David Gaughran

Hi David
          
          I'm new to Wattpad--just registered, and I'm trying to figure out how it works. I write YA fiction so, obviously, that's the reading section I checked out first. I'm not going to lie, I clicked on about ten different stories and they were all awful. The one had huge grammar mistakes and one of the worst beginnings I've ever read. It also had over a million reads, and a ton of comments and fans. So, how does that happen? 
          
          Because I love reading and have no problem checking out great stories, but I'm not going to comment on a bunch of stuff that is awful in order to get people to come comment on my story. I currently have a full out with three different agents on my story. Haven't heard back yet but, apparently at least the beginning is good enough to get some agent interest. I'd love to post it on Wattpad and see if I can get some kind of following going that way, but I'm totally confused as to how the site works. 
          
          Any pointers you could give me would be highly appreciated! I'm sure there is great stuff on there, but I don't know how to find it. Do I just keep clicking on different things? And is that the only way to get people to read my stuff-or, if it's good, will it eventually gain a following on its own? 
          
          Thanks for your time...

Hi Dave:  And congrats on your AWESOME number of reads (and fans) on Wattpad.  Because you mentioned your success, I put up a short story here... a dark dystopian... The Terminal.  Thanks for all the inspiration, on your blog and elsewhere.  It's because of you that I hit the best-seller Kindle lists with my political thriller, "RUNNING"!  

Hey!...loving 'A Storm Hits Valparaiso'...Its very different and captivating..keep up the good work :D

Hi David, thanks for fanning. I'm enjoying A Storm Hits Valparaiso so far!

Hey  @AntoniaAlvaradoPuchu  - I'm really sorry for the delay in responding. I was moving house, had no internet (nightmare!). 
          
          I don't have Chilean relatives, but I have been to South America a few times now. I taught English in Northern Peru (near the border with Ecuador), and I lived for a spell in both Brazil and Argentina. I visited Chile, but only for ten days or so (Valparaiso is beautiful and I had lots of fun in Santiago), but I would love to come back and explore some more.

I don't know if you have Chilean relatives or anything, but I was surprised when I found a novel, in English and talking about my country!  I love historical fiction AND Chilean history so it's on my read later list :) Never though someone outside of the country would find Chile interesting!

@RiordanGeek Sorry about the delay in replying. I've been moving house (and country). I think you should pick all three - upload to Amazon, Barnes & Noble AND Smashwords. My self-publishing how to is free on Amazon at the moment, you can grab a copy here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DC68NI

Thank you very much @LoveBound  - I'm glad you are enjoying the book. I hope you enjoy the rest of it just as much.

Hey. I have zero graphics skills, so anyone should be able to do it. I just made a small jpeg in MS Paint placing the four book covers laid out in a rectangle, then saved and uploaded.

Hi David. How did you get your book to tile in the background of your profile?