Wattpad Launches New Fan Funding Platform

August 12, 2013 By Michael Kozlowski 22 Comments

When writers want to get funding to write their next book, they often have to deal with Kickstarter or get a publishing deal. Wattpad is bucking this trend with a new project called Fan Funding. Wattpad is currently the world’s largest community for reading and sharing stories. They have just announced a new fan funding pilot project with six writers. This experiment gives readers the option of supporting their favorite writers to help them fund a story, an ebook, or the development of their work with a publishing partner, in return for a range of novel rewards. The diversity of projects is intended to showcase the nature of today’s publishing environment.

The first wave of Wattpad fan funding includes campaigns by Brittany Geragotelis, author of Life’s a Witch, which started as a story on Wattpad and was published by Simon and Schuster last year. Writer Tara Sampson, aka writer MercyRose, had a campaign to continue writing on Wattpad which has already been successfully funded, and Jordan aka XxSkater2Girl16xX, is on track to reach her goals in a thirty day period.

“The real goal for us is creating new options for writers to connect with their existing fan base on Wattpad,” said CEO Allen Lau. “We want to enhance the social exchange not create a transactional culture. Ever since Wattpad started offering readers and writers a place to share and engage in digital storytelling, we knew we wanted to share the power of the platform with them. This project explores that.”

Michael Kozlowski

Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and Verge.

Rachael Lucas

As a self-published author (over 80,000 downloads of my novel since February this year) and someone conversant with social media, I feel reasonably qualified to point out that buying Twitter followers does not lead to book sales. Nor does blogging furiously, with or without employing the dark arts of SEO. Unless you write an engaging, interesting blog, and tweet in a manner likely to suggest your writing is not “subpar” people simply won’t click the buy it now button, whether your book is 77p or £7.99. In my dealings with the publishing industry so far I’ve experienced nothing but friendliness and postive encouragement. I certainly haven’t felt stigmatised.
Alan Gilliland

‘Writing in a Digital Conference’ might be deemed a little limited as a topic?
George Jackson

“The overwhelming majority of self-published books are terrible—unutterable rubbish, they don’t enhance anything in the world.” – exactly the same statement could comfortably be made about traditionally published books…
Spellchecker

‘Principle’ experience?
fionaingram

I agree with George: I review indie books as well as ‘traditionally’ published books and many’s the time where the Big Name author has actually written utter drivel for his adoring fans. I have also reviewed indie books where, although the story was good, the author was clearly unfamiliar with the configuration of his/her computer and di not know that there is a spelling and grammar checker built into the computer. (it even picks up Passive Voice!) Rachael also is right, in my humble view. Having a large social following does not ensure books sales. A good book ensures book sales, or else a book where the concept is what people have been seeking – should I even mention 50SOG? Badly edited, poorly written (some say) and yet the sky and beyond appears to be the limit with author E.L. James. I disagree with Andrew Franklin that mostly non-fiction indie authors hit the big time. There are just too many (and yet still a drop in the vast ocean of indie works) who have succeeded to say that. Mr. Franklin should read more widely in industry news to see what is happening.
Book Promo, Ink

The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty—a fad.- Advice from a president of the Michigan Savings Bank to Henry Ford’s lawyer Horace Rackham. Rackham ignored the advice and invested $5000 in Ford stock, selling it later for $12.5 million.http://www.lhup.edu

This “new” industry is evolving with and without it kinks. Anything that empowers the human spirit and creative mind cannot fail. My money is on self-publishing.
kurt sipolski

I understand his point..but for us novella writers there is NO choice since publishers and agents will not even repond to a query, despite the fact that screen rights have been optioned for my TOO EARLY FOR FLOWERS!!
MarylandBill

So Sturgeon’s law applies at all levels.

Just a few thoughts.

1. Some Big Name authors, whether self published or not, have written utter drivel for adoring fans because they know said fans will buy said work. Since they are big name authors, if they are going through a publisher, they tend to have enough clout to push back against editor suggestions, so said drivel gets through.

2. As the number of publishing houses continue to decline and be absorbed by giant media companies, I suspect it is harder for authors who write anything other than formulaic stuff to get published. Self publishing offers a way to at least get some readers.

3. Over time, as the world of publishing is forced to adjust to a new reality, I suspect that the majority of books will be self published. The new gate keepers will be the reviewers and word of mouth. Good books will still tend to rise to the top.

