I know, I know, it’s weird to see my posting ANOTHER blog post so soon after another, but I have a good reason!
Mostly, it’s to thank you guys.
I’ve got to say… when Wattpad basically ruined the launch of Chapter Eight I was pretty bummed out. I always look forward to posting a new chapter, and I can ride that high for days.
I don’t know if you guys realize this, but for writers, especially us amateur ones writing on Wattpad, being able to see your comments is what makes posting our stories online so much fun!
Reading your comments is why I continue to post to Wattpad. It’s obviously not because Wattpad is a superior site in any way (yeah, right). I could post my writing to any other site. I don’t have to post it at all, even.
But I post to Wattpad because if they do one thing right, it’s letting us see how how our work can affect other people. The jokes you guys make in the comments, the reactions to our big plot twists, the speculations you make on future chapters we haven’t written yet… we love it all.
It’s exciting to see complete strangers, who could be anywhere in the world, interacting and engaging with a story you’ve spent so much time and energy on. When you guys look at something we’ve created and end up being as excited about it as we are: It makes it all worth it.
So while we write for free on Wattpad, we’re “paid” by your votes, your comments, your follows, etc. Your support as readers, your continued interest, your excitement over our work, is part of what keeps us writing. It’s often the motivation that has my ass staying up to finish one more page.
I’m not saying this is the only reason why I write, obviously, or that it’s the only reason why voting/commenting/following on the stories you enjoy is important (AKA it gets us noticed by publishers) but you guys are really important to the process too.
I’m writing this blog post because the outpouring of support I got on Twitter and on Wattpad was really nice. I wasn’t expecting it. I was a little down because my longest chapter yet, a chapter I was REALLY excited about posting, glitched out due to Wattpad’s technical issues. Hardly anyone could read my chapter, and those that somehow managed to weren’t able to vote or leave comments. AKA I had excitedly shouted “HERE LOOK AT THIS THING I WORKED HARD TO CREATE” into a (mostly) empty abyss with no response. Not great.
But so many of you reached out to me on Twitter to help me bitch out Wattpad, and to say how excited you were over the chapter, or how bummed you were you couldn’t read it. Some of you that managed to read it came to my Twitter to let me know how much you loved it, or you sent me messages on Wattpad to tell me how much you enjoyed it.
Guys that meant a lot to me. I don’t want to get cheesy or anything but I think it’s easy to get lost in the numbers sometimes. I know that people (generally) like my stories, but going out of your way to show me support made me feel it more clearly, I think. I’m not sure how to describe it. It made me feel proud of my work, that people cared enough about it, or liked it enough, to let me know that they enjoyed it.
In any case, I think it’s amazing that you guys took time out of your day to message me, because it’s so easy to read and run. The majority of my readers never comment or vote. They log in to read and then they bounce until the next chapter is posted. That’s fine of course, and expected when you offer something for free, but it makes the fact that I received so many messages today that much better.
Anyway. I’m hoping Wattpad will stop being shitty and magically start working again (because god knows it’ll take a miracle). People have been experiencing similar issues and Wattpad has responded saying that the issue may ‘fix itself in 24 hours’. I’m not hopeful, because it’s fucking Wattpad, but once everything is fixed I’ll be sure to send out another notification!
So yeah, that’s it. I just wanted to let you guys know how much I appreciate you leaving me comments and messages when I wasn’t expecting to get much of anything at all.
I hope when you guys finally can read the chapter, that you enjoy it.
So, thank you for your support! And happy eventual reading.
-Taleth.
See, I think I won’t be alone when I say that THIS is why a lot of us were rooting for Chapter 8 in the last x number of hours. Taleth, you’ve made it so possible to create the connection between your stories and your readers, not only because you write them well, but also because you’ve made yourself as real as the people who read them. Not many writers would go this great length of telling their readers, “I’m sorry it didn’t work out the way we both wanted it to. Just let me assure you that I’m not about to give up Chapter 8 just like that.” So, THANK YOU, Taleth for writing and sharing your words. 😊
Personally, I was able to read the chapter literally the moment you posted it. I was insanely exited and actually stopped everything I was doing to read what I have been waiting for for months. I voted and commented on the chapter but I didn’t know it didn’t work. So, I just want to say, that I want to thank you Taleth for sticking to your writings that you give for us for free. Thank you for not giving up on Valex, and on us. Your writing style is absolutely amazing and you deserve more attention on your work. We are with you and we are so proud of you. Thank you so much for granting us the opportunity to read such a perfect story.
OMG can I say I love your mind? I just did. The plot twists, the emotional connection I feel with Val and Alex, the pain, hurt, love is out of this world. It’s beautiful. You are a great writer. The fact we connect with your characters. Anyway, we’ll rally Wattpad to fix their site. Brilliant work. I want to meet you now.