Where Seagulls Fly by Mitta

I have to admit that I am extremely biased about this book. I read the book before it was published, and gave loads of comments, so yeah, not exactly the most impartial reader here.

Where Seagulls Fly is a romance set in South Korea. When Su Bin, a doctor-in-training, reluctantly agrees to be acknowledged as her father's heir (and her father is way, way rich), she has no idea what she just entered. Su Bin was raised as a normal person and entering the world of the Chaebols means entering a completely different world. The only person she knows, apart from her father, is Lee Min Jun, the handsome guy that she saved before all this occurred.

Lee Min Jun's, Su Bin's father's right-hand man, just got his heart broken when he caught his fiancee cheating. Suddenly pressed for money (for a family emergency), he agrees to enter into a marriage with Su Bin, in order to try and give her family an heir. Unknown to him, however, Su Bin has been in love with him ever since she saved his life.

What this story has in spades is heart. From the first time I saw it in its raw, unpolished state, I found myself caring about these two characters and wishing that they would hurry up and fall in love, so that they could have their happily ever after. Both Su Bin and Lee Min Jun are fantastic characters, and I was very emotionally invested in their journey (and romance isn't even a genre that I read very often!)

My favourite character, though, is Yeo Bin Joon, one of the Chaebol natives who turns out to be Su Bin's knight in shining armour (even though her heart belongs to another). I really enjoyed all the scenes that he was in, and I hope that he gets his own happily ever after soon.

While the writing still stumbles occasionally (and really, it's very occasionally), the story is absorbing. If you're a sucker for romances and happy endings, you'll like this. And if you're a fan of KDramas, then you definitely have to give this a shot.

Disclaimer: I know the author and got this book while it was a freebie, but my review was voluntarily done.

Underneath by M.N. Arzu

I am so excited and happy that this book is out! I first read it when it was a NaNoWriMo draft, and even in its first-draft state, it was a captivating story. Now that it's been properly edited, it's even better!

Underneath is going to appeal to people who like mermaids (sorry, merfolk) but don't really want to read romance. Or is that just me? I hope not. Anyway, Underneath starts when a mermaid is found on the beach. Obviously, this leads to all sorts of craziness because it's the social media age and no one knew that merfolk lived among us.

Caring for the merman (dubbed 'Ray') is Dr. Gwen and her colleagues. I liked them enough. And trying to get the merman (real name: Chris) back is his family - Dad (Julian) and brothers (Matthew and Alex). I adore the family, because of their strong bonds and because the dynamics are just adorable!

Trying to make a big mess - er, get to the truth - is Kate, a news reporter. Her, I didn't like but that is because she's interfering with the rescue attempts and putting all the merfolk in danger!

What I really liked about this book were the characters. I either loved or hated all the characters (there are some baddies that I haven't mentioned). There were no "meh" characters - I was fully engaged in the story, and that helped to make the stakes feel even higher to me.

The ending resolves the problem of Ray/Chris in captivity but it raises a lot more questions. Questions that I really hope will be answered in a future book. Oh, and there's a sort of bonus section where M.N. shares drabbles set in the world of Underneath. Totally worth reading (and totally worth signing up to her mailing list to get more)

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review.

Raven's Fall by Lincoln Cole

Raven's Peak came out in July and luckily for me, Raven's Fall just came out, which means that the series was still fresh in my mind (and I was still craving for that second book).

If you've already forgotten, Raven's Peak had Abigail breaking some pretty big rules, and with Haatim's dad rampaging for blood, well, poor Abigail is waiting for the trial of her life. Close by is Haatim, who is trying desperately to be helpful (and getting some valuable training in). While this may sound like a rather tame setup, especially compared to the first, let's not forget the greater evil that stalks the world, and that results in some amazing twists.

To be honest, I felt like this book was much heavier on the workings of the Council and I loved it for that. The first book was all about Abigail, The Ninth Circle was about Arthur, and now we know a little bit more about the world that they live in.

By the way, while Abigail has a lot less page time in this book, Haatim manages to develop and take the spotlight. Things that I dismissed as trivial in Raven's Peak end up holding great importance in Raven's Fall (you'll know what I mean when you read it), and I really, really want to see how Haatim and Abigail are going to work together now that I know what baggage each of them carry.

After reading Raven's Fall, I seriously can't wait for the next book, because it promises to be good.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author (whom as I mentioned in Raven's Peak, I know) in exchange for a free and honest review. All the fangirling was voluntary and sincere.

The Ninth Circle by Lincoln Cole

This review is going to be short because the book is short: It's good!

(Ok, I'll say a bit more)

The Ninth's Circle is a short prequel about the time when Arthur met Abigail. It's not about their life together, as he trains her. This stops just after meets her. But what the book does is to show us just why Arthur decided to protect a possibly dangerous but definitely very vulnerable girl, and it's easy to see how Abigail would have reciprocated that with the loyalty to him that drives her actions in Raven's Peak. I won't say more, because I don't want to spoil it for you.

