101 Writing Tips from an Exhausted Reviewer

Awards

wELCOME TO-

And my caps lock button was on. Apologies.

Welcome to the chapter about awards! I will be structuring this in a certain way -- it'll sort of be like a myth-busting thing where you tell me if something is true or false before you proceed. We will go through this methodically, through a few different types of awards across Wattpad.

But before that, I must say that lepus_leporis did a fantastic long rant about awards and their thoughts them in the comments section in the last chapter. I totally recommend checking it out. It's a very insightful read, and they actually helped me add more structure to this chapter!

Now, let's launch straight into it!

MYTH #1: YOU ARE READY FOR THIS CHAPTER. [comment on whether you think this is true or false before continuing to read]

I mean, I can't answer this one for you. Go read your own tarot cards. Jeez.

And onto the contents!

THE WATTYS.

We'll start big. We like big things here.

Um. Don't take that out of context.

These ones are the most popular, I would say, across Wattpad. They're the big ones you can sign up for every year, as long as your story fits certain criterion. There are certain genres it can enter, a few available languages, and the judges are actually people who work for Wattpad or who are considered professionals when it comes to literature in some way/shape/form. It's super exciting, easy to sign up for, requires nothing but a story to submit.

Now...

MYTH #2: The books who win The Wattys will become extremely famous. [comment on whether you think this is true or false before continuing to read]

Now, the prizes that Wattpad does offer the winning books are no laughing matter. They're pretty big promises.

But does that mean the book becomes famous?

In some cases, absolutely. Once your story wins The Wattys, the platform will absolutely be showcasing it -- advertising it in the "look at our winners!" category, making it more accessible for readers.

However, similar to what I said in the last chapter, some stories will naturally do better than others, even if both of them are crowned winners. Some genres simply won't get that many reads, even if they won The Wattys. So, after a few more reads, some books just don't get that much love once the hype is over.

Don't despair, though! Some stories do extremely well once they win, even if they're in unpopular genres. And once the growth begins, it's hard to stop.

But, overall, the answer to that myth? FALSE.

MYTH #3: THE BOOKS THAT WIN ARE ALWAYS ALREADY SUPER POPULAR.

I don't want to get too much into is, because it involves way too much social media science voodoo witchcraft which I do not have a degree in. However, it is important to recognise: a lot of the times, the winners are already really popular.

They're popular because, quite simply, they're good books. But also, Wattpad knows that -- hey, if they offer these authors the "paid story" option, it's fantastic for their platform; with the story already having lots of clout before The Wattys, it'll be easier for the platform itself to gain a lot by offering these books some extra privileges.

I have not judged The Wattys. I have never personally spoken to a judge of The Wattys. Which is why I don't want to make assumptions. But, yes, there are absolutely a lot of cases where the winners are already super popular, and I don't think that's a random chance. I credit it to fantastic authors who know what they are writing -- there's a reason they're popular to begin with. I also credit it to, well, Wattpad being an entrepreneur.