I have heard so many people discredit wattpad, claiming it is a low quality website that only sponsors low quality works and nothing else. As a vetern Wattpadder, this could not be farther from the truth. Sure, wattpad is not a dead set publishing forum that you can rely on, but if you’re a write, especially an inexperienced one, Wattpad can be a great way to introduce you and your works to fresh audiences, gain exposure, hone your skills, and build a great community of writers that you can rely on.
1. Exposure
Wattpad has always been great for getting writers out there into their respective audiences. It provides a space where authors of niche genres can gain a following. Exposure is possibly one of the most important things a writer can have, for when they turn their book or writing into a published piece people are willing to pay for, they must have an audience to sell it to. Wattpad gives you this for FREE as long as you play your cards right.
2. Community
Wattpad to me has been a place of tremendous growth and critism. My writing has never grown more under the stress of public criticism, and nothing could have been better for me. I took advantage of the many contests, review books, graphic shops, and services to hone my writing skills, so much so that I decided to start my own organization that is meant to help young writers just as much as Wattpad has done for me.
I joined book clubs on wattpad, a noteable one being the Rebel BC, one of the most well run organizations I’ve seen on the platform. Book clubs vary depending on style. For example, rebel put you in groups. Your group would read your novel every other week and give you indepth criticisms of respective chapters. You would do the same for others. It truly created a community of constructive growth where I blossomed into a slightly better writer than before.
Wattpad has given me some long lasting friends that I can always turn to in times where I needed help with my writing, It is a compeltely different writing community than instagram and twitter (which both have their positives and negatives). Wattpad writing communities focus on writing, critiquing, and helping each other become better writers by directly interacting with your work. I unfortunatly have not felt that same push in the Instagram writing community, but I also have benified from other parts of IG writing community as well.
If you are looking for a loving, supportive, and writing-focused writing community, I suggest that you check out Wattpad.
3. Contests
Wattpad hosts so many contests where you can enter your work. Contests are not only a great way to gain exposure, but also a wonderful way to gain understanding of where you are as a writer, your target audience, and what you need to keep and fix. I loved entering contests on wattpad, I was almost addicted. Trust me, do not go in expecting to win. Go in expecting to learn.
So why the hate?
Wattpad gets a lot of hate for its past stereotype, but I have been there since the beginning up until now, and let me tell you, things have changed for both the better and the worst.
Let me explain.
Wattpad used to be a free, accessible website for both readers and writers to find communities, share interests, and grow their hobbies into passions. But everything has a cost: a cost for that? Typically amature or low quality work that circulated and gained a mass following, or fanfiction. That cost Wattpad its reputation as a dependable writing platform, for people thought they were above it. I know I got a lot of backlash from some of my friends for writing on wattpad, but slowly, wattpad has changed.
Wattpad began to spike their quality by refining the Wattys, a very important and honorable award on Wattpad. Every writer wanted to win, everyone uped their standard and began pumping out quality writing, and it was wonderful. So many amaizng original books came out, some that still remain my favorite. One of my best online friends and favorite authors Lev Lyonne wrote an amazing book series on it.
But what changed for the worse? Wattpad stopped being completely free, possibly due to its demand for money, or the public’s demand for more writing resources. While it still is free, all of the really quality, really impressive books got adopted by the Wattpad Books plan, which makes it available for readers who cannot pay the price.
But on the other hand, wattpad has made itself an alternative route towards publishing and becoming a successful writer. I know many friends accepted by this program that can now have some passive income flowing in for pursuing their passion. Wattpad can make dreams come true for a lot of writers.
The last complaint of Wattpad is that the feild is too packed, and making it is nearly impossible. While it is true, as the amount of writers and books have increased, so have the amount of opportunities for a writer to grow their platform, join communities, and improve their writing.
Whats the final verdict?
While wattpad might have changed in some ways for the worst, the app is better than it has ever been for writers. Instead of having a blanket hatred or negative opinion towards Wattpad, I urge you to test it for yourself. It works for some, and doesn’t work for others, but at the end of the day, its all about you.
If you want to follow me on Wattpad, here is my info!
https://www.wattpad.com/user/riyamcyriac
I hope this helped
Riya
The Enthusiast 