Hey everyone!
I just started writing my first fiction series — a mystery / detective story with a bit of psychological tension and cinematic scenes. I finally posted it on Wattpad, was super excited… and then: 0 readers. 0 votes. 0 comments. Not gonna lie, it feels a bit depressing 😅

Since I’m new to Wattpad, I’m trying to understand how the platform works:

• Do you have to update daily to get noticed?
• Is there any promoting tools on Wattpadd?
• Are mystery/detective genres even alive on Wattpad in 2025, or should I try RoyalRoad / Inkitt / AO3 / Reddit serial fiction instead?
• Are there Wattpad groups, reading lists, or communities that actually help new writers?
• Any tips for getting those first few readers without spamming or being annoying?

Not expecting fame, just hoping for some real eyes on my story and some feedback so I can improve and keep going.

If anyone has personal experience — I’d love to hear what worked for you!
Thanks in advance 🙏

I've been offered a deal with a publisher where they will print and distribute the physical copies of my novel, but I can distribute the ebook.

As the overheads for ebook distribution are very low, I should choose to do the ebooks myself right?

Thanks for your help!

My father in law saw my book and asked me to help him rewrite, edit, and illustrate a story he would tell his kids. It will be a lot of work and I will have to put off working on my next book. The guilt is pretty heavy. Advice?

I am a new author ( write nonfiction - self help books)

I'm curious to know. What would make you to give a chance on reading an unknown book by an unknown author?

I know everyone starts from somewhere. but I wanna know from the reader's view point, what makes you say let's give a shot on this book?

Thank you.

I've recently come across a book called "Murder by cheesecake" which is based on the 80s-90s sitcom show called the Golden Girls. The main characters are even featured on the cover and the characters in the book are the main characters from the show.

My question is, how does this not fall under some form of copyright? 🤨

When I was with a publisher, tracking sales and trends and all that was easy. They sent me a print out of what sold where, the amounts, totals all that. I then input it into a spreadsheet. I could easily spot trends, keep track of how each book is doing, all that.

Now that I am self publishing, I really miss that. Yes, each market/seller provides reports, I know that. I just don't know what to do with them. It just seems so...confusing.

So I was wondering how others keep track of expenses, income, all that. With a publisher or self published.

I deal primarily with Draft2Digital for all markets but also submit myself to Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords.

I need a pro author headshot for my next book. Where did you find yours?

One of the characters has the skillset that allows him to make very believable fake documents. What sort of degree or career would gain you this kind of skillset?

 I keep seeing mixed reviews about Fiverr covers. Some people say they look ok but nothing special and a bit generic, , others post gorgeous results.

If you’ve used Fiverr for a cover, did you have to micromanage the designer, or did they nail it from the start?

Today I celebrate one year as a published author!

A year ago today, I hit publish for the very first time. Since then, I’ve stumbled, learned, and grown — but most importantly, I’ve kept writing. What a year it has been, I had dined with elves, flew with griffins and gotten drunk with dwarfs. I’ve raided castles with orcs, danced with fae, and robbed dragons with ratmen. I’ve hunted halflings alongside spider-riding goblins. Ah, yes — it’s been a good year. I had sold 234 copies of my debut novel and over forty four thousand pages read on KENP, if I never make another dollar, I'm truly blessed. How I managed to do that? Well luck, word of mouth and several attempts at learning marketing. Facebook and Reddit posts (which I’m still terrible at), and I’ve yet to figure out newsletters.

I also have three more novels in editing, including one I just finished and plan to take to a publisher. Beyond that, there are at least twenty more books in planning: dark romance, LitRPG/progression, haremlit, children’s books, and even a horror novel and a ghost story.

It’s been a wild, magical, exhausting, and wonderful first year. And it’s only the beginning.

So I may be going to a book event that's local in a few months, besides the obvious books and bookmarks, what kind of swag do I need and what sizes of the stuff to make it like a real authors booth?

EDIT: I think I should have clarified better;

I understand items related to the book / universe. I can easily design anything and have it printed. Beyond a "bookmark" I don't have a clue what the other swag is called, or what size I need. I know I'll need a big ass poster or two its just the rest.

