Submitted by CatMint5

Hi, everyone! My name is Dilyana, but I'm known around here as CatMint5. I've been on wattpad for a little over four years, recently finished my ambassador training along with the rest of the Wanatics and these days I spend my time mostly writing and organizing contests.

But how did it all start?

My wattpad journey actually started about five years ago. I was looking for something to read and I don't remember what search terms I typed in Google, but I somehow ended up on wattpad.

And I read, and read, and read.

The stories around here were addicting. Well, obviously not all of them, but those that got me hooked, hooked me hard.

They inspired me.

That is why months later, on December 31, 2012, I created an account and began uploading my first wattpad story - The Green Girl.  Even with the lame title (I'm still not good at coming up with those) and the extremely basic cover it had back there, it got a few reads, it got a few votes and then the comments started rolling in. After a while, it was permanently stuck on the What's Hot List. Today, years after it was completed, it has over 1.7M reads.

However, things weren't always so rosy.

When I finally gained the courage to make a wattpad account and post my stories online for the judgmental world to see, I didn't know anyone on this site. I started with zero followers and zero likeminded friends. I was too shy and too scared of being laughed at to tell my family about what I was doing bent over the keyboard for hours on end.

Getting reads was difficult in the beginning and getting feedback - even more so. I used to spend a lot of time in the clubs and made some friends. Some were reading my story, others - not, but we were exchanging writing advice nevertheless.

This is what I love about wattpad: yes, you will run into the occasional troll, yes, there are people who want the spotlight to always shine on them and them alone, but there also are so many wattpaders who are willing to support you!

Today, I have hundreds of people reading my books (well, mostly my novels; my short stories aren't that popular), voting on them and leaving me comments about how much they enjoy them; I also don't see the world as a scary and judgmental place. Thanks to the support of my amazing readers and some writing-obsessed friends I found on wattpad, I've decided to take things to a new level: I plan to publish books and want to help other writers by sharing my journey which is why last year I started a blog which, amongst other topics, includes writing advice; when I get into publishing, I'll be posting about that too.

What I've learned from my wattpad journey.

Your writing will evolve.

My first two books - The Green Girl and Here We Go Again, are very different from my You are the Answer (recently finished) and We are the Answer (ongoing) not only because the former are targeted at teenagers and the latter at young adults (although teens still seem to enjoy them); my writing style has changed and I'm more focused on expanding the world my characters live in.

Also, don't worry, if you don't have many reads right now. Keep writing and keep striving to improve yourself.

You don't have a big following?

I currently have less than a dozen people who comment regularly of my We are the Answer and let me tell you this: I would not exchange that less than a dozen for two hundred silent followers.

The numbers don't matter.

Sure, it is nice to see your book on the What's Hot List, sure it's good to hit your first 1K reads or 100 votes, but it is the people who keep encouraging you with comments who will motivate you and even inspire you to keep writing. That "I was feeling down today, but your story cheered me up. I can't wait for the next update!" is going to bring a smile on your face even if it is the only comment your book has right now.

Oh, and those "You need to edit this and that and you misspelled this word" comments - no worries, we all make mistakes. So pour yourself some chocolate in your favorite mug and get ready to do some editing.

¸.·•° I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE AN AMAZING WATTPAD JOURNEY! °•·.¸