honestly as someone who uses wattpad, there is a LOT of "bad boy/billionaire/vampire/werewolf" tropey books out there...but there are also really good ones that have amazing characters and plots. Whilst I don't appreciate wattpad being like "top picks for you!!11" and recommending downright boring stuff, I do end up finding original works which are genuinely interesting. Wattpad has a problem with encouraging these tropey reads, but I do think it depends on the writer - and I think that's definitely why we're in this cycle of: author wants to write for readers >>> uses tropes and cliches >>> churns out book that doesn't have depth >>> repeat. It depends on who is writing, which is why authors are such an important aspect of this discussion. I do think wattpad is getting better somewhat (diversity is highlighted and celebrated which leads to marginalised groups writing diverse characters; the stuff they have put out from their own movie studios recently, like Bootcamp, is actually good) - but it still has a long way to go.
Oh, absolutely, I agree. Wattpad does have a few hidden gems (also a frequent user of Wattpad - I write mostly fanfic on there) but yeah what's being promoted recently is shit.
Aside from onus being on the writer, it's also on the readers of Wattpad's works, which happen to be pretty much most ex if not current Booktok girlies. And it absolutely does feed into that vicious cycle of authors writing for an audience and not themselves.
It's funny, authors are actually a crucial part of this discussion but these discussions (as well as the consumers of the typical, boring Wattpad stories) seem to leave authors out. I reckon it has a lot to do with not only the commercialisation, but also the consumerism that is books and literature. I saw someone else under the #anti booktok tag say this - Booktok is the fast fashion of literature, and I completely agree. I also think this applies to this big TV adaptations of at best, mid Wattpad stories. Authors nowadays aren't being included in the discussion because they're hardly relevant to their own works anymore. They're just churning out these cookie cutter books that don't say anything about what they believe in. The only authors who become individually famous are authors like Colleen Hoover, for her egregiously misogynistic books, and SJM, for being the template for every Booktok success. In the case of CoHo, I truly believe she's just an author trying to make a quick buck, who doesn't really give a shit about what's in her books, and the same for SJM, though her misogyny is much more subtle and better received.
I also see issue with Wattpad trying to both be a fanfiction website and a serious cooperation who wants to publish books. Don't get me wrong; I don't think authors should be discouraged from writing original stories on Wattpad. I just think that Wattpad is more like training wheels rather than an actual publishing company. Merging the fanfic tendencies of Wattpad stories with authors who are genuinely trying to make it big just results in fanfic-y original stories (which is what Wattpad promotes, because that's their audience. And when they adapt into big TV adaptations, more people want their literature to be fanfic. Which makes trying to make it as an author who wants to delve deep into issues difficult, because the fast fashion, anti intellectualism of reading won't allow for books that stray from the template). This bleeds into Booktok too.
I trust your tastes, anon. It's a real pity that Wattpad promotes the tropey over the well written stuff, because I know for a fact there is good stuff on there.
NOTE: I have been lurking online after writing my response to this ask, and found that a lot of queer stories were shadowbanned, courtesy of its new AI, despite not breaking any guidelines. There's no confirmation of it, but I've been keeping my eye out for any.
Thanks for the ask! Appreciate it as always (I always manage to sneak in a dig at Booktok - it's tradition now).
