In My Opinion

General Tips and Tricks

1. How you portray yourself as an author matters. SPAG errors in any setting - on profiles, in wall posts, in private messages, in story blurbs, etc. - are all big turn offs for me, and I don't think I'm the only one who thinks this way. The way you text should not be the way you write. When my first impression of you is really basic errors or text speak, I have to force myself past that to read your story. A lot of potential readers won't do that. They'll just hit the "back" button, or close the tab, and move on. It doesn't matter how good of an author you are if you drive readers away with something as simple as missed capitalizations or punctuation.

2. Proofreading is important. After you write something, just go back and read it. There are so many simple errors you can catch that way. Pay attention to those squiggly, colorful lines telling you where possible spelling and grammar errors may be. They're there for a reason (such as telling you which they're/there/their to use), and they're super easy to use.

3. Use editing tools. They check beyond the simple errors Microsoft Word or Google Docs find, and a lot of them are free. This is a simple way to improve your proofreading and ensure the story you post is in pretty good shape by the time your readers see it. I've heard people outside of the US don't like editing tools because they're usually tailored toward US English, but there are tools that allow you to choose your English usage, so don't discount these just because you don't live in the US. (See my plug down below.)

4. When all else fails, just ask. There's an official Wattpad profile, an ambassador profile, or a community profile somewhere on Wattpad with the answer to your question, and there are plenty of people willing to help, so plug yourself into the community and utilize the resources provided for you.

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Plugs
(I should get paid for all the free advertising I give them)

1. ProWritingAid. This is the editing tool I use, and it allows you to choose your English usage, so don't disregard it just because you're not from the US. It's a browser extension that adds MORE of the colorful lines! Yay! I know, those lines can get annoying. When I first started using ProWritingAid, I turned them off so they wouldn't bother me until I finished writing a chapter. Then, I'd turn them on and check them on my first read-through. If you hover over the underlined words, a pop-up tells you what the tool thinks is wrong, and what it thinks you should do to fix it. You can also open a full editor that looks kind of like a Word document with different scales and scores on the right and toolbars on the top, so just play around with it to see what you like. Don't accept the recommendations blindly, though. AI isn't always right. You need to use your head, too! Now, I've trained my brain to write in such a way as to avoid the colorful lines completely, and when I do see them, I can usually go back and fix them right away without even hovering over them for the suggestion.

Disclaimer: ProWritingAid is the only editing tool I've tried, and I've only used the free version, so I can't comment on its premium tools or compare it to other tools. I can tell you that there are errors I've found in other people's writings that I know ProWritingAid would have caught, and those people told me Grammarly didn't catch them, so that leads me to believe ProWritingAid is better than Grammarly, but, again, I haven't used Grammarly, so I can't say for sure.

2. Storywrite. This is a site that is made for authors to receive and provide feedback, if that's something you're interested in. It's been really helpful and eye-opening for me. Every time you post something, you're required to comment on two other posts before publishing yours. It's forced me to examine my approach to giving feedback, and I think it's helped me hone that skill. The format isn't great for lengthy stories with multiple chapters, but many people post them anyway, and you can always include a note to find your full story on Wattpad or wherever if a random chapter catches somebody's interest. I've had readers find me there and follow me on other sites.

Got anything you want to share? Tips, tricks, tools, sites, cake recipes, whatever? Post them in the comments. Also, if you click the "External Link" button below the "Continue to next part" button, you'll find a "Tips & Tricks" reading list I've put together with other helpful books, and I'm always adding to it.

(You don't have to post a cake recipe. Although I won't be mad if you do.)