Comments on: The Ebook 2.0 Era Has Arrived, by Wattpad Co-founder Allen Lau

By: ManiDhillon

ManiDhillon — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:53:07 +0000

Well as Allen said that for some and I think for most, writing is just a hobby and fun thing. They are not professionals and they don’t want to be.
But what wattpad or Allen’s eBook 2.0 era has done is give them a common platform.
I am a crazy book eater. When reading a hard copy or eBook I never have taken more than two days to finish a book. I read new writers on wattpad and I like the work because they do it the way they wanted the pros to write! So really reading and writing evolved a lot with introduction of wattpad.

By: Preston

Preston — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:48:46 +0000

I suppose anything is possible. There may very well be a reading market for this type of storytelling. I may even give this a try in a few months, just to see what it’s like. However, from a reader perspective it strikes me as watching sausage being made. I’d rather read the polished end product.

By: David

David — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:22:14 +0000

Chris: Editors do filter out bad books, but sometimes they filter out good ones due to marketing forces, personal tastes, or simply because they’re currently publishing a very similar book.

I had a book rejected due to marketing forces, a book the publishers all liked but didn’t think it could sell at the moment. Publishers hit only big markets, not niche markets, even though niche markets can be profitable if handled correctly.

By: Michael Pastore

Michael Pastore — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:13:38 +0000

Countless people play tennis, soccer, basketball; people draw and paint, make music, create films. These people are not professionals, and they don’t worry about that. They do it for the pure joy of the experience.

WattPad makes it easier for anyone to share their writings, in the context of a supportive community, and the chance to make friends with similar interests and ideas. New writers can gain valuable feedback; experienced writers can share their wisdom and mentor others.

It’s all new, and it’s all good.

Michael Pastore
50 Benefits of Ebooks

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:35:21 +0000

Among other things publishers filter books worth reading from the rest of the books. It is likely that there will be pearls among these books, however it is also likely that most of these books will be just increasing the noise and the information overload. Of course, editors may pick up raw gems from the sea of books and promote them, but without their activity the benefits of unlimited publishing for the general public are dubious.

By: Allen Lau

Allen Lau — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:31:13 +0000

I am not sure we should generalize the end goal for these writers. In fact, I am not even sure this is true for most of the Wattpad writers. Many of them simply write for fun or enjoy their works are being read.

Here is an example:
http://www.wattpad.com/user/makemebreakme555

In her “About Me”, she clearly says: “Writing is a hobby not a passion, meaning I only do it for fun. I won’t update everyday, I have a life. Hope you enjoy my work!”

Just like YouTube did not make Woody Allen redundant, I don’t believe ebook 2.0 is going to replace traditional editing and publishing. It simply creates another class of writers. Not necessarily better or worse writers, just different.
Also, publishing on Wattpad does not preclude the writers from publishing elsewhere. The writers still have 100% control of the copyright. We have writers who have signed traditional publishing deals. We also have writers who are selling the same books on LuLu. In fact, one writer was telling us her sales on LuLu increased by 400% because with Wattpad they can more effectively market their paper books.

By: anna

anna — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:38:22 +0000

It seems that this will have to clear the same hurdle that Fictionaut must clear – anything published via this process is ineligible to be published elsewhere (which seems the the endgoal) –

And isn’t one of the biggest aspects of writing the process of re-writing? This is not a process that the author necessarily wants to expose in realtime.

By: Zora

Zora — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:01:26 +0000

Speaking as both a writer and an editor, writers need editors. Many writers who do not think they need editors benefit from careful editing.

Several writers I know online invite a FEW readers to work with them as they write. Sometimes called alpha readers. Not anyone and everyone, just people whose taste they trust. The worst writers listen to no one.

Writing 2.0, far from being the wonderful shiny future, sounds like a recipe for reams of dreck.

By: Martin

Martin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:26:43 +0000

Real-time writing was common in the 19th century, when many books came out as serials first.

Trollope famously got rid of Mrs Proudie after hearing two people at his club talking about how much they disliked her. Sienkiewicz didn’t keep copies of what he sent his publisher, so had to telegraph him from Italy on one occasion, to ask if he’d killed his heroine yet.