writers are taking part in wattpad, as well.

    1. Andrea, you should try posting the first few chapters of you novel. You can get some great feedback and encouragement on Wattpad and that might be enough to spur you on to complete the project.

      I had a completed novel when I started posting however I used Wattpad as a mechanism to help me revise the book and make it significantly better.

    1. Standout Books

      Hi Kiana,

      Thanks for stopping by.

      As far as I know, you can’t share an account with another author; the profile set-up is very much designed for single use.

      Best of luck,
      Bronwyn

  18. Hello. As a previously-published author, I’ve been shirking Wattpad for two main reasons:
    1. Worries about people breaching copyright; and
    2. Worries about giving away something that I’ve spent 3 years writing (it’s like giving a baby to a million strangers, and not knowing whether or not it will still be your baby afterward).
    There’s also a third minor concern:
    3. Worries that the teen-20ish audience on Wattpad might not ever be interested in ‘slow burn’ type books that pack an impact down the track but don’t try to use flash-and-grab tactics; therefore I might not be the right writer for them. (Yes, you’ve picked the flaw in that argument: the whole world of publishing is that way inclined, so if I want to stick to ‘slow burn’ I may never find another reader.)

    It’s thanks to your article that I’ve rethought some of these positions.

    1. Copyright. It’s true that people do kidnap works and try to publish them for money elsewhere, but it’s fairly uncommon, and it’s more like mice eating little bits of the grain store than full scale theft. If a book gets highly popular and becomes something of a money earner, the mice will scurry.

    2. Giving work for free. Perhaps Wattpad should only be approached after a writer has written 2 complete works. That is, you give one away to Wattpad and try to use it to lure people to buy the second book (whether it’s a series instalment or a stand-alone novel). Much effort is wasted if one’s book is a hit, but there’s nothing by way of follow-up.

    Note: people use Wattpad for editorial advice, but I’m a big believer in going to actual professional novel mentors and critics for that. People (readers) do know when a book isn’t working, and they may also know what’s wrong, but it’s much more rare to get useful advice on how to rework it.

    3. Perhaps it’s time I got off the ‘slow burn’ treadmill and started on the speedier one…

    Many thanks,, for such a reasoned and informative article. Your blog (and the various answers you give to comments) has made me rethink my stance on Wattpad.

  19. Wattpad inked a deal with a local publishing company in the Philippines allowing them to hand pick some promising writers, help them publish their works and eventually land a movie deal.

  20. Thank you for writing such an article for us writers. I have been with Wattpad for several years now and am happy to share my works with readers. Like any social media, I am aware that the more I get myself out there (in Wattpad land) the more awareness I generate for my books. That is something I need to work harder on since I am stretched so thinly with my other social platforms as well as family here at home. Eeek!

    I came here to garner tips on how to improve my marketing technique–any little bit is helpful. Success to every writer!

    Thanks again.

    🙂
    Elizabeth Mueller
    ElizabethMueller.com

  21. Just to say that my daughter spent months researching and writing (and rewriting) her book on Wattpad, only to have some despicable individual plagiarise it (they had to have a split screen and copied it word for word) and publish on their own Wattpad profile. My daughter found out by two of her followers telling her about this other person; she immediately informed Wattpad who after a few days witheringly told my daughter ‘as it is only a few chapters copied there is nothing they can or will do about it’. It most certainly is not a ‘few chapters’, so what do we do now? I am extremely disappointed in the off hand attitude of Wattpad – so be warned and wary of Wattpad helping in such circumstances as they don’t. Also, when my daughter complained she was number 400 in the queue!

    p.s. I deliberately have not posted any information about my daughter’s book or profile, so that people do not think I am just here to promote her. This is a genuine problem and I believe others should be made aware of it when using Wattpad. My daughter has over 700,000 reads of this book (yes that’s right 700,000, how proud am I?) and the plagiarist has stolen 86,000 reads from her as they should have counted towards my daughter’s reads.
    Despicable!

    1. You go proud mom!Seems like your daughter has real talent,may I suggest that you try getting her published or on another platform like Amazon.

    2. This is a very serious allegation. Yours is literally the only charge I’ve ever heard of plagiarism on Wattpad…you should be providing proof, making such serious charges. It is like accusing someone personally, in real life, of theft without presenting any evidence to us whatsoever. “Afraid of giving your daughter publicity?” Hmm…this tale is dubious at best.

