Is anyone on Wattpad?

This looks really interesting actually, I've not heard of it before. I have a couple of works gathering dust that could really benefit from seeing the light of day and this could be just the right platform.

What has been your experience of it so far?

If I sign up I shall follow you, I think I'd be mad not to!

LadyA said:

So far it's been good, but I have only been on there a few days. There are loads of stories on there, and although you do have to do a bit of mining to get to the diamonds it's worth it.

Apparently, there have been several people who got agents and publishing deals after someone seeing their work on Wattpad (although it usually has to be super-popular for that to happen).

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Yeah, this might sound stupid but it is truly my only fear about sites like this- will it cripple chances at publication if I post my WIP online? I really want to participate because it seems like an awesome site but don't want to shoot myself in the foot while polishing my gun.

I have put a few things on wattpad... honestly I do not like the community much but it feels nice to get short stories that have been rejected over and over and over again somewhere. I have also posted some poetry on there.

I haven't really looked at it much in the last couple months but I found it really frustrating that Wattpad did not have a bookmark function. You'd think such a thing would be obvious! Another reason why I wasn't around much was because it kept spitting out my email and said I hadn't verified my account.

EDIT: Chaze, the vast majority of publishers want first rights to publish -- so if you post your WIP in its entirety on Wattpad, you are very, very likely fucking over your chances of getting that particular piece published. It won't cripple your chances in general of getting published, and it won't disallow you from self-pubbing the same work.

LadyA said:

So far it's been good, but I have only been on there a few days. There are loads of stories on there, and although you do have to do a bit of mining to get to the diamonds it's worth it.

Apparently, there have been several people who got agents and publishing deals after someone seeing their work on Wattpad (although it usually has to be super-popular for that to happen).

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Yeah, absolutely, that's understandable.

The beauty being that you can use it as a shop window for a piece that you might not value too highly in the hope that someone else does - in essence your rough could be some one else's diamond.

I will definitely be checking it out.

Keep us updated.

I'm considering doing this with the first novel I wrote. It's not bad, and I think people would enjoy it, but it just wasn't what I wanted my "debut" to look like. I've since written something better than I'm querying, and working on another project.

I'm not going to do self publishing either, so it would be kind of a shame not to share this rather long YA novel that has been edited (only by me, though) and tweaked to as close to perfection as I am every going to take this particular project.

My thoughts are if people like it and it builds a following, thats great. Maybe it could even help sell my other novels. If not, well then no one really has to know about it except the people who liked it.

I'm still considering. Might be a good idea though.

Yeah, I've considered it as a way to test the waters for this old NA project I was thinking of self-pubbing. It's completely different from everything I normally write so it would be an interesting way of getting it out there, just to gauge the reaction.

ReflectedGray-- you can always do it under a different name -- in case it doesn't go well and for the sake of author-brand and stuff.

I'd be interested in reading your book, LadyA

Is Wattpad now more popular than FictionPress, do you think? If I were to post an old WIP or two, which would be the better place? I have an old FP account with tons of my old writing on it but I feel like that site isn't as popular as it once was.

I don't know anyone on Fictionpress. I think the two big ones right now are Wattpad and AO3.

LadyA said:

Aw, thank you

Yeah, I'd say it is - at least, I've never heard of FictionPress and I've heard a lot of people talking about Wattpad. There have been several examples of authors being talent-scouted on there by agents and getting their popular wattpad books published (usually after lots of editing though). It's interesting that the 'teen fiction' most popular stories with literally millions of reads are quite often poorly written. It seems to be the key to success is to put Harry Styles in your novel and you're sorted!

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LOL -- y'know what? I've actually had a secret hankering to write One Direction fanfiction lately. Or maybe just a thinly-veiled original story with a boy band member as a LI.

Aw, hope it does well, Amy!

(Becca C., I've read an earlier version and looooved it!)

LadyA said:

There have been several examples of authors being talent-scouted on there by agents and getting their popular wattpad books published (usually after lots of editing though). It's interesting that the 'teen fiction' most popular stories with literally millions of reads are quite often poorly written. It seems to be the key to success is to put Harry Styles in your novel and you're sorted!

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This is what I meant about not liking the community much... a lot of the writing is, well, like you said, very poorly written, and quality usually does not have much to do with rankings or pageviews or anything. I find that it's a lot of people shouting at each other and it's absurdly difficult to find anyone worth noticing or to get noticed.

