Hi everyone! My name is Jay and I am so happy to be participating in my third Wattpad Block Party! It's crazy to think that just a few years back, I had dreamt of being featured in this event and now I get to say I've participated three times! How crazy is that?
With that being said, this year I decided to switch things up a bit. If you're familiar with my past two Wattpad Block Party posts, you know that I introduced you to some of my stories and their silly characters. However, this year I decided to switch things up a bit because I'd love to share some tips and tricks I've learned while being an active part of the Wattpad community.
Before we dive in to all the goodies, I think it's only best that I elaborate a bit more on who I am in the Wattpad community. I joined Wattpad back in April 2015 as an upcoming writer. Previously, I had been on a much smaller writing website that was geared toward female writers named Miss Literati. January of 2014, I started writing my debut sci fi novel titled 'Broken'. At that point in my life, I was very young and only dreamt of somehow gaining an audience who would enjoy the stories and messages that I had to put out there. A few months later, my book was voted as Miss Literati's Story of the Summer. As a young writer who had started just a few months ago, winning this meant the entire world to me. It showed me that I was capable of doing anything that I wanted to put my mind to and also gave me a push forward to continue writing.
In April of 2015, I migrated over to the Wattpad community. Many users on Miss Literati would always fantasize about having their work displayed over on Wattpad because of the endless opportunities it seemed to offer creators. With that being said, my curiosity got the best of me and I began another journey here on Wattpad.
Since 2015, I can say that much has happened that I would never have even imagined. First, I managed to create a short story series based around Peter Pan which helped me find my true home in the short story genre. Secondly, I was inducted into the top 25 in the #OnceUponNow contest. For those of you who don't know what that is, @Target hosted a contest back in 2016 to pick 10 short stories to publish in the Once Upon Now anthology. As a newbie writer, I miraculously made it into the Top 25. I was and still am beyond thrilled! That was literally such an amazing experience and I'm so happy I was able to go through it. It really helped boost my confidence as a writer because it showed me that I really had potential to do something great with the stories I created.
Third, over the past few years I've gotten to connect with all of you! I'm nearing 4,000 Wattpad followers. My book 'Heartbreak Hotline' has reached over 280,000 reads in less than a year. My Twitter and Instagram feeds are always filled with so much love, inspiration, and support. And for all of this, I thank you all. None of this would've been possible without you all by my side!
And while it may seem like I achieved these accomplishments in a pretty short amount of time, I can honestly say that all of this came bundled with oodles of hard work. Promoting, networking, and getting yourself out there is a really hard thing to do- especially when you're brand spankin' new to the writing community. And I'm not going to candy coat it- finding a dedicated audience can not only be time consuming, but can get overwhelming at times. So as someone who has had some experience with building an audience, I think this would be the perfect opportunity to share some tips for the new (and growing!) writers out there. Here's what I have learned the past three years on building your readership.
TIP 1: Be prepared to invest some time.
Are you serious about becoming a writer? Most of you are probably nodding your heads yes right now.
Okay, here's another question. Do you have about two to three hours a day to just sit down and advertise yourself? Ehh...I think not. That's why it's so important to know exactly how to advertise to maximize traffic to your stories.
Now, just because you're not going to spend two to three hours a day advertising doesn't mean that you won't be doing any at all. If anything, it's definitely one of the key aspects of making your story more marketable to an audience. But if you have a break of 15-30 minutes a day, that should be suffice. Writing- as most of you can already tell- is a craft that requires much time and precision. If you're not willing to take 10-30 minutes out of your day to be active on Wattpad, a blog, or any other writing outlet that you have, your writing may not be able to reach the audience you expected it to receive. You have to put in the work to see the results.
TIP 2: Write for yourself, not for reads.
THIS. Now this is one of the most important things to remember as a writer. When you set off on your storytelling journey, you want to write because you have a message to tell, because you love doing it, because you want to make someone feel good inside, etc.
Writing for the sole purpose of obtaining reads eventually leads down to a quite toxic road. It puts tons of pressure on you when you're not reaching the goals you expected to obtain. It can also become stressful when you continue writing a book just because it is getting 'popular'. If you're not invested in what you're working on, readers eventually catch on and so does your writer's block (yes, I went there haha).
And don't get me wrong, it's normal to grow out of a storyline. I've done it and so have a ton of other authors out there- including published ones as well. As humans, our minds are evolving and expanding every single day as we learn more. As storytellers, we sometimes grow into another phase and want to experiment with different elements in our craft of literature. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But if there is anything that I have learned in my three years on Wattpad,- and there are other authors who will agree with me on this- it's that you will feel so accomplished as a writer when you are writing a story that you thoroughly enjoy creating.
TIP 3: Don't be shy, say hi.
This is definitely another important aspect of being a writer. You definitely want to interact with others in the writing community because having a support group is definitely beneficial for you! There are multiple ways to do this, a few which I will go over below.
If you are ever on the desktop version of Wattpad, you will see that there is a tab in the top left corner of the web page which says, 'Community'. If you click on that, there should be a tab beneath it that says, 'Clubs'. Wattpad Clubs are a great way to interact with others in the community. There you will find many threads which are chat rooms that you can connect with a vast variety of writers here on Wattpad. They are split up by genre as well so, for example, if you're a Fantasy or an Action writer and want to connect with others like you, the clubs are a great place to go! They even have threads designated for posting advertisements for your stories! So if you haven't taken a peek at them yet, I highly recommend you do.