If you enjoyed Raven's Peak and need something to read while waiting for Raven's Fall (the sequel) to come out, you'll definitely enjoy this, so go ahead and pick it up!

Disclaimer: I know Lincoln Cole, as I said previously, and I've enjoyed all of his other works. I'm not lying about how much I enjoyed this because I really did devour it in one sitting.

Why I'm No Longer Using WriteOn

Slightly less than two years ago, I talked about this writing site that I signed up to, named WriteOn. It was great for quite a long time, and when I did a WriteOn vs Figment vs Wattpad post, I chose it as my favourite (which reminds me, with all the updates that have happened, that post is really out of date, but I'm probably not the right person to write the updated version). And then two months after it was out of beta (slightly more than a year ago), the place started changing, and not for the better. But still, I really believed in the site, and I continued to use it until one or two months ago, when I just stopped. Unlike Figment, which I just stopped using for no particular reason, I can identify three reasons why I've stopped using WriteOn, and I thought it would be good to have it down in a post.

For the record, WriteOn has introduced me to some awesome writing friends, and email is amazing (not to mention chat groups) because that has become how we keep in contact). So yeah, the site was incredibly helpful to me at one point in time, but now... I think it's more toxic than anything. Anyway:

Reasons why I'm leaving (in no particular order): 

1. Support has more or less vanished.

I have seen the official accounts a few times, but unlike the early days, where the mods were present and interacting with everyone, support seems to have more or less vanished. I know I can't expect a high level of support all the time, but considering the fact that there has been at least one thread talking about where the mods might have gone, I think it's safe to say that a lot of the users miss them.

2. A lot of (the) members (I know) have left.

Brackets are needed because the site is probably adding new members every day, and I'm just not seeing them. But yeah, a lot of the people that I know have either become a lot less active, or have left and it's a bit of a shame. I mentioned that one member who gave awesome feedback has gone, and well, a lot of the other members from that period of time seem to have left too, which doesn't really give me a reason to stay.

3. The Forums are getting/are already toxic

I started using the site less and less because of this (it started from one toxic member, who thankfully was left, but it seems like nature really does abhor a vacuum), and well, I visited the forums recently and was pretty shocked at how hostile the members are to each other. It's really just two camps of people, but the feud seems to have started on a different writing site, so I don't understand why it was brought here in the first place. Both sides seem intent on holding on to the grudge, and I feel like while one side is genuinely clueless about how they're contributing to the problem, another side seems to revel in making waves, and well... I really don't need a toxic environment.

What am I using right now?

Well, I occasionally post chapters on my Dayre (though that isn't the primary purpose for it), but surprisingly, the writing site I am most likely to be on is Wattpad. I'm still very terrible at it (and don't know how to use it properly), but I have managed to make a few friends, and well, friends are basically what anchors me to sites/apps, so I'll probably be there for a little while. I'm not very into forums right now though, because of the whole toxicity thing. But I guess I'll probably be back one day.

(Although truth be told, I haevn't logged on for about two weeks because I've had exams.)

Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole

I won this book on Kindle Scout, so yay for that!

Raven's Peak follows... well, it's either Abigail or Haatim. So my normal opening sentence does not work here. Basically, Abigail hunts demons, and Haatim is running from his past. When Haatim unwittingly becomes entangled in the whole demon world, he meets Abigail and things start to get weird and dangerous for him. The two eventually end up at a tiny town called Raven's Peak, where people are going crazy, and where Abigail and Haatim will both have to face their past in one way or another.

I've previously talked about Lincoln Cole's books, and this was as good as the other, even though he's writing in a completely different genre. I'm really not kidding or exaggerating when I say that I was flipping the pages as quickly as possible. From the prologue, which doesn't make sense until you're deep in the book and then it hits you, to the ending, the book had many twists and turns. It was definitely a thrilling read (kinda like the roller coaster of books, come to think of it).

As for the characters, I really liked Abigail and Haatim. They worked well together, and they both had that essential spark that made them come alive to me. For Abigail, it was her bonds to the man she thought of as father (or a father figure). For Haatim, it was the tragedy in his past. Both of them are weighed down by it, and getting over them is something that they have to do if they want to confront the external problem that's all around them.

If you're a fan of horror, I really recommend this book. And if my word isn't enough, think of it this way: enough people liked the book to nominate it, and it caught the editor's eye over at Kindle Scout, so that should tell you how good it is.

Disclaimer: I know the author, and I nominated the book for Kindle Scout, which is how I got my copy. The gushing, however, was made of my own free will and is my honest opinion.

