Tuesday, August 30, 2022

How to Wattpad

 


First, sign up for an account. You only need an email address. Enter a username (how you will be known on the site) and your birthday. The site is for users thirteen years old and over. The birth date verifies content limitations as well as age.

Next, tell Wattpad what you like to do: Read, Write, Both. If you chose Write or Both, pick the statement that best describes your intent about writing. Each response will prompt another question. It will also ask what pronouns you prefer. The response is private. If you chose Reader or Both, you will be prompted to select three genres you enjoy reading. Choose your categories and hit done. Wattpad will take you to a suggested reading page based on your preferences. Click on any title to start reading.

As this post is for writers, I’ll focus on the writing and posting of stories.

Click on your account name on the far right top of the screen. The drop-down menu will take you to Notifications, Inbox, Settings, and Profile. Click Profile to view your home page.

On your profile page, you will see your name icon in the center of a large colored rectangle. We’ll talk about customization later. Underneath is the count of your works, reading lists, and followers. Below that, your personal description (bio), your reading lists, and a list of your works. There are also buttons to share your Wattpad work on various social media platforms. Let’s add some content.

Click on the word Write at the top of the page and select Create a new story. The new page asks you to enter information about your story. Here you can give some details and tags to help readers find the content. Add a title, blurb (description), and main characters (not required).

Next are Category and Tags. These are essential for readers to find your work. Even if your story is mixed genre, assign at least one. Use the tags like hashtags from Twitter to zero in on your story’s message. Add things like #romance, #fanfiction, #historicalcomedy, or whatever your story embodies. Use several but not dozens. Not sure what to tag your story? Check out other stories on Wattpad that have similar themes. Check out Amazon keywords on tales similar to your own, too.

Now choose your target audience. It will get the right eyes on your work. Audiences range from middle-grade to adult. Select your primary language and your copyright statement. If your book has adult content, be sure to mark it mature. Remember, we are trying to get these stories to the correct readers.

Back at the top of the screen, you can a cover for your book. Click on the cover and either update or be taken to Canva to create an easy cover. (See my posts on Canva.)

When you’re happy with the data, click Next at the top right and start writing. Wattpad allows you to either write in the app or post previously written material on the page. Be sure to give each section/chapter a title. If it’s a one-post short story, then a title is essential. Even if it’s a multi-chapter story, section titles will help readers find what they have already read. Add more pizazz to your section with a picture header. Click the icon on the top and upload. For video headers, add a YouTube link for the video. Again, be sure of copyrighted material before uploading. You can add more media in the text section.

Once you are finished writing, either for the day or the section, save your work. Save is on the top menu. If you’re ready to put your work out there, press Publish (after you save). The first time you want to publish (rate, comment, etc.), you will need to verify your mail for the account. If you click on your profile page, your new work will be listed and available for everyone to read (age-appropriate, of course).

If you return to the Write menu, more options are listed. Create a new story and My Stories are still available. There are also Helpful Writing Resources, Writing Contests, and Wattpad programs and opportunities.

Back on your profile page, your stories will have your title, tags, and publishing status. Below the title, there’s a small row of icons. The eye shows how many reads you’ve had. The star represents how many readers clicked the Like button to rate your story. The list icon tells readers how many parts are in the story. Click on the cover to read what you wrote (as another reader would see it). The pop-up tells readers the blurb and if it’s a finished or ongoing story.

If you need to edit, on your profile page, click the gear icon on your story. The gear will take you to a list of your stories, each inviting you to Continue Writing. Click that button to add more. To edit a section, click on the Title of the book. Wattpad will display Story Details, Table of Contents, and Story Details. Click on Table of Contents and then the title of the chapter to edit. (Another reason to make sure each section has a unique title.) On this screen and the previous one, the three dots allow you to view as a reader or delete the section.

Story Details will allow you to add or edit the initial information about your work. Perhaps you’ve changed a name or the heat level. Story Details will allow you to change that info at any time. Story Notes will give you space to add more about the protagonist. It’s a great character sheet to fill in details and ensure your character has a goal or a conflict to overcome. As it’s right there with your story, you can always double-check yourself. Be sure to hit Save whenever you enter additional details.

