Caught on Camera - Free Summer Read on Wattpad

by Madelle Morgan

Caught on Camera, my 55,000 word New Adult romantic comedy, was discovered by thousands of readers worldwide pre-publication. 

Wattpad.com, the social media site for aspiring and published writers, is the reason.

An unknown indie romance author has a very difficult time getting her books noticed in this new age of self-publishing. 

Building an e-mail list and followers can be a difficult, time-consuming and often expensive process. 

In this post, I'll describe how I went from four followers to over a hundred thousand followers on Wattpad, and why my awesome free read experience is one I will repeat with the second book in the Hollywood in Muskoka series.

I signed up on Wattpad.com in August, 2015 and started posting pre-copyedited scenes of Caught on Camera. Five months later, I had a grand total of four Wattpad followers. My book was ranked so low among thousands of stories it didn't even merit a number. No one could find it. 

Sound familiar?

Wattpad has three curated lists under each Discover/category tab: Hot, Featured, and Undiscovered. In January I submitted an on-line application to have Caught on Camera featured in the Discover/Romance category. It was featured starting mid-February, after I had posted approximately half the book.

As a condition of having my book featured, I agreed to leave the complete novel on the site for six months. "What do I have to lose?" I thought. My debut romantic suspense, Diamond Hunter, was never discovered despite good reviews, promo via KDP Select, deal sites, and Facebook ads, and eventually a permanent price of $0.99 USD. I crossed my fingers that I might gain a few readers via the Wattpad feature. Maybe a hundred followers. Optimistically two hundred.

Well, to my amazement, as of July I have more than 112,000 Wattpad followers from around the world! 

Granted, most followers wait until a story is complete to start reading. Over two thousand did read my chapters as they were posted weekly this spring, briefly pushing the book to #19 in Romance. Many readers commented with much appreciated feedback that made Caught on Camera a better story. I even added a sex scene due to popular demand!

Will many of those 112,000 followers buy the book when it's published, given that they had the opportunity to read it for free? That remains to be seen. I will advertise a special feature that is not in the final draft posted on Wattpad. However, having thousands of readers who can't wait to read Sex and the Screenwriter, Book 2 in the series, is a long way from four followers status!

I'll begin posting Book 2 scenes on Wattpad in the fall.


Caught on Camera Back Cover Copy

To achieve her dream of working on Hollywood film sets, star struck chambermaid Rachel Lehmann needs $35,000 for film school tuition by the end of the summer. When she's asked to fill in for a missing bridesmaid at a movie star's wedding, it's her big chance to secretly take candid photos of celebrities and sell them to the entertainment media. Then groomsman Mickey McNichol, agent to the stars, sweeps her off her feet.

Mickey cynically believes everyone in show business is out for what they can get. When he falls hard for the stand-in bridesmaid, he thinks he's finally met a beautiful woman he can trust. But if Rachel betrays the wedding party's privacy, Mickey will ensure she never works in Hollywood.

Caught on Camera is complete on Wattpad.com. I sent it to a copy editor last week, and it will be available on Amazon, Kobo, and iBooks in September. Meanwhile, treat yourself to a fun, sexy summer read. Sign up on Wattpad.com, follow Madelle Morgan, and read Caught on Camera for free.

Have a wonderful summer!

Madelle

Subscribe to MadelleMorgan.com and receive a free copy of her sexy short story, The Next Big Thing.

Madelle tweets and posts about Hollywood, filmmaking, the settings for her stories, and of course, writing. 

Follow Madelle on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad. 

Wattpad - Is It For You?

by Madelle Morgan

I'm posting Caught on Camera in serial form on Wattpad. My New Adult romantic comedy is in the "final draft before copy editing" stage. Every couple of weeks or so until it's published later this fall, I'll post another scene. 

I hope to gain feedback and followers who are excited about the story. Hopefully they'll tell their friends!


Are you on Wattpad? 

Wattpad is a social medial platform that enables anyone to read writer-posted work for free. Many of the writers on the site are pre-published. That is, they use Wattpad as a developmental program for works-in-progress. Some likely have no intention of formally publishing their fan fiction, poetry, and other creative work. For them, Wattpad is simply a place to share with a wide audience, and receive feedback with a view to improving their writing.

Why Should Readers Join Wattpad?

Readers actually don't need to be members of Wattpad in order to read the posted "parts". Unfortunately for readers, authors cannot keep the entire book available for free on Wattpad after it's for sale on the various retail platforms. Readers have a limited time or no opportunity to read the story's ending. So why sign up as a member, you may ask?

Wattpad members may:

• follow an author, and thereby be notified when new scenes or "parts" are posted;
• comment, helping to shape a story;
• vote on books to support a favorite author and make her books more visible;
• interact with authors; and last but not least,
• discover books and new authors.

Why Should an Indie Author Join Yet Another Social Media Platform?

In this fiercely competitive market, self-published authors join Wattpad to attract fans. Increasingly, published authors are posting several chapters; i.e., they post more content than "look inside" type samples or first chapters available on retail sites. Readers have the opportunity to try many authors without spending a dime. Authors hope the free reads hook readers, and that they'll eventually buy the books on retail sites to find out what happens.

From wsj.com, "Wattpad has 40 million monthly users - almost 90% of whom are on mobile devices."

