How to Get One Million Reads on Wattpad (a novel)

4) Be Open to Feedback

Derek sat at his cluttered computer desk, fully engrossed in his TikTok channel. His eyes were fixated on the screen as he studied the trends and metrics of his latest videos.

His workout videos got some traction, but the videos that had the most views were the ones where he encouraged young trans guys that things would get better. A close second, though, were videos where he made fun of transphobes.

Views, of course, equaled money.

He didn't make enough from TikTok to quit his day job. Though, if he didn't have a day job, he could go live on his channel more often, and that would bring in significantly more cash.

There were days when he considered making that gamble, but he also didn't want to put all his eggs in one basket.

As Derek scrolled through the analytics page, Brody knocked on the doorframe, strolled through the open door, and plopped down on the bed. He was mid-laugh and holding his phone in his hand. "Dude, have you seen Vikki's new video? It's a gem!"

Derek glanced up, then leaned back in his chair and turned to his friend. "No, I haven't. What's it about?"

Brody pulled up the video on his phone, his eyes sparkling with anticipation, and pressed play. Vikki's face, spray-tanned orange and framed by her bleached hair, filled the screen. "Y'all are so dumb, falling for these fakers," she snarled. "These men, these attention-seeking, pathetic men, are on here making these fake videos pretending to be women." She pursed her lips and shook her head, causing her gold hoop earrings to glitter under the florescent bulb of her ring light. "Open your eyes, people!"

The video ended, and Derek looked over at Brody. "So, she's a TERF making fun of trans women. That's sort of her schtick. What's new?"

Brody let out a loud, braying laugh. "No, dude. She tagged a bunch of trans men on this video. She tagged YOU. Don't you get it? Vikki is saying that you are cis."

"What?" He rolled his eyes. Vikki thrived on stirring up shit. She was a notorious queen of drama. "So she is saying I'm a cis guy pretending to be trans just to, what? Get followers?"

"Yeah, basically," Brody said.

They both burst out into laughter.

"Can you believe she'd record that sort of sensationalized shit? And then blame actual trans guys for chasing views for just, like, telling our truths," Derek said, once he had caught his breath.

"Obviously she's just–what's the saying?–the pot calling the kettle black." Brody shook his head.

"If only people like her didn't have so many followers," Derek stated the obvious.

A beat passed.

This was far from the most hateful video Vikki had posted on TikTok. The problem, though, is that it wasn't just her. She was one of many bigots who tagged their videos with progressive hashtags so that they would pop up in trans people's feeds. The comment section would then turn into a virtual brawl.

After a moment, Brody's eyes twinkled with inspiration, and he suggested, "We should totally make a response video to this, stich something. Play it up, add some humor, and show everyone how ridiculous this whole thing is."

Derek's eyes lit up at the idea. Sure, it would just feed the beast, but it would also be fun. Plus, this was the type of video that always gained him followers, views, and a few extra dollars. The wheels of creativity already turned. "Yeah. Let's do it!"

Brody hopped up and ran to his room to grab his notebook and a pen. Derek spun in his desk chair, waiting, letting the seeds of inspiration germinate.

"Okay," Brody said as he sat down on the edge of the bed, pen poised above a blank page. "Ideas?"