Also if you want to connect with others writers on Wattpad, become a reader! Find some books that look interesting and dive in! If you enjoyed the chapter you read, be sure to leave a vote and a comment(s). Believe it or not, other writers greatly appreciate feedback and sometimes even answer back to your comments. It's a great way to discover some great stories and meet some new friends along the way!
Another aspect which hugely impacted the traffic to my stories was social media. Which brings me to my next topic...
TIP 4: Make social media accounts for your writing.
I literally cannot emphasize how much of a difference social media has made for me. When it comes to social media, it seems like Instagram and Twitter are the most effective for building a fanbase. Instagram is great to inform your readers of exciting updates and for behind the scenes secrets of your writing process. I find that Instagram is most effective when you use a lot of hashtags related to your post. It helps more people find your post, which could potentially lead to more people checking out your work!
Twitter on the other hand, is super effective. You're able to connect and chat with writers not from just Wattpad, but also those who are on Tumblr, who have their own blogs, and who are connected with different aspects of storytelling as well (Episode, Webtoon, etc.). It's an amazing tool for sharing little facts about your stories and also to participate in chats that give you tools and tips on how to strengthen your writing. Out of all of the tools I've used to expand my audience, I can honestly say that Twitter has helped me in ways that I never even imagined. Plus, there are Twitter analytics that give you a detailed breakdown on how much interaction you're really getting on the site. It's really great and I highly recommend all writers to make one for their stories.
TIP 5: People do judge books based on covers. And blurbs.
And here comes the visual aspect. Unfortunately when it comes to books, the first thing that captures a reader's attention is the book cover. With that being said, you want to make sure that your cover is not only appealing to the eye but also correlates with your story. If your story is about a valiant knight who embarks on a quest to save his kingdom, it would be odd to have a cover with just unicorns and fairies on it.
And if you're not the best in the graphic design department, there are tons of cover shops available on Wattpad who would be able to provide you with a cover for a small payment (often a read on their story and a follow, not real money). There are tons of talented authors out there!
Another important aspect to have is a very well-thought out blurb. Blurbs can get tricky. They have to have the perfect balance of length, content, and appeal. Length and content wise, you want to make sure that you give enough information to keep a potential reader interested in your story, but you also want to make sure that you don't give away too much information about your story. You want to leave them wanting more.
You also want to make sure that your blurb appeals to something- whether it be emotions, senses, or something else. You want to leave a lasting impression on people and the first one they get of your writing is the very cover and summary displayed at the front page of your story.
TIP 6: Updating frequently really helps.
For those of you who have been on Wattpad for a while, you know how hectic keeping regular updating schedules can be. Often times, readers stay more invested in ongoing stories when they are frequently updated. It keeps them engaged and willing to read more if they know that updates are consistent.
It's super smart to write before you post if you're aiming to keep an updating schedule. Always make sure that you have a few chapters already prepared in case life happens and you're unable to write for a few days. And while the updating schedule is usually the trickiest part of writing a book, it is shown that readers are more likely to stick with a book that has consistent updates over sporadic ones.
TIP 7: Enter as many writing contests as you can.
Writing contests are absolutely amazing. While there are the annual Watty awards, many writers don't know that there are also user held awards and contests held on Wattpad as well. The best way to find these is to look up #award , #awards , #contest , and #contests . These user held contests often offer awards such as feedback, winners stickers, and oodles of shoutouts if you make it to the final round. There is nothing you can lose by entering a contest because even if you end up not winning, it provides more exposure for you and your stories!
TIP 8: Answering your comments is a big yes.
Here's something I learned with experience. It is sooooo important to make sure that you interact with your readers. Answering some of the comments that they leave on your stories can do just that. It's definitely a good way to build an author-reader relationship and also shows your readers that you appreciate the time they took out to leave comments. Plus, you can start conversations with some of them and make new friends that way!
TIP 9: Make sure you show appreciation.
As stated above, replying to comments is a great way to show your appreciation. However, don't just stop there! You're able to dedicate chapters to those who constantly support your work. It's an amazing way to show how thankful you are for those who are always leaving comments and votes.
Plus you can always check out some of their work if it catches your eye. Supporting fellow writers is what makes the wattpad community go round!
TIP 10: Don't get discouraged.
Trust me, it's really easy to do if you aren't seeing stats go up the way you were expecting them to. It's a normal feeling that we've all been through and still go through, so don't ever feel like you're alone in this boat. There is an entire writing community out there that needs an author like YOU to tell their story.
Besides, you can't really lose unless you give up. Keep going. Keep striving. Keep pushing forward. You can finish that book, I know you have it in you. You got this, I promise.
And with that said, that's a wrap!
Thanks so much for reading and feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments here! My DMs are always open as well so feel free to stop by and ask any questions there as well!
Oh, and I almost forgot to ask! Any BTS Army around? If so, did you enjoy the gifs? :D
Thanks so much again and don't forget to check out all of my social media outlets! I'm always on so feel free to stop by and say hi!
Thanks again and hope to see all of you around!
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GIVEAWAY:
Lightning_Styker will giveaway a shoutout on Wattpad, Instagram, and Twitter to 5 lucky winners! Giveaway is open internationally.
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ENTER THE WATTPAD BLOCK PARTY GIVEAWAYS BY CLICKING HERE: Shortened Link to Blog: https://goo.gl/2c6YUP
OR HERE:
Regular Link to Blog: http://kellyanneblountauthor.blogspot.com/2018/07/wattpad-block-party-giveaways-summer.html