4. Publishing Houses and Agents have the highest stake in maintaining the old system. But there will be new roles that develop in the self publishing world. How about freelance editors?
Maud St James

Truth be told, a lot of self-published stuff is utter drivel. Some people want the dubious distinction of being able to call themselves a ‘published author’ so badly they will put up any kind of dreck just so they can claim that honor. However… there is an awful lot of driveling dreck coming from traditional publishers, and the quality of editing/proofing/spelling/grammar from the traditional NYC publishers has plummeted in the last decade or two.

That said, self-publishing is the hope of saving publishing as an art form. Not locked in to the strangulating viewpoints of what editors/agents (the so-called gatekeepers) who decide what can be published, self-publishing allows lots of stories – good, well-written, professional stories – to seek an audience. There is a lot of rubbish out there, but there are also some very good books that never would have been read otherwise. Self-publishing is not tied to traditional worries of marketing and prior sell-throughs and a fear of niche markets. Self-publishing puts the choice of what to read squarely where it belongs – in the hands of the readers.
Karen Schaffer

I think one of the biggest challenges for self-pub authors is to understand and engage the editorial process. Without it, even great ideas or great talent create sub-par work. But there is definitely no going back. Self publishing is here to stay and it is a viable option for authors.
anastasia

finally, the truth!!!Thankyou Andrew-the emperor truly has no clothes. Self-publishing is total bs and all ego-stroking.
Crissy Moss

Self publishing has given us “Wool”, a truly unique look at a distopian future. A well written, and well received book. Traditional publishing has given us “50 Shades of Grey”… Also widely sold. A guilty pleasure many read on their kindles, hiding it from everyone around. If people want “the average paranormal Vampire/Werewolf love story with death pixies ” then they can have it, and self publishing is the place to get it. Is it the next classic? Of course not. But does it sell? Andrew Franklin is welcome to his opinion, but the fact that a growing number of self publishers are making a living off their writing, while fewer and fewer traditionally published writers are, speaks volumes to me.
PowerpuffGeezer

So I ask for genuine likes and have 2300 STILL it makes no difference. A void is still waiting regardless. Publishers & agents want books that are different from the norm then expect writers to jump through conformed hoops. We can’t win . http://powerpuffgeezer.webs.com/http://pinterest.com/powerpuffgeezer/paulyanna-memoirs-in-picture-form/
Pluckysod

What a lot of ebook writers will learn the hard way is that they need to hire an editor who can advise them on substantive issues, not just a copy editor or proofreader. There are many of us out there.

BTW, in paragraph 2, you mean “principal experience”
Sean Cummings

While there are some self-published books making a lot of money over at Amazon, chances are your masterpiece will float alongside all the rest of the self-published crap. Once in a while someone will buy your book and Amazon will skim their percentage off of your sale. Amazon is FLOODED with self-published books. The average self published novel will sell under a hundred copies and if Amazon is skimming a percentage off the thousands and thousands of books that sell less than a hundred copies, do the math. Amazon is making money, you’re not.
Marie

This is wonderful news for self-publishing. If the traditional publishing world were not concerned about this, then they wouldn’t be spouting off about it. Increasingly, I see agents tweeting and writing articles to justify their existence and now publishers are speaking at conferences to justify theirs. Heads of companies do not complain publicly about insignificant problems, which mean self-publishing is becoming a significant problem for them. Why? Because mid-list and lower-list authors are starting to leave their publishers. Small presses are going out of business because they can’t offer authors a better deal than self-publishing can. Is a lot of crap self-published? Yes. Does a lot of crap get spit out by traditional publishing? Yes. Why? Because it’s hard to tell what readers will like and what they will tolerate in order to read what they want to read. Fanfiction has taught us that. Tons of awfully written fanfiction is consumed happily by readers because the writer wrote something they wanted to read. If traditional publishing wants to stem the tide they should rebuild their editorial departments to improve development, stop letting spellcheck do their copy editing for them, and spend PR money on more than just their top earners. It would also help if they put their entire catalogs out digitally and cheap first and then save only the bestselling stuff for print. Expensive hardcovers should be reserved for only the best books. They aren’t in the paper business. They’re in the entertainment business and that’s a volume business and expediency and price point are key.
Bruce D.

50 Shades started out exactly the same as Wool: a self-published ebook.