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Hone your craft, build your platform, and win career-building prizes with Wattpad contests, but also keep in mind that you don’t have to win in order to gain something.
Writing contests can be intimidating. They entail putting your work out there and knowing you are doing something for which you, by definition, will be judged. Still, there are tantalizing lures dangled in front of writers’ eyes in conjunction with entering a contest: prizes, honor, accolades, and exposure.
The Wattpad contest experience offers a host of benefits that go far beyond these accolades and can offer even the most intimidated writer a cherished seat at the Wattpad community table. Some are informal, while Wattpad officially sanctions others. They might range from “Write a short story based on this movie” to “Caption this comic book panel.” All such contests may potentially empower a person to be noticed by the sizable Wattpad community, making them well worth your time as a writer.
I have participated in contests on Wattpad as an entrant, a judge, and a host. Having won several high-profile contests (including the Wattys, R.L. Stine’s Fill in the Fear Contest, and three contests hosted and/or judged by Margaret Atwood) and having lost just as many, I can attest to the fact that the benefits of participating in contests go beyond what you receive if you win. Contests are a wonderful way to immerse yourself in the community, get to know your fellow Wattpadders, build your platform, and practice your writing craft.
In this chapter, I will speak to the advantages of participating in contests and explain the different sorts of competitions offered, including Wattpad sponsored/brand-partnership contests, community-profile contests, and user-hosted contests. Lastly, I will talk about the contest experience itself.
Writing can be a solitary experience in which we spend hours in our own heads attempting to extract ideas and place them on the page in a cohesive, engaging manner. If you’re seeking out a story-sharing platform like Wattpad to help showcase your work, it means you want more than to write in a bubble devoid of others’ input. The Wattpad community can help nurture your love of writing as well as foster a better understanding of the writing craft. When you enter a contest on Wattpad, you are doing so with a group of fellow contestants. Congratulations, participant! You are no longer alone.
When newer Wattpadders ask how they can gain readership, one piece of advice I keep at the ready is to participate in contests. Reading other entrants’ stories and leaving encouraging, positive comments will often result in a reciprocal show of support from those participants. Lasting friendships may be forged from the simple act of reaching out and acknowledging their efforts.
One of the people I met through Margaret Atwood’s Freeze-Dried Fiction Contest has become very dear to me. Even though that event took place several years ago, we still communicate regularly. It doesn’t matter to me that neither of us won that contest. Her friendship and the friendship of several other participants were the biggest rewards I could receive. Through mutual encouragement, she and I have gone on to participate in and win subsequent Atwood contests. Each contest experience was enriched by our friendship.
Another benefit is found in the writing process itself. Perhaps the contest is in a genre you’re not as familiar with and forces you to stretch your thinking a bit. Maybe its prompt has made you put together a concept you would otherwise never have dreamt up. Whatever the case, when you produce a piece tailored to the requirements of a competition, each story you write is an opportunity to improve and grow. Whether the contest calls for a 500-word flash fiction horror story or a 30,000-word romantic-adventure novella, you will emerge from the experience a better, more capable writer for having challenged yourself.
In addition to Wattpad users and fellow contestants, judges will be reading your story. For some of Wattpad’s most high-profile contests, famous authors, television showrunners, and editors of major publishing houses will have their eyes on your work. Scary? Maybe it is, but it’s also a thrilling prospect and certainly an incentive to deliver your best material.
Before the contest results are revealed, you’ve already won more than you may realize: You’ve written a story, been brave enough to click the “Publish” button, interacted with other contest participants and readers, possibly even had your work read by industry experts, and presented yourself as someone willing to be an active member in the Wattpad community.
There are three primary types of contests hosted on Wattpad:
Anyone can host a contest. During my first year on Wattpad, I ran a microfiction competition through my profile. This allowed me to interact closely with contestants and gave those people an opportunity for exposure when I promoted them to my fanbase. While you may find the occasional user-hosted contest with large prizes, often these are small-scale operations. The main prize is the honor of having your story (or fan art or cover design, depending on the contest) selected. Even if a shout-out and honor are your only prizes, user contests offer you a plethora of the benefits listed in the previous section.
