I agree with not stretching yourself too thin. Many of these sights have a social element such as comments. And you need to be active on a platform to build an audience (in my experience.) And I also agree that a personal website or blog will not get regular readers. This is the social media age. No one "surfs the Web" anymore. They Google it. And visit social media.
I have written on Medium for almost four years. Short fiction can do well there, if you cultivate a loyal following. Serial fiction bombs for me on Medium. I have tried several times with dismal results.
The platform seems to be in decline. My readership is about a third of two years ago. And I find it harder to find quality stories to read. Many writers were discouraged by an 80% cut in writer payouts two years ago (for most writers) and are jumping ship (many of my favorite writers from a couple of years ago have left or gone inactive.)
I have been posting a novel on Royal Road for a few months and it has been slowly growing in views. It is not the usual GameLit or reincarnation stories that are popular on RR, so I happy with its progress. You have to use Patreon to monetize. But I am not opening that can of worms until I have more followers.
I have been on Substack for over a year. My short fiction (and humor) does well there. The jury is still out on serial fiction for me. I have a running serial that gets little attention. I am also posting my second novel as I write it. But it only gets a handful of views.
Each platform has a unique, loyal audience. And there seems to be little overlap, so it is fine to post the same stories on more than one platform.
Really useful insight there, Mark, thanks. Agree with your thoughts on the platforms - I was a Medium subscriber for a couple of years but cancelled recently because the overall quality of writing seems to have dropped significantly. What is left is too often verging on clickbait, or tinged with social media lifehack/quick solution phraseology. I used to find a ton of interesting material there, but their reliance on algorithms I think has rather undone them - I find myself categorising them alongside the likes of Twitter and Facebook, which isn't a good thing.
Royal Road was quite successful for me with a book I posted daily (pre-written), which reached a decent readership with minimal input from me. All the other platforms, aside from Wattpad, have been negligible. It's a shame that the biggest and most successful platform for me in terms of readers is also the one with the fewest useful features.
Substack is absolutely my favourite platform as a creator and a reader. But as you note, it's hard to know yet whether it'll work for serial fiction. I'm going to dip my toe into one-off shorts soon, so we'll see what happens there.
I love doing shorts. They allow me to write a variety of things. And I think they work great for Substack. With a serial, the reader has to enjoy and commit long term to a story or you’re sunk. With shorts, the reader just has to enjoy the writer and you have more freedom. You get more chances to win readers over.
Indeed - a serial is a far more complicated thing to drop into halfway through, especially as Substack isn't currently built to make navigation in and around a serial story easy.
The book I'm writing at the moment is a crime drama, which has individual storylines for each 'case'. The characters have continuity, but I think I should probably make more of the fact that a reader can drop in at the beginning of any of the storylines without too much difficulty. A bit like how you could tune in and watch a random episode of CSI without having to have watched from the beginning.
Agreed. I include a "start at the beginning" button at the top and a "next chapter" button at the end of all my chapters to make navigating easier. Of course, putting them in a section does create an index, but it is easier to go from chapter to chapter via buttons.
I do a similar thing with my sci-fi serial. Each planet they visit is a separate story that only lasts a few chapters. So each is like a television episode with the same characters (and "guest stars".)
I’m currently on Substack, Medium, and have started composing original work for Ko-fi. If I’m able to churn out more fiction in the future (since my life is fairly busy right now), then I’d consider some of the other platforms. I can sustain what I’m using and I’d rather concentrate on doing a few things well.
It’s hard because I like Substack and the “reward” for good work. It just doesn’t pay. Medium seems to favor the same meta articles and tips to make a million pieces. I make some pence off Medium but not much. I’m hoping that I can just use it as skill-building to benefit Substack.
I'm publishing my current book to multiple platforms, but in a fairly low investment sort of way. Wattpad is my only other 'major' platform. As you note, you have to keep things sustainable and if I was to commit fully to every available platform I'd not have any time left to do my actual writing.
Which of these do you currently post on, besides substack? I tried Wattpad once and my story never showed up in the 'new' list for my tags, you had to search for it by name for it to appear, so I decided to avoid those platforms
I post to Wattpad and Royal Road, but lagged behind my Substack. I've had some luck with Wattpad readers over the years, but Substack is absolutely my focus now.
Have you ever heard or had experience with Simily? I've enjoyed reading stories on their. Seems to have a similar system to Medium, except it's primary focus is fiction writing
Currently I only write on Substack, though I am trying to dabble in Medium (with no great success). I never heard of Tapas or Inkitt. Will look into it. I’ve learned that expanding your horizon is the key to more success, so I’ll have to learn to be more proactive in that regard.
