[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Xianxia

It's a discussion forum so I'm discussing.

Sure, but obviously, this discussion is merely for entertainment, as it's unlikely that Wattpad will be heavily swayed by the folks here.

And trust me, Wattpad is aware of the issue, especially of Qidian and Patreon.

I'll take your word for it. FWIW, I'd never heard of Patreon before this thread. Is this the SAME Patreon that had that massive data hack, just two months ago? Was all over the tech wires? The one with the huge online data dump, on the DarkNet? (n.b., to my MR friends: just because I'm a vehement opponent of piracy doesn't mean I don't pay attention to what goes on in the DN.)

Wattpad has the potential to disrupt both Amazon Kindle and Trade Publishers when it come to genre fiction.

Uh, no. Perhaps for teenage vampire fiction in poorly-written form, sure. For real fiction? That adults will buy and read? I don't think so.

It just very bad at it right now compare to the like of Qidian.

Step 1: Free web novels to generate large audience

You mean, like Amazon does with its KDP Select and KU programs? For which, mind you, they pay the authors for borrows for KU?

Step 2: Royalties for its most popular writers

Which those same authors can get, in large part, in larger numbers (more dollars) on B&N, Amazon, iBooks and KoboBooks? And even Scribd, should they feel like it?

Step 3: Attracting top tier trade authors and self-published authors

Just like Amazon...

Step 4: Disrupt Kindle and trade publishers

I just don't see any promise of that here. Wattpad is supported, by and large, by teenagers. That's all well and good--nothing wrong with it--but they more than anyone else feel that content on the web should be FREE. For that matter, go to Wattpad and look at what gets "liked." By and large, it's tweens and teens all supporting each other's writing efforts, like a giant 8th-Grade class at a school.

Qidian has proven that the future of publishing in China is web novel. Wattpad is so far behind.

Hmmmm...with zero governmental support, is that correct? The Chinese government has no money in, or control around, the content? You surprise me, you do. Uh...wasn't there a huge censorship dealio there, this year? And, if I'm remembering correctly, this too is a heavy bastion of amateur writing, right? Tons of it in the romance category?

I don't think that Wattpad has any possibility of disrupting Amazon. Moreover, as Cinsa mentioned, why would ANY author decide that instead of setting his or her own price, for their books, that they'd just sit around waiting for total strangers to donate? Sure, SOME may do very well (that's always the case), but what happens if glowy vampires go out of favor, next month? Sure, millions of bucks sounds AWESOME, but the average author can't even get his/her readers to leave him a review, much less MONEY. Or use NetGalley--they get a free read, and STILL can't be bothered to leave reviews on Amazon, et al.

I don't see it. I've spent a fair amount of time on Wattpad (potential clients, and all that), and yet, most of what I see is pretty much dreck.

Offered solely FWIW. Perhaps Chinese teenagers do pay for content, unlike most American teens, but...that's what I see, FWIW.

Hitch