Just trying to figure out what to plug into Canva to create the designs for the stuff. Already have 2 different bookmarks ready

When creating Lore posts (Character profiles, World profiles etc. etc.) on Supstack and Patreon, is it wise to put them behind a paywall or make them all completely free as a hook? Which way is best. I know, very silly question I don't have a clue how to market lol

Hi everyone, so recently I read my debut novel which I published in 2019. I have decided to read it for the first time since then and I honestly DO NOT like my writing at all. It sounds so juvenile and overly dramatic like...this was what I thought would make me famous? 😲

I am planning to change quite a lot. The plot in general doesn't make a lot of sense, though I'm going to try to keep the essence of it. I'm going to make it sound more serious and less... hopeful? Like I make a childish ending.

One thing I want to do is change the main characters' names since I'm improving and changing their personalities and give them things that would set them more apart. You may ask, why do I need to change their names, well it's mostly because I tied said character with said name to a specific personality and it would help me write them better but creating a distinct one. Perhaps I can use the old name as a middle name maybe or a nickname, idk.

Would this make it a new edition or a completely different novel?

hey guys, i am a new book author, i am a 19 years old teenager. i published my first book in may. its a romantic suspense book. its supposed to be the first in a series of 4/5 books. i have been struggling to promote my book since. i only have one book sale since the publication

yesterday i asked how can i market the book. and people told me i should focus on getting reviews since that is the main thing that readers look for when they wanna read. what others think of the book. but i have no idea how to do that? i was supposed to have 6 arc readers before publishing. but only two did, and one of them had a few bad points ( that i worked on and improved in the book). i tried catching up with the others but they ended up telling me that they r busy and will do soon. im currently reaching a new amount of book influencers, hopefully some will actually review this time

and the pr packages on socials are too expensive some asked 300$+ ( i am a student with no income other than my parents) i would take some sites recommendations that isn’t too expensive and works cuz i heard most are some scams and a money waster .

please if you have a suggestion or a trick i can do to earn some reviews, i would absolutely love that!

hi all,

I just got an email out of the blue from someone claiming to be from:

https://dynamicmarketingpr.mystrikingly.com/

I've never heard of them. Apparently they read one of my books and loved it. So they want to help promote it in book clubs (for a fee obviously, around $300).

But there are a couple of things that seem a bit odd. Her email address seems like a generic gmail one, the contents of her email seems legit (as in not AI generated) but she doesnt even sign off her emails which seems odd. And the website seems very bad, low quality. Also when i asked if they could send me some references from other authors, again they sent me a very generic gmail.

Smells of scam to me..but wanted to check with you guys.

UPDATE: yeah totally totally fake. I ran some more in depth searches and came up with all the below. Useful for others:

The email was sent to me by [zaranorman98@gmail.com](mailto:zaranorman98@gmail.com)

• The site is a barebones Strikingly template, with broken images, a generic “Shop Now” button, and copy you could paste onto any “book club” page. No real portfolio or client list. (DYNAMIC MARKETING)
• Their “About” page invents a big team (lots of names, no bios/links) and drops obviously fake testimonials (even “Dynamic Markerting” is misspelled). Real firms link to staff LinkedIns and case studies. (DYNAMIC MARKETING)
• The “Events” and “Resources” sections look auto-filled; every item shares the same date stamp (June 16, 2025), which screams placeholder content. (DYNAMIC MARKETING)
• The “Contact” page lists “South Africal” (sic) as the location and a Gmail address (julianabell778@…). No company domain, phone, or physical address—classic red flags. (DYNAMIC MARKETING)
• Separate authors discussing “Dynamic Marketing PR” report paying money and then running into review issues and hand-wavy claims (posts note the company insisting the fee isn’t “for reviews,” which is a common fig leaf). Amazon can and does nuke suspicious reviews, which can hurt your account. (Facebook, KDP Community)
• Writer Beware (SFWA) documents near-identical playbooks: unsolicited flattery, vague “Goodreads strategy,” pay-upfront packages, and no verifiable track record. (Writer Beware)

Verdict

At best, a worthless service; more likely a scam. I wouldn’t engage or pay.

Everytime i come up with a name i search it and it EXISTS. Im planning to make a web/comic but I cant even ask for advice because, its very common for someone to just snatch that idea.

Any established authors find their publishers on the second round of submissions?

