The Writer's Guide to a Good Story

Reads, Votes, and Comments

This is Wattpad. Most definitely a social website. It's a place to get your story out there and get new opinions on what you've written.

That being said, I will tell you what annoys me, or will annoy anybody else, more than anything.

Without a doubt, it is people who go around looking for popularity on Wattpad without making any attempt to make friends or get to know people.

Let me tell you, it is completely okay to look for reads. It is fine to ask for opinions. This is Wattpad, after all, but like I mentioned earlier, this is a social website. It is a place loaded with potential friends and interesting stories.

Please do not become frustrated if you are a new member who has posted a story that has gotten little to no reads. It doesn't mean your story is bad. If writing is your passion, something you love to do, don't let the popularity  or nonpopularity of your story get in the way. 

Follow people because their writing or personality interests you, or you share a common interest and seem to get along well, not because you are looking for an automatic follow back. I'm serious.

Once you follow someone and, without making any attempt to get to know them better, just ask for a follow back, you risk losing their respect.

Remember this is a reading website. If a particular genre interests you, find a story you enjoy and just read it.

If you're writing a story, do NOT ask for a certain number of votes before you update. That's like the president saying "Oh, look, I only got 10324324 votes when I wanted 30 more. Guess the public doesn't like me enough. I'm not going to be president after all."

(If that ever happens, I'll laugh.)

If you like a particular story, vote on it and comment, giving your opinion if you have one. There are also messageboards, clubs, contests, plenty of ways to get yourself involved.

It is fine to ask a friend for an opinion or a read on a story. What I'm really against is people who spam others asking for reads. A lot of people are guilty of doing this, including those that are new to Wattpad.

That's okay. It doesn't make you a bad person, but it will get on a lot of people's nerves. Plenty of members have stated on their profiles that asking for reads or comments will get you blocked. It is in everyone's best interest to respect that.

There are so many amazing and interesting people on this website. No matter how many reads you get, it is worthwhile to make friends and get to know more people.

Reads, votes, and comments will come with time, but the friends that you make here will stick around for a long while.