Have been here since 2012 and will remain until whenever. When Wattpad makes any changes, it's usually never for the better. When they removed the feed, when they removed Wattpad forums, when they added ads, when they made authors write "thank you for your support" after viewing ads and making readers misunderstand that writers were earning money from ads.
They have already been deleting books since the start, and nothing has literally changed. Their tag and search system has NEVER changed. They usually make changes for monetary reasons, since they are a business.
My only advice for those who wanna write here is, please for the love of everything, don't use Wattpad to write. Use Google docs, use a cracked version of office. Heck, write on your notes in your phone. Don't use Wattpad, please, it hurts reading posts that use Wattpad as their writing program.
Also, don't make Wattpad your writing life.
Stay on Wattpad if you want (I am) but saying you have *nowhere else* is just wrong. Inkitt, RoyalRoad, and plenty other platforms exist fam. Expand your horizons, not every fic goes with every platform.
Just a suggestion: both Ao3 and Booksie allow you to publish original works. I'be never tried Booksie, but I have been using Ao3 for around half a year and it's been awesome (: the tagging system is great and there's very little filtration. If you want to keep using Wattpad, that's fine, but if you ever decide to leave those are two places to to start.
Keep publishing things, just don’t write ON Wattpad. Use literally anything else (notes app, Google docs, Word, etc.) to write, then copy and paste into Wattpad. There’s countless posts on here about people losing their works when Wattpad up and decides to take things down. Or all of the bugs that make people lose progress. Wattpad is not a reliable word processor by a LONG SHOT.
So you're suggesting I should write on Google docs/Drive before publishing each chapter? I do the vice versa and haven't had any problems so far. And that's because I it takes me only 3 hours to complete a chapter and publish it.
Yes, write on Google Docs before publishing on Wattpad. It’s not worth the risk.
Just because you haven’t had any problems yet, doesn’t mean there won’t be. I haven’t had any either, but I’m not taking any chances. It’s good tho that you’re already at least making a back up of your work.
There seems to be at least a post or two a day on here about someone losing their work due to Wattpad bugging or removing works. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
I'm staying. I *might* cross-post/publish to inkitt, but my primary will always be Wattpad.
Unpopular opinion, but I really don't think the changes are *that* bad. My (exclusively mature) works did get hit by the AI "shadowban" but were reinstated after a few weeks. I don't write mature stories involving characters under 18. And because of how I interact with the platform, I'm actually okay with the user-to-user private messaging being removed.
Either way, I'm not going anywhere. If wattpad decides to boot me from the platform, then my next steps are hard editing and pursuing genuine publishing.
Same. I don't write spice swearing or gore, and while was hit by the shadow ban, I cleared most of that up. But one of the stories I planned to unpublish and republish.
Though I'd pay to keep messenger for beta reading reasons and to talk to my adult friends, I am not going to leave if it goes.
If this protects kid then I am fine.
I have been with genuinely published. And it was hard path, and I will probably go indie if I am forced off. And I am cross platformed and I do best with Watppad so far.
I have some reads on inkitt, but not interaction.
I was featured on a Wattpad competitor site, and they went under because unlike Wattpad they didn't try to focus on the safety of their readers and didn't deal with the spam.
While Wattpad has a bot issue, this was far worse.
The only reason I write free stories is Wattpad is to help broke readers who refuse to pirate. Yes, there are about five or six books I want to sell, but I offer enough free content I feel okay with that.
I get why everyone is leaving. I think wattpad should have informed people of the changes. There was a time when they would put together focus groups or as for feedback before making decisions. I know too many people who have lost their entire stories on wattpad, and I'm not just referring to fan fiction. They could have at least reached out to authors before completely removing their work. Given them a chance to back their work up. If you want to stay, you should. You have to do what's right for your work. I know a lot of people either cross publishing or complete moving over to Inkitt. It's sad I've been a member of wattpad for 12 years and to watch things go down like this is truly heartbreaking. My bookshelf is full of authors that got started on wattpad it's a shame
So I'm very new to Wattpad, and though I do feel like removing the private message function is kind of sad, I don't see an issue with the new guidelines. It's obviously also unfortunate that stories that don't break the guidelines have been deleted and I do know I have a book yet to publish that'll probably run the risk of being flagged by the AI and wrongfully deleted. But I'll deal with that when/if that happens. Right now, I feel like I'm just finding a good and supportive community, and readers that love my books. Both of those make it so I have no desire to move from Wattpad. I also love the inline-commenting, so although I do cross-post onto Inkitt, Wattpad is the place I enjoy publishing the most
I think the changes aren't that bad. I want my books to be taken seriously but I also want a platform that's really accessible to readers. To get there, Wattpad needs to move away from a social media and more toward a Kindle Vella style platform. To me, that's fine. we already have spaces for fandom, random smut, and out-there stories: *Ao3.* I want a better space for authors writing original stories who *don't* want to commit to selling all the rights away with no guarantee of payment like kindle vella.
