A Writer's Journal

Read My Story! How to Build a Following on Wattpad

Not a week goes by where I don't encounter a writer scratching their head about how to get noticed on Wattpad. I feel your pain, I once shared it. And while I'm sorry to say there is no absolute tried-and-true formula to becoming Wattpad famous, there are some things you can do to improve your odds.

1) Stop begging people to read your story. If you are PMing your story link to folks on Wattpad (with nary a sentence of greeting or anything else) or spamming it into the comments section of other people's works, STOP RIGHT NOW. Spamming is not going to attract the type of readers or feedback you want, trust me.

2) Build relationships. Wattpad is a social writing site and if you think your stories will succeed here if you choose remain in a vacuum, disappointment beckons. So how do you build relationships on Wattpad? Become involved in the community. Read and leave feedback on other people's books, champion the stories that you love, be active in the forums, etc. In short, make friends with like-minded writers.

3) Follow authors whose work you like and who create in the same genres as you. Also, follow Wattpad writers who are successful and learn from what they do (watch their interactions with fans, etc., take notes on what works for them).

4) DO put your story in the appropriate Share Your Story thread each week, and attempt to time your post so that ideally your advertisement lands on the first or second page of the thread for maximum visibility.

5) DO share your story on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and whatever other social networks you use.

6) Aspire to put a compelling, well-written, error-free and reasonably concise summary on your book and adorn it with an intriguing cover. Yeah, I know there's that saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" but people do and they're also judging it by its blurb. If, for instance, a blurb is riddled with spelling errors that doesn't bode well for what awaits readers inside.

7) Try to post something slightly more polished than your first draft. I know there's a subsection of writers on here who use Wattpad specifically for drafting out new works, but understand there is also a subsection of readers on here (I'm one of them) who is not willing to wade through all manners of crimes against the English language just to figure out what you're trying to say. That said, it's not too hard to polish your work into some reasonable standard: use a spellchecker; if you are writing in Microsoft Word consider the grammar nasties it flags and if possible fix them; avoid using text speak in your stories unless it is there for a specific purpose; read your story/chapter out loud to yourself once or twice before hitting pPublish (to help find missing/out-of-order words/ confusing sentences, etc).

8) DO interact with your readers and followers. Say hello and thanks to people who follow you and add your book to their libraries. Respond to all comments left on your stories/chapters. If they are constructive criticism, thank the person for taking the time to leave the feedback (even if you don't agree with it). If you do receive a negative comment, either ignore it or attempt to put a positive spin on it ("Sorry to hear you didn't like my book. Still, thanks for taking the time to check it out."). A good rule to follow is: if you wouldn't say something to someone's face in real life, don't type it out and post it on here.

9) Read how-tos (like this one) from established Wattpad users and tune in to shows such as The Corner Booth (@thecornerbooth), which specialize in disseminating valuable info about how to get the most out of your Wattpad experience. Better still, follow the advice you are given in these places.

10) Enter writing contests - and not just the Wattys. There are various people and communities on here that run a variety of writing challenges, take one on and stick with it.

11) Write, write and write some more. Not only will your writing improve with practice (regardless of what stage in your writing hobby/career you are currently at), but the more quality works you have posted the better the chance of people stumbling across them.

12) Finish your works. Lots of readers on here have been burned by books that writers have started and abandoned and now won't read stuff by authors who don't have at least one completed work listed on their profile. Don't get a reputation as someone who doesn't finish stuff, it's a turn off.

13) Lastly - have patience. I now may have well over 3000 fans, 10,000 cumulative votes and 300,000 reads on my most popular book, but I had none of that back in 2012, my first year here. BLEEDER rarely, if ever, charted on Wattpad's hot list until after I was finished writing it, and it didn't gain most of its momentum until roughly two years later. Sometimes, regardless of the effort you put into getting your work noticed, it just takes time. Perhaps not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. Perseverance is part of being a writer or, hell, an artist/creator of any kind. That's what creative types are on about when they talk about "having to pay their dues." So don't expect to just miraculously get to jump over that part of the experience yourself.

That brings us to the end of my list. Thanks for reading. I hope some/all of this advice proves useful. If anyone has any specific questions about my own Wattpad experience/journey, leave them in the comments below and I'll answer.

Happy writing!