╔═══════════════╗
!! 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 !!
╚═══════════════╝

Greetings, we hope everyone has been doing well. You may need to sit down for this following announcement. It is lengthy and for some, a lot to process. If you are part of the community Discord, you may have already seen this message. Regardless, we advise you to read on as there is some more information we wish to relay.

To get it out of the way: this will not be affecting Coalition Bookclub. Operations will continue as it is. For those also on/migrating to Inkitt, there will be more information at the end.

Recently, a handful of concerns over Wattpad and publishing rights have been brought to light within the community. We want to share with you the information we have found, especially if you are looking towards traditional or self-publishing in the future.

One of the Majesties discovered her work on three sites: a mirror site (some may already be aware of this one), a blog reposting, and another site that charged users for PDF downloads. None of these sites had permission to upload her story.

We were extremely concerned upon hearing this and checked it out ourselves only to find our works on at least the mirror site as well. Wattpad mentions that they cannot do much if our work is on another site. We, as the owner of our story, are required to file for a DMCA takedown through the host site. However, these sites are quite shady and will spread malware. Wattpad also says that if the host site is in another country, it is difficult for them to have it removed as the copyright laws are different.

Some of us will take no action, some will be moving to other platforms, and some have decided to not post again, especially if interested in publishing traditionally (more info below).

Here comes the big question: how does this affect me?

╔═══════════════╗
𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐮𝐧
╚═══════════════╝

To those of us who only write for fun and do not intend to sell our work, there isn't much concern.

╔═══════════════╗
𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠
╚═══════════════╝

To those of us looking toward traditional publishing in the future, the following is extremely important to note: publishing houses want the first publishing rights. In other words, putting your story up on Wattpad or any other online writing platform will most likely end that story's chance of being published. These platforms are not official publishing venues, but uploading your work still takes away the first publishing rights.

Even if you take down your work afterward, it can never be published for "the first time" again, and because of the repost sites, your work may still be up somewhere. Traditional publishers want the first publication rights to be able to market your work as new and different; once they lose that, they don't want it. Wattpad book deals are a way around this issue, but receiving one is very rare.

If you've already published to online platforms before you realized this, then you must build a large enough fan base for your book so that publishers believe they can market your work. Either that or follow the platform's process (Wattys and others) of amassing enough reads to the point where they offer you a publishing deal with them. It is always important to understand each individual platform's contracts before committing.

Once you publish on them, you lose the Digital Rights Management (DRM) of your story as well. "The purpose of DRM is to prevent unauthorized redistribution of digital media and restrict the ways consumers can copy content they've purchased." In other words, your story's distribution is in the hands of the publisher.

Note, don't upload the final manuscript online. If you have the final version of your draft up, it would mean that a lot of people read the polished version for free and publishers get reluctant to publish those.

╔═══════════════╗
𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠
╚═══════════════╝

To those of us looking toward self-publishing in the future, you have less concern than with traditional publishing. Developing a fanbase on platforms such as Wattpad can help you sell your work, especially since one of the greatest downsides of self-publishing is that no one does your marketing for you. Plus, as you have seen with this book club, you can receive feedback and editing help.

Again, it'd be better if you don't upload the final manuscript online. If you have the final version of your draft up, it would mean that a lot of people already read the polished version for free and may be less inclined to purchase your work. And, returning to the issue of the mirror sites and PDF sites, your work is exposed to being downloaded without your knowledge or consent.

╔═══════════════╗
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐰?
╚═══════════════╝

As stated earlier, Coalition Bookclub will continue as it is. We understand if you will be taking your works down and ask only for a heads up so that we can update the roster. If you are moving to Inkitt but are still interested in a partnership, please continue reading.

╔═══════════════╗
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐭
╚═══════════════╝

A Coalition Community Inkitt Bookclub

To those interested, we'll be running an Inkitt book club exclusively on our community Discord server. If you are not already on our Discord, then kindly ping a moderator to help you get set up. Once on, simply pick up the book club role in the sorting channel and read the rules on how the writer's lift works.

The goal of our Inkitt reading club is to help boost each other's stats and provide genuine readership. Inkitt works differently from Wattpad with its likes, comments and reviews.

If you are familiar with the Book Swap program or the long term partnership with the Coalition Bookclub on Wattpad, this is like that, only slightly different.

If you need help with anything on Inkitt, ping a moderator with your question and we'll do our best to get you the answers you need.

╔═══════════════╗
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐈𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬
╚═══════════════╝

We follow each other. In the reading room update channel, there will be a list of all our current Inkitt members. Be sure, if you're interested in joining the list, to follow all members and share your Inkitt username, story link, genre and number of chapters.

We encourage members to add their partner stories to a dedicated reading list once accepted.

If you're interested in a story shared in the lift, ping the author in the reading room with a message, like this: "@Lora || WordSmith001 writer's lift?" and wait for the author to respond.

If the author accepts, the mod will pair you two up and let you know with a double ping. The duration of the lift depends on the number of chapters the story involves.

Once you both complete your lift, ping the moderator in the reading room and you'll be put back on the lift list.

We don't require inline comments on Inkitt, nor do we require constructive critiques or end of chapter comments and so on. Our only requirement is this: READ THE STORY, EXPRESS WHAT YOU FEEL, ENGAGE THE WRITER. Number of comments? Completely up to you. Just leave your thoughts.

Regardless of whether the book is finished or not, once you read the last chapter of the story you lifted, leave a review of the book. The review is everything, so be sure to point out what really stands out in the story. Encourage the writer.

Every other critique you have, share with the writer in the reading room when recording your lift completion.

Do not forget to like the story.

And that's it. Please feel free to express any questions, comments or concerns you may have. We hope to see you around!