Benjamin Sobieck - The Writers Guide to Wattpad: The Comprehensive Guide to Building and Sustaining a Successful Career

WritersDigest. com
Cincinnati, Ohio

1. WHY WATTPAD WORKS
(Benjamin Sobieck, @BenSobieck)

2. HOW WATTPAD WORKS
(Kevin Fanning, @kfxinfinity)

3. THE WRITING PROCESS AND WATTPAD
(Neilani Alejandrino, @sweetdreamer33)

4. PREPARING YOUR WRITING FOR WATTPAD
(H.J. Nelson, @hjnelson)

5. DESIGN A GREAT WATTPAD COVER FOR LESS THAN THE PRICE OF LUNCH
(Jakayla Toney, @Ms_Horrendous)

6. CREATING USERNAMES AND CRAFTING A WATTPAD IDENTITY
(Katie Hart, @Lilohorse)

7. TAKING THE LEAP: PUBLISHING YOUR STORY
(M.C. Roman, @MCRomances)

8. WHEN AND WHY TO CHANGE A STORY
(Jordan Lynde, @XxSkater2Girl16xX)

9. INTERACTING WITH READERS: YOUR OTHER JOB AS A WRITER
(Lauren Palphreyman, @LEPalphreyman)

10. TURBOCHARGE STORYTELLING WITH MULTIMEDIA
(Jenny Rosen, @jr0127)

11. 10 SECRETS TO GETTING READS, VOTES, AND COMMENTS
(Debra Goelz, @BrittanieCharmintine)

12. PLUG INTO OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO MAXIMIZE WATTPAD
(Rachel Meinke, @knightsrachel)

13. NETWORK WITH OTHER WATTPAD WRITERS TO BUILD COMMUNITIES
(Kelly Anne Blount, @KellyAnneBlount)

14. WRITING OUTSIDE OF ENGLISH
(Ariana Godoy, @cold_lady19)

15. FANFICTION: WATTPADS WILD FRONTIER
(Noelle N., @hepburnettes)

16. DEFINE SUCCESS, OR ITLL DEFINE YOU
(Benjamin Sobieck, @BenSobieck)

17. USING WATTPAD TO LEVERAGE SUCCESS IN TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING
(Sara Sargent)

18. SELLING BOOKS AVAILABLE OUTSIDE OF WATTPAD
(A.V. Geiger, @adam_and_jane)

19. WATTPAD AS A TOOL FOR ADVOCACY
(Tahlie Purvis, @TahliePurvis)

20. THE WATTPAD STARS PROGRAM
(Tim Johnson, @Tim)

21. FROM WATTPAD TO HOLLYWOOD
(Tim Johnson, @Tim)

22. WIN OR LOSE, CONTESTS OFFER BIG OPPORTUNITIES
(Amber K Bryant, @amberkbryant)

23. WRITING FOR WATTPAD CAMPAIGNS
(Darly Jamison, @Monrosey)

24. THE WATTYS: ONE AWARD TO RULE THEM ALL
(Kara Barbieri, @Pandean)

25. WATTPAD LABS: REDEFINING STORYTELLING WITH TAP BY WATTPAD
(Jo Watson, @JoWatson_101)

26. WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WATTPAD WRITERS
(Benjamin Sobieck, @BenSobieck)

For Jane

By Anna Todd

___________

On Wattpad: @imaginator1D

Write a story that you believe in.

Youve picked this book up for a reason. You want to be a writer, or you want to find a way to publish your work. First, congratulations on having the courage to take a step toward your dream! For some perspective about where this journey can lead you, let me tell you about my Wattpad experience.

Just four years ago, I was an Army wife sitting at Ft. Hood, Texas, going to community college (barely, I just wanted to feel like I was moving toward becoming an adult), and I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living. Writing for a living was a dream of mine, but it seemed so unrealistic. I didnt know anyone who had a book published, and I didnt even have a college degree. I used to think that mattered when it came to being a writer. Now I know that all it takes to be a writer, is to write. Thats it. Dont let anyone tell you differently.

In January 2013, I created my Wattpad profile, @imaginator1D, for the sole purpose of reading fanfiction, specifically One Direction fanfiction. I consumed hundreds of thousands of words before I felt the itch to write. I felt like I had read every story that I wanted to read on Wattpad, and I thought I should write a chapter myself.

What did I have to lose? I had zero followers, no Twitter account, and only a One Direction fan account on Instagram. It didnt matter what anyone would think, because no one would read it. Or so I thought.

So I wrote a chapter, right at that moment. Just like that. I didnt have a title yet, a cover, any idea where the story would lead me, or if I would ever even finish it. But something happened when I posted that first 800-word chapter. I felt such a rush. Ideas and thoughts about my characters and the world I was building popped into my head, consuming every inch of my brain. Until I wrote the next chapter, and the next. I couldnt stop.

I was completely addicted to the rush and the relief I felt while writing. No one was reading my words, but I didnt care. I almost didnt want anyone to because I thought for sure they werent great. I even remember seeing one read, then two, then three on the counter on my story, and realizing they were all from me refreshing my page.

I wish I could tell you what the heck happened between then and when people started finding my story, but to this day I have no idea what the universe did. All I know is that I slowly started getting readers. By the time I had twenty or so chapters up, my Wattpad notifications were blowing up. I was getting incredible feedback and encouragement to update. I realized there was this little group of people who were just as addicted to reading my story as I was to writing it.

That little group exploded into a million reads by July 2013, and my life had already changed. I posted a chapter a day, until chapter one hundred and one wouldnt post. I panicked and wrote a ticket to Wattpads tech support. They told me each book could have only one hundred chapters.

So I started my second book. The comments kept growing, my read count was skyrocketing, and I just kept writing, writing, writing. I couldnt do anything else. I was too happy and too curious to see what was going to unravel in my book, just like my readers were.

As my stories, now called After and After 2, grew and grew, Wattpad itself contacted me. I still remember where I was sitting when I read that e-mail. I told my husband that I thought it was someone messing with me, but I decided to write back anyway. They said they wanted to talk to me about what we could do together.

I thought they were crazy. I was an inexperienced One Direction fan writing a love story about a brooding, tattooed version of Harry Styles falling in love with a know-it-all innocent girl. Yes, my story was online, but that didnt mean anyone would actually want to publish it. Or so I thought.

My life became a whirlwind. Wattpad helped me sell my film rights to a major Hollywood studio. Then I went to New York City, accompanied by Wattpad, visiting major publishing houses, listening to editors tell me why I should choose them to publish my novel. It was insane and surreal and felt like a dream.

I decided to publish the After series with an editor who was perfect for me at Simon & Schuster. Fast-forward a year, and Im traveling all over the world, signing my best-selling novels. Since then, my husband was able to get out of the Army, Ive sold millions and millions of copies, and Ive written paid stories for major companies like AT&T and Paramount Pictures.

Its all because I posted that first chapter on Wattpad.

I get asked the same question over and over. How do you become successful on Wattpad? I cant tell you how everything that has happened, happened. However, I can tell you what Ive done and what I have learned along the way.