What’s up at Wattpad? When science meets creativity...
Is it really a publishing love story? Well, I think so. Think science meeting creativity on a blind date and totally hitting it off, where opposites really do attract, leading to a marriage proposal and happily ever after in the future of publishing and technology. (Swoon!)
Before I get into the future of publishing and Wattpad — every reader or aspiring author or writer should know about this amazing forward-thinking platform — with a short, very digestible and easy-to-explain Q-and-A with Deanna McFadden, Wattpad Books’ publishing director, allow me to digress…
I’ve never been one to fight technology. I embrace it, even if it means I need to pay a 20-year-old to teach me how to create a newsletter or website (which I have done in the past, and it was the best money I’ve ever spent. Wait, you haven’t been getting calls from your parents during lockdown asking how to join a webinar or how to turn up the volume on their computer? Even the much older generation is embracing technology!)
I love my iPhone, which, at this point, is smarter than I am. It holds all my contacts, a good thing, considering I haven’t memorized a phone number since, um, 2012? The calculator comes in handy more often than I’d like to admit. At dimly lit restaurants, the flashlight comes in handy, also more times than I’d like to admit, so I can actually see what I’m ordering. At least a couple of nights a week, I find myself screaming to my kids, “I just clicked ‘Place Order!’ Dinner should be here in 25 to 35 minutes!” It tells me my steps, reminds me of meetings and helps with homework. (“Hey, Siri! What's the lifespan of a goddamn lizard?”)
I also, unapologetically, enjoy social media platforms — I’m terrified to look at my weekly average screen time on my phone — celebrating and commenting on other people’s Instagram or Facebook posts using an insane amount of fun emojis and hashtags. I even enjoy, although I'm still learning, the ins and outs of LinkedIn.
And I feel the same when it comes to reading and writing and the world of publishing. I think it’s fabulous that at least some in the world of publishing have embraced new technology, giving aspiring writers, authors, storytellers and readers a digital platform where people of all ages can read books and write their own books. Or both!
Enter Wattpad Books, an “entertainment company for original stories and a leading digital social storytelling platform, home to a community of more than 90 million people who spend billions of minutes each month engaged in original stories,” with headquarters right here in Toronto, Canada. (Trust me, it's totally addictive. I love it!)
Wattpad has truly, truly redefined writing in our digital era, creating new ways for indie authors to build global audiences and make money. Think of Wattpad as an “online writing influencer,” catapulting a new generation of authors to international fame (although I do know many published authors in older demographics, including myself, who write and read on this free platform, as well as a number of parents and their teens both writing on the platform, simultaneously, sort of as a bonding thing. How wonderful is that? There are many, many teenagers writing on Wattpad, which I find actually easier than writing in a Word doc!)
The company has reasons to celebrate: since launching in 2019, writers in Wattpad’s Paid Stories program have earned more than $1 million! Woot! Along with sponsored brand partnerships, and TV, film and book adaptations, this is just one of a growing number of paths for Wattpad writers to earn money from writing.
Most interestingly to me, and it should be for aspiring authors or writers who need to embrace technology, is Wattpad's Story DNA Machine Learning technology, which allows the company to discover “stand-out Wattpad stories” on its platform, written by millions of authors and writers, by using data-back and audience insights, leading to published book deals, films, branded TV series and podcasts. Trust me, and my gut, that this platform will play an even larger part in publishing in the future than it does now, whether that's in two months or two years. Don't blink, or you will miss out! (Seriously, if you have FOMO, there’s good news: you haven’t missed out yet.)
Speaking of the future and money, honey, just this month, Naver, South Korea’s internet conglomerate, announced it acquired Wattpad, valued at an estimated US $600 million, in a “cash and stock transaction.” (I’m so curious: Do people in trench coats walk in with black suitcases full of cash…or what?)
This will lead to many jobs for those interested in modern publishing. The company plans to add close to 100 new roles this year, so if you’re interested in forward-thinking content, marketing, engineering and other roles to help execute Wattpad’s vision to entertain and connect the world through stories, check here often!