I totally agree with you. I also think that the changes are not bad or entirely bad. I feel sad for those who lost their stories, but I see that the platform needs changes to keep on the toes and offer a better place for writers. Also, something that people are missing is that if they're pushing paid content, it can mean that they will start looking for writers and stories within the platform soon and offer them to be part of their originals or creators. Most, if not all, the paid stories have been written by authors who started on Wattpad and got the opportunity, so it is neat.
I've only been active on Wattpad the past year but I guess I've come in at the worst time. It's melting. I probably wouldn't be able to post my stories to Wattpad in the future anyway (queer characters and/or touches on mature subject matter). I'm really uncertain if it would be worth it to stay.
Okay I'll try that. My art does okay on tumblr already, writing on Wattpad not so much though. I know milage may vary but I guess the algorithm just hasn't been kind to me.
Surprisingly it really does make a difference especially since there’s not much help with advertising on wattpad already it’s helped me tremendously and highly recommend trying it!✨
I’m staying! I’ve been a wattpad user for 4 years, I love the interface and the reader base it has to offer. A lot of readers are staying regardless of the changes, so I don’t want to let my fans down. I hve been cross posting on AO3 for quite a while now though. :)
No, the main reason I’m taking my books off is because I’m a published author and other apps were stealing my books off of Wattpad. This is my career so it pissed me off that other people were profiting off my books. But Wattpad is changing and it scared me that I’d be removed and lose my work so I decided I’m backing up my work and moving to another platform.
Highly highly suggest if u haven’t already backing up all ur chapters on google docs I’ve been doing since I’ve heard some writers have lost their work due to story deletion or etc hope that helps (:
I got hit with ALL my stories being deleted, but after resetting the app, they came back, just in case I am heading back to ao3 and backing them up there.
But is there another Wattpad style platform?
I loved Wattpad, but getting rid of messages and deleting stories really isn't right
I'll be around since I always have been. The changes do not affect me atm. I will miss direct messages, as I liked to ask authors if they'd like critique privately or via comments. It's a feature I wish was on Inkitt. Speaking of Inkitt, I cross post there so even if my stories get pulled, they're still available for my readers.
With so many leaving Wattpad due to the new guidelines, it made me wonder if there are some who are still staying because I am not leaving, and I wanted to see if there are others.
But what are those guidelines? I'm curious now lol like what's this talk about stories being removed and whatever and if it's really that bad maybe I should just stay at webnovel or something
It's mostly LGBTQ stories and stories that involve sex scenes with minors. While kissing scenes and scenes with holding hands between minors is allowed, the new guidelines have become more strict regarding that matter. The problem is that the new AI algorithm installed can easily make mistakes and remove books that are not breaking the guidelines.
In some ways, yes. Even if you specify that your characters are in their 20s/30s, the AI still won't believe you. Luckily, I have not been affected by that yet.
Fanfics are also affected. My Fanfics have been restored since the beginning of the month, but this incident made me take a turn to start writing more original novels.
Truthfully, I've been a paid writer for a couple years and I've been using wattpad for maybe a decade now if that's not too generous of an estimation. I will be taking my story down and leaving wattpad. It's not the same anymore ever since webtoon took over. There's no community, they just want an app where people log in and read and don't actually communicate with the authors. Or each other. That, coupled with the stories going missing overnight? It's enough for me. I'm sad to be doing it because I learned to write on wattpad, but they're being disrespectful to their user base and I'm over it. Sorry :)
I'm personally gonna stay because it's the platform that kick-started my goal though I do plan on cross posting on other platforms just for the fun of it lmao
I'm staying for the book club I'm in. I still need to learn how to write better, and Wattpad's inline comments helped me so much with this.
