So a question I used to ask myself, and a question that I get from new writers is "how do I get reads?" This chapter will not just answer that, but will also teach you how to KEEP your readers. There isn't a point in gaining an audience, if there is no retention. You don't just want readers, you want loyal ones.

This chapter is full of tips that I hope will help you, but a bit of caution. These tips won't work to its full extent unless you've got an amazing book. That is the basis of getting reads — a spectacular and unique story with multidimensional characters who are worth rooting for. If you don't have that, then you can ignore this chapter and concentrate on making your book absolutely wonderful. Once you've deemed your story nothing less than great, then you can come back to this chapter.

✖ READ AND INTERACT.

If you're a new writer, the best way to get readers is to read yourself! Don't just pickup any story. Check out books from the fandom you're writing in and INTERACT with the books. Always vote for each chapter and comment. Your comments can be simple, like a "omg, he's so dumb," to a deep analyzation of the text.

When you vote and comment, you interact with the story. Not only will the author notice and possibly check out your profile, but other readers will also see your comments and interact with you too. Whenever I notice a person consistently voting and commenting on my books, I ALWAYS check out their profile. I've found amazing stories because of this. Whatever you do however, DO NOT spam the comment section with comments like "check out my book."

You can't expect people to check out your books, if you don't check out other books too. So as you prep your own story, read others within your fandom.

✖ COMPLETE YOUR STORY.

One of the best ways to gain readers is something even Wattpad ambassadors recommend, and that's to finish your story! And I know finishing up a book can be hard when you're not getting reads, but the more consistent you are with positing, the more likely your book will ride the Wattpad algorithm. The Wattpad algorithm isn't the same as Instagram or YouTube; it's essentially how you place within categories and the hot list.

People want to read completed stories, or stories that are on track to being completed. Why? Because people want to see the ending. Unless you fall asleep or find it boring, more than likely, you're not going to get up in the middle of a movie and never finish it. Whether it's a sad ending, or a happy one, readers want to find out what happens at the end.

I'm definitely going to have a future chapter on how to finish your story, but as a quick synopsis, the best advice I can give you on completing a story, is to pre-write chapters before posting. Before you even hit publish on the character list, write at least half of the book. Let's say you write 25 chapters first, and you plan on publishing once a week, you have 25 weeks to write the other half of the book. Even if you publish twice a week, you still have about 12 weeks to continue writing. When you write first without publishing, there's less pressure because no one is waiting for the next chapter. 

With my fanfiction "Drunk Words, Sober thoughts," I actually didn't start pre-writing till I got to about chapter 15ish? The story was planned out, but if I could go back, I would definitely have written at least half the story before posting anything. Also, by finishing several chapters beforehand (or finishing the entire book), it allows you to go back in and re-write or fix things that may not make sense. Maybe there's a loose end that doesn't have a conclusion? You can go back in and fix it before that chapter is even posted.

✖ MAKE FRIENDS.

An easy way to gain readers is to make Wattpad friends. Support other small writers by checking out their work without asking anything in return. Interact with other people in the comment section of your favorite book. I definitely go through comments of my books and I love when friendships are created. Whether they are laughing about a funny comment, or discussing their crushes, I feel so happy when people make Wattpad friends because they met in the comment section of my book.

So make Wattpad friends. If you "meet" in the comments of your favorite book, you already have something in common — that book from that fandom. Making friends who read your book means you'll have loyal readers who will check out every chapter, vote, and comment too. They will probably recommend your story to others as well.

Another reason why making Wattpad friends is important, is the editing aspect. It's always a good idea to get a 2nd opinion when you're editing your chapters. Have someone you trust read through it and look out for any spelling or grammatical errors. When you're looking at the same text over and over again, you might accidentally miss something. It takes another eye sometimes.

