An author friend of mine has used a valuable resource in getting beta readers for her book and I thought she would be an asset in telling us more about Wattpad. Welcome to our guest blogger, Lareena Goertz.
A few years ago I found a handy website for uploading stories, which
readers could read online for free. It’s easy to use and has a growing
membership. What is wattpad.com?
READ ANYWHERE:
Not only can stories be read on the website, but readers can download a
Wattpad app for their phone or tablet. If they add a story to their
“Library” reading list, the app will automatically download the story to
their device when launched. That way, even without internet, a reader
has the story on their device.
WATTPAD IS INTERNATIONAL:
One amazing thing about Wattpad is how international it is! The U.S. and
U.K. are the biggest market but it is popular throughout Europe, India,
Africa and even in the Philippines. At one point, Wattpad was the number
one downloaded program in the Philippines.
WATTPAD IS FOR READERS:
There are 24 million readers on Wattpad. Growth has been rapid, all over
the world. The core group is teens from age 13 to 18; readers must be 13
to join. And 35% of Wattpad readers are 18-30.
This isn’t a platform where writer’s put up their writing for other
writers. Only about 10% of the Wattpad community are writers, the rest
are readers. This is important, because these readers are very engaged:
they are reading for about 30 minutes at a time. It’s not just a social
media, people get online to find and read stories. That story could be
yours.
GENRES ON WATTPAD:
Wattpad seems to be open to just about every conceivable writing genre
or type. And there is a large range of writers and skill levels, from
beginner to advanced. You can put up a short story, a poem, the first
few chapters of your novel … or the whole novel. Whatever you want. It’s
very open. And relatively easy to use.
Romance and Science Fiction are very popular on Wattpad. Other genres
include:
* Romance
* Fantasy
* Mystery/Suspense
* Humor
* Science Fiction
* Historical Fiction
* Fan Fiction
* Paranormal
* Poetry
* Short Story
* Vampire
* Thriller
* Adventure
* Horror
CONTENT RATING:
Wattpad has two content ratings: Everyone and Mature.
“Everyone” includes material that would be rated: G/PG/PG-13. This
content is generally suitable for everyone on Wattpad. Stories may
contain some use of strong language, and non-graphic mentions of sex,
violence, and/or drug use.
“Mature” includes material that is generally suitable for ages 17 and
up. Stories labeled with ‘Mature Content’ may contain frequent use of
strong language and graphic depictions of violence, sexuality, and drug
use. They don’t allow porn but do allow erotica.
LANGUAGES.
Since Wattpad is international, you can write in any language, though
English and Spanish are most common.
FEEDBACK.
Wattpad gives the writer a lot of chances for feedback from the readers,
as this is a social media. Everyone gets a profile and an email account.
Readers can follow favorite authors, add their books to a Library
reading list and post comments on their favorite chapters. They can
“vote” for a story or chapter to let the author know they liked it. And
Wattpad has some great demographics to let you know the reader’s age,
gender and where they live in the world.
BUILD AN INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE!
Because of its international reach and popularity, Wattpad is a great
place to begin building an audience from. And a good place to experiment
and find out what your readers are, who do your stories appeal to? But
it takes time and patience. So, persevere!
GET NOTICED BY PUBLISHERS
Some Wattpad writers have gotten book deals by publishing on Wattpad and
drawing a large audience. In the Philippines, they are making movies
based on Wattpad novels.
JOIN WATTPAD!
Whether you are a writer hoping to get noticed or a reader in search of
a story you’d enjoy—there’s something for everyone on wattpad.com. Sign
up today!
www.wattpad.com
More will be coming on this topic.
Here is one more link related to Wattpad:
