Wattpad is a wonderfully social environment, where writers get to share ideas and learn from each other. At times, we may even contribute towards collections, because as writers, we enjoy being open, especially with friends.

However, we are still at risk of the dangers of vanity publishing, despite the easygoing nature of Wattpad. At times, people that collate other people's work (so called 'publishers') may not even realise that they have crossed the line between ethical and exploitation. But ignorance is no excuse to tilt the power relationship so far, that the author has no say.

There is a great article on winningswriters.com that summed it up better than I could have done in two quotes:

"Watch out for online critique forums and social networking sites that offer what appear to be free contests, but make unreasonable claims to your intellectual property rights in the fine print."

"Other contests assert the right to publish all entries without notice or compensation, which is not a good deal for writers and not a normal practice among reputable contests."

https://winningwriters.com/the-best-free-literary-contests/contests-to-avoid

Read everything. Give only what you want. And write... Despite it all, enjoy writing.

The End