Wattpad 101: Your guide to the world of Wattpad

Wattpad Popular Versus Publishable

One thing my book doesn't often touch on, which it probably should for a Wattpad 101 book, is the difference between a good publishable book, and a good Wattpad book. Wattpad 101 has thus far mostly just merged the two. Being a good author equals success on Wattpad. This isn't necessarily true. Just like a good TV show might not make a good movie, a good Wattpad story might not make a good book.

What are the differences between Wattpad and publication? First, there is the obvious difference, the lack of editors. Wattpad books sit in this weird world, where they aren't edited professionally, yet are under more scrutiny than most other books. When most people pick up a novel, we expect it to be edited, and therefore, unless your hobby in life is grammar, most people read novels not really looking for the typos and grammar errors that the editors missed. Once in a blue moon you might stumble across one, but you ignore it and move on.

Wattpad books are often riddled with grammatical errors. As a result, whether they want it or not, readers become acclimated to these errors, and subconsciously they become a lot more aware of them as a result. Even books that are fairly grammatically sound will get slammed by people because they "found an error" here or there, which as often as not is the difference between UK or USA editing styles, among other preferences. These preferences might have been ignored in a novel or published work.

However, editing aside, there is something far more subtle that separates Wattpad books from most novels; serialization. That is, the idea that they are released one chapter at a time, and for better people than me, on a reliable and timely basis. This radical changes the nature of a book. It becomes more episodic. It becomes more about hooking a reader and keeping that reader coming back week after week.

Eventually, books are finished, but Wattpad actively punishes you for not updating a book, and unless it explodes in popularity, its readership will fall drastically once you finish the book. This promotes a culture of multi-chapter, and multi-book stories. I've known several authors who have chosen to split there story into several books, just to increase readership. What might have been a lengthy narrative with 3 PoV all tying together and eventually running into each other becomes Part 1 in this guy's PoV, Part 2 in this guys. They are released in tandem, so you can simultaneously read both books at your own leisure. This is radically different then how someone might ever read a novel. This radical change can lead to all kinds of differences in how stories progress.

This became most apparent to me when I was looking for feedback to my story, the Zoo. It's a very short story. 10 parts, maybe 20,000 words (think a Goosebump book). Something a normal adult could read in a single sitting. I've had complaints that it takes too long to make its point. But does it? It seems like it takes forever to make a point when it's read over the course of 10 weeks, a chapter a week. But if it was read like someone might actually read a book, in a day or two, would that radically change how it is perceived? I still don't have the answer to that, but it's a problem I've considered while seeking criticism on Wattpad.

Ultimately, sectioning off and releasing books in parts makes the books feel longer. Like a comic book story feels gigantic, because certain story arcs took months or even years to culminate, but are really only enough info to sit in a single movie once you compress what is actually there, which is a handful of conversation and actions per page. The same thing applies to novels.

Plus there is the habit of cutting up chapters and releasing those in parts. It is stated that most critics can't manage more than 3000 words at a time at max. So if you have a 5000 word chapter, those last 2000 words will virtually be ignored by any critic you use, because of critic fatigue. You can say the same for readers on Wattpad. Most readers don't want to read a chapter over 3000 words long. They don't have that much time. They're supposed to be studying, and they just wanted a 15 minute break. They don't want to read your novel; they want to be entertained for 15 minutes.

As a result, many wattpad authors will chop their chapters up. Chapter 1-1, then 1-2, maybe even a 1-3. Some will do this even if their chapter is only 3000 words, chopping it into 1500 or 1000 word chunks. This makes it a lot easier to swallow in bite sizes, and also increases your readership, doubling the number of chapters you story has and thus doubling the number of stars/reads. This further stretches out and makes a book feel gigantic as well. More releases, more attention. A 500 word a chapter story in six parts just seems way bigger than a single 3000 word chapter.

However, when you write with the intent of splitting a chapter in two, you break the flow of a story. People finish a chapter and they expect certain things "answered". They expect certain scenes to be "finished". Maybe they ARE answered in part 2 of your chapter, but subconsciously it's difficult to connect chapter 2-1 with 2-2 as a single unit. As a writer, you might change how you write too. Chapters might have micro climaxes, so that chapter 2-1, and 2-2 flow into each other better upon reading it as two chapters. Some of these changes are intentional, some are subconscious, but at the end of the day, chopping up your story will change the nature, pacing, and structure of the story.

How does this affect you? As an author, you need to decide what story you're trying to write. Stories can be "adapted" later, but if you're really trying to write a story to be published, you need to understand that some of the criticisms you receive are there to make your story more accessible to an internet audience, and may not be the best ideas to make your story publishable. The opposite is just as often true, much of my advice often won't make you wattpad popular. So how you understand and take criticism is a big thing to think about, based on whether you want wattpad hits or a story a publisher is willing to look at.

I'm not saying you HAVE to decide. Wattpad popularity and publishability are not mutually exclusive. However, they can vary, and small details can make a radical difference to how the story proceeds, is perceived, and what your ultimate goals might be.

However, the people that can use this advice the most aren't the authors. No, the people who need to hear this the most are critics. We don't often think about Wattpad Internet popularity versus being a stand-alone, publishable novel. We rarely ask those we chose to critic which they are aiming for. Our own criteria are often a mishmash of what has worked for us on Wattpad, and what we think we'd like to see in novels others write.

If this entry in Wattpad 101 has any point, it's this: Maybe we should ask the writer first. Do you want this to get wattpad hits? Or do you want it to be a well-polished novel, intended to be read in a few sittings? Because, at the end of it all, that question should change how we critique a story.

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