So I've been on Wattpad for 4 years (and 11 days). There have been ups and downs, like when I got a lot of reads, votes and comments, and they made me happy. And when there was no traffic mainly because I stopped updating due to exams. Or when everyone discovered mirror sites and websites that blatantly stole stories from Wattpad (refer to my two "Mirror Sites" chapters). Yeah.

This is going to be a list of what I'm going to do with my Wattpad account from this point on AND what I think about Wattpad.

UPDATES:

Well, I'm gonna be frank: I don't think I'm going to be uploading new stories onto Wattpad. I have many stories in the works right now (I have plans to write them), and they won't ever be on Wattpad. Why? I just don't see any future in Wattpad. Honestly. And honestly, it's not like you care anyway. I'm just saying.

The only books I'll post here are those that I've written for writing contests. So far, all my books on Wattpad are written for contests such as the Open Novella Contest (ONC) that I have been loyally taking part in since 2019. Kiss and Tell is from ONC 2019. Begin Again, Sparks Fly and Mismatched are from ONC 2020. Tears Fall Like Rain, Twist in the Wind and The World is Ours are from ONC 2022. Coral Bay is the novel version of the short story I wrote for the #PlanetOrPlastic Short Story Writing Contest that was posted in late 2018.

I intend to finish Draft 1 (for unfinished or rewritten works) or Draft 2 (for works under editing) of the stories I currently have on Wattpad and post them here. I guess it kind of gives readers an idea of what my writing is like if I ever publish my books legitimately. And since they are drafts, I don't really care if they get stolen by random websites like novelHD dot com (or whatever this link redirects to) cuz they suck. They already stole Draft 1 of Begin Again, which had a few already-edited chapters, by the way. I wish I could just leave my stories as they currently are because I'm so sick of Wattpad, but I'm too embarrassed about my old writing. I don't want any Wattpad users who chanced upon my account to see my shitty grammar from when I was 14 years old. I don't know how others do it, but I can't. I need them off Wattpad.

Anyway, yes, I'm not going to have any of my new stories on Wattpad unless I create new stories for the Open Novella Contest, for example. Because I actually participate in the ONC PROPERLY and create characters and storylines on the spot instead of grabbing one of my old plots or half-written stories and weaving a prompt to qualify.

I love my characters way too much, and I think they deserve more than Wattpad. So none of anything written on Wattpad will be "final versions" if you get what I mean. That is, if I ever publish those books, they won't be like what I posted on Wattpad. Even though my books largely have no grammatical errors after editing, yeah, that's not my best. I know that.

MORE REASONS, mainly Wattpad

If I'm going to be super honest, I'm losing faith in Wattpad. Over the years, Wattpad just seems to have become a greedy money-grubbing beast. I heard WattCon used to be free in 2016, but now you have to pay for it. And Wattpad now has Paid Stories, which absolutely sucks. I mean, good for authors to be able to earn money, but there's always proper publishing, be it traditional or independent.

I would rather spend money on books in the form of paperback, hardcover, EPUB or Kindle than those on a WEBSITE. A website that might not even last forever. When Wattpad shuts down, everything is gone. And your money? Also gone.

Anyway, it's not as if Wattpad has a very good reputation outside of Wattpad. Among the writing world and even outside of it, people think this website is full of mediocre stories. If you say you're a writer on Wattpad, people instantly link all sorts of Wattpad stereotypes to you, such as that you write fan fiction, which I don't. And I think fanfic of real people is creepy, so I would hate to have that kind of stereotype stuck to me and my books.

I don't want to be just a Wattpad author. I want to be an author.

If you have a properly written story, chances are you are not going to get the attention you deserve. Wattpad readers have shitty taste, to put it bluntly. 98% of the books on Wattpad have shitty plots, shitty grammar or just shitty in general. They're mostly full of cringe or smut. AND THEY GET SO MANY READS. So it's kind of clear what the average teenage Wattpad reader likes...

Shit.

And I'm saying that as a teenager who uses Wattpad and reads a little.

Additionally, Wattpad is too focused on promoting Paid Stories to care about good books that don't have the help of the algorithm. Oh, and the algorithm LOVES romance and fan fiction, preferably if the romance is between some alpha male or bad boy and some random girl. If it's fanfic, even BETTER. So many people will read it, especially if it's BTS or 1D fanfic. Even if it's creepy as hell.

So yeah, I'm done caring about Wattpad, and I should've stopped caring a long time ago.

