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Publishing a story on Wattpad isn’t the end of the road. It’s the beginning.
Here is everything you need to know about publishing your story on Wattpad in order to make it a big success from start to finish.
The big moment starts with hitting that “Create” button at the top of the Wattpad screen. That will take you to the “My Works” page, which lists all the stories you’ve published on Wattpad. Click “+New Story.” The next screen that comes up is the guts of the story you want to publish.
Fill in the description (covered in chapter three), and add a cover image (chapter five). Here’s what you need to know about the rest of the process.
A title can serve many roles on Wattpad. First, obviously, it states the name of the story. Regardless of what comes next, that should always be the first thing entered into this field.
With that out of the way, you can add any number of qualifiers to help readers better understand what the story is all about. Remember, you only have a few seconds to “sell” your book to a potential reader.
Here are some examples of what this might look like, using a dummy title, The Amazing Story. Explanations are in the parentheses.
Don’t go overboard with this, or you’ll come across as amateurish and drive away readers. Keep it clean, concise, and enticing.
Whatever title you settle on, check whether it’s being used already in Wattpad by searching for it. Duplicate titles are allowed, but it’s better to avoid them, especially if the original title is popular. For example, Chasing Red by Isabelle Ronin (@isabelleronin) isn’t the only story with that title, but it is the only one with more than 170 million reads.
Copycats will abound to poach reads, and you don’t want to look like one of them. Modify your title, or add some sort of qualifier. For example, if a fantasy story is titled The Amazing Story, name your LGBT+ novel The Amazing Story (LGBT+).
Tags are crucial in helping readers discover your story. They not only tell readers what it’s about, they also appear in several locations across Wattpad, such as the home page and search results. Tags should be used as an extension of the story description so that your work reaches its target audience.
Add relevant tags that reflect your story’s genres, subgenres, themes, setting, and mood. Let your readers know the most important elements of your story. Get creative, and use words that are specific to your story in order to set it apart.
For example, if your story is a teen-fiction paranormal romance set in high school that deals with friendship, self-discovery, and a whole lot of drama, make use of those keywords. In this case, relevant tags are: #teenfiction, #youngadult, #paranormal, #romance, #highschool, #friendship, #self-discovery, and #drama.
Don’t forget to specify the time and place, too. This is especially important for stories outside of contemporary settings. For example, a World War II story might use #worldwar2, #worldwarii, #1940s, and #europe. Note the variations of spelling for that war. That’s done to cover both of the ways a reader might type the term.
Also note that #Europe and #europe both function as the same tag. It’s not necessary to use both variants. Capitalized and uncapitalized versions will work the same way.
Choose a genre that best fits your story. If your story has elements that fall into different genres, use the category that best represents it and utilize tags for the others.
If your story is a fanfiction, whether of a known fictional character or celebrity, make sure to categorize it as such over another genre.
If your work does not tell a story or it does not fit into an established category, then it should go under “Random.” Examples include contests, photo books, facts, things about me, existing song lyrics, jokes, role plays, etc. There is no limit to the types of stories you can create on Wattpad as long as they abide by the guidelines. Use your imagination, and let your ideas soar.
Wattpad supports more than fifty languages. Keep in mind that Wattpad has a global audience with readers who are located all around the world and speak different languages. Make sure to select the language your story is written in so that it reaches the right audience. Wattpad is always working to support more languages, but if your story language is not yet available, you can choose “Other.” Translating your story into different languages also allows you to reach new markets and an even wider audience.
Let Wattpad know whether your work is original, adapted, or in the public domain. Do not post a story that does not belong to you without obtaining permission from the author first. Simply stating that the rights belong to another author is not enough and is considered an offense. Copyright infringement is taken very seriously at Wattpad. Any stories that violate copyright law will be removed, and your account may be deleted. On the other hand, Wattpad has a copyright support tool to help protect your work. You will have proof of creation for any story that you post on Wattpad, and it can be used for any copyright issues that arise.
Wattpad has readers of all ages, with some as young as thirteen. If your story is mature, let readers know by selecting the appropriate rating. This ensures a positive reading experience and protects readers from unwanted surprises.