  22. Hi! I’m really interested in Wattpad but need advice.

    I’m currently trying to get my first of a trilogy of YA fantasy novels published, sending out queries to agents left right and center. Would it increase my chances of snagging an agent if I had my trilogy up on wattpad, or decrease them? On the one hand positive reader response might show them there’s a market for my book, and God knows Anna Todd’s success story shows this can work. But on the other hand might it put them off picking me, if I’ve already given my audience all three books for free? I’d love to hear what you think on this issue.

    1. Hiya Niya, I’ve written a fantasy trilogy and published the complete book 1, Dark Tidings, on Wattpad. To date, it’s had about 300,000 reads.

      http://www.wattpad.com/story/2270469-dark-tidings

      At the end of the book, I advertise the other two parts of the trilogy. Quite a few readers have gone on to buy book 2, The Black Conspiracy.

      I think this approach might work for you. Give the first book away free and see how many reads you get and how much interest you generate for the rest of the trilogy. If book 1 is popular, that might help encourage an agent to bite.

      Good luck.

  23. My publisher had me put up my first YA book (about 6 months after it was available in stores), chapter by chapter (one per week), until the release of my 2nd book. That was in Sept (to Feb) and that book, Truly, Madly, Deadly, has over 2 million reads. It’s been out for nearly a year and it’s still selling at a really steady pace. We put up the first 3-5 (can’t really remember) chapters of my 2nd book and that hasn’t fared quite as well (in terms of reads), but it, too, is selling at a pretty steady pace. I get about 120 fan emails per day and at least 1 each day tells me that they went out and bought the book after reading it or “told all my friends they have to read it.” I respond to as many emails as I can and I love it! I even got the idea for a book I just sold strictly from a conglomeration of my teens “guesses” about who/why the murders happened in my book! I think it’s a great way to meet readers and get them excited. I also like to pop in every couple of weeks, pick someone at random and offer to send them a book or some swag. It’s awesome. I highly suggest it.
    BTW, I pubb’d one chap (or section) of my book every Wednesday at 12 noon. If I was late, I got hate mail 😉

  24. Hi, great article you have there, but I kinda need help

    In my home menu, there’s always a tab for a news feed and notification tab right? But the problem is when I click the notification tab, it won’t open! But before it would always open Please I need your help!

    1. Nihi, there are many stories on Wattpad by ‘real’ authors… For example, I’ve published the first book in my ‘ancient magic meets the Internet’ trilogy (in the hope that readers will go on and buy the next books in the series).

      There are also books there which have achieved millions of reads… their authors are clearly talented and may be using Wattpad as a platform to build a fan base and attract an agent or a publisher.

      Ken.

  25. Hi,
    I just posted a story in Wattpad, and I can see the ‘amount’ of people who’s reading it. But I wanted to know ‘who’ read them. I wanted to know the usernames who read it, but can you do that on Wattpad? I found it hard to do that since I’m a newbie actually.
    Thnks, hope for the reply

  26. Hi. I just wrote a 10 chapters worth of time and I only uploaded chapters 1-3 before I wrote 7 more chapters. And it wouldn’t uploaded the rest but I saved it. My internet was being stupid so I had to reset it. And I just lost all of it. Is there anyway I can get it back? I’m so mad that this happened. I’ve never uploaded a story before this was my first one. I saved it but it’s not there. Does it really make a difference if I don’t publish it. My question is is there a way I can get it back cause I didn’t take any pictures or anything of it and I can’t remember any of it. It was so perfect too! Please reapond ASAP !

    1. Hi Emiley,

      Just to clarify, are you really saying that you typed your work into Wattpad, letter by letter, from your mind? And now it failed to save, because ‘Internet’ happened?

      If so, my heart really bleeds for you. The work is gone, but your amazing skills are still there and have grown stronger by doing it, and by caring about it when it was lost. It is a very common experience for creators in every field to complete something that they worked hard at and then look at it feeling as though they will never create something better. Then off they go and surpass their own expectations. I’m sure you will do the same.

      A word of advice. Do not type directly into Wattpad. It is not designed for it. Either type into something that saves as you type, like Google.docs or type into something on your computer, keep multiple copies, backup regularly and email it to yourself often.

