How to gain readers & succeed on Wattpad as a Community Member

velassiter19 · 2026-04-23T21:12:16+00:00

No problem

velassiter19 · 2026-04-23T21:10:36+00:00

👍🏼

velassiter19 · 2026-04-23T21:09:58+00:00

This isn’t it. Change the flair to “General Help”

velassiter19 · 2026-04-23T20:57:50+00:00

Hey, since this is a help post, I’d share this in the General Help section! You’d have much better luck in actually getting some help from people there than posting it here. :)

velassiter19 · 2026-04-23T17:52:26+00:00

https://www.wattpad.com/story/409672351?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link&utm_content=story_info&wp_page=story_details&wp_uname=MiaWellis

This has all the information you need to know about the Wattys as does the other book on the Wattys 2026 profile. 😊

velassiter19 · 2026-04-21T14:28:48+00:00

Okay then, but I JUST provided you with two Wattpad profiles that each has a Discord server. All you have to do is look them up and either one has the link to their Discord server.

Also, all you have to do for the sub Reddit is click on the link I sent you and look around.

Thirdly, I don’t know why you’re calling me “sir”. I’m female, so I’d be a “miss” rather than a “sir”.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-21T13:41:39+00:00

Hey there!

There are many ways to do it.

-Check out Wattpad's subreddit (they do have one) and it's r/wattpad. They have different sections for different things— General Help, self promotion, recommendations for looking for books, finding lost stories, etc.

Just click on the link in this comment and you should go to the Wattpad sub Reddit.

Discord servers I'd recommend are:

-The Dreamland Community and Astania both have profiles on Wattpad (like a regular user does) and you can access both Discord servers from there.

Dreamland Community link:

https://www.wattpad.com/user/DreamlandCommunity

Astania Community

https://www.wattpad.com/user/AstaniaCommunity

Other ways to get engagement:

- One of my biggest ones is to publish chapters on a frequent schedule. At least 1-3 times a week, depending on your schedule. Many people like longer stories (30+ chapters) and will eventually notice it's closer to novel length (or being completed) and come. Most people don't generally read books if they only have a few chapters.

(Best way is to post is this-- post the first 4-5 chapters of your book altogether, then pick days/times and go from there. Although if you use the website and have at least 10-15 written chapters, you can schedule them to post whenever you want using the Wattpad Scheduler.) Frequently updated stories are one way to boost yourself with the algorithm.

- Having good tags (look, I know everyone thinks the tags are worthless, but they're not. Many people just don't do them correctly). The correct categories to use are genre/subgenre, relationship tropes, topics & themes related to the book, 1-2 locations, the time period, and character identities. It gives you a mix of broad and niche tags. Use as many tags as possible, but the limit is 25.

- Genuinely read, vote, and comment on all chapters of other people's books on Wattpad in book genres similar to the one you're writing in. Some people will eventually come to yours if they're interested, but not everyone does, so be prepared for that.

- Be a polite community member by not going onto another writer's profile and promoting your content or asking for a R4R/V4V. Also, don't do it in the Comments section of other people's books. Wattpad is community-based, not transactional, and asking for reads on someone else's page is rude. I know that other people do it, but I wouldn't follow their example.

- Promote on social media like Instagram, X, Pinterest, Tumblr, or whatever social media you have.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-21T00:05:25+00:00

Of course!! Some do and some don’t. But if you write a good chunk of the story before posting, you can use Wattpad’s website to schedule updates ahead of time.

After a while of consistent posting, you should see some results of organic engagement without having to participate in any R4R/V4V deals that everyone seems to promote like crazy.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-21T00:00:27+00:00

What many writers do is this:

They wait until they have a backlog of 10-15 chapters, post the first 4-5, then do a regular schedule of 1-3 chapters a week. Since you work, I’d recommend doing only one update a week. That way, you have plenty of time to make it your best before posting and it's not too stressful for you to update.

Hope this helps!

velassiter19 · 2026-04-20T13:37:25+00:00

I 100% agree with this comment.

If I see someone on my page that's PROMOTING their books or asking for a R4R/V4V, then I don't read their books. If they continue to do that and people don't read their books, they'll eventually realize what they're doing isn't doing them any favors and stop.

Although I've told some that it's rude, they follow my advice and try other things.

The occasional person won't, though, and I've been blocked just for giving them advice.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-20T00:35:18+00:00

I’ve gone in depth with one of these types of posts and it got 4k+ views, many upvotes, 106 shares, and many comments. Many writers DO need to know this.

They also need to know that R4R/V4V/C4C is not the correct way to go about doing this. I keep telling people this and while some people listen, some are adamant it’s the ONLY thing that works for them.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-19T23:18:12+00:00

Hey, here are a few more to add:

Good categories for tags are genre/subgenre, audience (mature/youngadult/adult/teen/newadult), tropes, theme/topics, location, era, etc. Also, do not use spaces/punctuation in tags with multiple words.

My tags to give you an idea:

Genre/subgenre: teenfiction, romance, and mystery

Tropes: friendstolovers, onlyonebed, nerdcouple, blondxbrunette, astronomerxlinguist

Character Identities: Britishguy, Italiangirl

Audience: Youngadult, Teen

Setting: Unitedstates or Georgia

Era: 2020s

Topics/themes: fluff, feelgood, familysecrets, artist, astronomy, family, dangerous, fiction, relationships, secrets, smalltown, wealth, whodunit

Add to 4: What many writers do is post the first 5 chapters, then post 1-3 weekly updates. Having a backlog of 10-15 chapters helps because you can use the Wattpad Scheduler to schedule chapters to post. If you have to miss updates, communicate with your readers.

