I generally assume that I am the last to find out about things these days. It’s not something to be proud of but it’s not something to beat myself up over either. I have a busy life and I not only spend a lot of time on my own interests, I keep up with many of my kids interests as well.
Luckily the kids also love books, and games but if I’m not approached by the kids to approve an app I’m likely to never see it at all. I don’t go scrolling for new stuff very often because my hobby time is super limited and I see plenty of new stuff I have to check out just scrolling my newsfeeds on social. That being said I am wondering how I never heard about Wattpad before this year?! Well last year now.
What is Wattpad?
Simply speaking it is a place for amateur and professional writers to share their work. The app encourages socialization around stories and in that way communities / fan bases are built. Most contributors aren’t getting paid on Wattpad but this platform can help them find an audience and help authors launch careers and sometimes even publish books through traditional channels.
So much of the content is free for readers but there are advertisements between chapters to help pay for the app. If that bothers you you can pay $5.99 a month (at the time of this post) to read interruption free.
Not only is Wattpad great for writers but it’s an awesome app for readers too! You can read so many stories for free. If you see a premium story you like, you use Wattpad coins to read it and that helps to financially support that author. If you don’t have the cash to pay for Wattpad coins you can watch a few ads and earn coins to pay for your premium stories.
Another feature I am loving about Wattpad is that you can download the stories (within the app) so you can read them offline. This is great for devices without a mobile plan or for anyone who travels to places with crappy internet connections. Just download your story in advance and you can read when you want whether you have signal or not!
This is my personal profile page and yours would look similar. Since Wattpad is meant to connect readers to writers (and also readers to other readers) there is space to share your website and social media accounts.
Using Wattpad to Write More
Honestly when I signed up for Wattpad I intended to be more of a reader. Although I want to publish books it has always seemed out of reach for me, and to be frank novels still seem out of reach this year. The short story I wrote for Wattpad was an idea from a disturbing dream.
I don’t have time to make it into a finished novel this year, but I might add more to the storyline throughout the year. Honestly I thought that other people might have some great story ideas to add to the plot and it seemed like a fun idea to practice creative writing with others.
I published this story under Creative Commons / Non-Commercial which means that anyone can use the ideas and framework of my story to create their own spin off. They just have to acknowledge me in their spin-off story and they can’t sell the work commercially without coming to talk to me.
I love that this is a platform that people can come together, collaborate, and be clear about what people are allowed to do with the stories. I think it’s a fun way to write that isn’t so lonely as you can upload one chapter at a time and potentially even receive feedback on it. Receiving feedback on works in progress can be helpful or stifling so choose what you upload wisely.
Can Using Wattpad Help You Become a Traditionally Published Author?
If you were hoping to become an author this platform seems like it’s a great place to build an audience while you write your book. There a good many Wattpad authors that have broken into traditional publishing as well.
The Dark Heroine “Dinner with a Vampire” by Abigail Gibbs is said to appeal to Twilight and Discovery of Witches fans and I am a fan of both.
The Amanda Project by Amanda Valentino and Melissa Kantor was published by Harper Teen. You can view and purchase both of these books on Amazon by clicking the images but you can also read them for free on Wattpad.
If you want a bigger list of traditionally published authors that used Wattpad to find more support, check out this article on Goodreads. It may not be common to break into publishing this way but it can be done!
Look for Fun Things to Read on Wattpad!
You don’t have to be a writer to enjoy this platform and Wattpad makes it so easy to get started finding the types of stories and books that you will enjoy! You check a few boxes at the beginning when it asks about genres you enjoy and Wattpad offers you suggestions of stories you would like.
Wrap Up
Wattpad is a fun app that makes it easy to find new writers and to start writing stories yourself whenever you are inspired to write. I can’t believe I didn’t find Wattpad earlier but I’ve been spending most of my time caring for little ones and working the past few years. I generally hear about new stuff through my kids and friends but the kids are too young (Wattpad recommended age is 17 or older).
The subject must have never come up when I was hanging with the girls. Either that or I had so little time it never registered. I didn’t learn about Wattpad until I joined Twitter and found a community of writers, which is amazing by the way! On the off chance that you hadn’t heard about Wattpad I wanted to give it a shout out.
Not only will it provide hours of free entertainment, it also puts writing within reach of us mere mortals. Although a novel still looks out of reach for me this year, having this app gives me an easy place to write and share one piece of a story at a time.
It provides excitement throughout the process of writing which I think can fuel creativity in a way that locking yourself in a room and writing a whole novel might not. I don’t think I’ll be making a novel out of my nightmare-inspired short story but you never know. I honestly thought it would be more fun to see where other people might take the story.
So if you enjoy creative writing feel free to read my short story and see if it inspires you to write your own chapter. Please be kind if you offer critiques as it’s hard to make a sensible storyline out of a dream and I haven’t written a creative story since the year 2000! You’ll find my story here. Believe me, I know it’s not for everyone and it’s not a pleasant story. Yet…
Would you believe it?! Two people have read it already! Some people will read anything lol. That just shows you that you can in fact get your own stories in front of people. If you want to be a writer or enjoy reading what are you waiting for?!
Sign up for Wattpad here and no I don’t get a darn thing if you sign up for Wattpad. I’m just sharing out of the goodness of my heart because I think it’s awesome and people are happier when they have a creative outlet!
If you don’t have the confidence to start writing right away consider getting some books on the subject. The Creative Writing Coursebook includes helpful methods from over 40 authors. It’s nice to have advice from a wide array of people when you are just getting started, just look for ideas that light you up. That advice will often be the catalyst to get you moving toward your goals!
If this book doesn’t appeal to you there is no shortage of creative writing books on Amazon and you might want to check out what’s available at your local library too!
Best of luck to you writers and I hope all you readers enjoy some new stories! If you have any Wattpad story suggestions, or tips to make Wattpad more fun, please leave it in the comments!
Thanks to everyone for stopping by today! I hope you are staying happy, healthy, and well.
Take care!
Kat @CraftingGlow
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