Behind the Scenes

Wattpad/Fanfiction Tips

In my five years of writing fanfiction and using the Wattpad platform, I picked up a lot of tips and tricks to make my work presentable, attractive, and informational. It doesn't guarantee popularity, but it does make it more possible. If you're new to Wattpad or fanfiction writing or you would like some advice on how to attract more readers, here is what I learned from experience. Use to your benefit. 

1. Write a summary. I cannot stress this enough. The amount of authors I see that don't write a summary in the description box and discredit themselves with "I'm not good at writing summaries. Just read the story". Or they're just lazy and say "Find out by reading". Trust me, no one (unless they know you personally or are really desperate for content) is going to read your fanfic without knowing what they are getting themselves into. Like any other author in existence, you need to sell your story. Besides, how can I trust you to write a thirty chapter story if you can't even write a five sentence summary of your work? It shows weak writing skills. I almost never read a story that is without a description, and neither do a lot of readers. You will not regret writing a summary. It doesn't have to be poetry. Just tell us the plot.

2. Use tags. Tags help readers find a story they really want to read. Be as specific as you can and use as many as you need (though I recommend not using hundreds of tags like you see on AO3). Tags can also provide warnings to a reader, who may be on the look for specific tags. They may be looking for fluff instead of angst or a coffee shop au instead of a mafia au. Maybe they are looking to avoid pwp or mpreg or any other mature rated content. Use your tags.

3. Make a cover. Now I have written a couple fanfics with just a picture of the character that now have thousands of reads. Simply having a cover makes a huge difference. However, people do judge a book by its cover, so having a unique one really sells your story. Sometimes, a beautiful cover equals dedication to the story and possibly good writing skills in some minds. There is a specific app partnered with Wattpad to make  covers. I use that one and highly recommend it. 

4. Comment on other people's works. This makes you an active presence on whatever site you are using. You interact with favorite authors and potential readers, creating a community to support your new content. This also shows other writers that their work is worth reading  and gives them support. 

5. Do your research. The amount of ideas I have come up with simply by researching is unbelievable. This will help you write more accurately, make your story more believable, get you ideas, and help you understand a certain aspect that you are only pretending to understand for the sake of the story (like having a tech savvy character when you are not one or writing a court scene when you've never had jury duty). 

6. Write constantly. The more you write, the more you practice, which leads to improvement. I am living proof of that. If you read my old works, you can see the severe different from how I write now. Practice makes perfect. 

7. Give your chapters titles. Unless it's for aesthetic purposes, create funny and/or meaningful titles for your chapters. Not only are they fun and insight for the reader, they help the reader remember where their favorite parts are located. If there is a moment they wish to re-read, they just need to remember the chapter title, which is easier to remember than a number. Take some inspiration from Rick Riordan. 

8. Take notes. Notes are super helpful in the long run of writing. If you learn something new that could be included in a story, write it down, especially if it could save your entire plot or change it to something better. It's fun and immensely helpful. 

9. Edit. Before you post, leave your finished part until the next day. Then read it over and change any wording, correct spelling and grammar, and maybe even have a beta reader look over it. It pays to edit before rather than after you've already published it. 

10. Use paragraph breaks. Please, please, please use paragraph breaks. The amount of times I've opened a fanfic only to be greeted by a mass of text with no breaks is distressing. I can't read a story without giving my eyes a break. Start a new paragraph every time a new character speaks, the perspective changes, when the "camera" cuts to a new shot, when the subject changes, to create a "suddenly" effect, and literally when a paragraph feels too long or you feel the need for a paragraph break.