Wattpad: A GenZ way of storytelling

Wattpad exposes new authors to a global audience, an aspect that traditional publishing houses lack

With sky-rocketing publishing costs and incessant waiting periods holding authors behind, Wattpad, a social storytelling platform, builds an anonymous and prompt community for the blooming authors of today.

What initially started as an idea for virtual reading and interactive narratives by Allen Lau & Ivan Yuen in Toronto, has today branched out to develop a space for writers worldwide, including India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and more. India alone amounts to the second-largest traffic on the platform (around 12.3 per cent), with most of its audiences averaging between the ages of 13 and 34, as per a study. Most teenagers and young adults prefer penning their fantasies and creative imaginations down to story with a vibrant community of honest readers.

Aanchal Budhiraja, Subalakshmi Murugesan, Shubhodiya Ghosh and Kulpreet Yadav

What could be setting Wattpad apart is its honest and immediate feedback from the readers, building a wonderful stepping stone for the emerging authors of today. "As a person who has used Wattpad for almost a decade, I believe that it acts as a wonderful starting point for the authors, as the feedback received is often genuine. It has helped me understand the preferences of my readers and accordingly, plummet down my imagination," said Pooja Amritkar, a Wattpad writer and a part of the platform's creator programme. The Wattpad Creators programme helps writers expand their audiences through their ticketing system, creator workshop opportunities, and a Wattpad creators Discord. "Wattpad's Creator, which was initially a Stars programme, helped me grow my audiences' reach within a month. I also believe that nowadays, the reach of Indian stories is gradually gaining popularity, providing them with the opportunity of monetising their stories under Wattpad originals," said Geetika Tokhi, author of Wattpad paid story, Nick's Trouble.

Wattpad has changed the face of publishing by providing authors with the monetary benefits that they deserve. "Young authors switch to Wattpad because the financial opportunities that the traditional publishing houses offer them are quite less, as compared to the deals that they seek in the US or UK," said Aanchal Budhiraja, an author of Baking with Boys, a Wattpad original with more than seven million reads and a screenwriter. "The authors are further discouraged when they need to pay the publishing houses and not seek more or equitable amounts in return." From the beginning, it exposes the new authors to a global audience, a point that is lacking with the traditional publishing houses. "Wattpad has a feature that provides the authors with their performance statistics, displaying the percentage of the people who have read their books, including their demographics like their age and gender, helping them get a better hold on their books," said Shubhodiya Ghosh, author of the Wattpad award-winning book, Dil Jaanta Hai. The platform also allows its writers to earn royalties for their stories by providing them with the feature of "paid stories" where the readers have to pay some amount to read their books.

Wattpad is not just carving its name among the young writers of India but also with the producers of today. "As producers, we always look for good stories that we can stumble upon on any platform. If I'm given a chance to invest in a Wattpad story and make that into a film, I definitely will," said Kulpreet Yadav, author of the bestseller, the Battle of Rezang La and a judge for the Wattpad India Awards 2019. He further adds, "As an experienced writer, I would prefer the traditional media houses, but if I was introduced to this platform as an emerging/ debut writer, I would certainly explore it."

Despite being an enriching platform for its readers and authors, it also has its drawbacks. Especially for those who map their stories according to the Indian culture and characters, as opposed to the opportunities sought by stories with international backgrounds. An instance of this disparity is the invitation-only creators program run by this platform which brings in different opportunities for their writers, including a chance to pitch them for a Wattpad Original. "Generally, the authors chosen for this program are of stories revolving around a global appeal rather than those with Indian backgrounds," adds Ghosh. Further talking about it's adaptations she adds, "As the production houses of this platform are based in Toronto, they don't have the required information to understand the Indian fiction and stories, leading to the prioritisation of stories with their Western backgrounds."

Most publishers and authors believe that Wattpad can act as the foundation but not as the primary source for an author's journey. "Wattpad played a huge role in my life as a writer but I believe, it cannot act as a long-term source due to its monetary and story limitations. Wattpad is a great start for the writers, and should not be approached to make money but rather hone your skills as a writer," said Subalakshmi Murugesan, author of Under the Mango Tree, a Wattpad India 2021 award winner, and a former Content Assessment Intern for Wattpad.

Despite the technological advancements in the publishing industry, the traditional reading experience continues to have its flair on some readers and publishers of today. Speaking about the essence of these paperbacks and the apparent end of traditional publishing and reading culture, bestseller Kalki's author and publisher, Kevin Missal says, "Although we have platforms like Kindle or Wattpad, Indian readers still prefer books that resonate with their fundamentals of paperbacks and culture. This artform of writing and publishing paperbacks has existed since the invention of the printing press, overcoming multiple obstacles like the invention of radio, TV, and the Internet. I believe if Wattpad caters to the preferences of the Indian readers and markets its books accordingly, then this platform would surely mark its name in the future."