In October 2018, we launched Wattpad Next beta as a temporary program in order to learn and test how our community would interact with a program that monetarily supports writers. Results of the program showed that Wattpadders are ready for a program that funds writers. We're excited to announce that today we are ending the Wattpad Next beta program and introducing Paid Stories. The Paid Stories program is a way for writers to earn money for their work and for readers to support writers for creating stories they love.
Through purchasing Coins to unlock Wattpad Next beta stories, cheering on writers, and applying to the program, Wattpadders have shown that they believe in the program, want to pay writers, and see value in the stories selected. Using the insights we gained from the beta program we are now introducing a permanent program: Paid Stories.
The Wattpad community has always supported writers by reading their work, sharing the stories they love, and cheering writers on through comments and votes. The Paid Stories program is another way to support writers. Readers can now support writers' careers by paying to read their work. This gives writers the opportunity to spend more time creating the stories we love.
Wattpadders in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Mexico, and the Philippines can now read Paid Stories. We know that Wattpadders around the globe are interested in unlocking these stories as well and plan to roll the program out to additional countries soon.
Here's how you can read Paid Stories and support writers:
Find Paid Stories by looking for the "Supported Story" badge. When you see this badge, you know that Coins are needed to read portions of the story.
Preview the story before unlocking paid parts. Each story will have several free parts so you can get familiar with the writing style and characters before using purchased Coins to read the rest of the story.
Unlock stories with Coins. To purchase Coins visit the Coin Shop on the Wattpad mobile app. Tap on the wallet on your profile, which will load your balance and open the Coin Shop.
Next, select the Coin package you prefer and complete the purchase by authorizing the payment through your iTunes or Google Play account.
Once you purchase Coins, you will be able to unlock and read Paid Stories anywhere you use Wattpad - both in-app and on Wattpad's website. You can unlock stories a chapter at a time or purchase the whole story. Your Coin balance will be automatically updated when you purchase or redeem Coins.
We're excited about the opportunity Paid Stories creates for writers on Wattpad. Stay tuned for news on how we plan to expand the program to more writers and readers.
We know our community has also been asking for ways to tip writers and earn Coins. While these features are not currently available, it doesn't mean this will always be the case. We are always iterating on Wattpad features to create the best experience for our community, and we will continue to make updates to the Paid Stories program.
The Paid Stories program is just one way we are enhancing the reading and writing experience on Wattpad.
You can enjoy Wattpad in 3 ways:
1. Read for Free: Enjoy Wattpad the way you always have. There are still millions of free stories on Wattpad and that isn't going to change.
2. Discover Paid Stories: Support Wattpad writers by reading exclusive stories
3. Unlock Wattpad Premium: Subscribe to Wattpad Premium for an uninterrupted ad-free reading experience
To learn more about the program visit the Paid Stories website, or follow @PaidStories on Wattpad to connect with the team.
Update - May 27, 2019
Hola a todos, starting May 27, 2019, readers in Latin America and Spain will be able to read all the stories in the Paid Stories program. We are excited to expand the program to readers in these countries and help even more writers earn money for their work. To learn more about how to read Paid Stories, and how the program helps writers take the next step in their careers check out the Paid Stories site, or read the full announcement in Spanish on the PaidStories profile on Wattpad.
Update - July 10, 2019:
Calling all Wattpadders! Starting July 11th readers all over the world can unlock and read Paid Stories. We're committed to thoughtfully expanding the program in order to give writers the opportunity to develop their careers on Wattpad.
Currently, Paid Stories are available in English and Spanish. We know that readers and writers in our global community are excited to expand the program to additional languages and plan to add additional languages in the future.
Your friends at Wattpad HQ