Experimenting With “Publishing” on Wattpad
Now what is very important is that, if you are using this site, in the “advanced” option on the Wattpad sidebar edit mode you choose “All Rights Reserved” for each new chapter you post. In fact, I have now added a copyright and “All Rights Reserved” at the beginning of each of my chapters in order to emphasize that this material is protected.
Recently I got a comment on a Wattpad guest post of mine that said sharing work on Wattpad was the equivalent of self-publishing and therefore this would prevent a traditional publisher from being interested in acquiring the work.
Yes, sharing your work on Wattpad is a form of self-publishing. But, if you have been following self-publishing news, you will know that traditional publishers have been known to contract for self-published books.
In my opinion, sharing your content on Wattpad is one way of bringing your work to the attention of a traditional publisher. And by sharing the link to each new chapter via social media you have multiple opportunities of catching the attention of traditional publishers.
I started sharing THE MOTHER SIEGE on Wattpad for another reason – to ensure that I actually write this novel. Why did I need some form of commitment to do this? Because I have several other writing projects and I wanted to make sure I would keep this project at the top of the pile.
What I especially like about writing a work-in-progress chapter by chapter on Wattpad is the opportunity to plan each chapter mentally before actually writing it.
Thus I find myself figuring out what is going to happen next while doing such mundane tasks as folding the laundry. Then, when I sit down at my computer to write the next chapter, I already have a very good idea what this new chapter will cover.
And speaking of chapters, I keep these brief for Wattpad. I know that people have short attention spans online, so I don’t want to write a long chapter that will discourage people from reading it.
I also indent the paragraphs in novel format although the Wattpad software does not take so kindly to this decision. But I wanted to emphasize that this is a novel and not a blog post.
In addition, I created a Tumblr blog for each of the two projects. Each time I post a new chapter on Wattpad, I click on the Tumblr link (via “share” on the Wattpad sidebar edit mode) to add the new chapter to the appropriate Tumblr blog.
I also create a shortened URL for each new chapter so that I can more easily tweet the link for each new post. Plus I have created a shortened URL for the beginning of each project – see http://budurl.com/MSintro for THE MOTHER SIEGE and http://budurl.com/TAintro for TALES OF AN AMERICAN OCCUPYING GERMANY – to use on social media.
Yes, there is always a risk when sharing material online. But if you are a writer who writes to share stories with readers, you may agree with me that experimenting with Wattpad is worth the risk.
Meet Phyllis Zimbler Miller
Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of fiction and nonfiction books as well as the co-founder of the online marketing company www.MillerMosaicLLC.com She blogs on author and book topics at www.PhyllisZimblerMiller.comConnect with Phyllis Zimbler Miller
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Experimenting With “Publishing” on Wattpad - Guest Post from Phyllis Zimbler Miller
Reviewed by Duh
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Reviewed by Duh
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What a great idea, especially since ones writing can be covered by copyright, "All Rights Reserved" tag. Also blogging it with Tumblr. I will check this great idea out and maybe I'll commit myself to finishing my jobs too. Thank you for this "Guest Post" Phyllis.
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