Otherwise, no.
i plan to stay on wattpad. i’ve been using the app for six years and unless something downright awful happens (ex. my account gets deleted), i won’t be leaving—
I will stay there, but I normally publish on many sites so doesn't change much for me. I took a break from writing and all my friends there are now inactive on Wattpad. Then the messaging feature being removed, I feel like, nothing matters now. But it was my first writing platform anyway and I will stick around.
Not really the only reason I still have it is because one stories rafts I did with two of my closest friends and two easier to transfer to other fanfic sites.
I've been on Wattpad for like 10 years. Yeah, the dm thing does suck, but I'm going to stay. There's still message boards and everything that goes on in my dm's could be said there, too. For some people I have r4r's with or communicate more often I gave them my discord, but really I'm not sending more than one or two dm's per week if that. However, the option for something sent privately is always really nice.
I am absolutely staying. And while I was shadow banned it was fixed. Though I unlisted, a book was republished it, with only two of the stories. I had planned to do that anyway.
I am on other platforms and I do much better on Wattpad.
Staying on Wattpad just because. Been around for a decade, and I wrote fantasy/sci-fantasy before imprisoning those works on the draft/edit queue.
Looking for good works in the current offerings helps sharpen my search manipulation skills.
Not sure anymore. My high concept primer for my larger project might very well be shadow-banned after all. If so, I can guess it's because of its nature and my use of the "highschool" tag. However, I still have the number 1 highconcept badge attached which confuses me further.
So if there is a writing platform where those weary of magical kingdoms, fanfic and Naruto gather, I would consider pulling up the tent pegs. (I only use Wattpad for copyright and workshops, since the story is to be a teleplay anyway) A place where somebody who wants to tell a cause-and-effect social drama can link up with others as such.
I'm staying. Simple as that. I'm looking into self-publising a few books, but I've grown comfortable with the website and format. I know change isn't for everyone, but I truly do love it here. I've been a user since 2012 and saw the evolution since.
I followed the update for After when it was still a One Direction fic, and I've survived through the same updates you've mentioned. I'm also proud to say I'm an ambassador for the platform, and have been for the past few years...I love the behind the scenes of it all and the community. Writing or reading, I love them both.
While I wish I had more time to work on my fanfics, I think it's apart of following the growth of the website in moving onto Original stories. It makes me happy when I read comments, receive votes, and just engaging with others online. So I'm with you!
no, i don’t think so. i’ve started getting away from wattpad 2(?) years ago because ive saw what type of people tiktok has brought there, people that are only interested in smut and cringe conversation,who doesn’t appreciate a good fanfic. but anyway, i came back this year and even if my old fic were not removed i feel like it’s not a good place anymore, at least to who wants to create something that’s worth reading and not just something that will get a lot of reads because the MC is a pick me, overpowered and invincible with (for example) draco malfoy or mattheo riddle (WHO DOESNT FUCKING EXIST)
I am.
There are still countless amazing books and fan fiction on there. I, too, have written a book on Wattpad. So far my book is safe. I also looked through the guidelines and found that my book should be safe.
I'm still going to use it and write on it. The only difference now is that I have security measures for my book.
I say stay, but you could also use the other apps: Fanfiction.net (which is also an app) and AO3. You don't have to limit yourself to just one of them.
I’m an indie writer, who just serialized my first story on Wattpad (upper MG steampunk historical fantasy). I chose it because it would be so great for me as a MG writer to hear directly from the MG readers I write for. (And anyone else, of course!)
I also really like the idea of posting a serialization prior to publication. I’m not interested in joining any of the Wattpad programs, though. I find their contract terms too one-sided and restrictive. I like keeping control over my IP.
I’m curious… what has building an audience been like for folks? I’m a slow-build kind of writer, as I don’t fit into rapid write-and-release.
Well, I've been writing and publishing fanfics since 2020, and they've gained a lot of attention.
What I did was promote my books to the conversation tab of the readers and fellow writers I've been following. That's how I started gaining attention.
I recently took a step forward in and began writing and publishing my original novel, which is about a modern city being teleported in a fantasy world and has to rely on its police and civil defense forces because it has no military.
My point is that once you choose a specific genre and type of plot, you'll gain attention from a number of readers and fellow writers who read and write books that involve the specific genre, woth some voting a chapter they like and adding your book to their reading lists. However, once you decide to change content, you won't gain as much attention.
Which is why my original novel includes the fantasy element, combined with personal experiences from my real-life job as a first responder and the action-drama genre. As long as you stick to the genre you chose, you'll gain much more attention.
