How to get votes, reads and comments on your story

QUESTION

From @letkarmaworks

Ate tammi what would you do if you experience writer's block for a very long time, like 4 months ganern

- Dati, naniniwala ako sa writer's block but during sa Watty Dinner na napuntahan ko noon, sabi ng speaker hindi raw totoo ang Writer's Block. She said, "an empty page is a page full of fears." wala kang writer's block, takot ka lang isulat kung ano ang isusulat mo. At some point, I agree. Hindi man takot, siguro katamaran iyon. I have to agree, there were moments na meron akong time, pero wala akong nasusulat. Then narealize ko, hindi sa wala akong maisulat. Ayaw kong isulat siguro dahil hindi siya tugma, hindi siya fit sa naiisip ko and it doesn't feel right to write it that way. hanggang ngayon may sabaw moments pa rin ako-- at iyon ay dahil sa katamaran. Instead na magsulat, nagti-twitter lang ako. Nanunuod ng anime o kung ano pa. You have to battle with your fears and procrastination.

Personal tip: Go somewhere. Iyon ang ginagawa ko. Maraming writing ideas sa utak ko kapag nasa bus or jeep ako, or kapag nasa mataas na lugar or kapag may kape ako. You could also think of your comfort place or comfort food.

Hi @letkarmaworks, I hope I have answered your question!

So HOW TO GET VOTES, READS AND COMMENTS ON YOUR STORY

READ, VOTES AND COMMENTS are the rewards we get in our effort of writing. Medyo critical 'to, maraming writer na ang sumuko dahil hindi makuha ang tatlong 'to. My advice is be patient. Sabi nga Great things will surely come to those who wait. Also kung passion mo talaga ang pagsusulat, you wouldn't surrender if you cannot get these things.

Readers always ask us, "Paano po maging sikat na writer?"

That is something we cannot answer. Reflect on yourself, nagsulat ka ba para sumikat or nagsulat ka para sa sarili mo kasi passion mo ang pagsusulat, kasi hindi ka buo kapag hindi mo naipahayag ang mga bagay-bagay na tumatakbo sa utak mo?

If gusto niyo lang sumikat, I'm telling you mas maliit ang tyansa na makamit mo ang gusto mo sa ganoong paraan. If you put your heart to your works instead of your selfish wants of being 'famous' there is a great chance of getting discovered. Mas maganda ang resulta ng sinusulat mo kung mahal mo ang ginagawa mo.

I'll start my discussion with my own experience. Who was I before I became someone with more than 200,000+ followers?

I was a reader. I'm a great fan of Haveyouseenthisgirl, Alyloony, Alessana Marie and Purpleyhan. I didn't read much on wattpad kasi ebook pa ako dati. I love writing since I was a kid and I usually write my thoughts in my notebook (kapagod yun hahaha sakit sa kamay!)

Year 2014, during my college years I had trouble sleeping. For months I suffered with insomnia and depression. I remember sleeping at four or five in the morning tapos gigising ako ng six ara makapasok sa 7:30 am na klase ko. Sometimes, I couldn't get a second of sleep as in dilat na dilat ako nang ilang araw. Wala rin akong ganang magstudy. I chose to ignore my books and opted to lie awake in bed, thinking dark thoughts.

Then I discovered Wattpad and signed up. Naging habit ko na ang magbasa at manuod ng anime kapag hindi ako makatulog. Year 2016, tuloy-tuloy pa rin ang insomnia ko. I ran out of Detective Conan episodes and I got bored reading Wattpad tapos nadiscover ko na pwede palang magsulat.

So I tried writing, and yes, Detective Files File One is my output.

I was new to writing kaya hindi ko alam na may vote, reads and comments pala dun. So 'yon, halos every night na akong nagsusulat kasi gusto kong magsulat, unaware of the increasing number of readers. And tada! I got more than 100 reads! Nagulat pa ako dun, tapos naging 1,000 reads! Later naging 10,000, naging 100,000 hanggang naging 1 million!