I've already mentioned the Wattpad algorithm, and when you have friends who vote and comment each time you post a chapter, it works out the best for you and your story. Wattpad's system will see that your book is gaining lots of hits in a short span of time and will rank you higher. My fanfiction "Drunk Words, Sober Thoughts" despite having 6M reads, hasn't been updated in years (aside from announcements) because the story is completed. It's ranked a little lower in the algorithm in comparison to a newer story that's still updating.

✖ ASK OTHERS NICELY.

Nothing is more annoying than being asked to check out someone's book when that person hasn't even checked out mine. It's totally okay to ask other authors to read your story, but make sure you read their work first. Whenever you ask, whether that's on a message board or in the DM's, be nice about it. You don't have to kiss ass, but you do have to be genuine. If you actually read their book, and thoroughly enjoyed it, then this should be a piece of cake!

          ↳ NO-NO: Read my story, I think you'll like it. Kthanks. PS, I read you story.

          ↳ YES: Hi, I just wanted to let you know that I loved reading your book. It made me feel so many emotions. I related to the heroine because she comes from a strict Asian household and I do too. Every time her mom wouldn't let her go to the mall, I felt her pain. Your writing style is awesome and I hope you become published one day. I don't know if you're looking for a new book to read, but if you are, I would love it if you checked out mine? If you don't have the time, or if it's something you're not into, no worries. But I would really appreciate it. My book is called "Slapshot" and it follows a physics-loving, Filipino teen who switches schools after witnessing her twin brother get murdered. If that's up your alley, then I would love to know what you think. Thank you!

Again, be genuine. Let the author know what you liked about their story. Be specific. Then, when you ask, don't just throw it out there. Give a one-sentence synopsis of the story or let the author know why you're proud of it. Then assure them that there's no pressure in checking out your book. Just because you read their story, doesn't mean they are obliged to reading yours.

Now, when it comes to asking other readers (who are not authors) to check out your story, you need to approach it similarly. BE NICE and BE GENUINE. As you read and interact with one of your favorite stories, take notice of who else is commenting. Visit their profile and shoot them a nice DM or message. Again, DO NOT just blatantly ask or send a link to your story with no context.

          ↳ NO-NO: Please read my story. I worked hard on it.

          ↳ YES: Hello! I noticed you in the comments of the book "Run Baby Run" and I wanted to reach out and tell you about my story. It might be something you'll like because it's also a punk Calum Hood story. My protagonist is a strong, independent, but also relatable Indian teen who moves to a predominately caucasian city. My story deals with the trials of growing up in a traditional Punjabi home, racism, and fighting for what you believe in. I'm really proud of it and am hoping to gain new readers. No pressure though — if that's not something you're into, then it's all good! I hope you have a good day!!

And that my friends, is how you market yourself and your story to other people on Wattpad. Always be nice, always be genuine, and never pressure someone to read your book. Don't spam the comment section and always give context when pitching your story. Tell them why it's a book worth reading and why it's something they might enjoy. When you do this, there's a good chance that person will check out your story.

✖ ENTER COMPETITIONS .

Search fanfiction writing competitions and enter them. Don't just shoot for The Wattys or The Fanfiction Awards, enter other fan-made competitions. There are a ton on Wattpad. Enter all of them if you meet the requirements. Not only will judges read your story, but it's likely that other competitors will check out your story too.

Entering competitions will also allow you to earn a shiny new sticker or badge for your book cover. As mentioned in the previous chapter, badges are a sign of certification. It shows potential readers that your book is "legit." A potential reader might see a badge on your book cover and be inclined to check it out because of how official your story is.

I suggest following some of the Wattpad Official accounts such as Romance, Fanfic, FreeThePOC, and more. These accounts will often post writing contests (usually every month) that you can enter. They do often give you a prompt or a theme, but if you write something amazing, that entry could win. Most of the time you can't enter an already written book, as they encourage you to write something new, but winning these mini writing contests gives your username more "clout" or popularity. Fellow Wattpadders may check out winners lists to find a new book to read, which means they'll go onto your profile and see what you have to offer.