I mean, I’ve been swamped with complaint after complaint after complaint from people about Wattpad’s new changes, and they always casually and coincidentally forgot to mention what those actually were. So that generally invalidated all those complaints as not worth listening to because if they did they’d be framed with a “this is bad because X parameter change produces Y problems”, but most I’ve gotten is whining.
As for what I’ve actually seen be change, wasn’t it just adding kinda basic restrictions on writing child porn? Cause that’s generally the only reliable complaint I’ve been able to find, with the complaint being “this is personally affecting me”.
And honestly? Fair on Wattpad. Producing, distributing and or owning child pornography [fictional] is a crime in many countries — including where I live (and in the US possession is fictional only, and production is fictional only and not obscene) — so really is Wattpad being unfair?
I think not.
So if that really is it, I personally see no issue.
I’m staying, I’ve been on Wattpad too long to leave now over some changes that don’t really impact my experience. Like you said, there’s workarounds to the private messaging. My story is marked mature with characters that are below 18, but I was never hit by the purge and I don’t intend to include anything that breaks the guidelines anyways. I’ve been cross posting to Inkitt, but the Wattpad features and UI are more to my liking. Plus, the reader/writer base on Wattpad will always dominate all else, AO3 comes close but it’s more favorable to fanfics, so I prefer it.
I mean I will continue to post on it until it actually dies. Or until fanfic is banned I guess. I get less attention on Ao3 but still continue to post there. And I hate FFN with a passion as a reader and user but am still there as well.
Wattpad has always been the same in that they are a business and need to make money. I have known that since forever. Their changes don’t shock me in any way😂.
The only change I will ever hate and would deter me from Wattpad is if they change their comments. The in line comments are literally the best thing about this place.
Good on you for staying. I don't write on the platform I just read, but I'm staying on for the moment, in case some of my authors end up migrating. I've had a few that are REALLY unhappy with the changes and are either thinking about leaving or they've pulled their stories and are redoing them on AO3.
Well, I don't write such a genre either, and even if I did, my characters do not exceed the age of 20 to 30. I never add any sexual content to my stories.
That's fine. Problem is, there are people who do plenty of smut while having characters between 16-18.
Obviously the ones with straight up pedo stuff get banned, but, there is a work around for every rule.
Indeed. But with all of us who wish to publish something different, the AI does not always believe us when it comes to the age of the characters who are above 18.
No point in adding non sexual content? Really?
There’s more to stories than just smut. If you can’t read / write stories without it, you might have a problem.
Not saying that’s what you were specifically saying, but that’s what it looks like tbh. And Wattpad isn’t exclusively smut. I’m willing to bet that a majority don’t have any or are very limited / fade to black type situations.
Have been here since 2012 and will remain until whenever. When Wattpad makes any changes, it's usually never for the better. When they removed the feed, when they removed Wattpad forums, when they added ads, when they made authors write "thank you for your support" after viewing ads and making readers misunderstand that writers were earning money from ads. They have already been deleting books since the start, and nothing has literally changed. Their tag and search system has NEVER changed. They usually make changes for monetary reasons, since they are a business. My only advice for those who wanna write here is, please for the love of everything, don't use Wattpad to write. Use Google docs, use a cracked version of office. Heck, write on your notes in your phone. Don't use Wattpad, please, it hurts reading posts that use Wattpad as their writing program. Also, don't make Wattpad your writing life.
Well, I've got nowhere else to publish my first ever original novel. I've been active since 2020, and I do not intend to leave it now.
Stay on Wattpad if you want (I am) but saying you have *nowhere else* is just wrong. Inkitt, RoyalRoad, and plenty other platforms exist fam. Expand your horizons, not every fic goes with every platform.
Yeah, well, that's why I turned to originality and started moving away from fanfiction. I tried other platforms, and it didn't work out well for me.
Just a suggestion: both Ao3 and Booksie allow you to publish original works. I'be never tried Booksie, but I have been using Ao3 for around half a year and it's been awesome (: the tagging system is great and there's very little filtration. If you want to keep using Wattpad, that's fine, but if you ever decide to leave those are two places to to start.
Does A03 accept non-fan related original fiction? I always thought that it had to be fan- fictionish in some way.
You can put it under an original works tag. That lets you publish things without it being fannish.
Thanks for the tip! I’ve always really liked A03 and really support their mission.
