Random

Why I'm Transitioning Away from Wattpad (SLOWLY!)

Ok, so I wasn't going to post this tonight. I wasn't even going to announce it tonight because I'm still thinking about exactly what I'm going to do and how. Also I did plan on talking about it with Gremlin and the rest of the GRA first (really sorry, guys, things happened in an unexpected hurry tonight).

But, things being as they are, here I am. If you haven't, go read Rosa's article and also Kat's and my previous article. Partially because they'll explain this but mostly because they're more important.

Yes, I'm going to be leaving Wattpad, but as I said in the title of this chapter, it's going to be slow. I'm going to be keeping all of my commitments, including my duties as inspector of the PWA and host/creator of the PWA results premiere video, any reviews I've promised to do, and obviously not leaving the GRA in bad hands either.

The last thing I want to do is hurt any one in this community through leaving. In fact, strange as it may sound, I'm leaving Wattpad because I love this community.

Am I angry about Wattpad's reporting system and what happened to Rosa? Yes. But the more important thing is that it's made me realize for the first time just how bad the system is. Until very recently I was a huge believer in it and thought that any issues with reporting were due to technical issues. Having learned that I was wrong, I no longer believe this website has an atmosphere that's safe enough to protect the people that I care about: all of you.

I'm leaving because I don't want to draw more people into a place that doesn't meet my standards for safety. I don't want people to come here because it's the only place to read my books or to come here because it's the only place to get the reviews and writing advice that I provide.

That's why the first step of my transition away from Wattpad is to find other places to post my books and writing tips and reviews. I've already chosen Archive of Our Own as the new home for my fanfics, but I plan to post books in both places at the start. This is to prevent my books from drawing new people here (because they could go to AO3 just as easily to find them) while doing nothing to hurt any of you. 

AO3 is good because it has legal protection for fanfics and also does not have a PM system or even anything close to the social aspects that Wattpad has. So, while I don't know if I can trust their reporting system any more than I can Wattpad's, I don't believe writers there would have to rely on it as much if at all. The very setup creates more safety.

Over time I do plan to remove my books from Wattpad. Or at least most of them. But that will most likely happen weeks or even months from now. And I will be posting my Getting Out of Fuchsia rewrite in both places (which is coming very soon, for real this time!).

I don't even have a solid plan for my writing tips or review book yet, but I have a vision of making them into more than what they are right now. Starting out, I'd like to review fanfics from AO3 alongside my reviews from Wattpad, maybe even branch out to any fanfic posted anywhere. I might put my reviews of original books and my writing tips in a separate spot and expand the sorts of content I write in that vein as well.

As for the GRA, I definitely need to discuss the matter with them. I will definitely continue running it through the end of the PWA season, though, so there is no reason to worry just yet.

Even after I've left, I plan to leave my account open with a reference to where I went and probably any articles that I feel will be helpful for people. I plan to stay in touch with all of you over Discord if you'll allow me to do so. And I will come back to Wattpad if you ever need me for something important because, again, I don't want to abandon you all.

Questions? Concerns? Feel free to post them below.