What is Wattpad burnout? It's like burnout with anything. You overwork something, and it stops working. In this case, you overwork yourself on Wattpad and spend too much time here too quickly.
Your greatest ally in dealing with Wattpad burnout is prevention. We kind of talked about this last chapter, but let's focus on the topic this time.
As mentioned last chapter, don't enter a writing a crunch. Outline, write ahead, and write shorter chapters. When you do this, you'll stress a lot less. Wattpad stress contributes massively to Wattpad burnout.
Don't commit to something you can't sustain. This can be tricky, because you often will start something you think you can sustain, only to find you cannot. My advice: think it over for 48 hours before you release anything freshly thought-of to Wattpad. Don't release something on a whim, especially if it involves weeks of commitment.
I can't tell you how many update / random books I've deleted after a few months of declining effort.
However, if you do release something you can't sustain, tell your audience you can't sustain it and let it go. Don't beat yourself up about it. Be honest without yourself and your readers, apologize, and tell them you'll try better next time. Tell them the truth about your health and your relationship to whatever it is you're canceling. If you feel bad about it, take solace in the fact you help your readers develop compassionate understanding.
If you can't prevent it, though, and do burnout...
Don't let it make you sad. Nothing is ever completely over. You can come back!
If you have invested a lot in Wattpad, don't ever totally abandon it. If you leave Wattpad for months, you will lose your readers. Come by and visit and answer comments and DMs, even if it's just for five minutes a day.
Keep releasing material. This is yet another reason you should write ahead. If you burnout, you don't need to write this material; it'll already be there for times like these. Just upload what you have saved up! However, if you have no material stored up, don't try to write. Forcing yourself to write might ruin your love of it, as we've discussed.
Communicate with your fans and friends. Post about how you feel and where you're at. Try not to flood people's notifications, though. A news / update book is usually a good place to keep your readers in the loop. I have one, for instance, called "Twice a Week." If I'm not feeling Wattpad as much on a given week, I can tell people about it over there! It only takes a moment.
(Have I deleted this update book? Let me know in the comments, lol...)
Finally, know that I'm rooting for you! Every single one of you. If you burnout and after six months return here, only to find it chilly and quiet, shoot me a DM. Assuming I haven't died, I'm always here to welcome you back!
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But if I have died... Hi! Welcome back! We missed you! I look forward to meeting you again on some star far away! ❤️
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