Plain and simple: Wattpad Rants
I've been on Wattpad for a while now, and I know there are plenty of these already, but I need to release some hot air.
So, after much pondering and debating, I've decided to add my very own rant book about Wattpad de...
Okay, so Embersky15 mentioned to me (you get a dedication!) that Wattpad is now making you pay with coins for certain books, and I have quite a few things to say about that.
Firstly, I understand that authors need as much support as they can get to produce wonderful stories for everyone to read. Authors with published books in Amazon and bookstores get paid plenty when people support them by buying their books.
I get that, but this?
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⬆ (Ugh)
So, I went on the Wattpad profile and checked out their update. They're calling it "Wattpad Next Beta" where it's basically a way for readers to support the authors they love by using "coins" to unlock a story's chapter. And you have to pay real money to get those coins.
Now, ever since Wattpad has bombarded itself with ads, I have felt how corporate the app is. It's all about the dough. The green stuff that don't grow on trees.
But now, they're demanding readers to pay them for coins in order to read a story. I understand that it's a system to support authors, but I'm going to list why I am pretty mad about it.
🔘 Readers of Wattpad are generally young. About 13 (maybe younger) and above, and I believe that the vast majority of them are teenagers. Like 13-18, maybe 19. So, these guys, who are still in school now have to pay for their pastime. They will have a tough time to read on a free app when they want to read one of the books that you have to pay for.
I myself understand the struggle because I die inside whenever I see an online book I can't read because I don't buy things off of the internet.
Wattpad has emphasised that the bulk majority of books will be free, and only a few will be a pay to read. But this just means they'll be locking some of the great gems away for us to unlock through money. It's almost like holding books ransom.
🔘 Writers publish for free reading.
As a site that encourages creativity, community, and exploring new genres, I feel like this new feature kind of goes against what Wattpad was made to do. We're all here to share our creativity with the world. For FREE.
I just feel like it's...so wrong. Authors who come here post their stories fully knowing that no one is going to pay them, so why are we turning this site into a place where authors demand money? Like, if you want to get paid for your story, why not use an app that already has this system.
Radish does this, where it gives a few chapters free and the rest have to be unlocked with coins or where chapters are unlocked weekly, but you can read ahead if you pay a coin. I believe you can also lock your whole story so the chapters are permanently required for new readers to pay to read.
