Is Wattpad.com all that the rage would imply?

[Iain]

I recently discovered Wattpad.com and, I will admit, I'm a bit hooked. Wattpad.com, if you don't know is a web service where anyone and everyone can upload their books to be read for free. One article that I read touted it as "YouTube for books". It is now becoming a major sensation, esp. among YA readers and writers. When you peruse the genre categories there are ones like "Vampire", "Werewolf" and "Teen Fiction". There are simply thousands upon thousands of e-books to choose from, but the culture of the site feels decidedly YA. I think it is great that such an opportunity now exists for young readers and writers, but as for older authors, I am concerned that sharing one's material may stigmatize it as weak or unsophisticated. Like YouTube, Wattpad is chock full of crap as well as undiscovered gems. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how much the culture of an online community impacts broader public perception of one's work. Or does it?

[Rebecca]

That's a very good question. David Gaughran has a great blog for indie writers (Let's Get Digital), on which he recently described Wattpad and praised its energy, reach, democratic spirit, etc. He is very gung ho about putting short works on it and snaring new readers, etc., and he's a very savvy author and marketer, so I usually bow to his expertise.

But I have some concerns too, even though I would have loved that energy as a younger writer. I probably would have camped out there!

I just wonder about the quality of all the feedback you are supposed to get. I'm a YA writer, but I'm by no means young or inexperienced. The way David described it, I came away w/ an image of a free-for-all :-). Am I wrong about that?

Finally, I wonder if all these interactions or at least links to them show up on your FB pages. To sign up for Wattpad, you have to go through FB. I don't particularly want those two worlds to meet up. Maybe I'm wrong about this, though.

Does anyone know how that works?

Not anti-Wattpad, it sounds like a lot of fun. Just saying it might not be a good fit for my kind of YA books, which aren't easily fit into a genre (multicultural, social issues, etc.)

[L.A.]

I have a Wat pad account that is not connected to face book.

[Iain]

Actually it was the same blog post by Gaughran that directed me to Wattpad. I appreciate your thoughts here, and I look forward to what others will have to say. Like you, I am on the fence. As for joining Wattpad, you do not need to do it through FB, you can set up an account independently. Wattpad simply allows you to login via an existing FB account if you so choose. I set up a separate account. That being said, you can access Wattpad and all of its content without joining at all.

[Paula]

So Wattpad is for mostly YA readers and writers? Adult horror novels would not be appropriate for Wattpad?

[Nick]

I have a couple of books on Wattpad. I don't do it through FB. I'm independent. I'm in the middle of writing a new book, and keep adding chapters when they're ready. I use it mainly to see how many views I get for each chapter. I'm a crime writer, so my stuff isn't Wattpad's typical audience, but I get reasonable viewing numbers. As to if it's achieving anything – I'm not sure. But I don't think it's doing any harm.

[Trystan]

After spending the day fussing with Wattpad I'm not sure I'll keep posting my work there. It appears to be open to everything, but it's so horribly overwhelmed by kids that it's just a mess. It's like Myspace exploded there or something. Plus the interface itself leaves a lot to be desired. Broken links, weird commenting/discussion issues, tedious practices... I was hopeful about it, but now I'm not too keen.

[Paula]

I'm not clear on the value of Wattpad. Are we saying that this site functions like beta readers where people read free stories and respond with comments about it? Is it geared for first-time or novice writers?