Wattpad App Social storytelling platform to read and write original stories

There are paid options available and the price varies to different regions.

Wattpad is a literal boon for writers as well as readers. An internet community, it publishes user-generated stories in all sorts of genres, right from general fiction to humour. Mostly, people on the app usually write fan-fictions. It is an ever-growing community, and it is actually a fact. Once you open the app, the home page shows the recommended reads as well as ‘stories you might like’. The search icon will let you search with the help of either the book’s name, the author’s name or even hashtags the author must have used. Open up any story you like and start reading. You can add them in your library, which you can then access even when offline. The library tab shows all of your books; they will be there unless you remove them from there.

The notifications panel show what everyone is updating or publishing, but only those who you follow. Your bio page shows your followers and following, and you can write a good bio to attract more followers. There is also an option to make reading lists, which can either be public or private – as you like it. These reading lists can be shared and seen by other people, which brings the community together. You can also drop messages, share stories to each other through the chat section.

The app is simple enough to navigate through and is loved by everyone, especially the beginner writers, as it gives a safe platform to unleash their creativity, globally. There are many incidents where the books written on Wattpad have been published around the world due to their huge popularity among the Wattpadders. Wattpad recently changed its tagline from ‘Stories you’ll love’ to ‘Where stories live’, and there can be no other apt description than this.

The fact that it lets you read books for free is a real benefit because not many apps/websites offer that. It also has started an option of letting the authors pay, by making the readers watch ads that range from 30 seconds to 60. The UI is clean and precise, while the hashtags can help you make sure you can find a book as soon as possible. The awards that Wattpad hosts is one good thing, as it gives the recognition to the books written by amateur authors, spreading motivation to the winners and others alike. 

Wattpad does offer a lot of books in different genres; however, almost all of the stories end up either being romantic stories or erotic ones and not everyone loves to read this stuff. It is, as a result, not exactly suitable for children. Most of the books, unfortunately, have cliched content; one will have to find something interesting while reading. While the payment option is amazing for writers, it is not so for the readers. Many of them are actually complaining about this for a while now, including me.