      Your best is yet to come,

      Tim.

  27. I have a couple books on wattpad. A few questions that I have are:

    1. Is having a cast for your book a good thing or a bad thing? Will it help your book at all?
    2. I want to improve my writing. Do you have any sites that could definitely help me?
    3. Follow me? @endlessly_writing
    4. Different ways to expose your books to get more votes, follows and reads?

    Any other suggestions to help me out would be amazing 🙂 If you would follow me on wattpad and then send me a message with some suggestions, that would be ideal.

    Thank you.

  28. Hi, i’m a newbie on wattpad and it has been giving me some problems. I downloaded the mobile app and i can only read stories, i can’t create mine. Also after reading i can only vote i can’t comment. So used one of my browsers to login on wattpad and i created a story and when i clicked on save the story just wasn’t there anymore. Also is there anyway i can communicate with other authors and readers on wattpad? Thanks.

    1. Hey Nora!

      I have absolutely no idea how to help you. But if you want to follow me @ endlessly_writing
      then I can try and help from there.

      And if you can’t follow people then just re-comment and let me know your username 🙂

      Sincerely,

      Kenna

  29. Late last year I posted a short story (very short, 1000 words,) on Wattpad. Very soon I saw that it was becoming my most popular posting and I was getting requests for more chapters. I complied, and soon realized I was writing a novel that has now gained a readership of almost 2 million and counting. I’ve almost completed the book and am already having requests for sequels.

    What is great about my Wattpad experience is that the readers really are my fuel. Their continual commentary really drives the narrative, for eg: when they pre-empt an outcome at the end of a chapter, I’ll make sure the opposite happened in the next, etc.

    I work full time, so sticking to weekly updates can be tough, but you really must update consistently otherwise readers will abandon you.

    I was always realistic about writing, it’s a hobby, a creative outlet, but the teenage fan base I’ve accrued on Wattpad has made me sit up and think.

  30. Hello there,

    One of my favorite things to do is to write.
    I just began my first story, and am awaiting reads.
    If you’d be kind enough PLEASE go read it.

    Fugitive
    By: Madison0the0Writer

    Thanks!
    -Madison

    1. Hey, Madison!

      I’d like to give your story a try but i can’t find you or your story in Wattpad.
      I’ll try to look for it again, though.

      Best regards!

      -Joi

  31. Hello, I have just published my first story on Wattpad. It is a short story in the thriller genre, but I am not getting as many reads/votes/comments as I had expected. Am I missing out on something?

  32. I’ve been on wattpad for a couple of years now, and I agreed with a lot if your article. But there were a few key things I think you left out.

    Wattpad is mostly populated with younger girls. Most stories that reach millions in views are either aimed more towards teenagers or are featured and are the first books you see on the front page (which is something you can’t achieve yourself). Most readers like quick, easy reads. If your chapter is extremely long, you’ll have to have a very engaging story plot to encourage someone to read that much.

    When I first signed up for wattpad, I uploaded several stories and one of them reached to about 6k reads. It was a YA romancy-humor story (which humor is another top category, at least from what I’ve seen). I set up another account more recently, with more short stories. One of my short stories is up to about 15k reads. I’ve also made a rant that has passed this at 16k (I’ve learned that the more chapters you post, the more reads it adds on per reader. Which makes sense why my rant book has more reads when my short story received a lot more attention).

    Another thing to consider: covers. Covers are everything. Even I am guilty of ignoring books with poorly made covers. Before you even upload a story, you should look into the cover making business. Beautiful covers, short but interesting summaries, and good first chapter hooks are great way to attract readers. A lot of the readers who read my short story would read through the whole thing AND the sequel in one sitting (mostly because my summary is odd and my first chapter hook is shocking)

    If you’re looking to attract reads more than just share what you love to do (write), then I would definitely float around on wattpad and get a feel for the place before posting anything. There are also some really great guidebooks on there as well

  33. I listed some chapters but can’;t see the point of the hype. If someone gets 22,000 reads and earns $0 and I never had books on Wattpad and sold 1000 in 4 months for $6.27 each – who makes more money? But…if you are just interested in feedback before release, Wattpad is probably essential for the 99% of writers who don;t know how to market their book.

