Inkshares Community discussion
Opportunities and Collaborations
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LET'S BREAK INTO WATTPAD
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An addendum to what I mentioned here (which might preempt some discussion):For those wishing to join in this discussion and look at ways we can connect with writers /readers in the Wattpad community, read these important documents:
GUIDELINES:
https://support.wattpad.com/hc/en-us/...
TERMS OF SERVICE (particularly section D):
https://support.wattpad.com/hc/en-us/...
I really want to make sure that in exploring this we respect Wattpad's intentions. There is a fine line between setting up some of our material with the purpose of showcasing it as we interact with other writers there and review work, give/get feedback, etc, and using our material with the purpose of soliciting. Until I hear a bit more perspectives, I'll be refraining from putting up any content on Blood Dawn and instead focusing on my complete work (One Who Waits), since it is not an open ended call to "check out the rest over here" -- which can easily stink of advertising.
One thought: how many of you have short stories set in your world or related stories you could put up on Wattpad? Wattpad encourages users to link to their platforms, so there is nothing wrong with sharing complete work, i.e. short stories, and directing readers to where they can find more (i.e. your website, Inkshares page, etc.).
Wattpad is absolutely amazing! I've been on it for about a year now and have met some really great people. While the majority of the readers/writers are younger and the majority of the works on there are YA and fanfic, it's a great place to post writing and gain a reader base =)
Thanks, Tabi. Since you've been on it for a while you likely have a better feel for how this community operates. What would you suggest regarding boundaries we might set for those of us who want to get on there and gain some more exposure as Inkshares authors? Is it okay to share some of our opening chapters for Inkshares projects, or is it better to share only works in progress for stories we plan to keep solely on Wattpad? I'm really excited about the opportunity to share/engage the community, but I also want to make sure if we do this we do it in a respectful way that will be beneficial long-term.
It really depends what you're targeting for. Serial works garner the best attention, especially if posted on a schedule. Advertising said works in the "clubs" (genre specific forums) where each week the advertisements are cleared out and you can re-post weekly, really help, especially if you've got a eye-grabbing cover and a real hook of a blurb. You can also advertise for Inkshares by posting a bit of a work on Wattpad with a link direction readers Inkshares for further updates...but the key is to always post something regularly. And, read others works. Comment. Most will return the favor and you'll also have other readers of the same work at least go and check out your profile/page.
I've perused Wattpad a few times, specifically after hearing that Mark Lawrence was serially releasing a gunslinger novel. It's a really cool platform, and I've certainly considered posting some of my fiction on it.Perhaps when my NaNo project is finished I'll put it out chapter-by-chapter on Wattpad and see what happens.
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Other people should post their accounts too so we can get the collective going.
@Elan If you're doing a NaNo project, put #NaNoWriMo2015 or something and it will bring a lot of hits by that tag alone, as a lot of the time readers search by tags.@K.E. & Joe got your links and will follow you shortly! =)
Considering I haven't really started the sequel to Silver Eyes (I've gotten some stuff written) I'll hold off on posting about The Rebel Princess until November starts.
@Elan and @joe and @yicheng, I've followed you back. Anyone who follows me from here I'll follow back. I suppose as long as we can create accounts and set up bios and get on there, regardless of what Wattpad-relevant content we share, then we can at least start building up a presence on there. If we follow each other, we might be able to hunt for other authors on there and shout out to each other. We can maybe build up some community with Wattpad authors, kind of like we've done here. I'm sure we might get a few of those authors to come here and join us.Author power is author power, let's forge these links stronger.
John wrote: "@Elan and @joe and @yicheng, I've followed you back. Anyone who follows me from here I'll follow back. I suppose as long as we can create accounts and set up bios and get on there, regardless of wh..."With your powers combined, I am Captain Writer! Yeah, I know, cheesy tv show reference that doesn't really work. But damn that's the first thing that popped into my mind when John said author power.
Interesting... I'm down for exploring this. I'll try and look into this after the new year.