It's a balance of effort and reward, as you don't want to expend all your time faffing about on platforms which aren't delivering anything useful. I've focused in on Subtack, Wattpad and Royal Road, for example, and have largely cut out the rest.
Ah fellow Wattpadder! I still have my account but don't use it. Gosh it's easily been 10 years I think. I tried Inkitt and didn't see much movement. I like Substack because you can build an email list. I thought about Medium but geesh, just seems like my stories would get lost in the crowd. I wanted to try Royal Road but haven't gotten around to it. Thanks for making this list though, It's been helpful to read your thoughts on each.
"Readers can only ever enhance the writing experience. Readers are the other side of the coin: without them, writing is a one-way street that never quite reaches its destination. A dance without a partner."
Also you are right. Medium and Quora are more geared towards non fiction writing.
Thanks! The internet has certainly matured into having many decent venues for non-fic, but it's still a bit of a chaotic melting pot when it comes to fiction. Feels like nobody has quite cracked it yet - which is why I'm excited and intrigued by Substack's efforts in the space.
Great piece, Simon. I've been thinking about trying out Medium despite some negativity I've been seeing about it as of late. I love Substack, but I'm not growing as quickly with it as I'd like to be. Ultimately, I still want Substack to be my "home," but I feel I need some better feeder systems. I have my ConvertKit newsletter and a LinkedIn newsletter that are doing pretty well, but I don't see them being as easy to monetize long-term.
Yeah, nothing wrong with going on multiple platforms as long as it fits into your schedule! I had to whittle down where I was posting stuff purely from a practical perspective. And I had it the other way around — Substack has always worked well for me, but Medium always felt a bit random and unpredictable.
Hi Simon and all who contributed to this great topic,
I am new to web writing and appreciate the time you spent, Simon, discussing your experiences and the nine useful platforms for writers. I write for the pure joy of bringing pleasure to those who read, who, in turn, inspire my writing because of their enjoyment. So I began posting a novel I am writing, A Miraculous Journey With Thor And Hisstory on several platforms, Medium, Substack, Booksie, QuoteV, Wattpad, Royal Road, and my own website. When people ask for some detail about it, I write, "In the grand tradition of heroic figures from Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451 fighting for freedom of thought under a tyrannical regime out to destroy the defiant, comes the young orphan Thor and his pet serpent Hisstory challenging the norm." Here's a review I received: Great original writing! Brilliant, smooth usage of language with overwhelmingly thorough attention to detail. I could go on and on. And this just my humble opinion as a writer. From a reader's point of view: A feast for all senses! It's thrilling and complex, spike with magic, wisdom, humor and heart! In my opinion, your are already up there competing with the greatest writers in this genre. Can't wait to read the next chapter. Keep up the good work, and thanks for sharing!!!💙 That review was so gratifying, but mostly I get people clicking without knowing if they read it. I haven't had much luck so far. I invite you to have a look. I think you'd enjoy it. I'd appreciate your candid comments. It's so hard to reach people in this rapidly spinning web environment, but I believe it's important to support each other in our endeavors. Best wishes, Hisstory Haven
I did consider it! My old blog was very much a typical personal blog, though, in that it was a right old mess and full of all sorts of random stuff. :) Accumulated thoughts from ten years, basically, only some of which were a) good and b) relevant. A mostly clean slate seemed like the way to go, and it ensured that this Substack would have a clearer purpose.
Hopefully when new readers find me here and browse through the archive, it all makes sense. Fiction on the one hand, writing tips on the other. Helps me to have that clear through-line, too - the blog I did last week about my holiday in Malta, for example, I still wrote from the point of view of writing insight, rather than just being a random blog about my holiday. :)
Hi Simon, glad to see this article is still getting attention, but I was wondering what would your advice be for a new author in January 2025. Would you stick to a single platform or would you repost a serial across a few different ones.
Wattpad definitely skews young and likes romance and fanfic, but it's still quite diverse outside of that core. It got it start that way but the readership and writer community have got older and now demand a wider range. My books are science fiction and fantasy and don't really fit into the classic Wattpad mould, but have still done quite well, so it is possible!
The exciting thing about Substack is that I'm much more in control, and less in thrall to opaque algorithms.
I agree with not stretching yourself too thin. Many of these sights have a social element such as comments. And you need to be active on a platform to build an audience (in my experience.) And I also agree that a personal website or blog will not get regular readers. This is the social media age. No one "surfs the Web" anymore. They Google it. And visit social media.