Mature stories are intended for people who are seventeen and older. Rate your story as “Mature” if it contains an explicit R-rated sex scene, self-harm (such as eating disorders and suicide), or depictions of graphic violence. When in doubt, you can review Wattpad’s Content Guidelines for restrictions and prohibited content. In addition to the rating system, you can also add content warnings at the beginning of your story so that readers are aware of what lies ahead.
After you enter your story’s details, you’ll be taken to the first chapter. If you weren’t writing inside of Wattpad to begin with, you’ll need to copy/paste the text of each chapter one at a time. You can do this for all chapters at once or piecemeal. In either case, you can save chapters in draft mode if you don’t want readers to see everything at once.
Each chapter needs a title. Keep it simple so readers can easily navigate the story. “Chapter 1” or “Chapter 1: In the Beginning” works better than “In the Beginning.” You can also use “Author’s Note,” “Thanks to My Readers,” “Don’t Forget to Read the Sequel,” and other messages that fall outside of the chapter count.
Now that the story is published, see how it looks from a reader’s perspective. Within the “My Works” page (get to it by clicking on “Create” at the top of the Wattpad screen) are buttons with three dots near each of your published titles. Click on those three dots, and you’ll see an option to experience the story as a reader.
Does anything look out of place? Did the copy/paste introduce any errors? How are the aesthetics? Some writers make the mistake of using too few paragraphs, which results in a sea of text that’s hard to read. Keep paragraphs to a few sentences.
Once you’ve published your story, it’s time to personalize it and make it yours. Wattpad offers several tools to enhance your story. Take advantage of these capabilities, and make your story shine.
Wattpad has some fun additional features, such as the ability to add a cast, dedicate a story part to someone, or add an external link. You can also mention other Wattpadders in the story’s text by tagging them. This is a great way to give a shout-out or simply thank a particular reader for their comments. Writing does not have to be a solitary process. Get your readers involved, and let them know that you appreciate them.
Bring your story to life by adding visual aids! Wattpad allows you to add pictures and YouTube videos (Wattpad only accepts YouTube videos, as of this writing), either in the header of a story part or as in-line media in the text. Get creative, and customize your works with story aesthetics, mood boards, playlists, and anything else you can think of. Fueling readers’ imaginations with additional material is a great way to keep them engaged. Wattpad also makes it very simple to remove and add media as you please in case you ever need to update anything.
We all know stories are not perfect. Most authors need several rounds of edits to get them right. With this in mind, Wattpad offers the option to unpublish a story part. This will make it invisible if you no longer wish for readers to see it or if you want to make significant changes and republish it afterwards.
This is preferable to deleting a story part because those cannot be restored if you change your mind. You can also edit or re order your story parts at any time, whether they are drafts or published parts. Reordering story parts is very useful in cases where you want to change your story or add a new part to a story you have already written. Lastly, take advantage of the “Preview” button before publishing a story part to see how it will look to readers because this ensures that the published version is exactly how you want it to appear.
Once you publish a story part, it will be made public. However, you can make a story part private if you would only like to share it with your followers. Some writers like to use this feature for mature scenes or to provide bonus material for devoted followers. If you want your entire story to be private, you will need to make each individual part private.
Once you make a story part private, you will not be able to make it public again. If you want to make the part public, you must create a new story part instead. Plan ahead, and use this feature wisely.
Completing a story is a significant achievement. It is a tremendous feat that not many people are able to accomplish. Before you head out to celebrate, mark your finished story as “Complete” to let readers know it has ended. Stories designated as “Complete” attract four times as many readers as in-progress works, according to Wattpad HQ stats. Many people prefer completed works and may use search filters to show only completed content, so let them know yours is available to binge read.
Spread the word! It’s often said that promoting your story is as important as writing it. Fortunately, Wattpad is a social website and makes it easy for those who do not particularly excel at self-promotion. Here are some simple ways to share your story on Wattpad.
Share your story with your followers on Wattpad, promote it across various platforms on social media, or embed it on your blog or other websites. There are multiple share buttons on both the story-description page and within a story part, making it easy to share your story with just a few clicks. Wattpad will automatically generate a link to your story for you. Customize your message with an interesting line or snippet from a chapter to draw in readers. Don’t forget to use relevant hashtags to cast a wider net for readers outside of your following.
Broadcasting messages on your Wattpad profile is a great way to directly reach your readers with updates or news on your stories. Make sure to click on the “Notify My Followers” box so they will receive your message.