    The problem is, once you give something away for free, they’ll expect your second book for free, as Wattpad readers rarely pay for books elsewhere.

    The choice is clear then. If you want to make money, don’t use Wattpad. If you only want the buzzy feel, use Wattpad. But decide what you want and be under no illusion that Wattpad will launch you into stardom, it hasn’t done that with a single author yet.

  34. I had two books posted on Wattpad until quite recently – the first of which had been chosen as a featured story and subsequently received over 650,000 reads. After some serious soul searching I deleted my account. Why? Because Wattpad, like many other forms of social media can end up resembling a grand popularity contest. People obsess over stats, they make comparisons between how many reads they’ve got – and to be honest that’s not why I write. I write purely for the sake of writing. Having given up my account, I now have much more time for doing just that, and I’m thinking more creatively about how to share my stories.

  35. Hi. Im a lil bit confused about how wattpad works. Its about the votes and comments. I post a story with some comments on it. Then i need to change a few parts on the story and some paragraph. my question is, will i lose my comment and vote if i edit the story? Because i have some comment in one paragraph then i changes the paragraph. Is it possible that the vote and comment stayed? Please i need the answer soon. Thankyou

    1. If you edit you existing chapters then your comments and votes will still remain. If you delete/remove any chapters then you will lose the comments and votes on that chapter. Hope this helps 🙂

  36. I love this article and I love wattpad!! I joined wattpad a couple of years ago just because I wanted to read. When I learnt that I could write on there too, I did and I loved it even more. I wrote a book called ‘Pretend’ and posted it chapter by chapter. I spent a lot of time in the clubs and also talking to and replying to comments on my book, page and inbox. I found that after a few months the book took off and before I knew it, it had over a million reads. I started to get a lot of people asking where they could buy the book and so I looked into publishing it on Amazon. When I did, I sold over 10,000 copies in the first three months. I left the draft version on wattpad and to date I have over 9 million reads and am still selling copies on Amazon. So, I definitely think that wattpad can really help sales. In my case it helped me to gain a loyal following/readership. I don’t write as much on wattpad any more but I use it to answer a lot of reader questions. I still love the site and know that my writing career wouldn’t even exist if it wasn’t for wattpad but you do have to put in a lot of time to reap the success. So, please be aware of this. 🙂

  37. I have added numerous tags to my story but it can’t be found in an internet search nor through Wattpad’s browse tool. Please advise!

    1. The tags are something that take time to be recognised. I’m not too sure that you can actually do anything about that other than just waiting for your book to organically be associated with the them The best thing to do is give it as many tags as possible and allow for people to have a wide range of ways of finding you 🙂

  38. Well, this was interesting. 😀 I joined wattpad a week ago, though I was inactive for that 1 week, and I started doing everything today. Of course, I’m samantha-1070, as my name says. All the stories are good, and I honestly prefer it over Fanfiction.com now.

  39. I interviewed an indie author yesterday who regularly uses Wattpad for her fiction,

    “Don’t think that Wattpad is going to translate into sales, because I believe that’s not going to happen. But Wattpad is a great way to find people who like what you’re doing and who will push you maybe to people who aren’t using Wattpad. It’s also full of people who will help you refine your stories. If you’re posting your writing week on week on Wattpad, they will comment, they’ll vote, they’ll tell you the things they like as well as the ones who they don’t think are working. It really helps push things forward, and it’s actually how Teeth came into being.”

    1. I think that’s limited thinking. 5 years ago, nobody thought you could translate anything from YouTube or social media into sales. You never know which way the tide will turn. There are people who make millions of dollars a year from YouTube because YT found a way to monetize and compensate content creators. That could be the future of WattPad.

      Also, if you’re marketing savvy enough and create content people want to read, they will follow you to pay for your non WP books.

  40. Another very popular topic is Fanfiction. I have an original, Teen Fiction/Adventure story that’s been published for a month or more and it has zero views. On the other hand, I have a Fanfiction story that has a couple hundred views and sixteen likes (which isn’t much but is definitely much better than zero).

  41. Hello,
    I know I can see how many people read my story but is there any way I can see who exactly read it? Is there a feature for this? I do not have a computer or pc so I use the app.
    Please respond 🙂
    Thank you.

