What's your most popular book vs. your favorite book you've written?

The Necromancer's Lair
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Whether you’re writing on Wattpad or another writing website, what is the most popular book you’ve written and which is your favorite—whether it is that popular one or not? And how does it compare to your current work in progress?

My most popular book is Taste of Italy which now surpassed 40,000 reads and 1,100 votes (though my other popular book, A Nightmare’s Fate, has more votes—nearly at 1,400 votes). However, my favorite one—or to me, the one I’m most proud of—is In the Dark. It has just under 2,000 views and a little over 150 votes.

Taste of Italy is a new adult rom-com about a woman and her two sisters going to Italy for a vacation until the main character meets her favorite author and gains feelings for him. It’s most likely popular for its genre, and while I have some favorite parts of it, I wrote it when I was pretty youngish. It was written in like, what, 2016-2017? It’s meh for what it is. I wouldn’t call it my favorite now, though it was back then, simply because of some of the plot devices I used or how I don’t really like the main character, Iris. Iris isn’t the best character out of the bunch, and while I do agree with her in some areas, she’s like a hard pill to swallow… which is probably why I’m still shocked it’s my popular book haha. I think some of my favorite parts of the book is toward the end where Iris hangs out with her sisters and kind of “reconciles” with one of them. I also love some of the romantic scenes between Iris and the love interest, Dante.

In the Dark is a new adult murder mystery about a college student who goes on a Christmas vacation with his friends who all want to help support him in moving on from his mother’s death, but then his friends start turning up dead and while they try to figure out how to leave, they also try to figure out who may be the culprit. It’s mostly my favorite because of the descriptions. I’m very proud of how well I did on my narration with it. I love my main character and many of the other characters. But just because it’s my favorite doesn’t mean it doesn’t have issues. I wrote this back in late 2017 (or possibly early 2018?) to 2019, and while it was my first book to revise it so many freaking times, even with a few beta readers, I’ve started finding issues with it over the past few years. One of those issues is a few plot holes I’ve come across here and there. :sweat_smile:

As for my current work in progress, the Sorceress, I’m unsure. I think between this book and In the Dark, there are some pros and cons to each. Yes, the Sorceress is still on its first draft. I still have plenty of time to work on it and improve it. However, my main character, Nicolas, is a bit more dull than the main character, Asher, in In the Dark. I adore the world in my current project and some of the other characters, so maybe that’s why it’s more of a favorite. But right now, they’re currently balancing each other out. :sweat_smile:

What about you?

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My most popular book is Battle For The Photon Core (3,143 reads and 403 vote), though I’m pretty sure that’s because it’s the first in my series. It was done back in 2018/19 and is the first of a two-part storyline. Basically, the characters have to go around and track down ten lost items in order to stop the bad guys from freeing the ultimate bad guy. It’s changed a lot since then and the published version (instead of the wattpad/inkitt/royal road/scribble hub version) will be pretty different.

My current WIP is Tear In The Megaverse is partially on wattpad. Currently only has 90 reads and 20 votes. It’s the fifth book in my series and the first of another two parter. It’s basically a follow on from the events of book 4 where the after effects of Jennix traveling between Creations are finally being seen. Long story short, everything is falling about. Dimensions and planes are falling in on each other and the Void Beasts are destroying Creation and taking it into the Void. Characters have to figure out what is causing this, why, and how to stop it.

TITM is also my favourite along with the next book Immortalize. While TITM was more around the characters outside the Void and trying to figure things out, I is a similar storyline only with the characters in the Void who are trying to find a way out, something which has only been done in old mythological tales

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I don’t have a popular book because it has been a really long while since I’ve posted at story on any writing site(FictionPress is that site). However, my favorite story is the one I am currently working on.

It’s an anthology novel focusing on a family that consist of the mother, uncle, and the mother’s three children. The three children are older now and are trying to solve the mystery behind their mother’s death. I guess parents’ death would be better because the father died mysteriously too. While the three children are searching for truth behind their parents’ death, they are trying to also deal with nobles plotting to steal their crown and kick them off the throne, and other issues.

