writing motivation and tips

Can You Hear My Voice?

Do you think Wattpad supports the writers these days as a platform? What alternatives do you suggest writers use to grow their audience/readers?

moonvanjoon : It depends on the genre you write. Wattpad does host several contests and now has the option for people to pay for certain stories which can help writers, but again, it depends on the genre you write. Fan fiction does not count. Social media helps when promoting the stories and interacting with the readers is definitely important.

ennkay_ : If you're a BIPOC author then no, I don't think Wattpad does a good job in supporting its writers. There's been recent backlash regarding how WP treats its BIPOC authors (specifically Wattpad stars, and a good majority of them even left the platform entirely) vs. white authors on this platform, and it's really upsetting to see a company claiming to promote and encourage diversity, but not taking the advice from stars who have made suggestions regarding how the platform can better support BIPIC authors.

To be honest, I've been on Wattpad for a long time (8 years!), but I've only been writing for about two. I haven't seen many changes regarding how they run things (though, with the recent Naver acquisition, it might change. I have no idea lol), so it's hard to continue writing on a platform that doesn't seem to value my opinion (I write both ff and original works). Yet, at the same time it's seemingly even more difficult to find other alternatives that are better. For example, AO3 -- if you write/read fanfiction! Everyone I know loves using AO3. If you write original content, then Inkitt is another platform that has a lot of fanfiction, romance, and werewolf stories from what I've seen (they have all genres, but those are the ones that I've seen thrive the most). I think there's a program on Inkitt where you can earn money from your work, but uhhhh... it's sort of sketchy from what I've researched. I'd say the best suggestion if you're writing original content is Radish. I personally haven't used it myself (because I'm a chicken and I can't deal with rejection lol). Radish is a platform where you apply to become writer, and readers pay to read your story! There's an application process for it though.

So overall, alternative platforms for writing: AO3 (fanfiction), Inkitt (fanfiction and original, can monetize your work but be careful of signing contracts and what not), and Radish (original content, and monetizes your work).

However, if you're a writer who isn't really interested in earning money, then Wattpad isn't too shabby ;)

xxxxxpuxxxx@xxx.com : Idk

aarmiy : The app gets worse by the day, to be honest LMAO It really feels like they don't care about what we want whether that's security, accessibility or respect. I'm pretty clueless myself, and switching to AO3 has been way too intimidating, so the most I can say is make friends! Involve yourself in the community. They used to have a lot more opportunities for writers to get discovered before paid stories began to take the spotlight, and before the app got so crappy that people just left, really. It is what it is, but whoever is left we have to have each other's backs and keep organising initiatives like this one right here :D

inbabypink : Okay, I believe that the answer for this question will be various, depending on what kind of a writer we are. 

I think, for someone like me, who writes for fun and has no specific goal for my writing, wattpad is more than enough. I can pour my imagination into my writing, almost no boundaries in it, isn’t that great?

To get readers, on the other hand, that’s tricky. In my opinion, someone will get a good amount of crowd when she/he writes things that can touch people’s hearts, as simple as that.