But during my journey, I admit there were heartbreaking moments. I was bashed kasi bakit hindi ini-edit, bakit ang daming typo, ang daming errors at kung anu-ano pa. I ignored those kasi naisip ko, pake niyo ba nagsusulat naman ako para sa sarili ko? (lol) later on, narealize kong hindi man maging perfect yung output ko, I should at least make it 'okay'. kumpara sa una, nagtry akong mag-improve in terms of technical (though minsan kapag naki-carried away ka na, wala ka ng pake kung ano na natype mo lol)

Why did I tell you my story?

Wala, I just want to point out to you na ang pagkakaroon ng fan base ay nangangailangan ng patience, pagsisikap, dedikasyon at higit sa lahat, it takes time. I started with zero reads, zero followers, zero votes at lahat ng writer ay nagsisimula talaga sa figure na 'yan. ZERO.

Now Detective Files has more than 15 million reads, almost 500,000 votes and thousands of comments. Make your favorite idols your inspiration. Imagine how euphoric it would be to sign your publish books with them. Dati pababsa-basa lang ako ng mga story nina Haveyouseenthisgirl, Alyloony at Purpleyhan, ngayon ilang beses ko na silang nami-meet! I even had a chance to sit beside Haveyouseenthisgirl as we signed our books together, i was with ALyloony during our Davao and Cebu Booksigning. S Ate Ann, nameet ko na rin sa mga watty events. As in naiyak ako noong mameet ko sila, i was overwhelmed. Yung mga idols ko noon, kasama ko ng nagsa-sign ng books ngayon!

Hindi ko 'to sinasabi para mainggit kayo. I want you to be inspired like me. One day, makakasama mo rin yung favorite author mo sa book signing ninyo. Mamimeet mo rin ang mga taong iniidolo ka dahil sa sinusulat mo

... so Paano ko 'to na-achieve?

IMPROVE.

Believe me or not, kapag binabasa ko ang DF ngayon, nagki-cringe ako. I was like, ang corny naman nito! Hahahaha yes, totoo.napapafacepalm na lang ako sabay sabing ang jeje ko pala. Nagki-cringe ako sa dami ng typo at grammar error so naintindihan ko rin kung bakit ako nababash lol. What did I do? I tried to improve my writing style. Kumpara noon, I can say minimal na lang ang errors and inconsistencies ko. The way I tell stories leveled up. My choice of words improved. I'm proud to see my improvements as a writer. You can do the same.

If you write your story in an improved manner, malaki ang chances na maraming magkakagusto sa mga stories mo. Make your story compelling, iyong tipong mapapa- "Iwant more" ang mga readers. That's why I am fond of cliffhangers and teasing scenes because it will surely draw readers to read more. Alam mo yung mapapa-comment sila ng "Please update"I

If you get a lot of comments like that, congratulations! it means na-hook na sa story ang mga readers mo.

BE ACTIVE.

Let's say, okay ang writing style mo but competition is great in Wattpad World. Imagine, millions ang story na nasa wattpad, paano nila mahahanap ang story mo? Be active. I read in The Writer's Guide to Wattpad (a book given to us during the Wattpad Dinner with Head of Wattpad Asia and Talent manager) watty's recommendation on the list is affected by how recently you updated, the more na gumagalaw ka sa watty, malaki ang chances na nasa top siya ng mga wattpad stories list.

PROMOTION

This is something I want to address badly. Hindi lamang ako ang nagrereklamo tungkol dito kundi pati na rin ang ibang writers. Utang na loob, kung ipo-promote n'yo ang story ninyo, wag naman sa profile namin na writers din. Yung iba nagrereply pa sa halos lahat ng nagcocomment at nagpopost sa profle namin ng link ng story nila. That is rude and so disrespectful. Bastos, guys, I swear. Do not use others site to promote your story. Have some manner and do it on the right platform.

Anu-anong platform?

Social networking sites. May facebook naman siguro diba? Twitter? Instgram at kung ano pa. You can also PM it to other users basta huwag yung pupunuin ninyo ng promotion ang comment section at wall ng mga writers.

