Some of us are naturally born storytellers, and we often look for platforms to write these stories and eventually grow an audience. Though writing is in itself a discipline that should be honed and perfected, it helps if you are doing so under the roof of other storywriters. The benefits of joining writing platforms are that they offer community, engagement, followers, and votes, and these boost your morale.
And sometimes you even get paid 😉
Below is a non-extensive list of writing platforms that you should consider looking into, as they offer various benefits to their authors.
Wattpad
Almost every writer has heard of and likely even started on Wattpad. It offers readers and writers a community to follow one another, message privately, leave in-line comments, or even post on someone’s timeline, and that will appear publicly to anyone else that goes to their profile. Readers and writers have a variety of genres or even hashtags to choose from, so it really affords you the freedom to read—or write—whatever you want. Though there are limits to how many books you can download to read offline if you have the free version, there are no limits to how many books you can add to your library—or how many reading lists to have, for that matter. There is a notification tab to inform you of when a book you have has been updated, if you are tagged somewhere, or if someone voted on a chapter. If you are a writer, you also have no limit to how many books you can write or how long, in terms of word count, your chapters are. It’s available as an app for both iPhone and Android, and you can also log in via the browser. Fun fact: the After series started off as a One Direction fanfiction on Wattpad.
Inkitt
Inkitt allows writers to write and upload stories for free and sometimes even have their books appear on Galatea, a sister platform. Readers can read up to four chapters for free without even creating an account, and then have the option of logging in and even providing feedback and reviews. Inkitt also has regular writing contests with interesting prompts like ‘The Waiting Series’ and ‘The Curvy Girls’, which allow the writers to produce short stories (<5000 words) and spin them in any way they like. The author subscription allows readers to financially support their favourite writers, and in return, authors can share exclusive content with the reader base. Writers keep 100% of all earnings. Now, we said Inkitt works with Galatea, as in, the books that perform well will be published over on Galatea, the fast-growing platform.
Belletristica
At first glance, you will notice that Belletristica gives off enchanted, fantasy vibes. For writers, you can get feedback from your community, and one good thing is that people are very protective of one another, so it’s rare to find mean comments and trolls. It is a free platform, and the community is involved in whatever goes around, from new features to new rules. It also gives you the freedom to read without creating an account, and therefore you can remain anonymous unless, of course, you post a comment or message somebody. The chatroom allows you to switch between English and German, and it has public chats under various categories like ‘Your playlist’, where you can share the type of music you’re into; ‘Introduce yourself’, where you can let others know more about you and ask anything about the platform since you’re new; and ‘Trade Guide’, where people can ask for help in editing or making a cover and offer something else in return. ‘Book suggestions’ is where people can recommend their favourite books and writers to others so that engagement grows. Furthermore, you can have group chats or private chats too. To partake in these chats, you would need to create an account.
Medium
This is like the ‘inner circle’ of writers. Medium is popular for both professionals and casual readers, and you can either subscribe to content (usually indicated with a yellow star) or else there are plenty of works to read, including fiction, technology articles, and what’s happening globally in terms of laws and regulations. Thus, if your bright idea is a story about a female alpha who has been lost at sea for 10 years and comes back to find his wife being married to the beta warewolf, then this may not be the best platform for you. On a free subscription, you get three free stories to read per month. Okay, yes, that was confusing. What we mean is that the stories that are not hidden behind a paywall are available for you to read, and because the platform exists almost exclusively as a paid subscription, it costs as little as $5.00, which is N$94. Medium also allows you to follow writers, ‘applaud’ a story or article, and leave comments. There are two subscription options: (1) a regular member that has access to stories and costs $5 USD per month. Otherwise, the (2) friend membership is US$15 per month and allows you all the regular member benefits, plus helping writers earn up to quadruple when you read or even share their stories.
Persumi
This one only made the list because it will appeal more to those who like writing blog-style. Though we didn’t create an account with Persumi, we realised that you can read or listen to articles. Users can also categorise the type of content they wish to show on their profile, either by having headers under their profile such as Tech, CV, Photography, or Feed. The pro plan is free during the alpha and beta testing stages, and you may sign up for a free account and then get the chance to upgrade to a paid account, which will allow for more features such as advanced AI writing assistance, analytics, and custom domain names. The pro plan is US$15 a month, which is N$283.
Having an income from story writing isn’t necessarily the driving force behind why most people write stories, but it does help to know that your work is being rewarded in some capacity. And the little subscription you pay doesn’t amount to the success or community that comes with it, since your work is boosted and recommended to more people. If you are lucky, publishing houses will locate you and offer you a contract to turn your story into a motion picture!
Check out which platform works best for you, and let us know which ones you are already aware of. If there are some amazing applications that we should definitely tap into, let us know in the comments. And, should you ever publish your first book or next chapter, or pick it up after some creative block, tag us! We’d love to read it!
