Publishing platform Wattpad launched a new app on Tuesday that allows readers to experience short stories through chat-like text. The Wattpad site and app are home to nearly 250 million stories and 45 million readers, and the platform is a popular choice for authors looking to self-publish their work and quickly get it in front of readers.
As the name suggests, the new app will reveal stories like a string of text messages, with readers tapping the screen to receive the next message.
Source: Publishers Weekly
As TechCrunch reports, Tap is a “freemium” service. “While the app itself is free, as are a select number of stories, it also includes the option to upgrade to a premium service. Here, users will gain access to an unlimited number of stories, including exclusive ones available only to subscribers. The service costs $2.99 per week, $7.99 per month, or $39.99 per year.”
While there are other apps that allow for reading material in short bursts, Tap is unique in the sense that the stories are all in the format of text conversations between characters. Stories feel more like chats that readers are eavesdropping on, and the modern text layout will surely appeal to younger readers.
Source: Wattpad on Twitter
There are currently hundreds of stories available on Tap across a variety of genres, and soon Wattpad users will be able to write and share their own Tap stories as well. According to TechCrunch, users will also have the option to share stories to a variety of social media.
Do you think this new short story format is the next big thing? Digital Trends writes that the app “creates intrigue by making its stories seem a bit … secretive, and perhaps thereby more exciting.”
You can download Tap on the iTunes App Store or Google Play now and do some snooping for yourself.
YouTube Channel: Wattpad
Featured image via Tap
h/t TechCrunch
