Oh god, yes the teen ChickLit is everywhere as well. But that just shows what kind of an audience Wattpad is comprised of - teen girls. So if you want to "make it" on Wattpad you have to have something in your work that appeals to them. Not saying you have to have a story about a regular nerdy girl meeting the hot bad boy (gag me with a spoon), but you have to have some element that is relatable to them.
In my book, I kept it new-adult rated (higher than young-adult, but lower than adult novels) and added just a pinch of romance (more like a sliver) to appeal more to the masses of Wattpad. I personally feel romance should not be in the zombie genre since it's the last place you should be swiping your Tinder matches, but you need at least a hint of it to interest certain readers.
Even with the large reader base, I find I haven't gotten as good of reviews as before. I end up getting, pardon my French - dumb shit, posted by bored teens sometimes. In saying that, every once in a while I get that helpful review pointing out a plot hole that I missed, or a review that reaffirms my faith in Wattpad because the reviewer explains how the novel impacted them and it was exactly what I was going for. So it's hit and miss most of the time for me.
I did just self-publish my book Decemeber 30th 2015 and it's doing better that I could have hoped, thanks in large part to my wonderful Wattpad followers who supported me with reviews and even purchasing copies!
This post was edited by Nicole Iverson at January 11, 2016 11:22 AM PSTI'm glad I saw this forum topic. So many self-published authors aren't utilizing this website and loosing out on gaining valuable followers. I've had some success on Wattpad and thus, that platform has transformed into my self-publishing platform. Many fans from there go on to buy your book to show their support. If you are struggling, I highly recommend using this site (you'll have to wade through a TON of badly written One Direction FanFiction though!).
As the title states, I am one of many, many, new self-published authors just looking to get their work out there. Here's a little bio about me to get the ball rolling:
N. D. Iverson is young author trying to find her niche in the world. She has a business degree; to which she is still trying to find a practical application for. She has bounced from half-baked ideas of becoming a forensic pathologist (cut short when the option for attending an autopsy came up and she rather quickly decided maybe that wasn't for her), a member of a rock band (sadly, neither her nor her friends could play instruments or sing, not that it's a requirement these days...) and many more.
This Would Be Paradise is her first completed book, which has started a chain reaction of one-too-many book ideas dancing around in her head. She plans on wrangling in these ideas and making full-fledged books from them. So keep an eye out on the horizon for more works to come!
Anyone have some advice on cheap (*cough* free *cough*) book advertising methods that merit some results? I'd appreciate it!
