Direct To Readers: A look at platforms Medium, Commaful and Wattpad
For those Shark Tank viewers, we know most of the entrepreneurs who appear on the show have a product they sell “direct-to-consumers.” They cut out the middleman but that means they’re on their own for production, marketing, shipping and collections.
The “Sharks” of the Shark Tank all have things to offer: money certainly, connections, marketing skills and supply chain knowledge. Some sharks have a certain expertise that aligns more directly with a product and thus, their engagement increases the chances of success.
Writers are no different. We too, make choices of how to create and distribute our product, be it short stories, novels, essays and the like.
For us, technology is our “shark,” the tool that affords us choices. A host of platforms exist for direct-to-consumer distribution to the end users - readers. By partnering with a shark, entrepreneurs hope to lift their product from an anonymous galaxy of online shopping and elevate it to a national brand. For writers, platforms can take our product from the limited distribution of our web site or blog to a larger universe of readers in search of relevant content.
But are any of them right for your product?
As with so many things writing related, what seems easy and straightforward is often complicated and time consuming. There’s no fast forward, no skipping steps when finding a place for your work. Writers posting on any platform will still be required to cultivate a following, post frequently, put in the hard work, if they want their stories read.
There is no site that will allow the writer to post, walk away and reap both exposure and profits. And in fact, if that’s the strategy it may backfire. As your posts wither on the vine, the algorithm the platform uses may decrease its ranking of you, making it more difficult in the future to increase it.
With some of these platforms there’s upselling and gatekeeping.
There are also opportunities for community building, feedback and exposure to audiences.
All of the sites give helpful information on best practices, building an audience and tips for success.
For each site you’re given a small space to describe your story or run the first few sentences, along with an image to entice a reader. They better be killer because the reader can easily scroll to the next and they will.
I explored three of these sites and tried to find answers the questions I thought would be most important to a writer looking for an outlet, things like: How does it work? What is their angle? What happens to the author’s ownership rights? How easy is it to use? Who is this site best for?
Let’s start with the most prominent one.
Medium
I’m a subscriber to this site. It sends me links based on my stated interests and my browsing history. Much like a shopping site, if I click on something my feed will then fill with suggestions for further reading.
I also find it cumbersome to navigate to pages that contain any individual author’s fiction or short stories. Medium acts as a portal to publications that accept submissions from writers so most fiction is found in the pages of the entities who aggregate this content. You’ll be subject to the idiosyncrasies of the editors and are not guaranteed acceptance.
Having said that, anyone can post anything directly to Medium as long as it conforms to the rules.
The platform features celebrity writers and authors, and well-known authorities, and publishes a wide range of writing.
A curated piece, one selected by Medium’s editors for promotion, will be featured across a variety of Medium’s pages, increasing the chances for engagement.
Membership in a partnership program means you may be paid for your submissions. An algorithm allocates revenue to writers based on the amount of time a reader spends on your article/story.
Interaction is in the form of notes both embedded in the text and comments from readers posted below. Readers “clap” their approval by clicking the two hands at the bottom of the page.
Audio has been added. It’s not only convenient to have a story read to you but it’s a valuable tool in the editing process as well.
You continue to own all rights to your work.
Commaful
Anyone can post to the site.
Stories are combined with images in a picture-book format. The integration of words and images, if done creatively, can produce stunning results, however, it must be done in a way that creates synergy. For a creative artist who combines an eye for the visual with the right content this site is perfect. For example, the story featured here uses the language of topography to describe emotions and transformations. The accompanying images not only enhance the experience but construct a powerful link between the words and the feelings.
Writers may not connect to this format if they’re not drawn to the imagery side.
The format lends itself better to (very) short pieces. Much of the writing reads as poetry, even those classified as short story.
The multimedia format trends to a younger audience.
The site allows “story trailers,” videos by creators that are shared to other social media outlets.
Interactive comments provide feedback from readers.
Reviewers of the site comment on the supportive and nurturing nature of the community.
Creators retain the rights to their work.
Wattpad
Again, anyone can post a story.
This site is mostly genre based, with the most popular categories being romance and fantasy.
The platform boasts 90 million readers.
Wattpad has programs that deal in stories, books and media. They promote affiliations with publishers and multimedia entities claiming over 1,000 titles that have been converted to movies, television, etc. via their relationships with Hulu, Syfy Network, Penguin Random House, and MacMillan Publishers.
Paid stories are works selected by Wattpad and placed behind a paywall. Readers must purchase coins from an Apple or Google app to unlock them.
Embedded comments give feedback to writers.
An upgraded version is ad-free, provides the ability to read offline and gives discount pricing on purchases. Packages are priced in the range of $4.99 to $7.49 per month.
These three sites differ in their approaches. There are many more to explore. Find a more complete list and descriptions from Just Publishing Advice. So writers - go forth and find your shark.
Point of pride here. Congrats to our own Elizabeth Solar for publishing her wry essay “Could You Sound Taller” on Medium!
