Practice Your Skills on Wattpad by Ken Myers

Enjoy today’s guest post on practicing your skills by Ken Myers, Founder of Longhorn Leads, who shares about how writers can use Wattpad.

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Many people work hard on their style of writing in the hopes of one day being published. Although many of these people do so for the glamour and royalties, most write because they have a story to tell. Although the writer believes the story idea is golden, publishers may have other ideas. This can be discouraging if you’re turned down time and again from getting your story published. Instead of looking for a publishing house in order to reach readers, people are taking notice of the website, Wattpad.com.

1. Easy to Use -It is completely free to sign up with Wattpad and you are able to do so with your own Facebook account. While the Wattpad account is linked to your Facebook, your activity may be shared with those you are friends with. This can be a boon if you are promoting your “novel” to friends and family. However, it may dissipate some privacy for those who are self-conscious.

Once your account has been set up, you are able to upload your story and read content written by others. The process involving uploading your content is nothing more than copy and pasting your document into Wattpad or uploading the .txt file. It’s a simple process and can take just a few seconds of your time to share what you have created.

2. Popular -As time progresses, Wattpad has been gaining popularity from avid smartphone and tablet readers. Downloading the app from Google Play or iTunes enables the reader to have access to all of the free content they could possibly want to read covering virtually any subject matter that can be imagined. Authors from all walks of life have uploaded their content to Wattpad in order to “test the waters” for future professional development.

3. Critique -One of the most admirable abilities in Wattpad is that to accept criticism and comments about authors and their works. As long as the writer accepts this as constructive criticism and doesn’t view it as negative, a great deal of knowledge can be gained from the experience. Writers should keep in mind that it is impossible to make 100% of the readers happy 100% of the time. Although you may not be critically acclaimed, you could still impact a great deal of people with your story.

4. Anything Goes -There are plenty of authors out there who would love to write fan-fiction novels based on favorite television shows or movies. With Wattpad, it’s completely possible. As long as the content is labeled as fan-fiction, writers can exercise their skills while producing content they are interested in creating. Fans of Star Trek, for example, have a place to flex their creativity by creating novels that follow the epic science fiction world developed by Gene Roddenberry.

5. Community-based -The Wattpad community has such a following that regular awards, contests, message boards, and more are available to share the written word. The “Watty Awards” are annual recognition awards to others that are deemed popular by the millions of active readers who loved the content. Although this may not mean much to mainstream media, it still pulls a great deal of weight to the online community.

Wattpad.com is a growing community of readers and writers who love to share content. Although a majority of authors won’t see a single dime from the submitted manuscript, it is still a great place to flex your creative muscle and determine if your ideas and style are accepted well by readers. Although the purpose of the site isn’t to make you rich, some will win contests with monetary values, and others may even be picked up by publishing houses to continue writing under their emblem. Either way, thousands of people could be reading your book right now – if you take the time to upload it.

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Ken Myers is a father, husband, and entrepreneur. He has combined his passion for helping families find in-home care with his experience to build a business. Learn more about him by visiting @KenneyMyers on Twitter and at  http://www.longhornleads.com/