5 Reasons Why Many Professionals Are Closeted Wattpad Authors
As of October 2022, over 90 million people all over the world use Wattpad. These 90 million people spend an average of 23 billion minutes reading, writing, or both in the app. Contrary to what some people say, most Wattpad users are professionals – may it be a writer or a reader. However, they hide behind their usernames because of various reasons. This occurs often with Wattpad writers.
5 Reasons Why Many Professionals Are Closeted Wattpad Authors
Their profession does not align with what they publish on the app.
As established, Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen created Wattpad for storytelling. True to its purpose, authors and readers alike are free to consume whatever they want – as long as they are not minors. Readers can read what they want. In the same sense, authors can write whatever they want. Wattpad caters to any kind of story, including smut, erotica, and other mature stories. And, most of the time, a Wattpad author’s profession (outside the app) does not condone these types of stories. In this situation, the author would present her stories online behind a pseudonym.
They have a persona to take care of in Wattpad or real life.
Having an image to uphold inside and/or outside the app serves as another reason why professionals hide behind their usernames. Inside the app, users can cultivate a persona through their stories, comments, and profile pictures. That persona could, sometimes, bleed into the user’s personal life. Due to the same reason, professionals refuse to tell their friends that they publish stories on Wattpad. In the literary community, romance writers are often looked down upon. Because of this, some professionals would say that they write science fiction, mystery/ thriller, or fantasy stories. When asked about what genre they write, some writers would lie just so their image wouldn’t be affected.
They refuse to associate themselves with the app’s ‘problematic’ image.
Let’s get to the point: many Wattpad stories have problematic content and themes. The sad truth, however, is that these problematic stories tend to overshadow brilliant ones. Apart from that, controversial stories have convinced non-Wattpad users that the app itself is problematic; and therefore, those who use it are also problematic. Professionals who are Wattpad authors would deny writing in the app – as they wouldn’t want to be viewed as “problematic” by the people they know.
They think too highly of themselves or they are insecure to share their work.
Generally, non-users view Wattpad negatively. This fact, alone, affects a writer’s relationship with their work. Because of the app’s image, professionals who write in it would sometimes feel ashamed to do so. They would feel as though Wattpad is not a legitimate platform for budding writers like them. Being insecure is another factor why professionals treat their Wattpad stories like shameful secrets. They sometimes listen to their inner saboteur and think that they aren’t good enough. Besides that, writers create stories that may or may not be derived from their experiences. They simply don’t want their muses to read what they wrote.
They are afraid of what their close friends and family would think.
Being a writer – not just on Wattpad – has a lot of disadvantages. Generally, grown-ups just don’t believe that writing for a living is possible. Most professionals hide their writing as they are afraid of not getting support from the people they need it the most. But grown-ups aren’t entirely wrong, though. Here in the Philippines, writers usually have two jobs: one job to sustain their needs and another to appease their passion to write. Professionals who are closeted Wattpad writers are professionals because of the same reason. They simply need to earn more for their families and themselves.
In conclusion, adulthood doesn’t really erase our passions. It just affects them. It is up to us if we let our passions get muddled by adulthood. In a way, professionals who write secretly on Wattpad are brave. They still find the time, energy, and creativity to funnel through their passion, writing. In the end, we should look up to those who muster the courage to turn their “hobbies” into passions. Want to read more articles like this? Click here.