  42. Hello,

    I was reading yesterday about Wattpad and i think is a great tool! And thanks for your great article about Wattpad, now I have a question and if you have the time to answer it will be perfect. I came from Cuba a few years ago, my primary language is Spanish, so do you have the option to post in spanish, and does Wattpad have a community for spanish readers?

    Best Regards,
    Xavian Romeu.

  43. I’m writing a story (just like about everyone else in the world, it seems lol) but I haven’t gotten very far, so I don’t have a whole book yet. I’m too scared that my writing sucks to wait until I’ve written the whole book to put it up. Is there somewhere that I could post what I already have and get some feedback? I have my main characters sorted out and where I want the plot to go, but I’m also keen on some input. Thanks a lot!

  44. Is Wattpad appropriate for young writers? I’m considering this tool for my 9yr old daughter (with some parental oversight). Just curious what others think. Thanks.

  45. Hey guys! I’ve been making wattpad accounts and deleting them on and off for quite some time. Tbh it’s really hard to get my stories noticed. Everytime I write stories it’s always YA/fan fiction. I realized the people with the biggest reads in this category are those who write about sex a lot. Theirs nothing wrong with that ,however I don’t think its fair that that’s all people want to read about. What about the character development ? What about the relationships that the character have with other people besides their lover? I have incorporated sex in my latest fanfic by I only have it once and I don’t even know if I’ll be publishing that part since people are barely reading the first couple of chapters I already have out there. I’ve been writing stories and musical lyrics since I was a young child so this thing comes pretty natural to me. I just wish people payed more attention to my fanfics. It’s more than just sex. Oh well, no one never seems to like me no matter what social media platform I use.

    1. Sami-Being a writer of fiction requires an inhuman amount of patience. I’ve been at it hardcore since I was 17 (I’m 57 now). I have a novel I’m posting to WattPad and no stars yet and no comments. It’s a good novel. It’s actually great and amazing. There’s no sex though. There may or may not be kissing even. But there’s lots of discussions about who we are and the meaning of being a human in the universe. If no one’s discovered what I’ve done it’s not my fault … well, maybe it is a little (which is why I like this post)

      It seems to me you have to take the long-term perspective when you’re putting yourself out there. If you’re honest and open with people and with your work, people will figure that out. But it takes time. A LOT of time. And a lot of hard work.

      So keep at it. Give it everything you’ve got. Think big. Love your readers, but love writing for them more.

    2. What do you mean unfair? It’s not unfair that people want to read what they want to read. Stop being so stubborn and write a good story for the sake of writing, not just for the sake of wanting to get noticed.

    3. It’s mainly teenagers on wattpad and mostly girls too. Hormones demand titillation. They want perfect looks and bad boys turned good and a slut to hate …. put those in a tale and you will have a million reads in no time.

  46. Hey! Your article was really helpful ^^ I wrote a story two years ago and it got only 10 reads within the first few days so I never went back. A friend accidentally found my old wattpad account today and i was so shocked when my story (2 chapters) had accumulated 1.3k reads. I was pretty motivated, so now I’m back into writing stories and continuing that book. If you guys want to find me or become friends, i’m Milkshakechick on wattpad 🙂

    Lovely article, btw ^^ I never knew that the optimal time to post was friday night/sat morning, very interesting 🙂

  47. That article was really helpful! 🙂

    I myself have plubished 2 stories already, which got nice comments and many votes, and i love the responses i get on every single one of my chapters, i interact with my readers frequently and am happy with all the answers i get.
    I started a new story recently, its a romance and im putting all my hopes into that, i plubished 12 chapters already, but they are not getting as much views as my previous stories. I dont unterstand why can someone tell me what i do wrong?
    And if ypu want to check put my stories, just search for @Stephaniao_o 🙂

    1. It’s because the majority of readers on Wattpad are only there for fan-fiction, and the stories you have with heaps of views and votes have fan-fiction in the title whereas your other 2 do not.

  48. Hi, I just joined wattpad but when I wanted to create a story on my blackberry I didn’t see the icon”title story”… I am not able to title the story I want to create. I even deleted the account & created a new account & also verified it but its the same. Pls help me… Pls. I don’t know what to do.

