Woohoo! Interview! Today I’ll be chatting with Erin Latimer, a mega-popular WattPad author about her experiences on the increasingly popular website that’s all about sharing your stories with the world. I met Erin earlier this year when we swapped manuscripts as beta readers. Since then, we’ve also become partners in crime on a new YouTube channel and friends. You should all absolutely check out her stuff as she’s pretty hilarious and a mega-talented writer!!!

Kellie: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and WattPad is for anyone who might not know?
Erin: Well to start with, I’m Erin Latimer and I write YA fantasy and steampunk. Back home, before I moved to the middle of nowhere I started a writer’s group. One of the girls I met through that has become a very good friend of mine, and she introduced me to Wattpad. Wattpad, for those who don’t know, is often called “The Youtube for books” but it’s much more than that. Not only can you read free books, and write your own, you can find several MILLION book lovers to network with. I’ve become very good friends with quite a few people on there. We skype, write one another letters and chat online. For a YA writer, Wattpad is a gold mine, since it’s full of teenagers who love to read, teenagers who love BOOKS. It doesn’t get better than that.

Kellie: Do you have any ongoing stories we should know about?
Erin: I have over seven full-length novels on wattpad. The latest one is called “Lucky” a steampunk romance about a girl with a gambling problem, and a secret that allows her to win every game.

Kellie: Why did you decide to start putting your work online?
Erin: I had a novel that was languishing on my desktop. Agents had rejected it because the girl was too old for YA. It now has over a million reads on wattpad, and NA is a now a thing, which made me chuckle a little bit.

Kellie: What has the experience been like for you so far?
Erin: I cannot say enough good things about Wattpad (as you can probably tell). I’ve built up a fanbase of wonderful, dedicated readers. They’re passionate and intelligent, they cheer me on when I’m down and give me feedback when I ask for it. If I want to run something by thousands of teens for the YA book I’m writing, I just ask them. Plus, the team at Wattpad are fantastic. They are great at supporting and promoting authors. I’m actually speaking on a panel at Vancouver Writer’s Fest about my Wattpad experiences next month, which is another opportunity that wouldn’t have come to me without the site.

Kellie: Any advice for those considering trying WattPad?
Erin: Do it! Oh, more specific advice? I’ll say the same for any networking sites, any fanbase building: Give, give, give and THEN ask. Network with people, read their stories and comment. Make friends with people, skype chat with other writers, give and take writing advice. If you’re looking for more specific details about covers, blurbs and how the Wattpad ranking system works, I have more information on both my Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheELatimer/videos  and on my Wattpad profile: http://www.wattpad.com/user/ELatimer

Kellie: With SO many stories to sort through, how do you find quality stories to read?
Erin: If you don’t enjoy digging through dirt to find the hidden gems (imagine how agents feel!) you can always go to the Wattpad “featured” list. These authors are handpicked by the Wattpad team.

Follow Erin on Wattpad – Follow Erin on Twitter – Visit Erin’s Blog

Erin and I are also both part of the upcoming YouTube channel, WordNerds. We’ll be talking about YA books, writing, publishing and probably a bunch of other nonsense that is sure to be entertaining. If you’re a fan of all things BookTube, you should definitely subscribe.