Among Wattpad’s growing slate of hit TV and film projects is the People’s Choice Award-winning After. Writer Anna Todd began her story on Wattpad, accumulating more than one billion reads on the platform. It became an international bestseller and film franchise, with a total of six planned films in the After series.
Wattpad currently has 90 TV and film projects in development, including the upcoming Netflix original film A Través de Mi Ventana, based on Ariana Godoy’s Wattpad sensation, which has been read 176 million times. Wattpad author Blair Holden also has a story, The Bad Boy's Girl, currently being developed as a feature film.
Wattpad Books combines art and science to find the trends, genres and writers that will shape the future of publishing and a new generation of diverse authors and stories. And because I find this oh-so-fascinating, I asked Wattpad’s publishing director, Deanna McFadden, to explain in super simple language what Wattpad Books exactly IS and why it's so beneficial for writers, aspiring authors and readers.
Interview With Deanna McFadden, Publishing Director at Wattpad Books
Rebecca: In the simplest way, describe to aspiring writers, what is Wattpad exactly?
Deanna: Wattpad is a global multi-platform entertainment company for stories, proudly based in Toronto. We’re the world’s largest reading and writing platform, with more than 90 million unique monthly users and over a billion story uploads. In addition to the core app, where writers can upload their stories for their fans to read, there’s also Wattpad Studios, the division that’s focused on audience-driven entertainment. Wattpad was recently acquired by Naver, and this will allow us to super-charge our growth this year.
RE: Who exactly is Wattpad designed for? How many “Wattpadders” are currently using the platform?
Deanna: All readers and writers. Anyone who loves a good story! Today, Wattpad is the world’s most-loved social storytelling platform, where new voices write and share, and readers connect with the stories they love.
RE: How does it work exactly, for those who don’t know about Wattpad? Why should aspiring authors want to join the Wattpad community?
Deanna: It’s like any other social account, where you register, accept the terms and conditions and begin to post your stories. Most of our writers work in short, really addictive chapters to keep their fans interested. And the most wonderful element of the platform for a writer is the instant feedback and the truly supportive community. Many of our young writers have cultivated fans that are more like family and have built amazing and supportive audiences for their work.
RE: You can post your work(s) privately or publicly. What is the difference? What is the benefit if you post chapters publicly? Is there any benefit to posting privately?
Deanna: I’d say it comes down to an author’s comfort level. A lot of our writers will keep their work in “draft” until they’ve polished it after releasing a chapter or two and gaining feedback. There’s no right or wrong way to use the platform, really.
RE: Why is Wattpad so beneficial for writers? Do publishers/editors/agents/Wattpad employers sneak around, looking for talent? And how does Wattpad decide which books it will publish?
Deanna: Wattpad’s vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. Stories and storytelling are at the centre of everything we do at Wattpad, whether it’s helping writers build a global audience on our platform, creating hit Hollywood films and TV shows or bringing incredible Wattpad stories to new audiences in bookstores. We bring something completely new to publishing: an engaged global community, the most diverse group of writers on the planet and the technology to find the next big hit in any genre. That’s the benefit of being on the platform.
RE: Talk to me about the technology used on Wattpad…
Deanna: For Wattpad Books, understanding stories is a combination of art and science. We use a combination of Story DNA Machine Learning technology and our human content experts to find great stories. When we’re approaching a publishing list, we are looking at much more than just popularity: we are looking at all the data points that help us understand how audiences engage with the story, as well as the traditional elements of what makes a story great. We also take an intersectional approach to our list. We are creating a real, meaningful space for diverse voices and their stories, on bookshelves, in bookstores and in libraries.
For writers who want more information, check out Wattpad’s FAQ here. And please share this with friends who have manuscripts in their drawers, want to be published authors, and are book-lovers looking for an alternative place to find good stories!
Until next week, flip your hair and flip the page (and embrace technology!).
xo Rebecca