The story grew quickly in popularity and it will be published via Wattpad Books in 2021.ĭid Wattpad India collaborate with publishers during the pandemic? How? In April, Beth Reekles, author of The Kissing Booth, started a quarantine romance titled Lockdown on London Lane. The stories that have been the most popular in this time span a wide variety of genres, from eerie science-fiction tales about a world in the throes of a pandemic to romance novels imagined in quarantine settings. What sort of stories emerged during the pandemic? Were they markedly different from earlier ones? What further changes do you expect in the future? In India, these growth trends meant a 50% increase in reading time, a 30% increase in new stories, and a 60% increase in writers. Writer activity, overall, increased by 200% from January through April. In the same period, the number of new writers increased by 125%. From January through April, the number of new stories grew 151%. In spring 2020, we saw a global increase in sign-ups from pre-Covid levels, with a jump of more than 50% in April over early March. Being able to connect with fans and other writers has been a positive experience for them. And writers on Wattpad told us that people were finding solace in the community of readers and writers. Users who were previously readers turned to writing as a way to express themselves. Perhaps not surprisingly, one clear global trend during the lockdown was of more people turning to storytelling as a way to connect and cope with the situation. It is almost common wisdom now that digital readership has gone up during the pandemic. Devashish Sharma, Country Head, India, spoke to Scroll.in about how things changed for Wattpad during the pandemic, what the most popular stories on the site are like, and how writers make money. The writing platform Wattpad, born in Canada and with a strong presence in India, is a parallel ecosystem for publishing in the country, with writers and readers meeting one another in a huge community. Data check: Lionel Messi’s mind-boggling numbers – all his records at Barcelona and La Liga.Podcast: Author Amitav Ghosh on the perils of a super cyclone’s direct hit on Mumbai.The big news: One of India’s first two Omicron cases has no travel history, and 9 other top stories.What I learned by rehabilitating the world’s smallest wild cat near Pune.Is Omicron more contagious than Delta? A virus evolution expert explains.‘Your English in Marathi accent is so sexy’: The popular video trend continues with a new version.Fact check: No, Noida’s Jewar airport won’t be Asia’s largest airport.India vs New Zealand: ‘Can’t drop Iyer after last match, Agarwal to make way for Kohli,’ says Laxman.
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