That’s all I got. I like this story probably because I am willing to stick with it till the end.

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Lmao, I’ve got no exposure, yet. I’ve got the 2 ONC novels read through by 2 people on WP, for sure. My favorite is not even posted because I want to finish the series before posting. It’s my Assassin’s Journals. And right behind that is another that win released because they are a half-finished series, too, shoved under In the Game of the Gods.

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The most popular book I wrote when I was 11 and other than giving myself a headache when I tried to fix it years later and doing a basic spelling and punctuation edit so it would be easier for future me to fix hasn’t been touched since I finished it. That book is currently at 345k reads and 331 votes, which I’m glad only so few thought that crap was good.

My favourite (that’s published) only has 573 reads and 86 votes. It was basically about someone realizing they don’t have to suffer and wallow in misery and could have a happy life. Although, it needs to be rewritten so I don’t mind the low read count.

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This one’s a weird one.

For a long time, my favourite was my arranged marriage trope romance. It was also my most popular. It hit 47k views on Wattpad in March, before getting a publishing deal. It’s now a 3 chapter sample so it’s not really gaining traction which is fine.

Then I wrote my next most popular, which has 40k reads, for a while that was my favourite as well. I’m currently editing it. For a long, long time it was my favourite and I really felt like I’d hit “my peak” with the book and couldn’t do anything that was better. I wrote a few shorter books afterwards and hated them all because I couldn’t feel like I could “let go” of those characters and it would never get any better. It really brought my writing down.

Those 2 are my most popular on Wattpad.

But then I stumbled on my mystery romance and urban fantasy books (2 different books I wrote at the same time) and they are probably both my joint favourite books now.
The urban fantasy is at 6k, and though when readers do read it, they like it, Wattpad doesn’t seem to like it. My mystery has just hit 10k and it’s the one Nick from HQ called “near perfection” and am awaiting his final verdict.
It’s weird, my favourite books tend to be tied to characters and not really plots.

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My most favorite book is always the one I am writing so it never has any views :slight_smile:

However, from what I have published, Lone Werewolf took so much of my heart, and it just hit 10K with determined grind rather than organic reads.

My most popular book, Trapped by the Mafia gained most of its 245K read while being featured on Editor’s Picks back when Editor’s Picks got you some views… I like it too, but interestingly, it didn’t get short-listed for Watty and Tapas didn’t want it for Premium unless I cut out the scenes of torture by CIA/mafia, which imo were mild. So, a dead end…

From the three books that did the best for Watty:

Watty-2020 winner: Winners Don’t Have Bad Days is at about 115K (didn’t do all that well on Editor’s Picks, but Wattpad took it for Paid)
Watty-2021 shortlist: Rivals and Revels has surprising slow-mo pull, and worked its way up to 28K
Watty-2021 shortlist: To Marry a Dragon is totally dead with, like, 5K reads, so I gave up on it.

A typical performance for my books on Wattpad is a cannon ball that went swimming.

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✧･ﾟ: * ✧･ﾟ:* You are strong enough. You are brave enough. You are capable enough. You are worthy enough. You have what it takes, right now. YOU are enough.✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *

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Aww, thanks, Wisp. You are always there for me. :slight_smile:

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My favorite story I’ve written is Sweet Little Birds, as those characters are so near to my heart and the whole story feels like the culmination of my writing up to that point (especially since the inspiration for it actually came from characters and situations I created for a fanfiction story). The stories I’ve written after that have in many aspects been more experimental as I kind of gained more confidence in my own writing, like I tried doing NaNo (during which I wrote Sweet Tea), I tried writing a story without a main romantic plotline (Faceclaim), and I tried if I could do two ONC stories simultaneously (so I wrote Saving Atlantis on top of the story I already started).

