Figment Review

Figment

I gave this site second place. 

This site deserves more of my attention but for some reason I have never really gotten into it, although that could change for 2017!  It is aimed at teens and young adults  so you can't really post your stories here if it contains adult content.

Writing:  I think this is where Figment loses me.  The site is very user friendly but when you want to post a story the first section "Content" always throws me - is it the blurb, the first chapter... to me, it's not clear. 

Covers:  The choice of available covers are very dull and uninspiring.  However, you can upload your own cover.  As their selection was so boring, I found myself going off to work on a cover before I could even get started.

Badges:  OMG!  If I knew about badges I would have been on here ages ago.  I'm so excited!  This is why I want to give Figment another chances.  When I played City of Heroes, collecting the badges became one of the most rewarding elements of the game (almost as exciting as being a superhero  with super powers).  You get badges for writing, reading, socialising - you know once you start, you have to collect them all!

App:  No, there isn't an app for this site but they claim they are working on one.  However, the website has been adapted for mobile use, just visit m.figment.com

Pros:

• Badges
• Easy to update stories
• Social media
• Easy to read stories and add to your library
• Very active
• Reach YA target audience

Cons

• No app
• Limited cover choices
• Not suitable if your target audience is adults.

Link:  http://figment.com/

Wattpad Review

Wattpad
This site has won me over - it is my top recommendation for social writing site for writers/readers.

Throughout 2016, this has become my favourite writing website.   It is a breeze to navigate on the site and on the apps.  This site has now become the first place I go to write - before even my Word Processor!

Social:  The community are easy to communicate with.  There is a forum and private message facility but most of my interactions have been on Writers/Readers personal page.

Feedback:  Commenting on writing is easy.  If you have the app (iOS/Android/Windows) then you can comment inline whilst reading.  You can also share to social media like Twitter of Facebook and can quote part of the story.

Readers:  People who like your writing can comment, vote, add your story to their  reading list, share on social media and even follow you.  When you post on your personal page you can tick a box to notify your followers, this enables you to send them updates such as what stories you are working on and when they can expect updates.

App:  Not only is their an app to make using the site on the go easy, there is also a second app for creating covers (iOS/Android).  The free images are pretty good, I've managed to find something relevant for all of my stories.  This is great when you just want to get on with posting you writing.  Often, when I have more time, I will create another cover without using the app. 

Multimedia:  You can add videos and images to your chapter title and within your chapter.  I've really enjoyed being able to create a playlist for my readers and to add images.  In addition, you can create a cast list for your characters - I've not tried this but it can really help readers see how you envision your characters looking.  Some people create trailers for their story!

Writing:  This is the most important part really.  I've found the site very straight forward to create a story and to update it with chapters.  Editing is easy to do but if you make lots of saves in a short space of time it can confuse the server as to which version to show.

Pros:

• Mobile app (Android/iOS/Windows)
• Cover creator app (Android/iOS)
• Easy to share with social media
• Reading lists
• Followers
• Revision recovery
• Multi media stories - add video, pictures and/or a cast to stories
• Very active
• User friendly interface

Cons:

• Need a good internet connection
• No cover app for Windows
• Competitions seem to all be for USA residents only

Customer Service:  I've had issues editing my stories, where it doesn't save the changes.  I emailed this support team (who were great) and they explained that if you save often and have a slow internet connection, it can revert to an older version but not to worry.  The correct version can be recovered from the revisions history.  This was a little annoying but since updating my broadband provider, everything had been much better.  Being able to restore old version is an excellent feature, I don't know about you but I have deleted stuff that I wish I hadn't and this feature means it is never permanently gone.

Link:  https://www.wattpad.com/home