In one our Cebu discussion during an event by NBS, Serialsleeper revealed to the attendees na noong nagsisimula pa siya, sumali siya sa mga groups sa facebook dati kung saan pwede ka magpromote ng stories. That is the proper way to promote, okay? Look at her now, she's one of the most successful watty writers with more than half a million followers and bestselling books.

BE CREATIVE

Be creative in your

1) book cover- ito ang unang makikita ng mga nagbo-browse so dapat cover pa lang, pak na.

2)book blurb- ito mas importante kaysa cover. Yung cover mo, yan yung magpupush sa readers na basahin ang blurb mo so dapat mas pak ang blurb. Sum up your plot in your blurb, make sure to add the elements of excitement... yung tipong maiisip ng readers 'whoah maganda ang plot ah, basahin ko nga."

3) first chapter - crucial part. Why? Pak ang cover mo, pak rin ang blurb mo, so dapat pak na pak ang Chapter One. Parang saging lang yan guys, maganda yung balat, masarap yung loob. Wag naman yung maganda ang balat, inuood pala ang loob, Diba diba? Kailangang chapter One pa lang, maho-hook na ang readers mo. Guaranteed nakapag na-hook sila, magcocomment sila, magvovote at higit sa lahat, magpopromote sa mga beshy nila na wattpader. Gets nyo?

MAKE THEM WANT FOR MORE

Dito papasok ang creativity mo sa pagsulat ng kwento. Chapter One should end with your readers be like "Omg, ano kayang magyayari sa chapter 2?" same with chapter two, make your readers want for more. Entice them to read every chapter. Give them a roller coaster ride.

COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR READERS

Nabasa ko lang din tong tip na 'to, kapag medyo marami ka ng followers mahirap nang isa-isahin na pasalamatan ang bawat nagcocomment sa stories mo. So there goes fb, twitter and other sites to engage with them. So habang konti pa lang ang readers mo, take time to thank them for giving your work a chance. It will make them appreciate you even more at malaki ang chances na abangan na nila ang bawat story na ipopost mo.

The book I read (Watty Guide) says DO NOT SUGGESTTRADING VOTES FOR VOTES OR FOLLOW FOR FOLLOW. AS IN NEVER. Vote for the story because you like it, hindi yung magvovote ka sabay sabi 'oy nagvote ako, vote ka rin sa akin. Oy follow mo ko para follow rin kita.' Never ever do that please.

BE POSITIVE

Medyo rampant 'to eh. Hindi ko nilalahat but I've seen some aspiring readers who bash huge fanbase authors. Kesyo gwapo kaya maraming followers, kesyo ganyan, basura naman ang work. Seriously guys, bakit may mga taong ganoon ang mentality? Why not maintain a healthy writing environment. Do not be insecure of others success. Time will come for you soon. Huwag kayong mambash ng mga authors, be it with huge fanbase or aspiring one para lamang ipakita na mas maganda ang story ninyo, mas deserve ninyo ang ganoon karaming reads. Huwag niyong pairalin ang crab mentality. Ano, manhihila pababa ng ibang writers para sumikat?

Do not also spread rumors. Kesyo may taning na ang buhay niyo kaya kailangang basahin ang story. Uh. Ewan ko ba. Also, dahil sinabi kong maging Creative, huwag namang pati sa ganito gagamitin ninyo ang creativity lol. Pagpapanggap na ganto mukha ninyo, na lalaki kayo (kahit di naman) grabe ang creative. You may hide your identity okay, pero poser? Uh such a no-no. May iba pang ibabash ang sarili (pretend to be someone else and bash your own story) para maging matunog? Grabe ang creative talaga.

Above all, be positive. Huwag kayong panghinaan ng loob na ilang taon na kayo sa watty pero hindi pa rin dumarating ang big break ninyo? Again, it takes time. Believe in yourself. To make your readers believe in you, kailangang magsimula iyon sa sarili ninyo.

Yuuun lang for now! I hope I somewhat help you kahit sa kaunting paraan.

Thank you!

ShinichiLaaaabs ✒️