The Wattpad4 chat was about a super popular subject last night, namely, how to promote your work. Because of the chat format, and the fact that you can only jam 250 characters into each tweet, I didn't get to expand on some of the questions as much as I'd like to.

Here are some of the main points I'd like to make in a discussion on "how to get more reads" or fans. I'm sure I've covered this at some point, either in a video or a blog post but honestly I get this question so much I might as well use this to link back to.

#1 - One of the most important tips I have: Create quality content. I mean, this should be obvious, but your spelling and grammar should be on point as much as possible. It doesn't mean you need to hire an editor, but it should be readable (this seems obvious but I'm sure we've all seen those stories that are NOT readable because of spelling mistakes).

#2 - Your blurb should be great. By "Blurb" I mean your story description. You need a hook for the start of your description, and NO variation of the old hat, "So and so was a normal girl" (I think we all know how I feel about that). No one gives a crap that Kelly is a cheerleader and the most popular girl in her school, booooooring. Now, is Kelly an undead cheerleader? THAT is interesting. Lead with that.

#3 - Have an eye-catching cover. Don't forget that readers are scrolling through and just sort of skimming as they go. You have literally seconds to catch their eye and that's it. Personally I found bright colors work best. I usually choose close-ups of faces or lots of swirly magical colors (of course, this is just my preference).

#4 For God's sake, don't spam.

I get at least three messages a day with people just blurting "READ MY STORY" seemingly at random, and sometimes a link. I don't know these people from Abraham Lincoln. I haven't chatted with them, haven't shared their hopes and dreams, haven't traded writing stories and swapped rejection problems with them. So guess what, I don't care about their story. At all. 

It sounds mean but 'dems the breaks. And it's true for most everyone. Unless they come back with "yeah, if you read my story" then it's unlikely you're going to get anything out of it. Asking people you know to swap stories for a crit would go a lot further than shotgun spamming at random. Also, you'd tick off a lot less people that way.

#5 Do Share on Your Other Sites: 

Alright, we get it. Spam bad. But if you've got a twitter, facebook, instagram or pinterest, you can send out the occasional message about your story. But, balance it out. Keep the 10 to 1 ratio going. In other words, for every ten fun, helpful, engaging messages you send out to your followers, you can send exactly ONE promo tweet. And when you do promo your story, keep in light and fun instead of "OMG READ MY STORY PLZ I'M DESPREEET". Pin cool pictures that remind you of your story, or post quotes from your story on a pretty background on instagram. Participate in stuff like #1linewed on twitter with a quote from your story, or find fun GIFS to express how you felt when you wrote a certain scene. Keep it fun and engaging and avoid becoming a human spam machine.

#6 - Join clubs, meet people, try not to be a miserable butthead.

One would think the latter would be obvious but you'd be surprised. The amount of people who are very obviously bitter that their story doesn't have "enough" reads is...well, a lot. You know what happens when you bash the people on Wattpad who have more reads than you? Well, nothing...probably. That's just it, it achieves nothing. Other than some other people reading your angry update or post in the clubs and thinking, "Wow, what a knob".

You know what would work better? Chatting with said big muckety muck Wattpad author, asking polite questions about their writing process, how they got the fans they did, or maybe even about their favorite movie, tv show or books. The idea of actually MAKING FRIENDS with one isn't that crazy, is it? It might not get you anything other than a new friend, or a pleasant conversation (which is great, right?) and it might ALSO get you a new follower, or a read and vote, or even a shoutout if you become actual friends. 

Or you can just sulk in your corner and complain, because haters gonna hate, right?

#7 - Update on the Reg:

I can tell you right now I need to learn from my own book here. Regular updates are hard to manage sometimes, especially when you write on the fly like your truly. The best thing I can recommend is to have a full novel ready to go before you post. This way you're not scrambling for updates. 

Best thing is to post once per week if you can, regular updates your readers know they can count on.

Of course, if you're like me you bite off waaaay more of that delicious, chewy chocolate chip cookie that is life than you can actually manage, and you end up updating at midnight because you literally have no time...

Okay, do as I say not as I do on this one....

#8 - Read and comment on other stories:

This goes under "make friends" above but it's worth another mention. Read and leave comments on other people's stories. And I DON'T mean a quick "Hey, love this story, Read mine! It's called "BAD BOY WEREWOLF IS A BAD WEREWOLF AND ALSO A VAMPIRE" here is a big fat link". That's not fooling anyone, the author knows you didn't read the book. It's just another form of spam.

Put the time in, read the book, leave a thoughtful comment that's more than a few sentences. Come back and comment every time. CONNECT with people. Then at some point you can mention your story, NOT as spam, but only when it connects in some way (ie: I just finished writing a kissing scene too, swap tips?) or whatever works.

MAKE CONNECTIONS.

And that's it. I mean. There's more...I'm sure there will be more in the future. But mostly it's about being genuine, not spamming or being a robot or a dirt-bag. And putting out the best story you can. 

Good luck, and happy writing!

Oh, and....a final word from Cas.