Wattpad for Authors

 

Wattpad is for authors.

It’s the perfect solution for writers who do not want to formally publish their work. Writing can be a dauntless task before we even get to the publishing aspect. Not everyone wants to query, work with an editor, and/or deal with marketing. Wattpad can be your publisher with zero hassles.

With your free account and a crash course in hashtags, you can build a successful career with this app. That’s, of course, assuming you aren’t interested in profit. Not all of us are. Post your stories, articles, or novels, and the readers will come to you. Read widely on the app to see what’s trending or how best to format your story. There’s no end to getting your ideas out there through Wattpad.

Marketing is a serious business. As an author, sometimes you must expand beyond your brand. If you want to test markets, Wattpad has a free audience waiting for you. Whether you are pubbed or not, you can test out storylines, characters, or different genres with the app. Post with a pen name or your real name. Throw out a story idea, chapter one of a new novel, or even a completely different tale from your norm. Wattpad is a great market to check out your premise or genre change before you invest too much. I’ve been posting stories on Wattpad for a couple of years with fanfiction, fantasy, and horror. I even used a secret pen name. Check me out here! (Especially my Umbrella Academy fanfic. Wink, wink.)

Wattpad has some great programs for writers. One such program, Paid Stories, is currently invite-only. The admins pick which stories/authors will receive monetary compensation for their content. Readers pay for the content. I don’t have much information as I’m not one of the lucky few in the program.

There’s also the Wattpad Creators Program. This is another opportunity for authors to be paid for their work. It’s a support program to assist writers in turning their work into a career. The program is in beta currently and is also invite-only. They require authors to hit a certain level of popularity on the app. If you choose to participate, sign up for their newsletter and post content.

The Wattys is an awards program for outstanding fiction from the site. To be eligible, you must complete one story in the current year. There are eleven categories to choose from. Check out more on their separate website.

The Creators 101 section has tons of articles to help aspiring writers better their craft. Browse through information on audience, covers, and basic writing skills. It’s a good place to start if you are unsure where to go with your work.

They also have links to contests. Go to your profile page and click the down menu on Write. Click Writing Contests and check out ways to get kudos for your writing.

When it comes down to it, Wattpad is a place to publish your work for free and have free access for readers. It’s a beautiful thing (if that’s your goal).