Chapters out of order? It’s easy on this page to drag the chapters to a new spot. In Table of Contents, click on the three lines to drag the chapter up or down.

Have you completely finished writing and editing the tale? On your profile page, click the gear, then the Story Details tab. It has a new edition. Move the Story Status slider over to complete if you are finished. It will tag the work, and readers will see the entire story is posted. (Some don’t mind reading an ongoing, but some only pick the finished ones.)

Want to write a new story, press the gear on the profile page again and click New Story. You are ready to begin anew with a fresh blank slate and a spot for a cover.

Remember that big blank screen behind your avatar on the profile page? Let’s add a graphic for it. Click on the Edit Profile button with the gear. This will give you editing options for the top splash bar. You can edit your name, background banner, and profile icon. You might have to log out and in again to view changes.

A not-so-short intro to Wattpad. I tend to over-explain for those unfamiliar with these apps. Let me know if you have any questions. Next week, we’ll look at the Wattpad writing programs and how best to use this app as a writer.

 

 

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Wattpad

 

Wattpad is a free social forum for readers and writers. The site was created to “remove the barrier”* between authors and readers. It allows writers to post their stories fee free and connect with millions of readers. Did I mention the readers get all the material for free?

Wattpad allows writers to explore their craft. There’s no limit to how much a writer can post. Writers are not restricted by genre, content, or subject. It should be original. Wattpad has a strict policy on copyright, i.e. don’t steal other authors’ work. But fanfic, yeah, go nuts writing and posting fanfic.

Writers post their content in chunks (chapters). Wattpad recommends no more than 7000 words per section. You can add covers for the work. Be sure it’s original, non-copyrighted material. (See my post about Canva and Book Brush for creating covers.)

Readers can find stories by genre, target audience, and tags (like Twitter hashtags). They can read and star sections they enjoy. The target audience rating allows users to find age-appropriate stories. Authors can mark items Mature if they have mature content. Younger users cannot read those stories.

The site is for personal use only. You can’t sell your content from the site. If you want to sell your story, you need to remove it from Wattpad. There is a paid stories section where authors can get money for their writing. I’ll cover that in my “For Writers” post.

At the time of this post, Wattpad had approximately 656 million stories in over thirty languages.

Wattpad is a great option for testing stories and for writers without publishing goals. And wonderful for original reading.

 

* From the Wiki about Wattpad

 

 

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Reference for Writers


If you’ve been following this blog, you know how redundant that title is. Everything here is for writers. I poked around at a few specific reference sites that assist with the actual writing process.

Style Guides: Here’s a great list of different style guides from Wiki. Each publishing house, university, and workplace probably uses a different style guide. Check out the requirement for specific countries and subjects—academic guides and art, too. This page will guide you to various style guides, such as Chicago and APA, with basic information about each. Then grab the physical guide from the library when you find the proper reference. Remember, if there’s a Chicago-style hot dog, there must be an AMA one out there, too.

NaNo Chapters: I’m a huge fan of Nation Novel Writing Month and do it almost every year (sometimes three times a year if you count camp). I discovered this wonderful reference page from an Indiana chapter of NaNo. Their reference page has a ton of information from grammar to publishing, from dealing with writer’s block to software. Some links may be broken because the site hasn’t been updated in a while. (And their software section has nothing on this blog. Wink, wink.) There are some good connections to basic information on the site.

Daily Writing Tips: This blog has some fantastic resources. I focused on the Popular section and found a plethora of tips and tricks. Grammar problems, confused words, expressions, style, vocabulary, and spelling. Sometimes Google doesn’t give a specific enough answer for our needs. Check out the blog for all the answers to your writing questions.

Writers Write: I have a unique link for this last entry. I rarely send you to Pinterest, especially one from South Africa. But the pages pinned on this profile contain some fantastic resources. Writers Write is the owner/author of the account, and they have these same resources available on Facebook. They collected tons of pins to assist you with many writing issues. You can also follow their website. I recommend the Pinterest site as it has short clips of the articles for your writing needs.

That wraps up reference for this year. Any suggestions for new topics? Email me at ginnyfrost@ginnyfrost.com.