Further, entering these contests (whether you win or not), gives you tons of writing practice. They are great exercises to get your creatives juices flowing and allow you to continue developing your skills. I've won a writing contest a few years ago for my short "La Noche De Brujas," but also lost another contest when I entered my one-shot "Crusade." Even though I lost the second competition, I still learned some new writing techniques and perfected my research methods because it's a military story and I needed to learn specialized jargon and more.

Besides entering competitions, you can also become a judge of one. Becoming a judge will allow you to read books and find amazing stories that you can learn from. Other books might not be your cup of tea, but that's also a learning process. There are tons of benefits to becoming a judge for story competitions, including being part of the Wattpad community.

✖ STORY REVIEWS.

Once you've gotten your story published up to a certain point (anywhere from 10 chapters onward), get your book reviewed. There are tons of review profiles on Wattpad willing to read and review your story. Of course, there is a small risk to this. If your story was reviewed negatively — and not in a mean way, just that it could use some major work, it might also deter potential readers. But a lot of these review books also give out constructive criticism and always tell you why they were fond of the book. Whether it's the grammar, characterization, or whatever, you might learn helpful tips to improve.

However, if your book is met with raving reviews, others will see it and potentially pick up your story too. Besides getting your stories reviewed, you can do the opposite — review stories. Many times, review books will hold an open casting for reviewers. This is a great way to not only find hidden gems, but those authors of books you've reviewed will most likely check out your profile. This is just another good way to get your stories exposed by many different Wattpadders.

I myself have a book of reviews that I tackle from time to time. This isn't a book where people can apply to have their books reviewed by me, this is just a collection of my favorite stories where I share which Wattpad books I truly love. I take a lot of time into writing a review for my favorite books a nod to the author. This is something you can consider if you have the time.

✖ STRATEGIC HASHTAGS.

USE HASHTAGS and use as many as Wattpad will let you. Wattpad allows you to use 25 different hashtags, which means you should be using 25 different hashtags. Hashtags allow your story to be searchable, which is incredibly important. When people look for a story to read on Wattpad, they are most likely using the search engine. So if you've written a really awesome Shawn Mendes fanfic, make sure you hashtag #shawnmendes. However, that's not all you should be hash tagging.

Think about your story and what it entails. Is it a #comedy or a #thriller? Does it deal with #mentalhealth or #austism? Is the main protagonist #colombian it's and an #lgbtq story? Is this a #punkshawnmendes fanfiction that takes place in the #90s?

These are the hashtags in one of my stories. I used up all the entire allotment of hashtags allowed because I wanted a better chance of my story being found. Use hashtags to your advantage, but make sure your hashtags aren't all "popular" ones. Meaning, when you search the hashtag #HarryStyles there are 1.61K stories. However, when you search #PunkHarryStyles, there are only 173 stories. Be strategic with how you hashtag, especially because you can search for multiple hashtags in the Wattpad search engine. When I search for #CalumHood and #Interracial, I'm met with a ton of stories specific to my search — books with Calum Hood that involve an interracial couple.

✖ BECOME A FEATURED STORY.

Wattpad offers this cool thing called the "Featured List." Essentially, every Wattpad category has a special list of featured stories. Getting your book featured will dramatically increase your readers by several thousand. It's INSANE how getting on the featured list will help your story so much. Not only will your story be featured on your story's specific category profile, but will wind up being on the front page of Wattpad too. This is how my story, "Dunk Words, Sober Thoughts" gained its popularity. Getting on the Featured List however, isn't easy. I've only been featured once (officially in 2015), and have been trying to get my other works featured ever since.

The main way you can get featured, is to write an extraordinary tale. And the second way? You have to complete that incredible story. So for me, the way my story became featured, was just me writing the best story I could write. It was noticed by a Wattpad Ambassador named Samantha who is in charge of up keeping the Fanfiction category. She hit me up in October of 2014.

