Wattpad Review: Is It Worth It for Writers? (2024)

In our Wattpad review, we’ll explore what you must about this storytelling platform as a reader and as a writer.

Wattpad makes it easy for young adult and teen fiction writers to come together in the Wattpad community. Both new and experienced authors can use the Wattpad stories platform to share their work and get to know the work of others. The best users on Wattpad don’t just share their own stories. Instead, they use the story-sharing social media platform to chat with others, comment on their stories and use the experience of learning more about other authors to improve their writing.

The Wattpad community is vast, with over 94 million users as of 2022. Stories are written in over 50 languages, allowing writers worldwide to write stories and share them with others. Many users aim to eventually win a “Watty Award”–a coveted honor given to a select few users. Some Watty Award winners (like The Kissing Booth) have been made into movies, skyrocketing the authors to fame as their main characters become household names.

Here, we’ll tell you everything you need to know to decide whether Wattpad is the right platform for sharing your favorite stories and learning more about what other authors have to offer.

What is Wattpad?

Wattpad is an online platform designed for budding authors to share and read stories from others. The platform was developed in December of 2006 by founders Ivan Yuen and Allen Lau. The platform doesn’t just work to allow writers to share their stories with others–it also helps new authors hone their writing skills, one story at a time. If that’s you, check out our storytelling skills guide.

The app isn’t just for writers–it’s also geared towards readers. Shortly after the app was developed, the team at Wattpad paired with Project Gutenberg and added more than 17,000 stories to the platform’s library. As a result, Wattpad books can come from new authors and world-renowned writers, creating an exciting environment for anyone who wants to tell their story. While anyone interested in reading and writing can use the platform, most users are high school students and young adults. As a result, common genres on the platform are typically those popular with this age group, including fanfic, sci-fi, fantasy, and romance stories.

The app is widely available, and users can download the platform on iOS and Android devices. While many users have sung the app’s praises, large corporations and media conglomerates have also discussed how the app is working to further social connections and help writers tell their stories. In 2011, the Canadian Innovation Exchange named Wattpad, the hottest Canadian digital media company. Yuen was also recognized as one of the top Canadian innovators by consulting giant Deloitte.

Wattpad Pricing

The Wattpad app is free to use. However, Wattpadders can choose to upgrade to Wattpad Premium for $5.99 per month if they’d like an ad-free Wattpad experience. Users interested in Wattpad Premium also have the option to pay $60 per year, saving a few dollars compared to paying the monthly fee.

Why Should I Use Wattpad?

If you love writing or reading fiction, there’s a place for you on Wattpad. Basically, it’s a great place to discover new writing including fan-fiction and more specific genres. For writers without an audience, it’s an ideal platform for connecting with readers and getting feedback on your work. Here, we’ll take a look at four different types of Wattpad users.

1. New Writers

Diving into writing for the first time? You’ll find a welcoming community at Wattpad, full of readers excited to give you constructive feedback as you begin to make your mark in the literary world. While it can take some time to build up to the level of an Amazon bestselling author, writing on Wattpad can help you develop your craft and eventually get you noticed by literary agents and others who can help you kickstart your writing career.

2. Experienced Writers

When you’re an experienced writer, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and unsure how to spice up your new stories. Wattpad allows you to get feedback directly from readers, helping you to find your weak spots as an author and shape future stories to meet the needs of your audience. If you feel like it’s time to take your writing to the next level, getting feedback from your readers can help you decide how to improve settings, character development, plotlines, and more.

3. Fanfic Readers

As the worlds of your favorite celebrities change, it makes sense that the fanfiction you love would also change. On Wattpad, fanfic readers get the chance to watch stories evolve right as your favorite stars‘ lives grow as well. Since Wattpad allows readers to communicate with authors, feel free to request your favorite fanfic authors about stories you’d like to read in the future or celebrities you’d like them to feature next on your reading lists.

4. Sci-Fi Readers

It can be tough to find great new sci-fi books that are in line with the reading that you love, and there’s nothing worse than bringing home a new sci-fi book only to find that it’s not an excellent fit for you. With Wattpad, you’re able to browse stories until you find one that you love, and you’re able to stay on top of the author’s latest content to help you to get more of the sci-fi stories you crave.

How Does Wattpad Work?

Wattpad works like a social network for fiction writers in search of readers…. and readers in search of new fiction, long or short stories. You can sign up for the free or paid version using your Google or Facebook login. Then, you can use Wattpad to write or read fiction via the web or mobile apps.

As an author writing for Wattpad, you maintain full rights over your work. It’s protected by copyright. You can use resources on Wattpad to distribute your content and grow as a fiction writer. It’s more suited towards finding readers than selling books or making money.

The “What’s Hot” List

The Wattpad Community members can vote on stories, and the top-rated stories appear on the What’s Hot list. Appearing on the list gives users the visibility necessary to get a head start in writing. The Wattpad editorial team also features selected stories that readers may enjoy across a range of genres or niches.

The Watts Writing Awards

Wattpad holds many contests for writers, including the increasingly-popular Watty awards. Both book authors and poets compete in the awards and have the option to enter as either enthusiasts or competitors. The Watty Awards comprises genres like:

• Science-fiction
• Romance
• Young adult
• New adult
• Mystery and thrillers
• Horror
• Fanfiction
• Fantasy
• Historical fiction.

Of course, Wattpad isn’t the only platform to feature contests like this. For more, check out our guide to the best writing contests.

Publishing

Wattpad has developed a new branch called Wattpad Studios that works exclusively to connect the app’s famous authors with those in the publishing and entertainment industries. This can provide a way for new and established authors to get in touch with industry professionals who can help them take their careers to the next level. You might also be interested in our Draft2Digital review.

Areas for Improvement

One of the main criticisms of Wattpad is that it can get a little racy, especially for the younger crowd it tends to attract. So if your kiddo or teen is interested in using Wattpad, keep an eye on what they’re reading and the kind of content they’re producing. In addition, while many of the comments on Wattpad are high-level and encourage healthy growth, others are surface-level and can be frustrating to experienced writers. Therefore, Wattpad users must remember to take every comment with a grain of salt and only take to heart the comments they believe will genuinely contribute to the growth of their craft.

Wattpad also isn’t a great choice if you write non-fiction or blog posts. For that, we recommend Medium. To learn more, check out our guide how to make money on Medium

Wattpad Review Criteria

To review the Wattpad app, I tried it out as both a reader and a writer, testing the different features and seeing how users interacted with one another. As a professional writer, seeing the immediate feedback provided by users was fun. In addition, I was impressed at how fellow writers on the site gave constructive criticism on parts of my writing that I hadn’t considered before. As a reader, I also enjoyed giving constructive criticism to other writers.

Why You Can Trust Me

I’ve been a professional writer for eight years, and I know what it takes to survive in the literary world. It’s not always easy to get the feedback you need to improve, primarily when the people invested in your success are other literary professionals with their own valid opinions on creative direction. However, I know how to take and give feedback, and I was genuinely impressed with the high-level commenting within the Wattpad app.

ProWritingAid is one of our top tools for fiction writers. Find out why in this ProWritingAid review.

Are you looking for more? Check out our A-Writer.com review!