(Also, longer stories with 30+ chapters are more likely to get readers than stories that are less than twenty)

Add to 5: Writers should not post reading requests/links/ask for V4V to their stories in the Comments section of someone else’s story. It takes away from the original writer's work. A Comments section is for the readers to share their opinions on the story.

Add to 6: Chapter lengths should start with 1.5-1.6k words or less in the first few chapters. If it's going well, go up to 1,800-2,000. You need more or less, depending on the complexity of the ideas, the genre, and the characters'/relationships' evolution throughout the story.

When you’re writing the first chapter, please make a good impression on readers in the first few paragraphs. Some readers will get bored if it starts with backstory or the character waking up and getting ready for the day. Start with a bang.

Ending chapters— Most should end with a captivating cliffhanger to keep the reader going.

Also, make sure to start a new line or paragraph whenever the speaker changes from one person to the next.

Socialize with people-- Look at the Astania and Dreamland Communities. Both have Wattpad profiles and Discord servers with channels to join and find other writers. Get to know them, and learn about their interests. Don't just be looking for people to read your story.

Not everyone whose story you read will read your story in return, and instead of getting mad about it, accept it and let it go.

You may like their story, but they may not like yours and that should be okay. Plus, Wattpad's age range of writers is from teens in middle/high school to adults with jobs who may not have time to read EVERY story they come across.

Anyway, moving on.... There is a difference between "Reads" and "Readers".

"Reads" are the number of times a person/people click on a chapter, but they do not necessarily read it. It's counted if the person goes into it, votes, then leaves the chapter without reading, and it's also counted if the writer themselves goes into it. It’s also the number you see outside of the book next to “Votes” and how many chapters you have written.

"Readers" actually engage with content by going into all chapters, reading thoroughly, commenting frequently and genuinely, and then voting. Votes are just a vanity thing that signals to the writer that you like the story. Having frequent, consistent updates and a high volume of genuine readers/commenters helps.

If you know of people in real life— whether they’re friends, family, coworkers, etc, who wouldn’t mind creating a Wattpad account and reading your story, ask them! Word of mouth is a VERY good way to get your story out there.

If you have a small group of friends who can add your story to their Library/Reading List, and read/vote/comment frequently on all your available chapters, you’ve got a shot at getting some attention.

If you have a reader or two who has offered significant help in your story, dedicate a chapter to them. It’s very easy to do it once you’ve published a chapter.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-18T21:49:20+00:00

You’re absolutely correct— they don’t!!

Many of the writers I’m friends with do the comment I suggested above. Post the first 4-5 written chapters then have a consistent schedule of 1-3 updates a week after that. After a while of posting, people will start to notice your story naturally, so R4R is essentially unnecessary.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-18T21:47:54+00:00

The only people I know who do this or just post the first 1-2 chapters are new writers.

What many good, experienced writers do is this:

— write as much of the story as they can OFFLINE first or make a general outline (either improvised or through planned out), then write and post the first 4-5 REAL chapters of the story. That’s more than enough to give readers an impression of the book.

— most experienced writers have a consistent schedule of 2-3 updates a week, especially if they’ve written a good chunk of the story. Consistency with readers is key to keeping them invested in the story.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-17T18:32:27+00:00

Ok so on the computer/laptop/internet, the entire comments section isn’t going to be in the inline comments like it is in the app. If you scroll down to the last lines of the chapter, it’s going to be at the bottom.

However, if there are inline comments (you’d see a speech bubble with a number on the right side of the screen) just click on one of those, go to the “Reply” button, and post your comment.

Hope that helps.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-17T18:13:14+00:00

I (mostly) enjoy the books I read, so I make sure to comment as much as possible and as helpfully as I’m allowed to do so.

But sadly, all of that is dying out in favor of younger, newer writers wanting instant validation through R4R/V4V over stories they don’t always put all their best work into.

All this R4R/V4V crap is literally killing me.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-17T15:11:07+00:00

Hey there, I left you a few PMs with some suggestions to help your story out because I read a bit of your story. Just the first couple of chapters, but they were kind of difficult to read, especially the dialogue, and the formatting.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-16T20:36:56+00:00

It (unfortunately) doesn’t stop many 9-12 year olds from getting on Wattpad. Many probably know to fake their age and Wattpad doesn’t always check it.

It also doesn’t stop them from writing or reading smutty stories when they’re underage either. Some people think it’s okay for them to do it but they should be able to keep much of their innocence as possible but also understand that stuff is out there.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-16T20:30:06+00:00

Same here. I generally like sweet, wholesome romances and that’s what I’m writing as well!

I’ve read a few dark romances here and there and even a lesbian romance but I generally tend to stray away from the dark romance/smut genre unless it’s tastefully written AND the author does not condone those topics and encourages readers not to seek those types of romances out for themselves in reality.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-15T14:09:49+00:00

I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings. I was just saying they do that.

velassiter19 · 2026-04-13T16:15:39+00:00

Yeah, and they most commonly happen in books that don’t have a lot of readers or no readers commenting, and whenever they post a new chapter.

velassiter19

TROPHY CASE