Do be aware that users will occasionally present contests for which there is no real endgame, that are merely meant to draw attention to the hosts. Also, steer clear of contests that offer prizes in violation of Wattpad’s Code of Conduct, such as vote trading.
Community-profile-hosted contests are usually run by Wattpad Ambassadors working for Wattpad’s official community pages, such as @ScienceFiction, @Romance, or @ParanormalCommunity. These contests rely on volunteer ambassadors to come up with the contest parameters, create a contest guidebook, monitor questions, gather prizes, and judge entries. Community profiles are increasingly collaborative and now offer contests that span multiple profiles, meaning more exposure for the contest winners.
Wattpad-sponsored contests are those officially hosted by Wattpad and/or its brand partners. The Wattys, the largest online writing contest in the world, falls into this category, as do contests Wattpad offers in conjunction with production companies and networks, corporations, publishers, or individual authors. These are large contests widely promoted by Wattpad, and prizes can be substantial. Winners have seen their stories turned into digital shorts, have received publishing contracts and television deals, and have been awarded cash prizes and other swag.
Wattpad offers many contests in partnership with an amazing array of well-known companies such as Hulu, Netflix, and the Syfy channel. This next part will focus on what it’s like to participate in such a competition.
Each contest has a set of rules that are laid out in a contest guidebook posted on the brand partner’s verified profile page. Read the rules closely, following prompts, word-count restrictions, and other requirements. This is paramount. If you have questions about the contest guidebook, ask an ambassador for assistance.
Wattpad offers a growing number of contests, and many will be open to users of various locations and ages even if a given contest is more restrictive regarding who may enter. It can be disappointing to discover that you don’t qualify for an intriguing contest because you live outside of the geographic locations dictated in the contest regulations or are younger than the age requirement. These restrictions are usually beyond Wattpad’s control. While Wattpad wants as many people to participate as possible, their brand partners might cite legal issues or requests that necessitate restricting who can become a contestant. Regardless, you can opt to write for the competition anyway and still receive all of the benefits that come with participating (outside of winning). Keep your eyes peeled because the next amazing opportunity may be announced any day!
If you’ve made the decision to participate, the next step is to write your story. Do not go over the designated word count, and make sure that you are following all guidelines. Write the best story you can. While every person has her own writing habits and quirks, personally, I never look at the other entrants’ stories until mine is completed and posted. I don’t want to be influenced by what someone else has done. The creative process is one particularly anxiety-inducing stage of the competition, when self-doubt wants to pop up and say, “Hello.” While I don’t read others’ entries at this point, I do often call upon a friend, preferably one familiar with the genre or topic, to beta-read my entry. A fresh pair of eyes can do wonders when it comes to catching typos and inconsistencies.
As soon as I’ve posted my story, I dive into the other entries. I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating: Read as many of the other entries as time allows and leave thoughtful, positive comments on them. Camaraderie between participants is essential to making your contest experience a positive one. The feeling that you are all in this together and that you are rooting for one another’s success is the essence of what community is all about. Relish this. This is not the time to be critical of another’s work unless that criticism is specifically requested. Always find something reassuring to say, even about a story you may not have liked, or say nothing at all if the only other choice is to be negative. If you catch a typo, private-message (PM) the author and mention it within a polite note. A few kind words can make someone’s day.
People are nervous enough about how their stories will do without having unconstructive, petty, or nitpicky criticism dappled throughout their comment threads by fellow contestants. Remember, you are in competition with these people: Being rude, ungrateful, or negative will earn you a reputation as an insecure writer who denigrates others to preserve your own ego. This advice carries over into all of your Wattpad interactions, but it is particularly true in the contest environment, where good sportsmanship is expected without exception.