I have written on Medium for almost four years. Short fiction can do well there, if you cultivate a loyal following. Serial fiction bombs for me on Medium. I have tried several times with dismal results.
The platform seems to be in decline. My readership is about a third of two years ago. And I find it harder to find quality stories to read. Many writers were discouraged by an 80% cut in writer payouts two years ago (for most writers) and are jumping ship (many of my favorite writers from a couple of years ago have left or gone inactive.)
I have been posting a novel on Royal Road for a few months and it has been slowly growing in views. It is not the usual GameLit or reincarnation stories that are popular on RR, so I happy with its progress. You have to use Patreon to monetize. But I am not opening that can of worms until I have more followers.
I have been on Substack for over a year. My short fiction (and humor) does well there. The jury is still out on serial fiction for me. I have a running serial that gets little attention. I am also posting my second novel as I write it. But it only gets a handful of views.
Each platform has a unique, loyal audience. And there seems to be little overlap, so it is fine to post the same stories on more than one platform.
Really useful insight there, Mark, thanks. Agree with your thoughts on the platforms - I was a Medium subscriber for a couple of years but cancelled recently because the overall quality of writing seems to have dropped significantly. What is left is too often verging on clickbait, or tinged with social media lifehack/quick solution phraseology. I used to find a ton of interesting material there, but their reliance on algorithms I think has rather undone them - I find myself categorising them alongside the likes of Twitter and Facebook, which isn't a good thing.
Royal Road was quite successful for me with a book I posted daily (pre-written), which reached a decent readership with minimal input from me. All the other platforms, aside from Wattpad, have been negligible. It's a shame that the biggest and most successful platform for me in terms of readers is also the one with the fewest useful features.
Substack is absolutely my favourite platform as a creator and a reader. But as you note, it's hard to know yet whether it'll work for serial fiction. I'm going to dip my toe into one-off shorts soon, so we'll see what happens there.
I love doing shorts. They allow me to write a variety of things. And I think they work great for Substack. With a serial, the reader has to enjoy and commit long term to a story or you’re sunk. With shorts, the reader just has to enjoy the writer and you have more freedom. You get more chances to win readers over.
Indeed - a serial is a far more complicated thing to drop into halfway through, especially as Substack isn't currently built to make navigation in and around a serial story easy.
The book I'm writing at the moment is a crime drama, which has individual storylines for each 'case'. The characters have continuity, but I think I should probably make more of the fact that a reader can drop in at the beginning of any of the storylines without too much difficulty. A bit like how you could tune in and watch a random episode of CSI without having to have watched from the beginning.
Agreed. I include a "start at the beginning" button at the top and a "next chapter" button at the end of all my chapters to make navigating easier. Of course, putting them in a section does create an index, but it is easier to go from chapter to chapter via buttons.
I do a similar thing with my sci-fi serial. Each planet they visit is a separate story that only lasts a few chapters. So each is like a television episode with the same characters (and "guest stars".)
I’m currently on Substack, Medium, and have started composing original work for Ko-fi. If I’m able to churn out more fiction in the future (since my life is fairly busy right now), then I’d consider some of the other platforms. I can sustain what I’m using and I’d rather concentrate on doing a few things well.
It’s hard because I like Substack and the “reward” for good work. It just doesn’t pay. Medium seems to favor the same meta articles and tips to make a million pieces. I make some pence off Medium but not much. I’m hoping that I can just use it as skill-building to benefit Substack.
I'm publishing my current book to multiple platforms, but in a fairly low investment sort of way. Wattpad is my only other 'major' platform. As you note, you have to keep things sustainable and if I was to commit fully to every available platform I'd not have any time left to do my actual writing.
What genre do you publish on Wattpad?
Science fiction and fantasy, though my stuff doesn't always fit as neatly into genre boundaries as the algorithm would like. :)
Which of these do you currently post on, besides substack? I tried Wattpad once and my story never showed up in the 'new' list for my tags, you had to search for it by name for it to appear, so I decided to avoid those platforms
I post to Wattpad and Royal Road, but lagged behind my Substack. I've had some luck with Wattpad readers over the years, but Substack is absolutely my focus now.
Have you ever heard or had experience with Simily? I've enjoyed reading stories on their. Seems to have a similar system to Medium, except it's primary focus is fiction writing
I have not! I've seen it mentioned a couple of times, though. I'll have to check it out, thanks for the tip.
