Survivor's Guide to the Wattpad Jungle | ✔️

How do I get more reads?

A while ago, someone had sent me this problem for my Agony Aunt column. Here's how it went:

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Hey, can I get some help?

My book is starting off but only one person is reading it. I've tried asking my followers to read but they haven't. Can you tell me how to get more readers? I've actually had quite a few of view for my other books. 

Help x

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Heya!

So I haven't a method that is 100% guaranteed to get you readers, but I do have a few suggestions that may help:

1. Keep writing

The more you update, the more your story appears on places that people will be more likely to discover it. 

Like, it may appear on "what's new" on discover and so on and so forth. So just keep on updating, because at some point you'll be bound to get a few people hooked onto your story! Even if it's not as many as you'd like, they're still valuable to you and should mean a lot :)

But, as you do, you must ensure that you're improving your craft as you go along. There are a lot of turn-offs in some books, like bad spelling/punctuation/grammar, poor paragraphing...so you need to make sure that your story is presentable. 

2. Share your story in the SYS club

SYS = Share Your Story

There are clubs where you can share your story in its respective genre. You can find it under Community, then Clubs, then choose which genre your story is in and then you can put some information on the appropriate threads. Lots of people go on there and so someone's bound to discover your book.

How the SYS Club works is that you simply put a (or the) description of your book. Also, if you want more people to read your advert, you should put in a picture of your cover. It's not as complicated as it sounds. You have to insert a html code:

If you just want an image, preferable of your cover, this is the code:

<img src=”image_url_goes_here”>

But if you want the image to lead to your story when you click on it, this is the code:                        

<a href="url_of_linked_page”><img src=”url_of_image"></a>

(You have to replace the parts where it says "url_of_linked_page/image" with the actual url and image (respectively), so that when you post it, it will appear. 

3. Post a little Author's Note

At the end of every chapter, you can put a little A/N to remind the readers to vote and comment. This enables you to know who your readers are and interact with them more so that you have established a loyalty with them. Also, thank them for your support.

I know that doesn't really have to do with getting readers, but it actually may help:  when they vote/ comment on your book, it appears on their feed (or profile) and so your book will be on their page...and so if another person happens to stumble across the former's feed, they'll see your book on there and maybe give it a try.

4. Talk to people

Be friendly and just engage in conversation with anyone you find interesting. Don't tell them to read your book or anything, because they'll probably get annoyed, but just keep forming friendships with users on here and chances are they'll decide to give your book a try!

5. Check out other people's books

Read, vote, comment on other people's book. DON'T advertise your own on theirs, but just continue being a loyal reader on others' books because they may also just return the favour! This works often if it's an undisovered author's book you're reading, because if they have few readers they'll notice your committment and stuff. So yea.

6. Ask for critiques

There is a thread on "Improve your Writing" where you can find some critics to review your work. Firstly, they will help you clean up your work. And also, they may just be the readers you're asking for. Thing is, they're human too, teenagers even, and if your book is really, really good and they 
really liked it, they will most definitely continue reading it. 

7. Recommend your new book to your older readers

You said that your other books have readers, so you can suggest to them something like:

"Hey guys, so I recently started a new book and I'd love it if you checked it out and told me what you think!"

Don't force them or shove it down their throats, but just simply suggest it. Some won't, but others will most definitely be kind enough to check it out. You said you'd asked your followers, but I've noticed that followers don't really respond. However; readers do. So use them as a platform.

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Rome wasn't built in a day

One thing young Wattpad authors must learn is that it takes time. Your book won't just go from 1 to 2000 reads in a day. It takes a while, and you've got to be patient.

But, here's the thing:

It only always gets better.

What I mean is that, each time someone reads, votes, comments; it will add up. So you'll just be climbing higher and higher each time. If it's 1 read today, it'll be 3 tomorrow, then 6 the next day...it'll never go back. So you've just got to be patient!

And, in the process, you'll definitely get loads of people climbing up with you, btw. I mean readers, haha.

So, good luck and keep writing!

- genie_us xx

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Hope this helped.