There are tons of guides out there that talk about drawing more readers into your story. Despite that, I still get asked about this.

It usually goes something like:

You have two featured stories. Tons of followers. A lot of your readers read one thing and then go and read another story. How do you get them to do that? How do you get readers? How are you successful?

Some like little thistle seeds, others prefer insects, fish, frogs, lizards, mice, other birds, etc. You might think you've got the formula worked out, but then the hummingbird turns his beak up at you and a magpie comes along and pecks you in the eye.

Heck, I get flocks of chirping pretties and yet, every so often a Black-bellied bustard throws his head back to either laugh or scream at my foolish antics. [coincidentally, if you want to feel better, picture that bustard's nasty comments coming from an actual bustard]

If you want to appeal to more readers, you've got to provide some options. Appeal to more than one taste.

ALERT! There are some readers who will always hate you and your writing. Sorry. They're out there, just like there are trolls and snarky people who like to rain on your parade because it's looking a little too sunny over where you're standing. It's not worth trying to feed them, because they'll throw the food back at you no matter how careful you are.

In that case, congratulations! You will probably appeal to that reader type and enjoy success with them! That being said, if you want to be successful on wattpad, it's the nature of the beast that you'll have to be able to reach more than one specific type of reader, unless that specific reader is something like "teenage girl who loves dramatic makeout scenes." Niche writing rarely goes over well here because there are only so many of those specific readers out there. So the odds that one will stumble onto your work are pretty slim, and the odds that you will gain enough of them to surpass "I'm in Love with my Best Friend" are just as small.

...But when you do find readers of your niche, you're likely to keep them because birds of a feather and all, yay!

For example, you may have written a fantastic, award-winning novel on the history of American aviation. Your readers might simply adore it and give you rave reviews, but is it going to fly up the rankings and gain a million reads?

Probably not, even if it is the best book on the history of American aviation. Even if it's #3 in non-fiction. Even if it's featured. The wattpad market for non-fiction isn't the same as the market for, say, romance. That's just how it goes, even out in the real world.

I collect, clean, and sell ancient coins. One of my favorite coin attributing texts is basically number one in its category on Amazon and other retailers. It's also only got about 75 reviews, all 4-5 stars. People in the community love it. It is THE reference book.

But it's just not going to be famous outside the ancient coin community, even though it has a good cover, a strong introduction, proper grammar and spelling, mass appeal to its readers, etc.

It's just not meant for everyone, and that's okay. The writer isn't expecting it to be a household name, or for kids to ask for his autograph or for it to be the number one requested book on holiday lists.

But gosh, would it be nice to get SOME readers, especially if you're writing in a highly competitive genre. So here's some advice on how to go about doing that. And yes, it sounds like other advice out there because it works. Wattpad's successful users aren't lying to you. The steps listed below really can help.

Attract readers:

1. Cover

If you have an eye-catching cover, you can draw some readers in that way. Seriously. Some people here see a good cover and just start reading- or they see a bad one and assume the writing sucks and stay far away.

NOTE: Cover readers aren't stupid, even though some people scoff at judging a book by its cover. Like anyone else, they have certain standards and when those standards aren't met, oh well. There's more fish in the sea.

To attract cover readers, give your story an eye-catching, relevant cover. Check out the design forums or try and make one yourself (a lazy bum like me recommends a site like Canva, where you can make something look halfway decent with minimal effort). Check out covers of popular books in your genre and see what they're like. You don't have to copy them, but it can be very telling in terms of what will attract reader attention thematically.

If you don't know if your cover is appealing or not- ask for an opinion/help. Preferably from someone who doesn't adore you. [My aunt, for example, thinks my doodle for the final Run Cold cover was perfect as-is. It had squiggles, missing letters, no title, but she'd never say anything. She just says what she loves about it. When she saw the final cover, she was similarly blown away, lol.]

2. Title

Wattpad has a great population of readers from other countries. Language has many barriers, and sometimes covers fall into that area. If your story title is vague or abstract, sometimes it can be harder to sound appealing, especially if people get confused.

Sometimes on Wattpad, direct, even silly, titles get more attention than the more thought-provoking ones, by virtue of being understandable to just about everyone.

