As Writers’ Connection continues to evolve, a lot of time has been spent researching the latest tools for writers. There certainly are a lot to choose from. Tools range from writing, editing, cross-checking words and phrases, formatting and publishing. With so many options, it is difficult to determine which ones are really worth the time or money investment to help writers streamline their process and become a better and more efficient writer. Whether helpful or a hindrance, all tools have pros and cons that all writers should be aware of.

One of the goals of Writers’ Connection is to become the go-to information source for all things writing and publishing. In support of this initiative, we are picking a few tools to focus on this year and keep an ongoing diary about our experience using them. We’ll be the guinea pig and report back on what we find. Bookmark this post and check back often to see the latest findings and facts about new and popular tools for writers.

First up is Wattpad. Wattpad is more than a “tool.” It’s a community for readers and writers where one can discover new user-generated stories, spanning multiple blended genres. Wattpad looks to remove the traditional barriers between readers and writers by building social communities around stories. Think of it as Snapchat for writers.

Pros

• Wattpad gives people from around the world access to an audience of millions, and connects them with content they can’t find anywhere else.
• Wattpad provides writers with an opportunity to write, promote,and share their work across a wide and varied audience of more than a million users, chapter by chapter.
• A younger audience is mainly made up of Millennials and Generation Y and this is often their first experience writing for an audience.

Cons

• A majority younger audience that does not include older, seasoned writers who may not trust the platform.
• Copyright issues plagued the service in the past, although they have some measures in place now that allow writers to choose a level of security. However, they claim they can’t keep up on all issues all of the time, so it is easy to copy and steal someone else’s ideas and words.
• The ability to message any user at any time has sometimes resulted in the kind of drama seen on other social media sites.
• There are lots and lots of poorly written stories.
• A Poor rating system makes it hard to rate writing.

Writers’ Connection now has an active Wattpad account and will be participating and interacting with the other million+ writers to see what this community is really all about. We’ll be reporting back periodically on how the site and app work from a real writer user perspective and update and add to the pros and cons list. Stay tuned…

Article written by Anne M. Carroll