My newbie impression (I just joined Wattpad in August) is that promo on an author's other social media platforms such as Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, etc. drives traffic to an author's books on the Wattpad platform. If a work has few views or votes, it's difficult for a Wattpad member to discover. The more member votes and views, the higher the book's ranking and the greater the discoverability.

More About Marketing on Wattpad

I decided to join and post scenes from my upcoming novel thanks to romance author Linda Poitevin. I've been following her informative series of articles, blog posts and podcasts - The Great Wattpad Marketing Experiment. Scroll down on the page at this link to Linda's website to the Wattpad heading to read about Linda's experience and lessons learned.

Read parts of Linda's Ever After romance series on Wattpad, and note that she has had 4.1 million views of Gwynneth Ever After, which is awesome!

Compare that to fewer than 20 views of three parts of Caught on Camera on Wattpad. Well, we indie authors have to start somewhere! Check it out here. I'd love your comments and feedback.

Hope you enjoyed the summer!

Madelle

Connect with me on Facebook. Follow to receive posts with links to articles on the film-making industry, dogs, romance writing and more, or subscribe to blog posts at www.MadelleMorgan.com.

YA Horror/Paranormal Romance Author Catrina Burgess

::: Giveaway – I’m giving away to one winner a package with some of my favorite chocolate, cookies and tea. How do you enter to win? Comment below. Tell me what is your favorite paranormal element? Do you love vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, magic?:::

I’ve always adored ghost stories. I devoured all the spook filled stories I could find as a little kid. Over the years I’ve never gotten tired of reading books or watching shows about the paranormal. When I started working on the Dark Ritual Series, of course I took my love of all things paranormal and created a world full of dark magic. In that world is Colina Campbell. She is a girl who is trying to find her way. She is trying to survive against incredible odds and to do so she has to turn her back on everything she believes. Everything her people have taught her. I love working on the Dark Ritual Series and I can’t wait to finish Book 4 so I can share with everyone what happens next in Colina’s adventures.

Awakening is a YA Horror/Paranormal. There's a romance, some ghosts and a zombie or two.

Seventeen year old Colina is desperate to become a Death Dealer. It’s the only way for her to survive, and get the revenge she seeks. But, to become a Death Dealer she will have to court death itself, suffer the possession of another, and if she makes it to the third ritual, she'll have to do the unthinkable. Can she survive the horrific trials long enough to gain the dark power? And if she does, what will she become?

Her guide on this journey is Luke, a seventeen year old Death Dealer who reluctantly takes on the task of training her. But the more time he spends with Colina, the more he worries about her safety, because he’s falling hard for a girl with too many secrets.

Read The Dark Rituals series on Wattpad. http://www.wattpad.com/user/catrinaburgess

Awakening – Book 1

Possession – Book 2

Revenant – Book 3

And Legion – Book 4 coming this winter

Read An Excerpt:

I reached out, grabbing for anything, but there was only empty space. I fell a long way before slamming hard against the surface of…water? I plunged down into cold, wet darkness. The shock of the cold forced the oxygen from my lungs. My head went under, and my momentum carried me down. I kicked my feet, my lungs near bursting for air. I struggled to go up, to break the surface. When I didn’t think I could survive a moment longer, I found myself bobbing above the water’s surface. I could breathe again. I sucked in oxygen, sweet oxygen and frantically moved my arms, trying to stay afloat. I did my best to swim as my clothes, heavy with water, pulled me back down.

I looked up and saw lightning zigzagging across the sky. How far had I fallen? Ten feet? Twelve feet? I kicked forward, reached out, and made contact with smooth stone. My fingers followed the stone around. A perfect circle--I had fallen into a well. I looked up at the sky again as I brushed against the smooth rock. There were no handholds. No way to climb up and out. The water was cold. A chill seeped into my bones, and I began to shiver. I forced down the panic and tried to stay calm.

And I realized I wasn’t alone.

An unnatural chill ran down the back of my neck. A breeze moved past me, and I had the sense that whatever hovered near me wasn’t of this world.

I heard a whisper. My ears strained to make out the words, but there were none, at least none I could decipher. More noises that didn’t sound human. Then a growl to my right.

I spun around in the water. “Who are you?” My words were forced out between chattering teeth.

Another growl, this one louder and closer.

“What do you want?” Desperately, I tread water, trying to keep my head above the surface.

“You” echoed in the darkness, and as it rang out, something grabbed my foot and yanked me under.

I kicked hard, forcing myself back up. I broke the surface and sucked in a mouthful of air only to be pulled under again. Whatever had me was strong. I kicked and struggled, frantic to break free from its grip. I couldn’t breathe. I did a couple of hard scissor kicks and for a moment my head bobbed above the water again. I sucked in another lungful of air before it dragged me under.

About Catrina Burgess:

I write because it helps keeps the darkness away and reminds me there is magic in the world. I live in a small mining town in Arizona. The place at night is definitely spooky. I swear I've heard the wind giggle and sometimes there's a very odd breeze that blows at night. There's something unnatural about it--it's truly spooky and sends shivers down your spine. I love all things that go bump in the night. I adore old movies.I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan. When I grow up I want to be a super hero. I want a cool red and black costume and I want some rockin' powers. I've been known to eat pizza and cold Chinese food for breakfast and I’m the queen of the board game Stratego. I’ve never been beaten. NEVER! ;-)

GIVEAWAY QUESTION: Tell me what is your favorite paranormal element? Do you love vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, magic?

I'd love to have you visit me:

Website - http://www.catrinaburgess.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/catrina.burgess.5 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/