For example: The Bad Dog Ate My Homework vs Ripped Calculus [although I think if you had a ripped guy on the cover of 'Calc, you might get some reads~]

I had someone once ask me if my story (now titled Run Cold) was about bear shifters. They saw "Bear Skin" and thought 'oh, this must be about were-bears' even though the cover image, the blurb, the genre, and the story itself did not make any mention of bear shifters at all. The story uses a lot of symbolism involving bears (and even has actual bears appear), but the title alone confused this person who just took it at face value.

And yet, after reading a few chapters, they still felt the need to ask when the were-bears were coming.

I've seen it more recently, where a writer was using a spiritual term to describe the protagonist's inner turmoil. Shortly after publishing the story, the writer got a bunch of messages asking if the writer knew what that title word meant. They told the writer they were using it wrong. The writer used the term correctly, but the readers only read the blurb and/or chapter one, and never got to the part in the story where the term applies. So this poor writer had a headache of a mess on their hands, trying to explain to people that title literally comes into play later on. They weren't just using that title word to demonstrate their ability to use a thesaurus. They were using it because it's a huge part of the story.

How should you title your story?

Again, check your genre for ideas on what's working. Mostly short, grabby titles that use strong words tend to stick. And readers tend to shorten your title anyway, so make sure it makes sense. Or those upfront ones that tell you exactly what you're getting, like "Kissing the Boss' Son" or "My Mute Mate."

3. The blurb.

See blurb vs synopsis for a bit of help. If you're too lazy to learn how to write a better blurb, you're probably already in trouble and this guide won't save you. Long story short, though, make sure the blurb is interesting, well-edited, and tells about the first 1/3rd of your story (basically, up to the first big narrative change/mystery/question) if you're not sure what to include.

4. Chapter One & Beyond

Try and have decent grammar. You don't have to be perfect, but be neat and considerate toward the people who are going to read this. If you have trouble with punctuation, etc, ask for help. If you hate editing in punctuation, DO IT THE FIRST TIME. Don't treat writing like texting. Don't leave off periods on purpose because you write faster without them or something silly. Put them in as you go. You'll do it automatically after a time. I'd die if I had to go back and put in my punctuation constantly. Just shrivel up and die right at my keyboard. It's too much work. I'm faster re-typing than I am clicking around to punctuate every eleven words or so.

The thing you can do to ruin your chances at getting readers is to know HOW to fix the errors but leave them there on purpose.

It's actually a terrible cycle. So many of these writers don't bother to fix their mistakes because "I don't want to put effort into something no one will read, so I'll edit if/when I get readers" and no one reads it because they don't put effort in, and the cycle continues.

For example, I unedited a section of Run Cold's draft:

"....The door popped open six inches

faster than the speed of light i dragged the closest towel into the water Bubble coverage was a bit sparse at this point. "Hang whatever on the handle and Ill make it work. Don't come in!" On second thought, If someone has to,, send Hanna.

The door slammed. "If you are this tired do not come to dinner tonight" marcus suggested. i had a feeling it was him who'd shut the door "mama will bring some to you."

A foot stomped "I have not had proper conversation with my daughterinlaw!"

"she needs rest" I could practically hear Marcus embarrassment.

"she needs a ring. Grandmothers is on your nightstand....""

This isn't even the worst I've seen! I didn't even change the spelling. As you can see, that is nonsense, both for me to go back and edit and for you to read. This is not okay. If you complain no one wants to stick around past chapter one, that you aren't getting any readers...Don't think it's okay to leave in your obvious mistakes. It is hurting your success. Just because you don't mind being lazy, doesn't mean the reader has to put up with you.

It's one thing if you just don't get it, in which case, we're all blessed with the ability to learn and grow. But when you know it's bad and you don't...?

They're with me. That's right. Me. Go ahead, look at my writing. You can spin a better yarn, can't you? I'm taking your readers because they can't get through your gobbledygook so they're looking for something more readable.

Stop this madness. Use punctuation. Fix the spelling errors. Grow your readerbase rather than encourage mine. If you continue to leave your stories in a sorry state, you're doing work for me and others like me. I'm sitting here raking in all the readers who are looking for something better written. And I'm not even super popular!

