Writing has become more accessible with the growth of technology, as many applications and websites that have been developed allow writing to happen at any time. This includes Wattpad, which is an online platform that enables users to read, write, and communicate with no geographical or time boundaries. Extensive literature has discussed the functions and benefits of Wattpad to readers, writers, and publishers across all countries; nevertheless, the literature on its functions in Malaysia remains scarce. This paper aims to address such a gap by exploring the functions of Wattpad toward readers, writers, and publishers in Malaysia. A total of eleven (11) members of the public participated in a qualitative analysis via interviews and the data were transcribed verbatim for further analysis. The findings showed that Wattpad’s functions benefited three stakeholders, namely readers, writers, and publishers. The platform caters to the readers’ interests by allowing them to choose reading materials across various genres, libraries, and the ability to communicate via comments. Meanwhile, it benefits the writers through the provision of ideas, free proofreading, and awareness of up-to-date trends that can be obtained through the comments. Finally, publishers can utilize Wattpad to ease their decision-making, converting from digital to printed writings, and having exposure to early chapters of creative writings.
Adiningtyas, C. N. (2020). The effectiveness of using Wattpad to improve students’ writing skill in vocational high school. Retain, 8(4), 170-177.
https://jurnalmahasiswa.unesa.ac.id/index.php/retain/article/view/35689
Bal, M. (2018). Reading and writing experiences of middle school students in the digital age: Wattpad sample. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 6(2), 89. https://doi:10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.6n.2p.89
Basogul, D. A. (2021). Wattpad in youth literature based on the experiences of Turkish teachers and secondary school students. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 9(1), 124–135. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.9n.1p.124
Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five tradition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. London: Sage Publications, Inc.
Justin, H. (2016). Wattpad: The ideal platform for writers. Manoa Now. http://www.manoanow.org/kaleo/features/wattpad-the-ideal-platform-for-writers/article_66038eb4-b592-11e6-aae4-7f396d5984b8.html
Kardiansyah, Y. M. (2019). Wattpad as a story-sharing website. Is it a field of literary production? Proceedings of the 3rd English Language and Literature International Conference (ELLiC), 3, 419-426.
Mangen, A., & Weel, A. V. (2016). The evolution of reading in the age of digitisation: An integrative framework for reading research. Literacy, 50(3), 116-124. https://doi:10.1111/lit.12086
Mustafa, S. E., & Abdullah, F. (2018). The responses of selected Malaysian trade publishing companies towards technological development. Jurnal Pengajian Media Malaysia / Malaysian Journal of Media Studies, 20(1), 59-72.
http://mjs.um.edu.my/index.php/JPMM/article/view/12021/8408
Pianzola, F., Rebora, S., & Lauer, G. (2020). Wattpad as a resource for literary studies. Quantitative and qualitative examples of the importance of digital social reading and readers’ comments in the margins. PLoS ONE 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0226708
Poliakova, E. (2022). The prospects of Wattpad: Virtual Library of the future or a publisher’s submission site? The McMaster Journal of Communication, 13(1), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.15173/mjc.v13i1.2725
Rochester, S. (2012). Wattpad: Building the world's biggest reader and writer community. The Literary Platform. http://theliteraryplatform.com/magazine/2012/10/wattpad-building-the-worlds-biggest-reader-and-writer-community/
Rokha, I. (2019). Using Wattpad application to improve the recount text writing skill of the tenth graders of sma n 3 Temanggung in the school year of 2018/2019. Journal of Research on Applied Linguistics Language and Language Teaching, 2(1), 52 – 57.
Rowe, A. (2018). Wattpad just launched a new paid content program that paywalls selected stories. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamrowe1/2018/11/13/wattpad-just-launched-a-new-paid-content-program-that-paywalls-selected-stories/?sh=5e48cce877cd
Tolcheva, S. (2021). 7 reasons you should use Wattpad. MUO. https://www.makeuseof.com/reasons-to-use-wattpad/
Yoesoef, M. (2020). Cyber Literature: Wattpad and Webnovel as Generation Z Reading in the Digital World. Proceedings of the International University Symposium on Humanities and Arts (INUSHARTS 2019), 453, 128-131. https://doi:10.2991/assehr.k.200729.025
Yusop, S. (2017). Empat ciri buku masa depan bakal selamatkan penerbit tanah air. Berita Harian. https://www.bharian.com.my/bhplus-old/2017/01/241122/empat-ciri-buku-masa-depan-bakal-selamatkan-penerbit-tanah-air