Then in December of 2014, "Drunk Words, Sober Thoughts" was on the featured list for a quick Holiday run as a thank you from Wattpad. This boosted my reads SO MUCH!! I had only released Drunk Words summer of 2014, and by January of 2015 (only a month of being featured), my story hit over 200K reads.

I kept in contact with Samantha about the progress of my book. This was important because I wanted my story to be featured once again after my short holiday stint. I wanted to assure her that my story would indeed be completed.

In the summer of 2015, "Drunk Words, Sober Thoughts" was officially completed and my officially feature date was set. Your book won't be featured permanently to allow other books a chance, and I believe that Wattpad Features books for two weeks. I don't believe my story was featured for only two weeks though. Either it was a glitch or things have changed since 2015, but my book was definitely on the featured list for almost a year. I think I had about 1000 reads when my story was chosen to be featured. The Holiday feature happened in December of 2014 and by June 2015 when I completed my story, I reached 650K reads. Then when my story was complete, I had a bigger featured period, so a few months later in November, DWST hit 2 million reads!

INSANE, right?

To become featured, a Wattpad ambassador could notice your story and message you directly like me, or you can add the hashtag #Featured and apply through Wattpad. The link is wattpad.com/writers/opportunities/picks. It's no guarantee that if you apply, you'll become featured, but it definitely doesn't hurt to try!

While I don't have an exact recipe on how your story can become a featured book, the best thing I can say is to write something amazing. You've gotta create a tale so wonderful, driven by characters worth rooting for, that it catches the attention of a Wattpad ambassador. Update regularly, and most importantly, you have to finish the story. Featured stories are always completed works of art, so you gotta finish it.

✖ INTERACT WITH YOUR READERS.

As you gain traction, and you start to receive more reads and comments, be sure you reply. When your story is new and is still building up, you should reply as much as you can. Acknowledge the people who read your books and interact with them too. This is important as it creates a connection to your readers. Thank them for taking the time to check out your book and leaving comments.

Whether you comment back within the comment section, write on their message board, or send them a private message, take the time to reply. Pay attention to your PM's in addition to your message board because many Wattpad users will send you a message using those apparatuses.

If you choose to add an author's note at the end of your chapter, ask your readers a question. It could be anything. Where they're reading from; if they are enjoying their holidays. Maybe you're writing a Blackpink fanfiction. Ask everyone what their favorite Blackpink music video is. Start a conversation. Not only will the readers interact amongst themselves, but that's your chance to be personable as an author and reply too.

I understand if you're busy with school and/or work, and therefore don't have much time to sit and reply to everything. That's totally okay. The least you can do is acknowledge everyone in an authors note. Explain that you're busy with school and can't get back to everyone. Be sure you thank them for all the support. 

✖ CHAPTER DEDICATIONS.

This is a great way to keep your readers loyal. Start dedicating chapters to different readers. Is there someone who ALWAYS votes and gives you meaningful comments? Someone who doesn't just leave a "haha" or "cool chapter," but a person who takes the time to leave constructive criticism and heartfelt messages? Dedicate the chapter to them! Start the chapter with a quick author's note that you are dedicating the chapter to this special person for their amazing commentary. Then let everyone else know that you will continue to do dedications for great readers.

By doing this, there is more incentive for your audience members to keep reading, keep voting, and keep commenting. This is great for the Wattpad algorithm and will also allow potential readers to pick up your book because they will see that it's gaining votes & major traction.

All in all, getting readers takes patience. Wattpad authors don't get millions of reads over night. The most important thing you can take away from this chapter, this entire book in general, is to take your time writing something truly amazing. Don't worry about reads or getting awards right away. Do what you can to be a great author; do what you can to write a great story. Then, when you feel you've got a book worth reading, with characters an audience will stand with, then should you work on gaining an audience.

Good luck!