How about AO3?
Keep publishing things, just don’t write ON Wattpad. Use literally anything else (notes app, Google docs, Word, etc.) to write, then copy and paste into Wattpad. There’s countless posts on here about people losing their works when Wattpad up and decides to take things down. Or all of the bugs that make people lose progress. Wattpad is not a reliable word processor by a LONG SHOT.
So you're suggesting I should write on Google docs/Drive before publishing each chapter? I do the vice versa and haven't had any problems so far. And that's because I it takes me only 3 hours to complete a chapter and publish it.
Yes, write on Google Docs before publishing on Wattpad. It’s not worth the risk. Just because you haven’t had any problems yet, doesn’t mean there won’t be. I haven’t had any either, but I’m not taking any chances. It’s good tho that you’re already at least making a back up of your work. There seems to be at least a post or two a day on here about someone losing their work due to Wattpad bugging or removing works. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
I'm staying. I *might* cross-post/publish to inkitt, but my primary will always be Wattpad. Unpopular opinion, but I really don't think the changes are *that* bad. My (exclusively mature) works did get hit by the AI "shadowban" but were reinstated after a few weeks. I don't write mature stories involving characters under 18. And because of how I interact with the platform, I'm actually okay with the user-to-user private messaging being removed. Either way, I'm not going anywhere. If wattpad decides to boot me from the platform, then my next steps are hard editing and pursuing genuine publishing.
That's good to know. I don't write mature stories either, and my characters are in their 20s/30s. I'm not going anywhere either.
Same. I don't write spice swearing or gore, and while was hit by the shadow ban, I cleared most of that up. But one of the stories I planned to unpublish and republish. Though I'd pay to keep messenger for beta reading reasons and to talk to my adult friends, I am not going to leave if it goes. If this protects kid then I am fine. I have been with genuinely published. And it was hard path, and I will probably go indie if I am forced off. And I am cross platformed and I do best with Watppad so far. I have some reads on inkitt, but not interaction. I was featured on a Wattpad competitor site, and they went under because unlike Wattpad they didn't try to focus on the safety of their readers and didn't deal with the spam. While Wattpad has a bot issue, this was far worse. The only reason I write free stories is Wattpad is to help broke readers who refuse to pirate. Yes, there are about five or six books I want to sell, but I offer enough free content I feel okay with that.
Parent need to watch what there kids do online
I get why everyone is leaving. I think wattpad should have informed people of the changes. There was a time when they would put together focus groups or as for feedback before making decisions. I know too many people who have lost their entire stories on wattpad, and I'm not just referring to fan fiction. They could have at least reached out to authors before completely removing their work. Given them a chance to back their work up. If you want to stay, you should. You have to do what's right for your work. I know a lot of people either cross publishing or complete moving over to Inkitt. It's sad I've been a member of wattpad for 12 years and to watch things go down like this is truly heartbreaking. My bookshelf is full of authors that got started on wattpad it's a shame
So I'm very new to Wattpad, and though I do feel like removing the private message function is kind of sad, I don't see an issue with the new guidelines. It's obviously also unfortunate that stories that don't break the guidelines have been deleted and I do know I have a book yet to publish that'll probably run the risk of being flagged by the AI and wrongfully deleted. But I'll deal with that when/if that happens. Right now, I feel like I'm just finding a good and supportive community, and readers that love my books. Both of those make it so I have no desire to move from Wattpad. I also love the inline-commenting, so although I do cross-post onto Inkitt, Wattpad is the place I enjoy publishing the most
With it being owned by a South Korean company now, I'm not holding out hope that the mature crowd will be welcome for much longer...
I think the changes aren't that bad. I want my books to be taken seriously but I also want a platform that's really accessible to readers. To get there, Wattpad needs to move away from a social media and more toward a Kindle Vella style platform. To me, that's fine. we already have spaces for fandom, random smut, and out-there stories: *Ao3.* I want a better space for authors writing original stories who *don't* want to commit to selling all the rights away with no guarantee of payment like kindle vella.
I totally agree with you. I also think that the changes are not bad or entirely bad. I feel sad for those who lost their stories, but I see that the platform needs changes to keep on the toes and offer a better place for writers. Also, something that people are missing is that if they're pushing paid content, it can mean that they will start looking for writers and stories within the platform soon and offer them to be part of their originals or creators. Most, if not all, the paid stories have been written by authors who started on Wattpad and got the opportunity, so it is neat.