Turn your favorite story quotes into art. Simply highlight a sentence or paragraph from your story, and use the “Share as a Quote” function. Choose a background image from Wattpad, or upload your own, then share it wherever you like. Wattpad will include your story title and username in the image to make it easier for those outside of Wattpad to find your story. Wattpad also has a dedicated Quote Art page on Pinterest that you can use for inspiration. It’s a reader favorite!
Your stories are your biggest asset, so use them to promote your work. At the end of your story, add a few lines to let your readers know of your other works. In many cases, people will read one of your stories but will not necessarily follow you. Unless you inform them in the story itself, they might not find out about your other books. While you have their attention, use the opportunity to plug those stories. Include the title, cover, and description of additional works, as well as a sneak peak or excerpt to entice them further. This is especially useful for stories that are part of a series. You can also tag your username in the text of a story part so that readers are easily directed to your profile and can check out everything else you have to offer.
If Wattpad staff selects you for the “Featured” list, your story will appear on the “Discover” tab and will attract a lot of new readers, as this is prime real estate. Your story doesn’t need to be complete in order to be featured. Wattpad understands that stories grow as they are being written, and having people cheering you on serves as a great motivation to keep going. Stories are featured for a limited time, but it’s time well spent.
Note that writers used to be able to apply to be featured, but that is no longer the case. Wattpad staff selects featured stories. However, it can’t hurt your chances to follow the tips in this chapter and throughout this book. Simply put, write the best story you possibly can.
Turn your story into a walking billboard on Wattpadders’ profiles. Reading lists are another great way of getting your story noticed on Wattpad. Remind your readers to add your story to their public reading lists if they enjoyed it. You can also create reading lists of your own works in order to highlight or categorize them.
Don’t forget to add your favorite stories from other authors, too. Writers will appreciate it and will most likely reciprocate. Many official Wattpad profiles (which would include celebrities, Wattpad Stars, businesses, verified organizations, or Wattpad staff profiles) also accept submissions to their reading lists. Each profile has different requirements, so make sure you read them carefully before submitting your story. The more profiles that have your story on their reading lists, the more likely it is that your story will be discovered.
While there are many ways to share your story, there are also many ways not to share your story. Blasting your story any which way without purpose or direction will not work in your favor. Do not promote your story on another writer’s story. This is considered spam and is disrespectful to the writer’s work.
In the same vein, do not post an unsolicited story on another Wattpadder’s profile or send a private message to them with nothing but the link. This is the fastest way to get your message deleted or ignored. Instead, engage Wattpadders by leaving thoughtful comments on their stories and building relationships first. This will result in meaningful friendships and will benefit you more in the long run.
Be mindful of the language you use, and be kind. Always.
“Published” doesn’t need to equal “perfect” on Wattpad. Readers will overlook typos and small errors since the culture on Wattpad understands that many writers work fast and/or from smartphones. Do your best wherever your can, from the basics, like spelling and grammar, to the bigger items, like plot holes.
Don’t apologize for minor mistakes, and especially don’t preface a chapter by begging for forgiveness. That sets up readers to watch for errors, and that’s not what you want them focusing on. Self-deprecating comments, even outside of Wattpad, paint the wrong picture of you in other people’s minds. Everyone makes mistakes. Focus on your errors only as long as it takes to learn from them.
It’s more important to keep moving forward, engaging with readers, and honing your craft as you go.
Wattpad’s data shows that only a “tiny fraction” of completed stories clock in at more than forty-thousand words. If you’re one of those writers, congratulate yourself on all that hard work. You’re in rare company.
Storytelling is a continuing process of discovery. It takes time to build and hone your craft. As you keep writing, you will get better, both through practice and experience. Take the time to experiment and learn Wattpad’s tools so you can make the most of it and make your story stand out.
Publishing a story is no easy task, but if you believe in it and take the necessary steps to make it the best it can be, you will position yourself for success. Above all, have fun on your journey, and I hope to see you around the orange “halls” many of us call home.
M.C. Roman is a featured author, Wattpad Ambassador, and member of the Stars program. She is a hopeless romantic who writes new adult and contemporary romance with multicultural characters. Her debut novel, Teaching Mia, won the Collector’s Edition Watty Award and was featured on IndieReader’s Insider’s Next Picks. Since then, she has built a four-book series and translated her works into Spanish.