  49. I love Wattpad and I love reading all sorts of books. It encouraged me to write as well. I just started writing for myself to be honest, but it would be nice if someone looked my stuff over.
    My user name is PaopuQueen and ive two ongoing books so far, and I also wanted to try doing these “Imagines” or what ever they are called 😀

  50. I use Wattpad almost daily. I’ve always wanted to be an author. I’ve started a twitter accounted just for sharing peoples stories and that’s how I get such dedicated fans. My writing isn’t the best considering I’m only sixteen. In my mind, getting dedicated fans willing to help you grow is how I can get my book Page by Page into the popular reads.

  51. I also think a good part that everyone seems to forget is patience is a key factor in your veiws as well as interacting with your followers. I know to never get upset with views because one day there will come along people that are intrested in your writing. So always have patience and keep writing.

  52. I’ve been on Wattpad for a year and I hate it. I’ve put two full books up (Scifi, 30+ chapters each) and I have hardly any views.

    I find the only time people actually read it is when I’ve recently updated it, otherwise Wattpad never advertises my books and the view count sits at 0.

    Even though it’s dishonest, I’m tempted to put the 2 books, and the 3rd in the series I’m working on, all into 1 mega-book, as some authors do, just so I can keep it continuously updated. Wattpad’s system shouldn’t force me to do that.

    Usually the same 10 books get millions of views because they get ahead and stay there. The advertising bias should be a little more random and give everyone a chance to shine, not just a select few.

  53. Hello Everyone!

    Do you have a hard time finding the right writing site? Do you wish that there was a website that is way better than Wattpad?
    – Well, if you support my new project on ‘Kickstarter’ that might become a reality.

    I have named it “Write It” because that is what the point in the website is. Read, write, be social in a new way Wattpad can’t give you, like Group Chat and much more.

    I am willing to listen to everyone since you are the reason I am doing it. The site will be free – just like Wattpad but with more features.

    Please take a look at the project and show your support by like my facebook page. Here’s the link for the project and facebook:

    Kickstarter
    Facebook

  54. Hey, everyone

    I like reading so if you have a good book, and you like someone to read I will I am always open to read anything everything, except of coarse some stuff that might go against my beliefs but anything you want me to read I welcome if you reply to this comment.

  55. Wattpad now forces you to register in order to go beyond 1/3rd of a story. WTF?

    “To continue reading please log in” Errrr no thanks. If a site is that desperate as to hide their contents till you give your email for spam then they have really bad management like Google.

    I am posting this here because nobody else seems to notice the issue while youtube’s forced mobile phone numbers got attention..

  56. Hey, my username on Wattpad is Ripplenose, I would appreciate it if any Warrior Cats or Music fans follow me and read my books! Thanks!

  57. I’m writing on watt pad, and so far I only have one chapter. It is called “Carson of many Kinds”. I’m trying to search it to show it to a friend, but it won’t show up. Why? I “published” my chapter.

  58. MIESUMAESHIMMAMURA

    I wrote a book on Wattpad and it was going well. It is called Sora and Fumiko and it had 12 chapters published. Then when I went to write chapter thirteen, my books were gone. Yes more than one book, all my books were gone! I DIDNT PRESS ANYTHING UNSUAL AND i REALLY WANT MY BOOKS BACK!

    1. It’s not you. It’s on their end and more then just Watt Pad is active in censorship causing once interesting sites to become stagnant and echo chambers.

      I’ve been around since the late 90s of the internet during the Microsoft scandals.

  59. I have just recently joined WattPad and I’m currently working on a second chapter. So far it’s been fun, I hardly have any views but between what I’ve read and common sense it’ll take time. @JoshW89

  60. I wrote an autobiography “From Syracuse to Sapporo and back in 70 Years” that I’m hoping to “get out there”, I am not trying to sell the book, just want to get it out there to the public. My book introduction starts like this: “Yankee Doodle Dandy” starring James Cagney is one of my favorite movies. I wasn’t born on the 4th. of July or any other national holiday, but I was born on Halloween …”

  61. Since you want to hear my opinion, I hope you will carefully read me until the end, because this is going to be a very long and honest message (also, excuse my grammatical mistakes, English isn’t my first language).
    My Wattpad experience was awful. In fact, I’ve left Wattpad a week ago.