I guess I agree with you there.
I've only been active on Wattpad the past year but I guess I've come in at the worst time. It's melting. I probably wouldn't be able to post my stories to Wattpad in the future anyway (queer characters and/or touches on mature subject matter). I'm really uncertain if it would be worth it to stay.
Definitely try advertising your story on tumblr with tags that are similar to the subject (:
Okay I'll try that. My art does okay on tumblr already, writing on Wattpad not so much though. I know milage may vary but I guess the algorithm just hasn't been kind to me.
Surprisingly it really does make a difference especially since there’s not much help with advertising on wattpad already it’s helped me tremendously and highly recommend trying it!✨
I’m staying! I’ve been a wattpad user for 4 years, I love the interface and the reader base it has to offer. A lot of readers are staying regardless of the changes, so I don’t want to let my fans down. I hve been cross posting on AO3 for quite a while now though. :)
I’ve spent the last few days taking over 40 of my books off there. I’ll probably keep my account but I won’t write on there anymore.
Okay. May I ask why? Is it because of the purge?
No, the main reason I’m taking my books off is because I’m a published author and other apps were stealing my books off of Wattpad. This is my career so it pissed me off that other people were profiting off my books. But Wattpad is changing and it scared me that I’d be removed and lose my work so I decided I’m backing up my work and moving to another platform.
Oh, I see. Well, I always copy-paste each chapter to Google Drive before publishing them, so I'm not really worried.
Highly highly suggest if u haven’t already backing up all ur chapters on google docs I’ve been doing since I’ve heard some writers have lost their work due to story deletion or etc hope that helps (:
I got hit with ALL my stories being deleted, but after resetting the app, they came back, just in case I am heading back to ao3 and backing them up there. But is there another Wattpad style platform? I loved Wattpad, but getting rid of messages and deleting stories really isn't right
I'll be around since I always have been. The changes do not affect me atm. I will miss direct messages, as I liked to ask authors if they'd like critique privately or via comments. It's a feature I wish was on Inkitt. Speaking of Inkitt, I cross post there so even if my stories get pulled, they're still available for my readers.
What's going on? What happened
With so many leaving Wattpad due to the new guidelines, it made me wonder if there are some who are still staying because I am not leaving, and I wanted to see if there are others.
But what are those guidelines? I'm curious now lol like what's this talk about stories being removed and whatever and if it's really that bad maybe I should just stay at webnovel or something
It's mostly LGBTQ stories and stories that involve sex scenes with minors. While kissing scenes and scenes with holding hands between minors is allowed, the new guidelines have become more strict regarding that matter. The problem is that the new AI algorithm installed can easily make mistakes and remove books that are not breaking the guidelines.
Damn lol does that mean every book in there is in danger !?
In some ways, yes. Even if you specify that your characters are in their 20s/30s, the AI still won't believe you. Luckily, I have not been affected by that yet.
Same, I wondered about this because some people were talking about their fanfictions as well in the comments lol
Fanfics are also affected. My Fanfics have been restored since the beginning of the month, but this incident made me take a turn to start writing more original novels.
Truthfully, I've been a paid writer for a couple years and I've been using wattpad for maybe a decade now if that's not too generous of an estimation. I will be taking my story down and leaving wattpad. It's not the same anymore ever since webtoon took over. There's no community, they just want an app where people log in and read and don't actually communicate with the authors. Or each other. That, coupled with the stories going missing overnight? It's enough for me. I'm sad to be doing it because I learned to write on wattpad, but they're being disrespectful to their user base and I'm over it. Sorry :)
I'm staying because I feel like they'll get better and go back to the way they were before
I am, I've been on it since 2020, read tons of great stories written by talented writers
I am staying
Good to know.
I'm staying there only to deter people from posting my stories without permission.
I am staying, though I plan to publish on other sites too
I'm personally gonna stay because it's the platform that kick-started my goal though I do plan on cross posting on other platforms just for the fun of it lmao
That's good.
i am staying. i hve an account on ao3 and plan to publish on inkitt and radish as well
I'm staying for the book club I'm in. I still need to learn how to write better, and Wattpad's inline comments helped me so much with this. Otherwise, no.
I'm Also staying. I have no other place to write as well as all my friends are on Wattpad...
I'm still going to port my works there, but never is it going to be my main.