5. Please don't PM a popular writer and say, "Can you advertise my story for me? I love yours. It would mean so much." If you're going to do this, I can't stop you, but please please please BE POLITE. Lead with a hello before you make a request. Actually read something we wrote. Give us praise that doesn't ring hollow. Be specific, otherwise, yeah, we know you sent identical messages to twenty other writers with 10,000+ followers. We aren't stupid. When someone hands us a box of bullshit, we know better than to open it.

At least most of us do. So try a little harder and spritz some perfume on it, will ya? Tell me you loved the relationship between Marcus and Allie and that even though there's sexual tension there, the fact that they stayed friends first was fantastic. ---> You say things like that and even though I know you're just using me for access to more readers, I might actually help you.

1. Update.

This helps keep you visible, and depending on the genre, consistent updates will send you flying through the rankings where more readers can find you. Once or twice a week is enough.

Updating keeps your name in readers' heads, because you're constantly popping up a new chapter and they're waiting for you.

2. Have more than one thing for them to read. This does two things:

1. Introduces them to more of your writing/makes them stay with you longer.

2. Makes you 'visible' in one more place, even if it's a tiny spot. Think about a lost dog flyer. If you only have one flier, there is only one chance for someone to see a picture of your lost pup. They have to go to that one pole, or be told by someone who already went to the pole.

But if you have two fliers out on two different poles, now there are two places where someone passing by might stop and take a look. It doesn't mean they will, but it's another opportunity for the next person to come along.

3. Be nice to the ones that come, especially if you don't have many yet. The more readers you have, the more difficult it will become to respond to everyone, but do take the time when you can to give some attention to the ones that matter most, and any who go above and beyond what you expect from a ghost reader. Without your readers, you'd have nothing but your own reads to comfort you. So if someone is voting on every chapter, leaving thoughtful comments, etc, go ahead and thank them.

4. Advertise. On each forum there are places where you can advertise your story if it matches the genre requirements. Use it. Talk to others. Post your links to your story and quotes on instagram, twitter, etc. Have a video made. Help writers out and compare things to your story (free advertising). For example, if someone asks about how to write sentences better, give an example of what you did in your own story without bragging about yourself.

5. Communicate with other writers and readers. That's pretty self-explanatory. Make friends.

6. Write like your crush is about to see you in a bathing suit for the first time (if you'd like extra motivation, swap suits for your birthday one instead). Write like your favorite author has asked for a copy of your manuscript. Write like the girl you've had a crush on for years just admitted she likes you and asks to get dinner tonight.

7. Don't be apologetic about writing. You're a writer. You wrote a story. If you don't stand up for it, who will? I'm not telling you to bash critics of your work. I'm telling you to be proud of it, to own it and take responsibility of its success and failure. In a subtle way, readers can tell who is writing with confidence and who isn't.

Think about giving a speech in front of an audience. If you're sitting in the crowd listening to the speakers, you can hear who is confident and who is stumbling through the spotlight with their notecards, speeding through the lines so they can get back to the comfort of the darkness.

If you project confidence in your writing, you can trick people into thinking you're a halfway decent writer. They might even think you've got that elusive, mystical "voice." Trust me, I do it all the time! :P And many, many good speakers throughout history have inspired followers no matter how terrible and stupid their ideas.

8. Promise your readers endless riches if they follow you.

9. On second thought, keep the riches. Promise them consistent quality instead. You want to keep a reader? Do these things above. Be friendly with them, care about your story, give them quality writing and frequent updates.

10. Write well. If you can't, then edit better. Get critiques, beta readers, punctuation guides...Whatever you need from whatever source you need it. Sometimes our stories don't sound good until the second or third draft. Often we need an outside opinion to go from good to great.

11. Finally, keep realistic expectations for your story. Not every story will be a hit, even some stories by the same writer. Many stories will be small but successful. Many will never crack 1000 reads. Some will explode into millions of hits and you'll see them on your television, in book stores, etc. What will yours do? I don't know, any more than my parents knew what I'd be when I grew up. The important thing is that you have the ability to learn, grow, and survive those pesky growing pains.

Your story's future is in your hands. And like you, with a bit of effort, it too can change.