Wattpad celebrates two years of Paid Stories and more than $1 million in author earnings from the program
Wattpad’s Paid Stories program is just one of multiple ways indie authors make money on the platform, from TV, film, and publishing deals, to sponsored brand collaborations
TORONTO - APRIL 22, 2021 - Wattpad, the global multi-platform entertainment company for original stories and leading social storytelling platform, is celebrating two years of the Wattpad Paid Stories program, where indie authors have earned more than a million dollars! The milestone highlights Wattpad’s continued commitment to helping authors succeed with new ways to make money on the platform.
Since launching in 2019, Wattpad Paid Stories have seen explosive growth. Today, more than 550 writers and 750 stories are part of the program, which now hosts some of the most exciting and beloved stories on Wattpad. Users have spent more than half a billion minutes reading Wattpad Paid Stories, and now average nearly 30 million minutes each month reading stories in the program.
At Wattpad, there are a variety of ways for writers to make money from their work. Wattpad Paid Stories offers an important new model for writers to make money from their work directly on the platform, alongside opportunities to secure TV and film deals with Wattpad Studios, publishing deals with Wattpad Books, and sponsored brand collaborations.
Among the hundreds of writers now making money from Wattpad Paid Stories are top romance writers like Tamara Lush (@TamaraLush), who has accumulated millions of reads with ten stories in the program, and New Zealand-based Tay Marley (@tayxwriter), whose 30 million-read YA hit The QB Bad Boy and Me has been a top-performing story in the Wattpad Paid Stories program and on bookshelves. Superstar Filipino author @CeCeLib, has accumulated more than 260 million reads across five stories in the Paid Stories program. And readers can’t put down the Wattpad hit, Turn On (17.6 million reads) from Indonesia’s Tiara Wales (@TiaraWales), except when they were enjoying the record-breaking first season of the Vidio Original Series adaptation, which had more than 10 million views for its first season and has been greenlit for Season 2.
“Wattpad is committed to helping writers around the world share their stories, grow their fanbase, and make meaningful money from their work,” said Jeanne Lam, Chief Business Officer, Wattpad. “Wattpad has democratized storytelling, and with a growing number of ways for writers to monetize their work, Wattpad is the best place on the planet for writers to take control of their careers. We’re excited to continue supporting authors with Wattpad Paid Stories, creating new opportunities for writers around the world in 2021 and beyond.”
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About Wattpad
Wattpad’s vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. Wattpad’s flagship app is a leading social storytelling platform, home to a community of more than 90 million people who spend over 23 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Wattpad’s Story DNA Machine Learning technology allows the company to discover stand-out stories among more than one billion uploads written on the platform. Wattpad Studios and Wattpad Books are transforming entertainment and publishing, using data-backed insights to turn Wattpad stories into books, films and TV shows. Wattpad Brand Partnerships help brands build deep engagement with Gen Z consumers. The company is proudly based in Toronto, Canada. Learn more at company.wattpad.com.