Communication with your readers is often important, and Wattpad has graciously provided several tools to assist us with that communication.
Email notifications
Okay, did you know that your actions, stories, and updates might already be sending email to your readers/followers?
It does depend on their email notification setup, but the automatic settings will do the following:
If you post a new story – all followers will receive an email notification.
If you post a new chapter – anyone who has that story in their personal library will receive a notification (does not apply to the other libraries).
Author's Notes
How many here have read books with long Author's Notes and scrolled until the end of time trying to get past it?
Author's Notes are sometimes used as a foreword, footnote, or sometimes even posted as a separate chapter.
There is no real right or wrong way of using author's notes, but there are preferred methods.
When used as a foreword/footnotes, make the transition from your story to your Author's Note clear. They are sometimes bolded or italicized to differentiate them from the actual story text.
Most people will not open a chapter labeled Author's Note (although if there is just ONE at the end of a completed story, more may read it). If you have a lot to say, then a separate chapter is best. If the note pertains to update schedules or other things that change, it's wise to remove the notes when they are no longer applicable. The less 'clutter' in your story, the better.
Usually, Author's Notes are at the bottom of a chapter (like a footnote in a textbook). Keep them short and sweet, or else your readers will learn to ignore them or will skip right over them.
Sure, you may love to tell people how your day went, but a month later, it simply confuses new readers. If you like posting such 'discussion comments', it's wiser to do so on your profile page. (As a side note, if you turn that post into a 'shout-out' you may lose followers who get tired of seeing non-story related posts. More details about this later).
You are always free to interact with readers in the comments, your profile, or even via messaging, but try to avoid too much non-story related stuff in your Author's Notes.
Example of how to make a clear break between the story and the author's note:
After the last sentence in the chapter...
-----------------------------------
Author's Note:
I hope you are having a great day!
If you are enjoying the story, please vote on it. It is possible to vote on each chapter.
I appreciate every single vote or comment. Such support means a lot to me.
The cutoff from the story to the Author's Note is clear, so there is no chance of confusion.
Shout-outs
A 'shout-out' is when you post a message on your profile conversation page and click the small checkbox labelled 'Announce This To My Followers'. (You have to start typing before it becomes visible, at least on a pc/laptop).
This causes the message to appear in their notifications (before 2019, a shout-out would actually email people, but not anymore). This is a powerful tool, but it can backfire if you aren't careful.
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