Simple, quick tips for improving both your writing quality and your Wattpad experience. Open, friendly, and conversational, this book will give you that little info boost you need to tackle common problems and often-overlooked issues.
Wherever you a...
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So you've just (possibly) joined Wattpad and started writing your first story. Great! But how do you get readers? Where does this story base come from?
Look, I can't say, "I've done x achievement" here because I haven't. I suck at sticking to books (as you can see by the only two stories on my profile, a collection of short stories I've barely started writing and a story I wrote when I was twelve). However, I've been on Wattpad for a little while now, and I can say with a certain degree of confidence that I know how to develop a reader base if I could actually write a proper story.
(Btw this is a disclaimer in case I'm somehow completely wrong here.)
1. Get Active!
If you are new to Wattpad, get active! Read other people's books and provide feedback if they're accepting to it. Vote on their chapters, thank every follower you get on their message board and tell them to check out your book if they're interested.
This might not seem like much, but it is. If you're nice to a fellow undiscovered writer, chances are they'll be nice right back. They'll probably check out your book if you checked out theirs, leading to more comments and votes (and Wattpad loves featuring books with tons of comments and votes). These people will appreciate you, which means they might follow you and could even check out your future works. You never know. Whatever you do, DON'T be a silent reader.
Do not, and I'll repeat it in all caps for the people who are skimming, DO NOT advertise your book in other books. This is a big no no. It's annoying and rude to the writer of the book.
Followers are the biggest guarantee here; they're your reader base. Follow for follow requests aren't the best way to get your desired reader base, but one of those people might end up checking your books out down the line. Once again, you never know.
2. Feedback's Important Too! (...But I Am Just Promoting My Book Club)
Feedback is essential to a good book, which is what book clubs typically offer, but they're also a great way to develop a reader base. It's a win-win! You get more feedback/comments and other members of the book club might really enjoy your story and want to read more. Some will love your writing style and decide to follow you. As a person who ran a book club, I can say without a doubt that this happens much more often than you think. Some people don't know whether or not they'll like your book so they'll decide not to even give it a chance, but book clubs eliminate that possibility by requiring your partners to read your book. Sunflower Book Club, the book club I ran, has a book of the month that everyone has to read. So many people end up sticking with it and following the writer because they like it much more than they thought they would. Book clubs guarantee exposure and feedback.
If you're unsure of how to enter a book club, just look up "Book Club" on Wattpad or "#bookclub" instead. You'll find a ton of book clubs that way.
3. You Better Be Type A...
I really shouldn't be giving advice on this, honestly. I've never stuck to a schedule, and it's easily my biggest weakness as a writer, but I know it works.
If you want more readers, you have to post often. I recommend once a week or bi-weekly, though Wattpad recommends books with more activity (meaning more chapters/comments/votes), and chapters will be the easiest thing for you to control in that sense. I know a girl who never bothered promoting her book to people or anything, she just posted one chapter a day and finished the book in a little over a month. By this time, she had 100k reads and a ton more followers. Your most loyal followers will probably be the ones who decided to follow you after reading your story because they think you're good and want to read more of your works. If you focus on getting reads for one story first, it'll be much easier for you with future stories.
Posting often is important, but so is keeping up with it. You can't post once a day for two weeks then not post anything for a month. If your book isn't finished—finished books get a lot of reads because people love binging when they can—your readers will want to know they can expect a chapter soon with certainty. Why stick around if the next chapter won't come for months?
4. You're Not More Important Than Your Reader!
Reply, reply, reply! With more readers come more comments, and while it's a lot to expect you to reply to every single comment (especially if they're just "lol" or "XD"), reply to as many as you can. If a reader has a question, answer it! If someone gave you feedback, even if it's bad feedback, thank them! You need a good rapport with your readers. They're more likely to comment again if they see their comments aren't left in the dreaded void, and replies show that you value your readers. Just do it.
This is not sponsored by Nike.
That's it! If you have any questions, feel free to comment or PM me (ccallis0246) and I'll try to provide the best help I can, though I can't make any promises. I really need to start taking my own advice. Good luck on your works, and hopefully my advice helps you :)
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Want to submit your own Tip? Comment in this book and email your entry to avadelauthors@gmail.com. We'll review it, and if we think it's well-written and helpful to the Wattpad community, we'll post it! Your entry may be something you have written previously, even if it is published elsewhere. (=
Have a Request? Comment on the first chapter with the topic you'd like to see. Your suggestion might just turn into an article!
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