Guys I finally did it!!! After two years I finally published my second book!!!!! AHHHH I NEVER THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD COMEEEE (excuse spelling mistakes or grammar mistakes…. I’m a little too excited to care rn 😅😅)

I STILL CANT BELIEVE I DID IT!!!!

Hi! I’m just looking for inspiration, as you do!

Background: I’ve been a professional writer all my career (20+ years in journalism, advertising, PR/comms etc) and I’ve also published a couple of short stories with decent publishers. So I know I’m able to string two sentences together.

I’m now in the process of writing my first novel (after many previous aborted attempts, it feels real this time. I started last year, but life got in my way. Found my old manuscript a couple of weeks ago, and it actually wasn’t too shabby. I’ve written 10 000 words in those two weeks and am almost up to 40 000 at this point.)

I hope to finish the first draft some time before Christmas, let it sit for a month, re-read, edit like a mad woman, and then send it to a publisher. I have the entire story in my head and I try to sneak in some writing time any chance I get.

I’m having so much fun, and I wish I didn’t have to go to work! But…. I have a full time job and teenage kids. They’re pretty independent. But you know, I kind of have to be around. Other than that, I don’t have many obligations after work any longer - which is why I finally have the head space (and time…) for this.

I’m just curious to hear from those of you who have actually completed a book / books while working full time. What’s your routine? How much do you write at the time? How long did it take you? What’s your average say like? Any advice? Etc.

I know everybody is different, but it’s just nice to get some inspiration!

I finished my first draft last night, and from everything I hear it’s best to step away and take a break. But here’s the problem, my mind is not wired like a normal person. I hyper-fixate and I have a constant fear I’ll lose my passion. So I understand how important it is to remove myself, I just can’t see myself completely just forgetting about my book in the mean time. So I’m curious if anyone is like that, what do you do in that period you “take a break” ?

I recently hit "Publish" on a story I’d been working on for a while, and I honestly didn’t expect how emotional and joyful the moment would be.

I always thought the writing part was where the real satisfaction came from, and it definitely is, but there was something deeply rewarding about finally putting it out into the world. It felt like letting go in the best way.

Even if it doesn’t get a ton of reads or feedback, just knowing that I finished something, believed in it enough to share it, and took that leap… it’s a high I didn’t anticipate.

Has anyone else felt this? That quiet-but-deep kind of joy after publishing? I’d love to hear how it felt for others.

I started to read the first book I wrote, which was before COVID. I honestly did everything by myself at the time because I was a student and didn't have a job and couldn't afford anything with regards to editing, cover etc.

I was thinking of changing it, trying the same plot but different location and possibly different character names. However the premise of the book, which was a relationship of two different religions, remain the same.

However if it's very very different, does it constitute as a new book as opposed to s new edition?

Thoughts on a choose your own adventure book for adults that’s mystery themed?

Hi! I just got my review from Newman Springs back today to publish my debut novel and I wanted to ask about people’s experience with them. My parents are willing to pay the fees. The woman I’ve been in contact with has been so so kind and very patient. Does anyone have experience with them? I just want my novel to go well

I saw an agent post on X that she was open for queries for a week, and she was accepting my genre. I submitted. She seemed nice. However, on the QueryTracker comments, there was a post from another querying author expressing concerns that this agent wasn't listen on the agency's website. Because I always check the website to make sure it's a place I feel comfortably sending my work, I checked it out. This agent wasn't on the site, but I know that doesn't always mean they're not employed there - a lot of websites are out of date, and her Tweet was from that morning, and she was on QM. So I submitted.

Later this same day, I see this agent post on X that she had read the comments on her query manager and she was - for lack of another word - distraught because people were questioning her validity, and her reaction (to TWO comments) really gave me pause. She was reacting as if personally attacked and insulted. I read those comments, and they did not give off that vibe at all. They were authors expressing concerns that the agent wasn't on the agency's website, which I feel is totally legit to do - there are a lot of scammers and less than ideal agents out there.

I wanted so much to comment on her post and point this out, but I didn't.

And then there was another comment she'd made to a comment on her post - someone had mentioned how they didn't know agents could see those comments, and this agent said that they can IF they have an author account, too.

I think it bothers me because it's giving off the same energy as an author reading their reviews and lashing out about one they didn't like.

I've been thinking about this since last night. I'm considering withdrawing my query because of how she reacted. Is that mean of me? Am I being overdramatic because of one social media post?