We're all here on Wattpad for a reason, whether that reason is to read, to write, to connect with others, or even to figure out what this site is all about.
I've been using Wattpad since 2012, and much has changed not only on Wattpad, but also in t...
In this section, we will be discussing the positive, jittery feelings surrounding finishing your first book and figuring out what the heck you want to do with it!
Please read through the questions first before asking your own (in the inline comment at the end of this chapter) and please be respectful of these questions. Many of them have been asked by real people -- writers like you who just want to learn more about this very complicated industry. Thanks!
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Q:I am using Wattpad to grow my writing by participating in contests, and having people read my writing. I'm writing to be traditionally published. What more can I do?
A: I'm going to be honest, most writers don't use Wattpad as a means to get traditionally published. Many do believe this is an avenue for that, but Wattpad is it's own publishing platform, and even gives writers here copyrights. With the growth of Wattpad, there are other ways writers can get recognized, and that's through bowing to the Wattpad algorithm and racking up reads and comments on your books. But even if you get millions of reads on Wattpad, chances are the admins here will do everything in their power to retain you as an author so they get more website traffic. It's a business, and they want to use you if you're bringing in an audience.
The upside to Wattpad is that it's a great community where you can learn and grow from others, while also honing your writing craft. My biggest advice would be to continue improving, continue writing. You can only get better with practice and criticism. Once you've crafted a clean draft that doesn't need a whole lot of editing (at least, not that you can tell), you're ready for the query trenches! Querying is a necessary process for the majority of publishing companies today; some smaller publishers may accept unsolicited manuscripts (you can find these on publishing company websites, usually under their "submissions" tab, if they have one), but it's often that they do not. Agents are trusted partners of houses, and so publishers are more likely to listen to an agent with a proposal than a writer with an idea. (And don't bring an "idea" to an agent, ever. Unless you're a public speaker and you're writing nonfiction. Fiction? Complete the manuscript first.)
Q:I just want to get my writing out there. There are a lot of advertisers on Wattpad in my comment sections, my DMs, and on my message board. The most common one is WebNovel. What do you think of WebNovel?
A: I don't like WebNovel. They're not a scam company, but if you don't read the fine print and decide to sign a contract with them, you will lose the rights to your work. They will own it, and they will expect you to deliver on their demands. This, and works from WebNovel are notorious for being pirated, which means that money you could be making is being stolen right out from under you. Piracy is an issue for even traditionally published authors, though, just not as easily done. Wattpad even gets pirated onto mirror sites. This being said, "getting your writing out there" is quite different from "making money off your writing." If you want to make money, become a copywriter or a blogger for a company. Writing your novel, even if it gets published and you receive royalties from it, will probably not impress your wallet.
Also, if you receive advertisements on Wattpad, report them. Users who spam your books, profile, and inbox are acting against Wattpad's content guidelines and ought to be removed. Also, they're quite annoying.
Q: I've published on Wattpad/Amazon/Lulu/Inkitt/A03/etc.; will publishers still want my book?
A: It really depends, but I will say from a publishing standpoint, publishers really love their debut authors. Unless your book is pretty successful after you've self-published and your publisher can see the numbers reflecting that, your proposed book might be a hard sell. We have published a nonfiction author who had self-published a fiction book on Amazon and received ~40 five-star reviews, and that's actually fairly impressive for a self-published author. This guy also had a pretty large social media following and is a public speaker, so it worked out for him. He got a great foreword writer and well-known endorsers, and marketed his book beautifully. But I believe he is the only one we published that had already self-published. Please note that we didn't rebrand and republish his book; we got a proposal for a new book he'd never published before, and that's the one we took after seeing how his other book was doing.
As for Wattpad... Take the book down before querying it. Try to erase its existence from the internet as best you can. If it's up and free for people to read, publishers will probably see that as "already published."
Q:I'm seriously considering self-publishing; that's why I've been inactive here. The idea behind it is that I can try my luck and see how the book does in the market. Since this is your industry, I wanted to know what your opinion is on this: do you believe that a self-published book has the chance of being picked up by a publisher later on if it generates enough revenue?
A: It's a great thing to come to a decision regarding where you want to go with your work. My opinion is probably going to differ greatly from others, so take it with a grain of salt.
Publishers are looking for never-before-seen debut books, and they want the rights. Now, you can definitely self-publish and then remove your books from those sites to query, but if your books are doing well via your self-publishing route, why not continue to make the revenue on your own without giving up royalties to another entity that controls your rights?
My recommendation, if you decide to go the self-pub route, is to self-pub a book you like, but one that isn't your BEST work. Save that diamond-in-the-rough for querying, and then in your letter tell agents that you're self-published and your other book(s) are doing well, have good reviews etc. It shows you're serious about writing but you're not trying to dip your book into too many outlets at once.
tl;dr - self-publish if that's what you want to do, and do your best to get the most out of whatever platform you publish on. Retain all the profit and relish the feeling of holding your book. Some self-pubbed books do GREAT, actually. It's unlikely a publisher will want to pick up the book (even if it's doing well) because regardless, they'll have to pay you an advance (and it might not be that great), you'll probably still have to query through an agent, and your book will be altered to reflect the tastes of the publisher. Unless your book is already everything they want it to be, chances are slim they'll want it as is, and will request you take it down anyway.
If you have a specific book with the goal of publishing traditionally someday, don't let that one be the one you self publish. I hope this helps :)
Now.... comment your questions inline here, and if there are enough ❤s (enough people with the same question) I will post my answer in this Q&A, or wherever the question applies in future Q&As. Otherwise, I will answer to the best of my ability in the comments :D
