Post Stories Wattpadders Will Want to Read and that Wattpad’s Algorithm Won’t Punish
This is a tough one — drawing the line between artistic integrity and marketability. Stories with a romantic storyline over-index on the site, but certain kinds of experimental work does quite well. The piece that broke me out on Wattpad was a novel in which each chapter was based on a Tumblr prompt. I also had points working against me. My stories are rated “Mature” because they contain frank discussions of sex and suicidal ideation. This means none of my books will ever make Wattpad’s Hot List (an excellent way to get discovered on the site). Much of the most popular fanfiction is erotica, and “adults only” material is not favoured by Wattpad’s algorithms. If you are looking to spread your wings, it might still be worth it to cross-post to Wattpad and try to gain some new readers. If you’re not married to the inclusion of the explicit material, consider dialling the sexual content back to “mature” to cast a wider net.
