FISHING FOR READS (AND HOW TO GET YOUR STORIES OUT THERE):
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
September: the month of starting school (or almost getting out of it!). Odds are that wherever you are, you're gearing up for a whole new year or a whole new vacation. Whatever it is, it's something big. September means change, people! And that's why I'm going to give you some advice in advance this month. I now present to you the two steps for publishing/getting noticed:
The first step towards receiving recognition for a story is having one (and I mean finished).
You got that? Great.
The second one is plastering your work everywhere you can.
Now, in no way am I saying that you advertise yourself on someone else's message board. That's just rude. But the point is that if no one knows about your work, they won't read it, and they certainly won't vote on it (or buy it, or publish it).
Currently, my work is in my school's literary and arts magazine, on Wattpad, and I applied to a summer writing camp with them. Will any of these work out? Who knows. The important thing is that my chances of being discovered have now gone from zero to, oh, maybe ten to twelve. That's a step up from nothing. Being on this site right now is already a huge jump forward: there's actually around 25 million people on Wattpad interested in reading! Of course, that doesn't mean that people's experiences as authors here are the same. Maybe you feel like the Wattpad ghost, drifting through the vast ocean of stories and feeling completely invisible with your meager double-digit reads. Or maybe you're a regular Wattpad celebrity racking up millions of reads with your latest installment.
Well, here's some news, whether it be good or bad for you:
Wattpad does not mirror reality.
Calm down, I'm not saying it's a waste of time to be on this site-- hey, there's great stuff around here (like this magazine!) and great people to share it with! All I'm saying is that the world is unpredictable. People may turn their heads at works that had you at the top of the ladder here. They may also appreciate works no one ever bothered to read online. That's okay. The world is a much bigger audience, which means that while it is difficult to get your voice out there, it is also much more likely to be accepted. There's plenty of fish in the sea, as the expression goes. So let's go fishing, shall we?
When you're fishing (yes, this is an extended metaphor), you want to use your best bait, right? Something you know will attract fish. Same with writing. Take your best pieces and put them out into the world to see what happens. DON'T submit that unedited, typo-ridden story you wrote that one time and published on Wattpad just because you felt like it. Edit, edit, edit, and edit. Hone your craft to the point where you're confident in your stories' worth. There is absolutely no excuse for not going over what you've done, even if you're like me and would much rather sit on the couch watching Law and Order SVU.
All done with that? Well, then comes the waiting.
I'm going to be honest with you: it's not fun, but it is essential to be patient and keep trying. If fish don't bite after a minute or two, you don't pack up and go home. You've put too much into this to give up easily! Just keep trying. Keep editing, keep submitting, and, most of all, keep writing! Just because you're not noticed doesn't mean you're not good. And that's why you want to get yourself out there. Use social media, if you have to. Ask a friend or relative to read something you wrote. Whatever you do, put as much heart into getting reads as you did writing your work. Maybe you'll meet Wattpad fame, maybe you won't, but somewhere, somehow, there's a pretty good chance you will be recognized. However big or small the moment may seem, one day you'll feel a tug on that line, that notification on your dashboard, even the screech of a parent, and right in front of you will be a dangling little fish.