Currently I only write on Substack, though I am trying to dabble in Medium (with no great success). I never heard of Tapas or Inkitt. Will look into it. I’ve learned that expanding your horizon is the key to more success, so I’ll have to learn to be more proactive in that regard.
It's a balance of effort and reward, as you don't want to expend all your time faffing about on platforms which aren't delivering anything useful. I've focused in on Subtack, Wattpad and Royal Road, for example, and have largely cut out the rest.
Thanks for the comment!
Ah fellow Wattpadder! I still have my account but don't use it. Gosh it's easily been 10 years I think. I tried Inkitt and didn't see much movement. I like Substack because you can build an email list. I thought about Medium but geesh, just seems like my stories would get lost in the crowd. I wanted to try Royal Road but haven't gotten around to it. Thanks for making this list though, It's been helpful to read your thoughts on each.
Wonderful insight:
"Readers can only ever enhance the writing experience. Readers are the other side of the coin: without them, writing is a one-way street that never quite reaches its destination. A dance without a partner."
Also you are right. Medium and Quora are more geared towards non fiction writing.
Thanks! The internet has certainly matured into having many decent venues for non-fic, but it's still a bit of a chaotic melting pot when it comes to fiction. Feels like nobody has quite cracked it yet - which is why I'm excited and intrigued by Substack's efforts in the space.
Great piece, Simon. I've been thinking about trying out Medium despite some negativity I've been seeing about it as of late. I love Substack, but I'm not growing as quickly with it as I'd like to be. Ultimately, I still want Substack to be my "home," but I feel I need some better feeder systems. I have my ConvertKit newsletter and a LinkedIn newsletter that are doing pretty well, but I don't see them being as easy to monetize long-term.
Yeah, nothing wrong with going on multiple platforms as long as it fits into your schedule! I had to whittle down where I was posting stuff purely from a practical perspective. And I had it the other way around — Substack has always worked well for me, but Medium always felt a bit random and unpredictable.
Hi Simon and all who contributed to this great topic,
I am new to web writing and appreciate the time you spent, Simon, discussing your experiences and the nine useful platforms for writers. I write for the pure joy of bringing pleasure to those who read, who, in turn, inspire my writing because of their enjoyment. So I began posting a novel I am writing, A Miraculous Journey With Thor And Hisstory on several platforms, Medium, Substack, Booksie, QuoteV, Wattpad, Royal Road, and my own website. When people ask for some detail about it, I write, "In the grand tradition of heroic figures from Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451 fighting for freedom of thought under a tyrannical regime out to destroy the defiant, comes the young orphan Thor and his pet serpent Hisstory challenging the norm." Here's a review I received: Great original writing! Brilliant, smooth usage of language with overwhelmingly thorough attention to detail. I could go on and on. And this just my humble opinion as a writer. From a reader's point of view: A feast for all senses! It's thrilling and complex, spike with magic, wisdom, humor and heart! In my opinion, your are already up there competing with the greatest writers in this genre. Can't wait to read the next chapter. Keep up the good work, and thanks for sharing!!!💙 That review was so gratifying, but mostly I get people clicking without knowing if they read it. I haven't had much luck so far. I invite you to have a look. I think you'd enjoy it. I'd appreciate your candid comments. It's so hard to reach people in this rapidly spinning web environment, but I believe it's important to support each other in our endeavors. Best wishes, Hisstory Haven
Curious if you considered moving your blog/site to substack via RSS feed option before you “nuked” it.
I did consider it! My old blog was very much a typical personal blog, though, in that it was a right old mess and full of all sorts of random stuff. :) Accumulated thoughts from ten years, basically, only some of which were a) good and b) relevant. A mostly clean slate seemed like the way to go, and it ensured that this Substack would have a clearer purpose.
Hopefully when new readers find me here and browse through the archive, it all makes sense. Fiction on the one hand, writing tips on the other. Helps me to have that clear through-line, too - the blog I did last week about my holiday in Malta, for example, I still wrote from the point of view of writing insight, rather than just being a random blog about my holiday. :)
Thanks for reading, Amie!
Hi Simon, glad to see this article is still getting attention, but I was wondering what would your advice be for a new author in January 2025. Would you stick to a single platform or would you repost a serial across a few different ones.
Interesting article! Thanks for sharing that one.
Wattpad definitely skews young and likes romance and fanfic, but it's still quite diverse outside of that core. It got it start that way but the readership and writer community have got older and now demand a wider range. My books are science fiction and fantasy and don't really fit into the classic Wattpad mould, but have still done quite well, so it is possible!
The exciting thing about Substack is that I'm much more in control, and less in thrall to opaque algorithms.