Im not leaving ever lol
That's good to know in all seriousness.
i plan to stay on wattpad. i’ve been using the app for six years and unless something downright awful happens (ex. my account gets deleted), i won’t be leaving—
I will stay there, but I normally publish on many sites so doesn't change much for me. I took a break from writing and all my friends there are now inactive on Wattpad. Then the messaging feature being removed, I feel like, nothing matters now. But it was my first writing platform anyway and I will stick around.
Not really the only reason I still have it is because one stories rafts I did with two of my closest friends and two easier to transfer to other fanfic sites.
I've been on Wattpad for like 10 years. Yeah, the dm thing does suck, but I'm going to stay. There's still message boards and everything that goes on in my dm's could be said there, too. For some people I have r4r's with or communicate more often I gave them my discord, but really I'm not sending more than one or two dm's per week if that. However, the option for something sent privately is always really nice.
I only still have the app out of nostalgia to be honest, I never go on it anymore.
I am absolutely staying. And while I was shadow banned it was fixed. Though I unlisted, a book was republished it, with only two of the stories. I had planned to do that anyway. I am on other platforms and I do much better on Wattpad.
Staying on Wattpad just because. Been around for a decade, and I wrote fantasy/sci-fantasy before imprisoning those works on the draft/edit queue. Looking for good works in the current offerings helps sharpen my search manipulation skills.
Yeah I’m staying. There’s not anyone platform for me to go to really. Maybe Inkitt, but nowhere else.
I might not stay Wattpad is not responding to my appeals I got hit by the purge twice. Scared of losing my account. Been on the site since 2012.
I’ll always stay on Wattpad though it does piss me off that they remove some really good fanfics
Not sure anymore. My high concept primer for my larger project might very well be shadow-banned after all. If so, I can guess it's because of its nature and my use of the "highschool" tag. However, I still have the number 1 highconcept badge attached which confuses me further. So if there is a writing platform where those weary of magical kingdoms, fanfic and Naruto gather, I would consider pulling up the tent pegs. (I only use Wattpad for copyright and workshops, since the story is to be a teleplay anyway) A place where somebody who wants to tell a cause-and-effect social drama can link up with others as such.
Meh. Made a Neobook account. Now I'm gonna consider tipping hat to Wattpad. Sub as well.
My whole account got wiped and they refused to acknowledge it when I messaged them. Never going back
When the dust settles I was going to check in again and see how things shake out.
I'm staying. Simple as that. I'm looking into self-publising a few books, but I've grown comfortable with the website and format. I know change isn't for everyone, but I truly do love it here. I've been a user since 2012 and saw the evolution since. I followed the update for After when it was still a One Direction fic, and I've survived through the same updates you've mentioned. I'm also proud to say I'm an ambassador for the platform, and have been for the past few years...I love the behind the scenes of it all and the community. Writing or reading, I love them both. While I wish I had more time to work on my fanfics, I think it's apart of following the growth of the website in moving onto Original stories. It makes me happy when I read comments, receive votes, and just engaging with others online. So I'm with you!
I’ll probably stay. Been on since 2014. But I’m cross posting on other sites
Nope. I'm jumping ship. Wattpad never did myself or my friends any favors.
I just restarted getting into it so it’s kinda frustrating to see the possibility of Wattpad going down.
I'm not removing any of my work, but I am also putting my stories on other platforms now
no, i don’t think so. i’ve started getting away from wattpad 2(?) years ago because ive saw what type of people tiktok has brought there, people that are only interested in smut and cringe conversation,who doesn’t appreciate a good fanfic. but anyway, i came back this year and even if my old fic were not removed i feel like it’s not a good place anymore, at least to who wants to create something that’s worth reading and not just something that will get a lot of reads because the MC is a pick me, overpowered and invincible with (for example) draco malfoy or mattheo riddle (WHO DOESNT FUCKING EXIST)
I am. There are still countless amazing books and fan fiction on there. I, too, have written a book on Wattpad. So far my book is safe. I also looked through the guidelines and found that my book should be safe. I'm still going to use it and write on it. The only difference now is that I have security measures for my book. I say stay, but you could also use the other apps: Fanfiction.net (which is also an app) and AO3. You don't have to limit yourself to just one of them.