I would actually want to claim that SLB is my most popular stories as it seems to have organic growth still, more than 6 months after finishing it. It’s currently at 15k and I’m quite confident that number will continue to grow. But it’s not yet my story with the most reads. That is currently part 1 of my fanfiction trilogy The Stag and The Frog, which has 17k reads. But since that was my first story, I did work a lot harder for those reads (through R4R etc) and I guess it might have got a boost from GOT still being quite current when I wrote it. But the reads have gone very stagnant on it ever since it was completed (I had about 6k reads when completed which was about 2year ago so since then it’s only gained 5k)

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My most popular with 1.54M reads and climbing is The Virgin and the Pornstar and I hate that book with the most burning passion. Like, I got haters, but they don’t hate that book as much as I do. I wish I could delete it but for some reason ppl like it and they share it on TikTok even though it’s horribly written and just full of the worst cringe. That was my first attempt at writing a book and it was just so…trash. Basura. A dumpster fire. It must burn in the deepest fiery pits of hell.

Now, I’m rewriting it with the skills I learned the passed 4 years and the rewrite is way better. I started the rewrite in…September of last year? Now it’s up to 45K reads and I just wish people would find that one first instead of the trash that I don’t like speaking of.

My other book, Tainted Wings, is my favorite. That one’s my baby. I would die for that book. And it’s only at 139K reads. I also wish people would find that one first and not the other one >.>. Since I write on Wattpad, I’m really considering putting an attractive and fit guy on the cover to gain more reads. That’s one of the reasons why my horrible book even gets clicked on in the first place.

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I only have one book posted on Wattpad, which seems stuck at 27k, which is fine. I never advertise it, so it really shouldn’t have any reads at all. It’s the shortest and the worst thing I’ve ever written, although I have a great fondness for the characters and used them in a later book that I like a lot better. But that book, too, is old, so I rarely think about it. The book I love best is always the one I’m working on. I just live and breathe the one in progress until it’s totally done, then publish and forget about it in favor of the next big project. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯

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There are so many of those now that it doesn’t really help a book stand out. I just switched Lone Werewolf cover from a general hot and sad guy to my kid’s custom drawn anime style cover and I feel it gives me a better chance than the hot guy. Obviously not to the tune of 100K reads, but maybe 25K? Probably too much too hope for… but I just can’t grind it anymore. If it dies at 10K reads, such is its destiny.

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My most popular book (Sweet Parasite) which seems to do well across all writing sites is posted on (including Wattpad, where it has 74K reads, that are still ticking in). I wrote it back as a teenager. It was a way to let out the system and not write anything serious. The book existed to just write without the pressure. It just happened to be relatable to the readers at the time. And still to this day.

My current favorite book I’ve written is His Obsession. It’s crossover fanfic with Mr. Robot and Fifty Shades of Grey. The pairing is Christian Grey x Tyrell Wellick. Both are seen as representative Doms in their fandoms. I saw a Youtube video about the ship and I couldn’t keep myself from writing it. Of course, I took my own unique spin on it. The main character (Tyrell Wellick) is an anti-hero. I on purpose wrote him in a manner where you change between rooting for him or hating him. I love the complexities I could take with them. It isn’t the usual CEO love story either. All their toxic traits have consequences. I am currently writing the second book (His Devotion), and I hope the audience takes as good a response as the first book (His Obsession).

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If it makes you feel any better, I have one story with 1.8mil reads and another with 1.4mil and couldn’t get WP to look at either even if I paid them.

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My most popular is IJPS, which I wrote as a mental break from a long, slow burn story. The only WIP I’m doing rn is its sequel. I put up the first 3 chapters last week as a preview, which has 1k reads. I’m not updating it until I write the whole thing.

My fav is One Bite, a non-mature, zero-abs on the cover werewolf story with 120k reads, most of them from being featured on the werewolf profile’s NA reading list. I need to edit it to cut down the number of chapters but it’s the most mental effort I needed for lots of characters, overlapping storylines, and world-building. It’s just… different and I’m super proud of that.

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I remember this one! I believe I read it! It was honestly such a good book. I’m glad to hear it was your favorite.

