3 Steps on How to Make Your Story “Famous” (My Wattpad Diary 3)

You have a very nicely written story and you’re 100% confident that you deserve a spot in the What’s Hot List! You’ve read and reread all the stories there and wondered when will it be the time for you to shine. So how do you get there? Well, it’s easy. You only need to do these three steps and you’ll be on your way to Wattpad Stardom. Wait, shouldn’t we be asking skatergirl or kirsty for this one? But for those who asked me how I came out of the world of the unknowns, here’s how.

1. On the upper part of your screen there’s a certain button named “Community”. From the drop down box, you just need to press the button called “Clubs”.

Okay, don’t panic. We’re not heading to doom. It’s not the end of the world (flashback of awful read for read bargain, people ignoring you or just spamming your stories, etc.). Keep calm and eat a chocolate marshamallow (like me) and we’ll be clubbing the right way.

2. In the clubs, there’s the featured ones at your right. From there, you can already see the one that can land you a spot in the coveted WHL (What’s Hot List). It’s there. Your eyes are not deceiving you. It’s really there. Don’t you see the sparkles and butterflies flying around it?

No? Maybe you want to look again.

So there you see it. Yes, this is your lucky ticket to the ride that can change your life.

3. And so here comes the moment when you have to do some kind of ritual. You need to stretch your fingers, get a comfy pillow, relax your eyes for a minute or two, and ready, set, go!

Why do all those?

Do you know the saying that goes…

(Disclaimer: This image is not mine. It belongs to its respective owner.)

And that is why you need to do all those. We will be doing some actions for the next few days, weeks, and even months. It’s a long journey, not a detour.

By now, I assumed that you already followed the three magical steps. You’re there! You already arrived at the starting line. Now it’s time to get into action. A few of you must be familiar with all this. You must have frequent the clubs before, stayed there for a moment, got fed up, or don’t have an idea what I am talking about. Just put into your mind: Clubs. Can’t picture it? I tried thinking of a cafe before. Coffee… smells good!

Okay, enough coffee talk. Let’s go clubbing!

How do you get your story known in Wattpad? Most of the time, it doesn’t happen by sitting in front of the computer and refreshing your profile page and waiting for one person at the other side of the globe who is fond of fanning other people to fan you. And by fanning you, you think that they’ll choose your story among the three thousand other people that they fanned. Good news is, you can end the misery of waiting by doing some actions yourself.

The clubs serve many purposes. One, it is basically for interaction among Wattpadders. Get out of your comfy zone and press one of the links. Be friendly. Talk to people. They don’t bite and there will be Wattpad Ninjas who will guide you. You really need to ,’cause two, it provides all you need to get yourself and your story known.

Advertising. That’s the plan. You need to advertise your story in the clubs. Share your story club is the only place where you could do it (I think). So really, you’re in the right spot. All you need to do is to get started.

I’m not joking when I said that I started there too. If I can remember it correctly, I did the Read for Read thing first. In Read for Read (R4R), there are several things you must remember. First, read what was asked of you. If she asked for the stars, give it to her. Okay, just kidding. I mean if she asked for you to put the word ‘marshmallow’ in your comment on her story, do it. That’s a sign that you’re paying attention to what she said and not randomly spamming her story and hoping that she will not notice. We all have that second instinct that tells us when a person is being sincere or not. Insincerity leads to you being ignored (and sometimes hated). You don’t want that, right? So do it the correct way. If you want them to read your books, then read theirs too. Back to the saying above, life is an echo.

It’s sweat and blood, but you have to work hard for it.

Here’s how I did mine before:

Make your advertising alluring. Draw attention. So maybe you’ll ask how I did this. For the image, why don’t you sign up on http://photobucket.com/. From there, when you upload an image, you can see a link wherein you can paste it in your comment and hola! your image will appear. You just need to copy and paste it to your comment.

Then add the title of your story and probably a summary.

Remember to be attentive to what the one who made the thread asked for. If she said no horrors, vamps, and wolves, don’t advertise your next phenomenal Twilight-alike story there or your story that talks about how hot those wolf guys are. If you’re doing a romance story, pick a reader who wants to read a romance story. If she’s into something dramatic or probably a tearjerker story, then give her something Jodi Picoult-like. Pay attention and don’t randomly copy and paste your advertisement everywhere. You’re clubbing and not party crashing.

And p.s. don’t do the vote for vote thing. I think it’s still illegal and you might end up hearing from Gav (aka Ninja Master). If you’re starting a thread/discussion yourself, just do the read for read. Vote if the story deserves it. Comment and let your presence be known. If you must criticize, make a constructive criticism and not harsh commentaries.

Keep in mind that a portion of what you give is what you will receive, not the whole package so exert some extra effort. Do some more finger stretching and puff up yourself for tons of stories to read and give commentaries to. Wipe off the sweat and say to yourself, “I’ll get there soon! I can do this! I won’t give up!”

Motivate yourself!

Other types of advertisments that you could make use of are cover making offers. I once did that too. Here, take a look:

I already forgot how many covers I made when I did this several months ago. But the list is long so that’s plenty. If you have cover making skills, you can also make use of this.

I think there are several more others. You can browse the club and see what you can find. Don’t ignore it. The clubs are there for a purpose. Just think that you’d be entering a cafe, buying your favorite cup of coffee, and will read a book that will sweep you off your feet. It’s likely that you’ll find a gem in that place, the same one you’re advertising yourself.

So what are you waiting for? Click!