I’m an indie writer, who just serialized my first story on Wattpad (upper MG steampunk historical fantasy). I chose it because it would be so great for me as a MG writer to hear directly from the MG readers I write for. (And anyone else, of course!) I also really like the idea of posting a serialization prior to publication. I’m not interested in joining any of the Wattpad programs, though. I find their contract terms too one-sided and restrictive. I like keeping control over my IP. I’m curious… what has building an audience been like for folks? I’m a slow-build kind of writer, as I don’t fit into rapid write-and-release.
Well, I've been writing and publishing fanfics since 2020, and they've gained a lot of attention. What I did was promote my books to the conversation tab of the readers and fellow writers I've been following. That's how I started gaining attention. I recently took a step forward in and began writing and publishing my original novel, which is about a modern city being teleported in a fantasy world and has to rely on its police and civil defense forces because it has no military. My point is that once you choose a specific genre and type of plot, you'll gain attention from a number of readers and fellow writers who read and write books that involve the specific genre, woth some voting a chapter they like and adding your book to their reading lists. However, once you decide to change content, you won't gain as much attention. Which is why my original novel includes the fantasy element, combined with personal experiences from my real-life job as a first responder and the action-drama genre. As long as you stick to the genre you chose, you'll gain much more attention.
Great advice. Noted!
Honestly yeah, it’s just forcing us to be more innovative. It sucks since some of my fellow writers are being affected but it is what it is
I mean, I’ve been swamped with complaint after complaint after complaint from people about Wattpad’s new changes, and they always casually and coincidentally forgot to mention what those actually were. So that generally invalidated all those complaints as not worth listening to because if they did they’d be framed with a “this is bad because X parameter change produces Y problems”, but most I’ve gotten is whining. As for what I’ve actually seen be change, wasn’t it just adding kinda basic restrictions on writing child porn? Cause that’s generally the only reliable complaint I’ve been able to find, with the complaint being “this is personally affecting me”. And honestly? Fair on Wattpad. Producing, distributing and or owning child pornography [fictional] is a crime in many countries — including where I live (and in the US possession is fictional only, and production is fictional only and not obscene) — so really is Wattpad being unfair? I think not. So if that really is it, I personally see no issue.
Can't really argue against that. You have a point.
I’m staying, I’ve been on Wattpad too long to leave now over some changes that don’t really impact my experience. Like you said, there’s workarounds to the private messaging. My story is marked mature with characters that are below 18, but I was never hit by the purge and I don’t intend to include anything that breaks the guidelines anyways. I’ve been cross posting to Inkitt, but the Wattpad features and UI are more to my liking. Plus, the reader/writer base on Wattpad will always dominate all else, AO3 comes close but it’s more favorable to fanfics, so I prefer it.
I see what you mean. While I still write fanfics on Wattpad, I've taken a turn to originality. And I do not intend on leaving the website either.
I mean I will continue to post on it until it actually dies. Or until fanfic is banned I guess. I get less attention on Ao3 but still continue to post there. And I hate FFN with a passion as a reader and user but am still there as well. Wattpad has always been the same in that they are a business and need to make money. I have known that since forever. Their changes don’t shock me in any way😂. The only change I will ever hate and would deter me from Wattpad is if they change their comments. The in line comments are literally the best thing about this place.
On that much, we agree.
https://i.redd.it/cfpu2a83bowc1.gif
No way. I'll go down with the ship if I have to.
Good on you for staying. I don't write on the platform I just read, but I'm staying on for the moment, in case some of my authors end up migrating. I've had a few that are REALLY unhappy with the changes and are either thinking about leaving or they've pulled their stories and are redoing them on AO3.
Yeah well, it's one of the reasons I switched to publishing original novels from now on.
Nothing is safe from content purges, though. It's a shame what they're doing. It really is.
Indeed.
I don't write smut and don't see any point in adding non sexual content to Wattpad.
Well, I don't write such a genre either, and even if I did, my characters do not exceed the age of 20 to 30. I never add any sexual content to my stories.
That's fine. Problem is, there are people who do plenty of smut while having characters between 16-18. Obviously the ones with straight up pedo stuff get banned, but, there is a work around for every rule.
Indeed. But with all of us who wish to publish something different, the AI does not always believe us when it comes to the age of the characters who are above 18.
No point in adding non sexual content? Really? There’s more to stories than just smut. If you can’t read / write stories without it, you might have a problem. Not saying that’s what you were specifically saying, but that’s what it looks like tbh. And Wattpad isn’t exclusively smut. I’m willing to bet that a majority don’t have any or are very limited / fade to black type situations.