I will no longer be updating this guide. I'm leaving it up in case it will continue to be helpful to anyone in the future.
People have asked me writing tips, Wattpad tips, and whatever. This is some of that advice I give them. Keep in mind most of t...
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3/21/18
If you've spent any time on Wattpad outside your little corner, you've probably seen someone ask this question. Maybe you've even asked it yourself at one point, I know I did.
How do I get reads on Wattpad?
If you think it's as simple as "If I post it, they will read" you'll be wrong.
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You have no idea how happy I am I had an excuse to use that gif.
It's unfortunately not as simple as posting your story and watching the reads fly in. I wish it was. I honestly do. Even me with over 6K fans can't post a story and watch the reads flock in. You might look at my big numbers and think I'm insane for saying that, but it's true. Each new story brings in progressively fewer reads. I haven't managed to crack the same magic I had with Guardian of Calandria, Freelander, and Ewah. Maybe that's because they're three of my oldest stories and Wattpad has changed a lot over the years, maybe not. It's still not easy to get reads.
Look at Wattpad as a practice run for marketing a published book. Doesn't matter if it's self or traditional, you will need to market yourself as a published author. Wattpad is no different.
You need patience to get reads on Wattpad. There's no other way around it. If you're not willing to be patient and properly advertise, then you're probably not going to get very far on this site when it comes to getting reads. Keep your mind open and understand the lack of reads is not a reflection on your quality. Even writers whom I feel their books need work can get mega amount of reads while writers I consider near perfect can be buried in obscurity. Writers you might see as terrible will have millions of reads and someone that has a literary agent and will be published could have ten reads. It's the nature of the Watty beast.
Here's another harsh reality . . . you can do all the marketing right and still not get reads. That is the same with publishing, you can do everything right and still not get a sale. That's why I stressed back toward the beginning of this book that you come into this with the right attitude or else you're going to be very unhappy.
Wattpad is work without any guarantee of success.
Before I cover the do's to get reads, I need to cover the don'ts. I'm a nice person, I really am, but there is nothing that will get the snooty brat out of me faster than somebody who does any of the following:
