The ABCs of Self-Publishing Platforms Wattpad

WATTPAD

https://www.wattpad.com/

Wattpad is a unique platform where you can upload any kind of writing, including works in progress. You can upload one chapter at a time or serialized fiction. It is on the platform only. There is no ebook distribution. 

You cannot infringe on copyright with print or images or plagiarize. From start to finish, you’re in control of the what, when, and where of your project. If you publish using “advanced options,” you can also add copyright language to the story like “All rights reserved” or a “Creative Commons” license. 

They have strict rules about copyright infringement and posting content that is obscene or hateful. Read those guidelines carefully before creating content.

Cost: Free to upload your stories.

Rights: Your work is protected as copyrighted upon upload. Wattpad doesn’t ask for the rights to your work, and it doesn’t decide where it gets published. No ISBN is involved.

Distribution: Only on Wattpad or in concert with their other programs.

Services: Writers get direct interaction and feedback. Create an account and upload any of your writing. Anyone can read it or comment on it.

Wattpad Studios works with untapped Wattpad writers to facilitate connections to their publishing and multimedia partners. Over 1000 original Wattpad stories have been published, produced, or adapted to TV or film.

With their own direct publishing division, Wattpad Books, they’re bringing Wattpad stories to bookshelves. They make it easy for readers to share stories via email, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts.

Wattpad Originals makes it possible for you to earn money for your work while providing readers a way to monetarily support writers. It is an invite-only program. They identify content, contact the creator, and provide one on one onboarding support to get stories prepped for launch. This looks different for each story and can include things from full story editing to cover preparation to description/tag support. Wattpad works with some of the biggest brand and studio partners from around the world to provide creators with exclusive writing opportunities. 

With Wattpad Brand Partnerships, creators get a chance to work with brands like Maybelline, Tim Hortons, JCPenney, Paramount Pictures. and many more. They can get paid for their work by participating in brand campaigns and initiatives. From writing branded bonus chapters on Wattpad to doing social media takeovers off-platform, working with brands helps creators establish credibility and elevate their own writer brand. To get involved with brands, you can enter a Wattpad writing contest—submit your story to win exciting prizes. Winning stories could also get the chance to be turned into a short film, podcast, commercial or other media. Be enlisted to work with a brand to write a sponsored story, bonus chapters or other seeded entries. Create custom social content and participate in branded social media takeovers. Get featured on a brand’s livestream or podcast.

The Wattpad Creators Program supports writers who are consistently updating their stories by offering access to: Editorial support through our ticketing system, Oracle, where you can ask questions directly to our Wattpad Originals editors and content team scouts. Educational resources focus on helping you succeed on the Wattpad platform, covering topics such as IEC and web-novel style writing. There are opportunities to take part in Creator Workshops. There is a Wattpad Creators Discord channel. There are opportunities to pitch your stories directly to their content team for consideration for Wattpad Originals. Creator Coordinators answer questions and support your writing journey. In order to qualify for the Wattpad Creators Program, you need to meet the following criteria, for at least one story: must be40,000 words or more, written in English, has been updated with a minimum of 500 words at least once in the last two weeks and at least six times in the last three months. It cannot be fanfiction, random writing, poetry, or classics. You also must not have any conduct or content violations against your account. In exchange for entrance to the Wattpad Creators Program, writers are asked to update a story of their choice on a weekly basis, as we know this is key to your story’s success on Wattpad. 

They also have articles for writers about story structure, marketing, self-publishing, etc.

https://creators.wattpad.com/writing-resources/

Payment: No royalties but opportunities through their programs to earn money. They are not an aggregator or distributor.

Next week, we look at XinXii, a new player out of Germany.

As always, if you find this information useful, share it, like it. If you want more free information, sign up to follow the blog on blogger or the Story Building Blocks Facebook Page. Free tips and tools are also available on my site https://dianahurwitz.com/.

 

 

The ABCs of Self-Publishing Platforms StreetLib

STREET LIB

https://www.streetlib.com/

Streetlib is an aggregator of ebooks, print on demand, and audiobooks. You manage multiple distribution channels on their dashboard. They do not require exclusivity. They emphasize their software, tracking, and data analysis.

Distribution: They partner with a fast-expanding global distribution network including transnational retail and subscription outlets, global digital library distributors, and myriad smaller retail outlets and other consumer points across ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, POD, comics, magazines and online reading apps.

They distribute over 50 platforms, but there is a free tier and paid tiers. They distribute to the Amazon, Apple Books, Bajalibras, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Bibliotheca, Bidi, BookBeat, Book Republic, Casa del Libro, decalibro, Goodbook, Google Play, Hoepli.let, ibs.it, Giardino del Libri.it, Il Narratore Audiolibri, Izneo, Kobo Plus. They are picky about their epub files.

Cost: StreetLib offers a Free plan allowing indie authors and publishers to distribute their ebooks to a limited number of international retailers and subscription apps with no upfront costs and a generous 70% share of revenue. They have higher tiers that run from $29 to $49 per month USD.

Rights: You retain all rights. By default, they assign an ISBN. If you have your own ISBN (which is not used by any other edition of the book on any other platform), you can use it. The ISBN field cannot be changed. If you need to update the ISBN of one of your books, you have to remove it from sale and proceed with a new publication indicating the correct ISBN.

Services: They are picky about your epub file format. With their Write App, you can create ePubs for use on their platform and KDP. It is a subscription app that you access online and is beginner friendly. StreetLib Ready is their publishing service and their experts will prepare your ePub format (ePub reflowable, ePub FXL, or ePub enhanced). Converting your text to ePub format takes about 10 business days with this service and is a for-pay service from $21 to $100. They have an echeck verification process. You can create your ePub using software like InDesign, Calibre, or Sigil if you are confident managing html and CSS codes. They do not recommend Google Doc’s epub tool. Fonts used within ePubs files, as they are easily extractable, must be license-free. In the case of licensed fonts, they suggest you check what the license requires for the use of digital files. If you proceed with InDesign or Calibre, you must ensure the final ePub file is valid from a structural point of view, as the formatting may change. You can order author copies at a discount. Audiobooks can be listened to on different devices: On a computer you can download and install Chrome's Readium.

Payment: You can download your invoices and sales analytics report (which shows details, such as the number of units sold, the library where they were sold, the territory, the currency, and so on) at any time.

Online bookstores apply different sales models: Wholesale, Agency, and Lending and Subscriptions. The latter offer no downloads. The reader accesses their content online on their site. Royalties depend on the model of the various platforms. Like other aggregators, this service collects royalties minus expenses from the platforms, then pays you after taking their cut.

You can offer your book for free for a promotion. However, individual platforms like Amazon do not have to comply and might price match.

If you live in USA or Canada, you can choose to receive your earnings through bank transfer, Payoneer, or PayPal payments; if you live outside USA or Canada, you can choose bank transfer or Paypal payments. You can enter and save multiple payment methods. Different methods have different thresholds you must meet before a payment is made. The sales tracking data may not match your payments.

Next week, we look at Wattpad.

As always, if you find this information useful, share it, like it. If you want more free information, sign up to follow the blog on blogger or the Story Building Blocks Facebook Page. Free tips and tools are also available on my site https://dianahurwitz.com/.

The ABCs of Self-Publishing Platforms SCRIBD/Everand

SCRIBD/EVERAND

https://www.everand.com/

Scribd divided into three entities in November 2023. They are no longer a direct upload publisher. Everand is their book division. They offer ebooks and audiobooks. It is like Kindle Unlimited. Readers pay $11.99 for unlimited material: ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and podcasts. Their app is available through Google Play and the Apple store. They do not directly publish your work. You must upload your work to Smashwords, INscribe Digital, BookBaby, Draft2Digital, or Findaway Voices.

Cost: None. You choose distribution through other publishers on Everand.

Rights: You retain all rights.

Distribution: They feature books from traditional publishers and self-publishers. Your books are available on their app.

Services: None except being featured on their app.

Payment: None. You are paid by your upload service provider.

Next week, we look at StreetLib.

As always, if you find this information useful, share it, like it. If you want more free information, sign up to follow the blog on blogger or the Story Building Blocks Facebook Page. Free tips and tools are also available on my site https://dianahurwitz.com/.

The ABCs of Self-Publishing Platforms Publish Drive

PUBLISHDRIVE

https://publishdrive.com/

PublishDrive is a cloud-based distribution, royalty management, and data analytics aggregator company. They do not require exclusivity. No software installation is required. For a monthly fixed fee, they keep track of all of your titles, sales data, and analytics.

Cost: There are service fee tiers for the use of their management service. For example, one book at 35 distribution sites is $10.64 per month, 6 books at 53 channels is $15.74 per month, and 18 books and 53 channels is $31.49 per month. This fee is nonrefundable even if you decide to cancel mid-cycle. 

Rights: You retain all rights. You provide the ISBN.

Distribution: They distribute through Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Odilo, Bibliotheca, Ciando, Bookmate, Doozer, iBooks, Google Play, OverDrive, Scribd, Audible, Walmart, Target, Tolino, Bam, eStories, Indigo, Storytel, Blackwells, Waterman, and over 400 stores and 240K libraries.

 Services: They upload your books to the platforms including BISAC and metadata information. They generate data analytics reports. They assist with book formatting. They have templates and a file converter. 

They recommend free Calibre software to format your book. They do not proofread or edit your book. They do not read your book. They offer a suite of marketing tools, including running price promotions, optimizing Amazon ads, and free in-store promotions. They can handle bulk import and distribution to hard-to-reach markets like China, India, etc. marketing tools and in-store promotional opportunities. They offer review copies.

Payment: Each platform has their own royalty payment agreement and schedule. They track your sales and collect the royalties then pay you. They claim their benefit is their Abacus software that tracks sales from multiple platforms.

They use a flat fee model to use their service instead of a percent of royalties. You must earn at least $5 in royalties for a payment. You set a payment threshold, meaning you state whether you want to get paid if the royalties reach X amount. The option to select no payment threshold is not available due to transaction fees that are applicable to all payouts. Royalties are paid only after they receive payment from the individual vendors. You are paid in the month they get paid. If the transaction costs (and tax withholding) are higher than the royalties you've earned, they are unable to make a payment.

You provide your banking details after you receive your first sales report. They will report income to the IRS but do not collect taxes. They pay via wire transfer (via Wise), local bank transfer, check, PayPal or intercash. These methods vary in speed and charges. If you are using Payoneer, you can get paid to your Payoneer account. Transaction fees apply.

Next week, we look at Scribd/Everand.

As always, if you find this information useful, share it, like it. If you want more free information, sign up to follow the blog on blogger or the Story Building Blocks Facebook Page. Free tips and tools are also available on my site https://dianahurwitz.com/.