This is why I usually stay off their forums and instead advertise on my blog/twitter/whatnot. It's nice to have a convenient place to post short stories, but I can't really expect anything more from it.

LadyA said:

Go for it!

I've always fancied writing a boyband book too. My idea was with the MC or the MC's brother being the band member. I did quite a bit of planning, then I realised I almost always write books where the story is really about the FMC's brother/lover/LI, and so I scrapped it. I would love to go back to it one day, though, after I've written several books with no accidental-main-character male characters in them!

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Yesssss, I do the same thing! The story is about the MC's relationship with someone who is more important/more interesting/drives the story more. Let's both write boyband books someday though!

I went to see 1D in London and absolutely loved it, even though I was so far away and high above the stage they could've been anyone!

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OMG so jealous. I actually really like their music and of course they're adorable.

I thinks its a good way to develop a following before you get published, as long as you consider the fact that you very well may never get that work published else where. Not something I'm willing to do yet because I haven't completely given up on anything (plan to try one more revision on my first novel)

I wonder, if you post a novel on a site like that is it considered "published"? Like when you sell something else will that still be considered your debut?

Wattpad is huge right now. It's got a community of over 18 million readers, and it's an awesome spot to create a dedicated bunch of followers BEFORE you publish.

Is it a place to put your manuscript before you try to query it? Absolutely not.

I've been on the site for about three years now. I have a fanbase of around 35k. I've also had my most popular story stolen on more than one occasion.

So, know that if you post anything there, you might find it on some other website without your permission. On the other hand, I've successfully had it taken down every time. Wattpad is great for going to bat for you, and has even stepped up and contacted other websites and had it taken down.

It takes time to build up a fanbase there, but it's completely worth it. They are some of the most dedicated, wonderful readers. I've found beta readers there, and made friends I regularly Skype with.

Just my two cents. I love it, but I'm sort of biased,

LadyA said:

I went to see 1D in London and absolutely loved it, even though I was so far away and high above the stage they could've been anyone!

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Ooh, I saw them in Melbourne last year with my sister. We were on the floor six rows from the front!

LadyA said:

So jealous! Did they have a little platform thing that moved them out above the crowd when you watched them? When I went the people in the first 10 or so rows on the floor had 1D pass directly above their heads, almost close enough to touch

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Yep! Zayn waved to my sister as he went over!

LadyA said:

I've just joined and I really like it! It's a site where you put up chapters of a story and people can read them for free, and comment, vote and follow you.

After many near-misses and encouraging reactions from agents but no bites, I've decided I'm not going to sell WHAT I DIDN'T TELL Y0U, my psych thriller, so thought I'd upload it, a few chapters at a time, on Wattpad.

I was wondering, is anyone else on Wattpad? What do you think of it?

And here's my link if you fancy following me!

http://www.wattpad.com/user/AmyWren

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Wattpad is wonderful! I've been on Wattpad for 2.5 years and they just recently reached out to me to see if I wanted to be apart of their featured author program. They're currently featuring my first novel The Runaways and it's been doing very well on the charts & the amount of new readers has been staggering since it went up on Feb. 21st (+274,604 reads, peaking at #3 Action & #2 Mystery/Thriller).

Contrary to popular belief it's because of Wattpad that I was approached by an agent about my work (she was interested in shopping the piece I had on Wattpad to publishers). I'm interested in pursuing self-publishing that particular piece, but she's interested in signing me for other work samples I've posted on Wattpad. My friend Taran hit 1 million reads with his fantasy novel "The Summoner" was featured on NBC and had was contacted by Audible to buy his audio rights to his Wattpad novel & now has multiple agent offers. Sally Slater, author of Paladin (6 million+ reads) was also discovered by an agent on Wattpad. So it is possible to find representation via Wattpad. The major success stories are from authors like Beth Reekles (The Kissing Both), Abigail Gibbs (Dinner with a Vampire), My Life with The Walter Boys (Ali Novak), etc. these authors found an audience on Wattpad and found representation as well as landed Big 6 Deals (minus Ali) from Wattpad.

So definitely stick with it! It's an incredible place to get active, consistent feedback, it keeps you writing, and it certainly doesn't close any doors. While a trad publisher would like all of your rights ideally, if your book takes off and builds it's own market there is a lot of potential in that! Enjoy & feel free to add me!

www.wattpad.com/user/jr0127