    Firstly, I didn’t like the stories that are published on Wattpad, but a very few can be considered as an exception. Wattpad stories are the definition of cliche, and they dominate the what’s hot list. If you aren’t a cliche writer in the romance/teenfiction category(ies), you won’t have a lot of chances to gain readers and it will probably take you lots of months to be noticed.

    As a writer, I didn’t like Wattpad, nor the Wattpaders. They throw a tantrum as soon as you give them honest feedback, and can’t accept a little negative comment on their stories (grammar, plot, characters…). Some popular authors, too, are unbelievable. I had a drama with a popular author in the Werewolf category. Needless to say, she really had a big ego; going as far as to say that “commenting was a privilege”. My story with that author and what occurred next are too long to tell here, but if Wattpad really cares about the opinions of their clients, they should take mine into consideration, because I know a lot of Wattpaders who had a similar experience to mine but didn’t voice out their opinions.

    So, I didn’t insult nor bully anyone, but Wattpad messaged me on the website and told me I had posted offensive messages when I hadn’t at all. I used to write a book reviews which harshly (without insulting) criticised some Wattpad books I had read, and one of the authors found my review. She got mad, very mad, to the point of calling me a cyber bully and reporting/muting me. I ranted about her (and I didn’t insult her, I even protected her anonymity) in a Wattpad rants book. Guess what? Wattpad deleted the parts that spoke about her (and I swear that I didn’t insult her nor I was mean). Wattpad also deleted my account a few days ago. Guess why? Because I also ranted about the privilege author (althought I had protected her anonimity and hadn’t bullied/insulted her, I used what she had told me as an example). So, Wattpad took my books down, deleted my account, deleting in the same time my PMs with friends, and their comments/opinions on my book.

    I will never create another account, nor will I advise my writer friends to join Wattpad, because, I am really sorry to say this: Wattpad is a toxic community for hypocrite writers (let’s also say that it stinks of troll and porn accounts that take months to be deleted). I will not say that it’s every Wattpader because this isn’t true; there were really nice people on Wattpad who could accept the harshest comment/opinion and all, but the majority of the users are insecure and intolerant of other people’s beliefs/opinions. I am especially speaking about the “privilege author”. Anyways, I will not waste more of my time. Wattpad took away my rights to express myself when I hadn’t even broken their rules of conduct; freedom of speech doesn’t exist on Wattpad. Try another writing site like Fanfiction.net, there are more serious writers there.

    1. Thank you for your post, I believe you, and have seen a few other comments on the ‘darker’ side of Wattpad, and it’s really given me pause, which is really sad because I was actually thinking & excited about joining.

      Fanfiction.net is a little too ‘young’ for my tastes…you know any others?

      1. Thanks 🙂
        Trust me, Wattpad isn’t that good. I didn’t find good stories to begin with and some authors believe they are Molière. Plus, plagiarism happens frequently on that website. I could really rant about moreeeeeeee problems on Wattpad but it’d be too long.

        There’s fiction.press which is similar to fanfiction, and also archives of our own, but I don’t know if you’ll find something “adult” because stories there are mostly fanfictions. Hope I helped you!

  62. I’ve found Wattpad to be quite ageist. The majority of users are teens and, as on every writers site I’ve discovered, they dominate; it is their tastes that are catered for. Mature (older) writers get no attention whatsoever. If you are over twenty-five forget Wattpad.

    1. Yes, it seems like all the writing sites cater to tweens, which is maddening. Is there nothing for us adults!?! Do kids really read so much more than adults? Or do adults only buy books and never online? Wth is going on…

      1. Armand. I think it’s that kids have discovered that Wattpad and other writing sites are ideal places to read/write juvenile smut. Check out the books on Wattpad that get the most reads; they are so badly written but full of handsome werewolves and vampires and bad boys turned good. Any well written book, or a book written by a person over thirty is ignored. There is a SMALL group of older writers who appreciate good writing with correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. But kids rule! There is one consolation…. they will have got the bug out of their system by the time they turn thirty and none of them will ever write a classic. But it does make it hard on older writers.

