Plain and simple: Wattpad Rants
I've been on Wattpad for a while now, and I know there are plenty of these already, but I need to release some hot air.
So, after much pondering and debating, I've decided to add my very own rant book about Wattpad de...
Honestly, I haven't been on Wattpad much other than to update the book I'm almost finished editing, so I didn't think there'd be anything much to rant about but BOY.
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⬆ (Was I wrong)
Idk if it's just me, but I have been getting an influx of shady messages asking to "promote" my book every time I've updated the next chapter, and I am so over it.
It's to the point that it drove me to finally update my rant book.
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⬆ (Sorry for going missing)
Anyway, I'm just going to briefly explain what I'm talking about then go about my day.
I have no idea who these people are, but I have started to mute anyone who tries to reach me with the hook that they will somehow "market" my book. My guess is that they're trying to fish for writers to upload their works on some shady reading website or something, but I can't really say for sure.
It's starting to get really annoying, and maybe it's because I'm getting more and more cynical the older I get, but I don't trust them one bit. I now mute them so they can't reach me again. Not like it'll help cuz there are a gazillion accounts out there created for the sole reason of hooking in writers who seem "desperate" to get popular.
I used to feel bad about muting people and avoided doing it, but after getting a bunch of scam texts/calls irl, I realised it shouldn't be anything to feel guilty about.
And that's the thing. These people reaching out to me claiming they can somehow make my book popular sound almost exactly like the scam texts I receive irl. I guess this chapter doubles as a sort of PSA. If some rando reaches out to you right after you updated your book and claims they're some marketing genius who can bring you success, DO NOT TRUST THEM.
A good rule of thumb: If it seems too good to be true, 99.999999999999% of the time, it is. Don't fall for something for the 0.000000000001% that it's legit. It's not worth it. At the very least, do some research before you even consider it. This will usually give you decent enough proof that it's something shady before you do anything.
I have no idea who these people are. They have no credentials in their bio and all they do is follow and message authors of freshly updated books. I haven't responded to any of them so I don't know exactly what their end goal is, but 100% it's not about making you suddenly blow up on Wattpad. More likely, they're trying to get you to write on their own shady writing site.
I used to get a bunch of those too. Something along the lines of:
"Hi, I'm an editor for shadywritingsite.suchandsuch and we're looking for talented writers like yourself! You can get author benefits. We offer such and such income for books like yours. If you're interested, please email me at shadyeditor@shadywritingsite.com"
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(Sure buddy. Real convincing)
But I think Wattpad might have gotten a bit more strict about accounts blatantly recruiting writers, which may be why the new "book promoters" don't specify their true intentions from the start. It's also probably why they privately message you instead of reaching you through your message board.
It's really annoying, especially since a lot of them follow you before messaging you. Like, can you not? It's also blatantly evident that they don't even read your book. No way they do. They just see you're active then message you.
If they did, they'd know for a fact that I specifically said in my Author's Note that I had no intention of marketing my book and it was uploaded just for fun, not to get published. Not like they'd care anyway.
Most of these accounts are freshly made. One I got today was made only a couple days ago.
I seriously get so pissed off when I see these messages, especially when I check out their profile and see the huge chunk of profiles they follow to prey on poor young writers who just want people to read their books. It's honestly ridiculous.
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⬆ (God, these people have too much time on their hands)
Anyway, that's it for this one. Had to get this one out of my chest because getting these kinds of messages EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I update my book is starting to get to me.