Wattpad's reputation is one thing. I don't trust their Wattpad Books programme, and I certainly do not want to be Wattpad's cash cow. I honestly also don't see how successful Wattpad Books can possibly be when I don't even see Wattpad-published books in local bookstores. Not even After. It kind of feels like they're promoting their Paid Stories on the platform more, to be honest. But hey, maybe it works in the US or something, and you actually see Wattpad books there. But I don't care. I'm not American.

TV/FILM ADAPTATIONS?

I also find this whole adaptation thing kind of dumb. Basically, if you're a white author, you get to have American film or TV adaptation rights. But if you're an Asian author, you get to have meWATCH adaptation rights. What? Look, meWATCH is from Singapore, and I'm from Singapore. I do watch local dramas. BUT I KNOW that meWATCH is definitely not widely used or known AT ALL. At least not as much as whatever streaming platforms the US has.

Slow Dancing, Singaporean author, meWATCH.
The Girl He Never Noticed, Filipino author, meWATCH.
The Cutting Edge, Singaporean author, meWATCH.

HEY???? THOSE STORIES HAVE WHITE CHARACTERS (the third one has Korean characters), BUT YOU GIVE THEM AN ASIAN ADAPTATION BECAUSE THE AUTHORS ARE ASIAN???? Don't tell me it's a coincidence. I'm a Singaporean. And I know giving myself a live adaptation through Singapore's entertainment industry is shortchanging myself. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA how strict our media censorship is? DO YOU??? It's the reason why Singaporeans lost interest in local television. There are so many rules to follow that the kind of stories the TV station can put out is limited. You wanna see LGBTQ+ characters? Dream on.

Well, sure, I guess they do exist.

R21.

I mean, okay, sure, I understand why Singaporean authors have meWATCH. DEAREST NEILANI ALEJANDRINO (@sweetdreamer33) IS FILIPINO, and Eros Petrakis and Jade Collins are WHITE. Do you know what they are in the adaptation? I don't know what they are in the adaptation. They speak English, Eros turned Filipino and Jade turned Chinese, yet their names remain as Eros Petrakis and Jade Collins. Or Jade Aquino Ong, whatever that is because I have no idea why they gave her a Filipino and Chinese surname. Anyway, Petrakis is a Greek surname. I don't even know where the series is set, but I shall assume it's the Philippines because Filipino author?? But the characters were meant to be white?? However, I read the comments on YouTube, and they said the series was good, so go check it out!

Anyway, whatever it is, it's SO OBVIOUS the market for meWATCH is a lot smaller.

And I'm damn sure most, if not all, of the Hollywood film/TV adaptations have non-Asian authors. Let's see...

After, white American author, Aviron Pictures (film)
Cupid's Match, white British author, CW Seed (TV)
The Kissing Booth, white British author, Netflix (film)
Light as a Feather, white American author, Hulu (TV)

Turn On was written in Bahasa Indonesia, hence it was adapted in Indonesian. The same goes for Through My Window but in Spanish. So they're not involved in this argument. I'm talking about ENGLISH adaptations. Like I honestly don't understand how they decide who goes to Wattpad Studios and who goes to meWATCH. Like I get that Wattpad partners with different streaking platforms and everyone needs to have a fair share. But??

Like I'm not even sure which book was adapted thanks to Wattpad and which ones were simply listed as film/TV series adapted from Wattpad books because the books were originally from Wattpad. But clearly, I don't see Asian authors' books adapted in American media.

Look, Slow Dancing, The Girl He Never Noticed and The Cutting Edge don't even have a Wikipedia page. After, The Kissing Booth and Light as a Feather do.

AND LOOK, I don't see meWATCH adaptations going on lists of FILMS AND TV SERIES THAT STARTED OUT AS WATTPAD BOOKS, so don't shit with me. It's clear that there's not enough advertisement for these books. It's not meWATCH's fault. I KNOW THEY TRIED. And meWATCH is not that small either because many people use it. We also have talents who create good films and TV series.

NOT THAT it matters.

It remains a fact that Wattpad doesn't advertise its adaptations very well. They just put a half-ass banner on the main page for a few weeks and THE END. Maybe they'll make an Instagram story about it. Maybe they'll make a post. But they post a lot, so these posts get buried in the clutter anyway.

SO WHAT NOW?

I'll still be around to interact, and I think I'm really going to start going all out to socialise with fellow teens before I stop being a teen and officially graduate to becoming a creep (because apparently, anyone over 19 is creepy if they talk to teens).

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Love you guys, and thanks for being here.

THIS IS NOT GOODBYE.

I'm still on Wattpad. I'm just not going to publish any of my final drafts here. There really isn't a point. Wattpad books are very likely to be stolen. And as I said, one of my books already has been stolen. So...

See you around! :)