    2. The thing about Wattpad is that it’s attractive to young teens (read: 11-14 years old) because its free and caters to a lot of fandoms (I don’t know how old you are or if you know what a fandom is, I’ll just assume you do). I find Wattpad to have a lot of poorly-written stories because almost all the users are so young, and by the time they get better at writing, they have moved on to a different platform because Wattpad has a reputation now for being a site filled with cringy fanfiction written by tweens. If you are an adult looking to write original stories, definitely don’t go to Wattpad. I would suggest Archive Of Our Own, which has a much better writing quality overall and has plenty of adult writers, trust me. Yes, majority of the stories are fanfiction, but that doesn’t mean original stories will be overlooked. As a writer, I find AO3 to be much more user-friendly than Wattpad. Sorry I’m replying to a years-old comment, I just felt like ranting.

  63. Wattpad forces you to sign up to view stories. They are losing a lot of potential readers hitting the “registration wall” though maybe on mobile they don’t get that prompt which is why I don’t see complaints?

    I am one of a few that still uses PC so perhaps only mobile users get free access? I guess that makes sense from a traffic standpoint as from 2014 statistics over 80 percent of web users use mobile only.

    Shame too as computers used to be able to do so much more then shopping,social and streaming. Windows 8 and 10 became a phone OS on a PC which people found out you can do it better on a (gasp) PHONE!!!!! (Slinky)! Golly bob howdy! (Woody) Oh shut up!

      1. Give me a break!

        Why would I want them to monitor my reads? That’s giving them free data. Other websites know how to track reads with and without an account.

        And now Wattpad has switched to using discourse, the wattpad community has already been a cesspit of obnoxious writers of questionable skill, writing threads like “What you hate in wattpad books.”

        If they could actually spend that time writing!

  64. Hahaha… I sincerely hope that Wattpad dies out because now it just has a reputation for being filled with 11-year olds writing very poor fanfiction. Also, with all that “go premium” bullsh*t that they started, not to mention the INCREDIBlY annoying advertisements now, they sure as hell don’t care about their writers anymore. Go to Archive of Our Own if you want actual quality stories, in my opinion. Their search function is way more detailed and infinitely more user-friendly. They have no ads or premium, they just hold small fundraisers to stay ad-free (which usually meet their goals in a few days thanks to the incredibly large number of people on AO3). In my experience, 90% of the stories on Wattpad are just… bad. Sorry, but it’s true. I’ve started putting “-Wattpad” when I search for fanfiction now

  65. Good evening,
    About writing platforms and the literary agents use from. Especially, Wattpad pretending be the most democratic. In Brazil, it’s a scam. My Wattpad colleagues authors say support is unresponsive, and Wattys Award doesn’t help authors for publishing as it’s promised. I think it’s a matter of restructuring in my country. Here’s my opinion about Wattpad “existence” in Brazil, today, and proceedings: in Brazil, it’s losing many authors who are disapointed and sad about the writings platform, also the Wattys award. I’m not one of them, anymore. I winned Wattys, and, Yes, I was very sad becouse The Wattys Award in Brazil is not intended to encourage authors to continue publishing their books or turnning Wattpad a trademark of excellence. I winned Wattys twice, I was a semifinalist twice, but I will not going to participate anymore. We never reach out to Wattpad products, such as TV productions, publications, etc. They want we pay Premium as a great momentum for our books… Good books are out of their “paid plans”. I wanted to know if here, the public platform will be undergoing some deployment or revision. I feel people are so far from working, official profiles disappear and appear sporadically in the brazilian comunity… I feel that there is a lack of stimulation for us writers who started with Wattpad a long time ago. I’m sad to see people using the platform as a springboard to paid platforms like Dream, Amazon and others, and to publish with literary agents who searches for a few names and then unlink the author from it’s Wattpad beginnings.
    Will there be any “liveliness injection” here, in Brazil? I don’t know… I’ve dreamed of seeing my 2017 Wattys-winning “Rain hunter” at least evaluated for publication by the Wattpad books label. But my book was not even evaluated… While other books, with serious portuguese and plot problems, which were not even awarded by Wattys, pass in front of me to the hands of literary agents (paid squeme). Because authors has money to pay, not a really good stuff.
    Maybe that’s how the system publishing works. But I want to believe that it is not so. Today I don’t really care about it, but it’s unfair the current things way. My country is very corrupt in many social spheres. Publishing is not diferent. Here’s my opinion for Wattpad (the major democratic writings community) and proceedings: in Brazil, it’s losing many good authors. It’s unfair, if you ask me…
    Best regards,
    MDGugik (MDG008)

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