Honestly, does it count if the book has since been deleted and moved? Because To Believe in Peter Pan was my most popular on Wattpad, at 37k I believe. It was most definitely fun but it had so many issues.

But then my current most popular is The Playboy is My Soulmate, which is a romcom as well. About to hit 11k on Inkitt (which is wild to me).

As for my favorite? That’s extremely hard to pick. I’m partial to Beauty of a Crimson Soul which is not at all popular (although it was past 5k on Wattpad before I deleted it). But I might have a new favorite coming up with a new trilogy I’m writing surrounding my favorite fairytales… it’s very dark with tons of fantasy and world building, but it’s still in the works so it does not have views yet. :rofl:

I’ve been getting more and more into worldbuilding lately. And I mean more hard worldbuilding. I used to do a lot of soft worldbuilding before but I’m just adoring all the lore and magic systems and naming things. It’s helping my creativity thrive.

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Not sure if it makes me better, because basically that’s what I want and can’t get for love, money, time invested, sweat or tears :slight_smile: ha-ha. My writing seems to be more appealing to the staff than to the audience at large, so my only hope is to work to meet all the Wattys/ONC/Star Program requirements the best I can and hope that one day I will get what King’s character in Misery got. Honestly, if I could do social media-popular books, that what I would do all day long. But I am just chronically incapable of writing a book that explodes into 1K reads per day which is my wet dream.

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Oh, my. You’re making me pick favorites?

No surprise, my most popular books are fanfictions.

Most reads is on The New Order of Merlin but that’s also the longest one. It’s at 23k now. It’s definitely high on my favorites list. Lots of favorite moments in this one.

The most popular as it comes to how many people read it and add it to reading lists is Go to Hell, Jack Frost! A silly crossover that’s a fun little story but in my opinion isn’t so special. It’s about to hit 10k on Wattpad which is crazy for a 5-chapter story.

From my originals, DragonSky has the most views at 3k. It’s a fun story but it could use edits. I’ll get to it eventually. I don’t think it’s my ultimate favorite as is.

The Merlin Paradox is my favorite original story right now, I’m still working on it though. It gathered 1k reads before I took it down for revisions, which is kinda cool since it was never completed on WP. So for an unfinished original story to have gathered that many views is promising. I hope that when I’m done with this draft, it will gain a momentum again.

The ultimate goal is for my originals to gather as many reads as the fanfics.
Time will tell.

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Y-Y-You’re making me pick a favorite out of my own books? :scream:

My most popular book is Lunar Heart, Shadow Bound thanks to that Editor’s Choice feature once. It’s sits at a proud 16,151 reads right now and steadily rises. I used to be so super jealous about other people getting 20k 30k reads…but, when you think about it 16,000 is quite a lot. And it has 1,434 votes.

That’s the most I have without counting my Premade Covers Shop.

I don’t have a favorite. I only put out my favorite stories. I used to put out everything, but on Wattpad I learned that being selective is better and less overwhelming to readers.

Maybe if you’d give me a criteria for picking my favorite out of my favorites, then maybe I can choose.

I like Between Roses because it’s the first book I wrote based on a story in the public domain, my first portal fantasy, and MC Eryn is a normal person who finds herself in a crazy world and does not accept it right away like a normal person would.

I like Two and the Last Year on Earth because it’s this wacky middle-grade/YA idk what, silly sci-fi story.

And my Elgana books are also my favorite because they’re the first books that I wrote taking place all in one world. (Lunar Heart, Shadow Bound / Paws Chase Murder Case / Lone Gold, Daring Purple, and not up yet, but soon Storm Heart, Fire Soul, and I might be writing another one…).

Then I have my two magic realism stories (Alive At Crepusculum and editing Dead By Sunrise) and my Victorian-Edwardian satire/mystery/lit fic/dark humor story The Facade of Quad in Nimrod. And then my steampunk attempt with dragons story Jack Of All Trades. These have problematic MCs or villain MCs. I love my terrible people XD

All of them are my favorites :stuck_out_tongue:

I need some criteria for “favorite” out of my favorites.