Richard wrote: "Interesting... I'm down for exploring this. I'll try and look into this after the new year."So...everyone had forgiven me for making that terrible Captain Planet joke? ;)
I joined Wattpad about 3 years ago and it's been great for building a following. I've had time to explore how some of the metrics convert over to sales and outside of the platform since I managed to get 670,000 reads on the beta version of my novel SO YOU MIGHT BE A VAMPIRE. I have about 7500 followers as well and they're fairly active, but only a very small percentage will actually leave the site or consider buying anything. Some readers are very platform loyal, especially since they have built a community there on the site and SO many of them are teens that it's difficult to engage with the mindset at times, and while they do have some buying power (influencers?), like I said, conversion, even for a free offering is a tough sell. It could be a matter of timing and engagement as well as how they perceive you, but there are so many variables at play that it's hard to predict.
It's definitely worth experimenting with and the feedback is GREAT, especially since you can get detailed analytics on who your readers are broken down by sex, age etc... If anybody figures out how to get the readers to follow offsite, let me know.
https://www.wattpad.com/user/RodneyVS...
I just broke in! Or I guess created an account. Was coincidentally referred to there by a friend tonight, and then I vaguely remembered reading that name here. Will explore more during some downtime, but feel free anyone to add me (or friend me? follow me? I don't know how it even works yet): https://www.wattpad.com/user/BillyOKeefe
I took a look and it seems interesting, I'm not sure if I have time to manage another online platform. Creating content for the Facebook page and Twitter and finding time for the "real" writing is tough, but nobody said it was going to be easy :-) I'll find you all there and friend you or something :-)
Hey guys, I'm new in this group but I saw you talking about Wattpad and thought I would share the link to mine. I have been putting my writing up there for about 2 years and I've gotten some pretty good hits on a few of my stories. Ivy is my most popular on there right now but I have found that a lot of the people on Wattpad like to read supernatural fantasy with werewolves and that sort of thing. I found that if I wrote a few stories like that I got more people interested in reading my other writings like Ivy.Here is the link to my page: https://www.wattpad.com/user/Kathryn0...
You can follow me if you want but I won't be able to follow back until I get rid of some of the other people that I'm following. I have 14 works up there, one is a book of poems and the rest are all workings for novels.
I also use Figment and Movellas to get my work in front of huge groups of readers. Movellas is basically the same as Wattpad except with a bit more fanfiction but I've still gotten a good amount of reads from the people there. Figment doesn't tell you how many reads you have but it allows reader to either leave comments or reviews and to leave an emotion like a shiver or wow with a heart, you can also join groups and make discussions to get reviews and attention for your books.
Here is a link to my Figment: http://figment.com/users/319529-Kathryn
And Movellas: http://www.movellas.com/user/kathryn0...
I post all of the same stories on each platform, I'm just adding those links so that you can see what these other sites look like.
I must be doing Wattpad wrong. I joined in April after I saw that Marissa Meyer posted some of her short stories on the site. When I first joined I was making a lot of friends, and I was really active in the forums hoping to score readers. But, my readership totally dropped off. And, when I would get a star or a review, it clearly from a tween girl, and most of the time it read "this is pretty good but u use big words but I like it" (notice the complete lack of grammar skills). I never really got any substantive feedback. I got tired of seeing the same threads in the forums under Writing Help, such as, "hey guys, so I really wanna write a book, but I need help with an idea!" or "blurbs are really hard! What do you think of this? ". So, needless to say, my stuff is still up, but I'm not really active anymore. And, I'm kind of jealous of those of you who had any real success. Wattpad just kind of seems like a repository for 1D fanfiction and terrible, unedited, quantity over quality literature. If I'm wrong, and there was a community there, help me find it because I never had any luck with finding mature, serious adult writers there.
