Building an Engaged Readership Online - Introducing the Wattpad Publishing Scheduler

There’s nothing quite like getting lost in a story. We’ve all known the thrill of escaping to another world in an incredible narrative, where characters become companions and you find yourself completely absorbed in another perspective and experience, anxiously anticipating what comes next.

For many webnovelists, storytelling and building an audience happen at the same time. The ability to write and publish serially is one of the most important aspects of writing on Wattpad. But serialization works best when authors are consistent. Consistent updates are key to building excitement, engagement, and a returning readership. In fact, our own research indicates that 77% of Wattpad readers are likely to read an ongoing story as long as it’s updated regularly. Just like your favorite TV show that you spend all week waiting for, or your favorite podcast that comes out every Monday, regularly scheduled updates are crucial for reader engagement.

When stories are updated sporadically, readers are left unsure when to check for updates and may lose interest in a story. Nothing is more frustrating than a cliffhanger that won’t be resolved. It’s like getting wrapped up in a great show, only for it to take a mid-season hiatus without a return date! 

At Wattpad, we’re in the business of helping authors succeed. Last month, we announced enhancements to the Wattpad Creators Program, expanding the educational programming we provide writers, and evolving the program to make coaching and education more central. The program will help writers hone their craft, find their voice, reach and engage the biggest audience, and build their writing career on Wattpad. 

Writer development means giving authors tools and resources to succeed, which is why we’re announcing the Publishing Scheduler, a new tool to make consistent publishing easier. With this new product feature, authors can schedule new story parts to publish at a future date or time, so they can spend their time writing and not worrying about when to hit publish. And because Wattpad authors are all over the world, writers can schedule new chapters for peak reading hours from an entirely different time zone! 

We know that every writer has a different creative process: some write in big sprints, some have a dedicated writing time each day where they chip away at a story, while others plan their story well into the future and make edits as they go. The beauty of the Publishing Scheduler is that it works for every type of writer. 

With the Publishing Scheduler, authors can now conveniently plan and schedule when their chapters will publish. Authors will find a new option to “Schedule to Publish Later” when a new story part is complete.

Once scheduled, authors will still have the ability to make edits to the story and can always change the date and time when it will be released. 

For authors who prefer to write in sprints, the Publishing Scheduler allows up to 200 story parts to be pre-scheduled. So an author can plan, write, and release an entire novel! 

Writers are the cornerstone of our business: their success is our success. Whether it’s helping authors hone their craft or developing new tools for writing and fan engagement, at Wattpad we innovate for writers. 

The Publishing Scheduler is currently rolling out to the global Wattpad community, and all authors will have access to the tool this month. 

For more resources on how to write and promote incredible stories on Wattpad, visit our Creator Portal.