Wattpad, The Good, The Bad and The Clichéd

 

Wattpad might be one of the largest and most popular sites for reading and posting works of fiction on the internet. It boasts an amazing 90 million visitors monthly, which consists of both readers and writers. In lots of ways, a person can see why; it’s easy to join, there’s a large user base and best of all, it’s free (mostly). You’ll find millions of stories, fanfics and even full-blown novels on the site.

Best of all though, Wattpad has made it easy for teenagers and young adults alike to publish their writings, receive feedback and read the work of others. To many, it offers a great opportunity to kickstart their career, find a fan base and improve their skills. Unfortunately, like many online communities, it does have some pros and cons. 

The Good

• Wattpad lets anyone publish just about anything without having to go through a lengthy approval process. No waiting weeks or even months to just get rejected here, publication is just a click away.
• It can be a great platform for new writers to improve their skills. The Wattpad community is surprisingly welcoming to budding authors. Wattpad offers writing tips and resources on their site and allows others to post comments and feedback on your stories. It also gives people the opportunity to be discovered by companies and literary agents if their stories can garner enough popularity. Such as was the case with The Kissing Booth series, which went to become a film series and After, a fanfiction based on One Direction that went on to become a published novel. It too has its own film adaptation.
• Wattpad hosts some unique contests for its writers. Most popular being the Watty’s, where poets and authors alike can enter to win a Watty award. People on the platform also host their own competitions, giving writers the chance to gain some extra exposure.
• It provides readers with millions of novels, short stories and fanfictions to read from. It enables readers to interact with the authors themselves, provide feedback and give suggestions. It can be quite helpful, being able to speak to the audience directly can provide valuable feedback.

The Not so Good

• Wattpad lets anyone publish just about anything and that’s a bad thing too. Unoriginal stories, tropes, bad grammar, plagiarized work, and trashy novels abound. Unfortunately, you don’t necessarily have to be good at writing or have an original story to become popular. In fact, the work that seems to attract the most readers are cliched romance novels and fanfictions. Hey, as they say, sex sells.
• It can be hard to reach your desired audience on
  
  
  
  
  Wattpad. Especially if you write anything outside of YA or romance. The competition is tight, and with so many other novels available, half the battle is people actually finding your work. After all, your story is but a drop in the vast ocean that is Wattpad.
• You really have to work and market your story on the site to get your name out there. Either by sharing it with friends and family or by doing read for reads and leaving feedback on the work of others. Anything to boost that interaction rate and get eyes on your story. In a way, Wattpad acts more like a social site than a publishing platform. Requiring you to interact with others frequently to really get the most out of it.
• Having too much to choose from can also be a bad thing. Sometimes to a reader, actually finding a well written story that keeps your attention is just as hard. There are just as many badly written novels as there are hidden gems.

So, is Wattpad worth it?

Like most things in the world, it depends. If you’re looking to start out, build up a fanbase of your own and improve your writing skills, then yes Wattpad could be a great starting point. It provides budding writers with that initial bit of encouragement, especially after that first view or comment on a story.

It offers readers free access to a massive library of unique and original stories. Allows them to support upcoming authors and find hidden gems.

But writers who are a bit further developed in their skills and want to become more serious about their writing might find Wattpad somewhat lacking. Like lots of social media platforms, it doesn’t do a great job at featuring new creators and original stories. Lots of authors will start to feel overshadowed by the massive amount of cliched, overused and badly written stories and will eventually decide to move on to better prospects. 

All in all, Wattpad has its good side and its trashy side. It’s up to you to decide if Wattpad is truly worth your time.