I am bursting with excitement to share this news with you. I’ve been sitting on it for weeks, letting little hints slip here and there. I always want to be as transparent as possible when it comes to my readers and my work.
The short of it is, Wattpad approached me with a 2-year-exclusivity contract for my Dragonwall Series. This is a PAID contract, meaning that to sweeten the deal, Wattpad offered me a lump sum of money. Officially, this is the first paid contract I’ve ever received as an author. However, I didn’t want to jump in without my eyes wide open. So, I spent several weeks in negotiations, ensuring that legally, I fully understand what I’m getting into. And then I spent time weighing my options. In the end, I decided that this opportunity was too good to pass up.
I am so EXCITED!
There’s a lot to it; I’m going to summarize what this means. In short, I’ve given Wattpad exclusive rights to host my Dragonwall Series (Talon, Reyr, Verath, Koldis, etc.) over the next two years. Exclusivity means they get this series exclusively. It won’t be available elsewhere. There are pros and cons to this agreement, and those do not entirely center around the Dragonwall Series. We’ll get to that in a moment.
Technically, I’ve been offered a coveted place on the “Wattpad Creators” team. This is an exclusive position that comes with lots of perks. Giving exclusivity to Wattpad was one of the terms of my agreement. I’m going to outline some pros and cons. Ultimately, the pros far outweighed the cons. That allowed me to make my final decision.
Pros:
Becoming a Wattpad Creator means getting paid a monthly stipend for my work (more than what I was making as an indie author).
Wattpad offers access to special resources such as author workshops and editors (editors can be expensive!)
Wattpad gives me extra exposure, marketing and advertising my Dragonwall Books (and my other works) on its front page. This attracts more readers! This, in turn, grows my author brand.
Getting my foot in the door opens up more opportunities. Wattpad is its own publishing house now. They’re a huge platform, and growing. They’re also turning books into Netflix shows! This means I have better visibility. Better visibility means the potential to be a part of these existing opportunities. Wow, what if Talon the Black got picked up for a Netflix show?!? Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But hey, a girl can dream, right??
Extra visibility for other publishing companies! It’s a long term dream of mine to have my work traditionally published at some point. It’s a long shot, but this makes it more possible.
Readers on Wattpad will have access to the PUBLISHED version of Dragonwall Series for FREE!!!
Cons:
Dragonwall books will no longer be available for purchase elsewhere (Amazon, B&N, etc.) for the next two years.
Koldis the Green will not publish in a physical format for the next two years. Everyone will have to read the published version on Wattpad. Those who don’t have Wattpad will either have to download the free app, or wait two years to read it, unfortunately.
Any books I post on Wattpad (over the next two years) will be exclusive to Wattpad until my 2-year-contract ends, meaning, I cannot go and publish physical formats of those books until the contract ends.
Welp, that about sums it up. While there aren’t many cons, there are some seriously enticing pros! That helped me make my decision. And at the end of the day, I realized, two years isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of things. Dragonwall has been a ten-year-long project for me, and counting! So, pulling my Dragonwall series from places like Amazon, doesn’t mean forever!
Now, you might have questions, so I’ve compiled a fun FAQ. If this doesn’t answer everything, feel free to reach out:
Does this mean we will have to pay to read Dragonwall on Wattpad?
No! Wattpad assured me that my Dragonwall Series will remain FREE to readers (no coins, etc). In fact, these will be replaced with the *published* versions. Now you’ll get them free, instead of having to buy them. Wattpad is paying me directly so that you can have access to these (Thanks, Wattpad!).
However, I cannot guarantee these stories will remain free forever. I cannot predict the future. If a publisher comes along and buys this series from me, I must do what is best for my career as an author. These books have been free and available on Wattpad for nearly 10 years. While I’d like to keep them that way, I also want to become an author full time, and must make a living.
What about physical books? Can I still purchase them? Does this mean I won’t be able to compete my set? I wanted a copy of Koldis the Green!
While I suspended the sale of hardcovers, paperbacks, and ebooks worldwide, this won’t be forever. This is a two-year exclusivity agreement, meaning, in two years, I plan to resume sales. It also means that Koldis won’t release elsewhere for two years. (Thanks in advance for your patience!!)
Just think, if you have copies of books 1-3, your copies just got waaayyy more exclusive and valuable! You might find some used copies floating around. And I have a handful of physical copies in my home that I might be willing to part with, if you contact me directly. But these are officially OUT OF PRINT right now.
I noticed that the Dragonwall Series is missing from the Kindle store. What about the ebooks I purchased?
Your ebooks remain yours. Even though the book isn’t on Amazon anymore, amazon won’t take it away from you.
What does this mean for your future work?
Part of my agreement requires that I post two new books on Wattpad during the first year of my agreement. Because this agreement starts October 1st, we could see Bedelth the Orange chapters very soon! I hadn’t planned to start posting this until January-ish. But since I’ll need to meet a word count quota to stay in the Wattpad Creators program, I’m moving up my timeline. I also have another series I’m working on.
What about Lady Witch?
Lady Witch was not part of the Wattpad Creators agreement. These books are still published in hardcover, paperback, and ebook. They are also available on Kindle Unlimited. However, given that I’d like to publish the next set of Lady Witch books (books 4-6) in the next year or two, these books will skip Wattpad. I know this is a bummer for those who read the first three on Wattpad. Unfortunately, if I post them on Wattpad first, they will get sucked into the exclusivity agreement and Wattpad will have rights to them for two years, and I just can’t financially afford to postpone their publication for 2+ years.
But, I might be looking for beta readers…so that’s one way to have early access for FREE, in exchange for feedback during my writing process. More to come on that later!
Are ALL of your physically published books going away?
No! My Lady Witch series, Blood and Ballet, and For the Crown are all remaining available for purchase worldwide in various formats, including Kindle Unlimited.
When is this contract-thing happening?
Officially, the agreement is signed, sealed, delivered. The start date is October 1st. I’ll be receiving my onboarding package at that time. We can expect to see changes at or around that date, including the transition of my Dragonwall books, moving from the unpublished versions to the published versions.
This is so exciting. Is there anything I can do to help?
Yes! The biggest thing my readers can do is spread the word. One of the ways to do this is reviewing my work on Goodreads. Goodreads is a free platform where books are reviewed, to help prospective readers pick out their next reads. Accruing reviews helps sell books, increase visibility, and get the word out.