So You Want To Be A Writer | An Advice Book

|I| Creating Your Profile

So, you've created an account... but what now?

You've chosen a username, wacky or professional, and you're rolling with it... but what to do next...

Well, it depends on whether you're an aspiring writer, or an enthusiastic reader looking for more books to read. Maybe, if you're a fairly young writer or reader, you want to look more mature, so you can be taken a little more seriously...

Anyway, a profile consists mainly of four things, five, if you're a writer, and here they are:

BIO (BIOGRAPHY)

That little box on the left hand side of your screen (on the computer) or just underneath your background picture (on your phone or tablet).

Tell people a bit about yourself. Obviously not anything too important, but the name you go by on Wattpad, whether it be a nickname, penname or even your real name, and possibly some random or interesting facts about yourself. Sometimes people say their ages, and other snippets like that. Something I don't tend to find too important though is telling people whether you're single or married. There are a few people out there who use Wattpad as a dating site for some reason.

No idea why.

There are actual sites for that.

Anyway, you can use it to describe quirks and different things about what you do, whether recreational or an actual job. If you have a certain sense of humour, then let it slip out a bit. For instance, I tend to have a bit of a dry sense of humour, and that might come across slightly in the way I word things on my bio. It also tends to come out in my writing, shockingly enough.

If you're a writer, you can also categorise and list your books here under some sort of order, which will help people navigate through your works.

Still stuck on what to write?

Have a nosey around Wattpad, check out other people's profiles and what they've written. Like it? Maybe do something in a similar style to that.

Note the use of the word similar. It's your bio, so it'll be unique to you.

PROFILE PICTURE

Yep, that's the little circular picture which you can put a lovely photo of yourself in. Of course, it doesn't necessarily have to be you, just perhaps something that represents you. It doesn't even have to show your full face if you're camera shy. The main thing for writers though, especially if you want to build a platform or such, then it should look somewhat professional. Painting and drawings are all fine too, I'm more on about it not being blurry (unless that's an effect you've added in on a program like photoshop), and the lighting being somewhat decent in the background.

I'm personally not a huge fan of the pouting face a lot of people tend to pull for selfies, but each to their own. It's your profile, so you get the final say in the matter.

BACKGROUND PICTURE

This is a big one, I find. Popular authors on here tend to have a banner of such with all their social media names and icons on there, but a simple picture works just as well. There are graphics shops on this site, and there are also free editing tools available online or on the app store if you want. Pictures are easy enough to find, my main go-to for pictures to use is either pixabay or pexels. Both are sites which have images under the CC license, meaning they're available for public use without having to pay a fee. That being said, it's best to check the license of the photo you wish to use before doing so.

Wouldn't want anyone to get into trouble.

READING LIST

Name it something you understand, and something other people might be able to as well. It's best to use proper grammar, though if it's a theme of sorts by all means keep everything in lowercase.

Customising lists on phones and tablets allows you to add emojis, though I find the more professional-looking lists tend to have emojis that are one block colour. It depends what kind of look you're going for on your profile. If you want a sleek, monochromatic theme, then everything on your profile should be black, white or some shade of grey. If you want your profile to look more bubbly, perhaps aim for a colour scheme, one with colours you like, though I wouldn't go too overboard on the number of colours.

Still, it's your profile, after all, so it should describe and fit you.

WORKS (FOR WRITERS)

Now, this is a biggie if you're a writer.

It's best not to have too many works going on at a time, and I'm speaking from experience here. I now have a ridiculous number of works, which means the less popular ones aren't updated as much, and that can be kind of stressful when people want lots of updates.

Works should have a title, a cover and a blurb. Covers are the main thing which will attract readers in the beginning, so it's best to have a good one, whether that means indulging in some graphic design or requesting from one of the many graphics books on this site.

They should ideally be listed in an order of sorts, perhaps by grouping similar, or series, books together. Though in the app, they come up by which has been updated the most recently, rather than the order set on the website version.