Proper contest etiquette extends to the winner’s circle and beyond. Being able to congratulate winning writers when you are on the losing end shows that you’re a supportive and gracious community member. If you do win, expressing gratitude to other writers in the contest, as well as to the judges and contest hosts, likewise casts you in a positive light. If you’ve made friends during a competition, decide whether you want those relationships to extend beyond the announcement of the winners and then act accordingly.
You will no doubt discover some gems among the other entries. Resist the urge to compare your own work to theirs. That’s the judge’s job, not yours. Instead, while you await the contest results, get to know the writers who created these gems. Gush over their stories if the gushing is warranted and authentic, and then see what other stories they have on their profile. If something intrigues you, give it a try and be sure to let them know that you’re enjoying it. Again, be authentic. Comments don’t have to be paragraphs long, but they should emphasize the fact that you are reading and grasping the storyline.
Reach out! Message your fellow competitors with your thoughts on the contest. Connect with them as someone who is also waiting and hoping. The wait may seem to take forever, but it is easier if you are doing so with friends.
Most contests involve submitting a story and then waiting for results, but some have multiple phases. These may include a voting round or a quarterfinal/semifinal process. Multistep contests are designed to whittle down the number of entrants to a select few. Be aware of all that a contest entails before you enter so that you are prepared to participate from beginning to end. If there are voting rounds, that usually means your story must get a certain number of votes from Wattpad users within a certain time frame in order to proceed to the next round. This can be particularly challenging if you are new to Wattpad and don’t yet have a large platform, but a solid story that is supported by your Wattpad followers and especially by fellow contest participants can still succeed. Remember that you may ask people to vote on your story, but you cannot bribe them or agree to vote on their works in exchange for a vote on your own.
A contest with finalist rounds is one where the judges will narrow down the list of winners to a select, small group of candidates. Making it to a semifinal list is a huge achievement. Use the opportunity to promote your story. It may not win the grand prize, but it has still been acknowledged by judges for its worthiness.
There is an undeniable thrill when you are told that you’ve won a contest. Your work has been recognized, and that’s something to be enormously proud of. Prizes are fun, and the prizes of larger contests may be downright extraordinary. Beyond the prize you win, you have a line on your writer’s résumé that may help lead to more contest wins, features, and even agent or publisher interest.
If you’ve won one of Wattpad’s official contests, you’ll be informed via private message or through the e-mail you have linked to your Wattpad account. Depending on the contest, there may be paperwork or a contract that needs to be filled out. Wattpad will walk you through this process and will answer any questions you may have.
Contest norms dictate that there are few winners. Disappointment over losing is understandable, but this must never prevent you from trying again. My own strategy for dealing with contest dejection is to allow myself one day to mourn what could have been. The next day, I pick myself up, put the disappointment behind me, and get back to work. If you have another project waiting in the wings to which you can turn your attention, the sting will quickly be replaced by motivation.
Wallowing for too long is counterproductive. It’s not realistic to assume that you’ll win each contest you participate in. No one achieves a 100 percent victory rate in the writing world. Rejection is part of a writer’s life, and contest judging is a subjective art. You will fare better if you don’t take a loss personally and acknowledge that every storyteller, no matter how gifted, is told “no” far more times than he is told “yes.” Don’t forget that participating in contests is its own victory: The rewards that come from making friends, sharing in the community-building process, and knowing you have the courage to try something that may not have the desired outcome belong to everyone willing to take the plunge.
There are friendships, a sense of connectedness, improved writing skills, exposure, increased readership, and the possibility of prizes and glory awaiting you if you decide to enter the world of Wattpad writing contests. Contests are part of the fabric that weaves stories and the people who tell them together on Wattpad. The only thing you need to do to be part of that is have the courage to try.
Amber K Bryant is a Wattpad Star, a multi-genre author, and a librarian living deep within sasquatch territory in Washington State. She has co-authored a short story with R.L. Stine, won a Watty for her novella, Unseen, and won three contests judged by Margaret Atwood. When not glued to her keyboard, Amber can be found spending time with her husband and son, hiking, gardening, and searching in vain for the elusive sasquatch.