Bekki wrote: "I must be doing Wattpad wrong. I joined in April after I saw that Marissa Meyer posted some of her short stories on the site. When I first joined I was making a lot of friends, and I was really act..."I've been getting the same vibe from Wattpad, not to mention pretty similar results. I've yet to get any feedback through Wattpad yet, so I've not experienced the grammar problems. I still plan to post portions of my books there and maybe any short stories I actually manage to write just in case I can get a response out of it, but I've long since decided its not going to be a primary area of focus for me. More along the lines of cast the net and leave it there. If I catch something, good. If not, then I'll not have wasted too much energy in an area where my audience probably doesn't reside.
Wattpad is predominately younger readers and writers, from about 11-25 but there are some very well-written stories on there - you just need to find them. If you want to collect a good group of readers, I suggest browsing through the Wattpad featured list and just reading & commenting on stories. People will see you, some will read your own work back as a thank you, but either way just being active on there AND posting regularly (even if it's something petty or a random drabble) will draw followers, too.
Well ... I have short stories featuring the same hero from my novel, so this looks like Just The Thing for me. I just signed up: Misericordius.Now I just have to consider if I reeeeally want to put those short stories up there instead of selling them to magazines.
Okay. I've been trumpeting this all over--Inkshares forum, book update, twitter, facebook-via-twitter, what am I missing--so I might as well say it here. I took the plunge. I put up a short story, starring my novel's hero, on Wattpad. The Adventure of the Oxford Comma. Go look! Contribute to readership!I agree with John's original post that this is an avenue with a lot of potential, especially for people with short stories connected to their full-length novel. I actually posted something about this weeks ago, before I discovered this thread.
As for my earlier concern about selling to magazines ... enh, I suspect I wouldn't have the freedom to republish in an anthology what's been accepted by a magazine, at least not fully; and anyway I can always write more. So yes, I am totally embracing this.
Created a wattpad account months ago and never used it for anything, but I think I'm going to have to start! I feel like this would be the perfect place for me to share supplementary short stories to my trilogy! Let's be buddies. :)https://www.wattpad.com/user/elaynamae/
Following you, Elayna....no, not like that im not a stalker i swear no dont call security aieee...!
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https://www.wattpad.com/user/JosephTe...
Haha, Christopher, thanks for the follow! Excited for this thread and to start sharing my story in new ways.
I'm on wattpad as well, got some of my short stories there. Also put the sample chapter from my inkshares novelwattpad.com/AtomicBoyWonder
I've followed everyone here and added most of your stories to a Reading List "InkShares Writers". Add me back. Lots and lots of reading to be done!
Hi, my name is Daniel. My novel is an urban fantasy called Queen of Blades, and is about a twenty-two year old woman called Titania who lives in London. It's the year 2042, and magic is known and embraced by humans, or 'averages'. Titania works as a Healer for the NHS, but becomes involved in a guild of vigilantes when terrorists attack London. (More of the synopsis on WattPad. Read it here: http://w.tt/21BGqZL)The cast has LGBT characters, and POC characters, (Including protagonist). There is also a piece explaining the magic system in the link. Thanks!
I've read through the terms and conditions for projects and I do not see anything on Wattpad restricting us from putting up content which is published elsewhere (unless contract terms for the published content limit us from doing so). I have a free short story prelude to Blood Dawn which I've made available through the NoiseTrade platform, however I want to diversify where that is available to readers (that's what led me to Wattpad). In setting things up, though, I realized the "work in progress" environment and reader-feedback model of the platform would also allow me to share some opening chapters of Blood Dawn. Although we are not allowed to specifically advertise on there, there is nothing wrong with letting readers of our content know that this is a work in progress and if they want to find out more, they can come to our project page.
Wattpad is already a large community, but I thought if enough of us came over there and set up accounts, sharing some of our opening chapters, creating a bio and links to our websites, and uploading our covers / putting links to our Inkshares project pages for those who are interested, then we could increase some more awareness of Inkshares as we interact with members of that community.
If anyone is interested, I am https://www.wattpad.com/user/JohnRobi... on there. Wattpad allows us to follow each other and interact, much like Twitter. We can keep each other company while also exploring the community and building some relationships with Wattpad writers/authors.
Thoughts? Counter-thoughts?