Sixteen Sunsets by Mark Gardner

Time for another book review by one of the WriteOn members - Mark Gardner. He's been really helpful in giving advice, and when he asked me if I wanted to read his latest book, I readily said yes.

Sixteen Sunsets is about (I think) Kristof, who has cancer and only sixteen days to live (hence the sixteen sunsets), and Joaquin, a young criminal. Both of them aren't completely human - they both have super powers of their own. Joaquin has some sort of impervious skin, and Kristof... has his own special powers. The story starts when Kristof gets his dreadful diagnosis, and rapidly introduces a whole host of characters.

I think this book is going to be the start of a series. When it finished, I felt like the stakes were finally set. For most of the book, I was rather confused as to who was on what side, and what did each of the sides want? That was basically my main reason for continuing to read - I wanted everything to eventually make sense. Plus, the premise was interesting, and I liked the secret history that Anne revealed.

Oh yeah, Anne. Anne was the most interesting character to me (Sorry, Mark, I wasn't too fond of the two male leads). As the character with possibly the longest history, Anne's take on how things actually went down was what I enjoyed reading the most. I'm not too sure about what I think about her at the ending of the book (no spoilers, tough), but for most part, I found her fascinating, even though I never want to meet her, ever. She and the powerful little girl, Bree, scare me. By the way, Bree is another interesting character - she only really pops up at the end, but if I continue to read on, it'll be because of her.

By the way, this book contains fairly explicit descriptions of violence and lots of swearing. For the faint at heart, this might not be for you.

Overall, this was an interesting start to the series. I wish the book continued a little longer, because to me, the stakes only felt real at the end, but I suppose that's all part of Mark's plan. I guess now that we've got a sense of the characters, there's no choice but to read on and find out what happens.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review. I did try my best to be impartial, but as I said in the start, I am kinda biased.

Wild Thing by Luke Kendall

This is going to be a hard book for me to review because I've seen it in its previous form. Yes, this is another book by someone from WriteOn.

Backstory/How I came to know about Wild Thing. Since I'm on a writing site, I do try to give feedback. Normally, though, I give feedback for the first chapter, but if the book is really good, I continue. I don't continue reading most books that I read. But, Wild Thing was one of them, even though I never really finished it. I did read a fair bit before the author decided to use some professional editors.

And woah, the difference is amazing.

Ok, about the actual book. Wild Thing is about a girl called Sara. When she's very young, a prophecy has her sent from the community she was living in. A few years later, she's picked up by a scientist named Dr. Harmon, who has plans to shape her into an archetype at the Institute for Paranormal Dysfunction. But, there's something much larger at work, and in this book, it involves one particular patient at the Institute.

This is probably not relevant to 99% of the people out there, but I really want to say, that the changes in this book was amazing. I liked it before, but now, it's a lot more fleshed out, and the characters feel a lot deeper. It's amazing to see the story that was hiding under that first draft I read.

Anyway, you can probably tell that I liked the book. I really liked Sara - she's amazingly innocent, even though she's deadly. I do worry about her though, because of the way Dr. Harmon raised her. Dr. Harmon is basically the person I love to hate. He's devious, and probably the reason why Sara will never be normal. So there's a slight sense of satisfaction whenever I see hints at the story that no matter how clever he thinks he is, he is not the one controlling Sara's story. Far from it.

I do, however, need to point out that because of the above-mentioned Dr. Harmon, there are pages in the book (towards the later half) that you'll want to skip if you're squeamish like me. [SPOILER ALERT] I mean, Sara might find it very natural, but you and I know that what Dr. Harmon is doing to her is just plain wrong (and definitely sexually abusive - he even plays the classic 'you made me do it' argument. Ugh). My stomach's a bit weak, so I tend to skip the 'steamier' scenes involving them. [END SPOILER ALERT] There weren't that many, but if you have a problem with stuff like this, consider this a warning.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It was interesting for me to see the differences in the two versions that I read, and I definitely think that this version is stronger. I seriously hope that Sara will be able to become more independent from Dr. Harmon, and of course, I want to know the ending for this storyline - I have a feeling that it's not completely over yet.

Disclaimer: I know the author, and as I've repeatedly mentioned, I've read this book even before it was published in its current form. All the praise, though, is genuine.

Second Chances by Lincoln Cole

A little while back, I read Ripples Through Time. Now, I managed to read Second Chances, also a literary story.

Now for the huge disclaimer because: a. I got the book for free (Thank you, Lincoln!) and b. I know the author personally, and he has helped me with my own writing. So yes, I am biased, but I believe (hope) I'm biased because he's a good author and I'm now a fan. Can one be a fan and friend at the same time? Moving on...

The opening is inspired by/extremely similar to what happened in the Normandy School district (This American Life did a great episode on it - episode 562), but then it takes a different path.

Basically, there are two main characters: Nicole, who has to take care of her siblings (with help from her older bro) after her mom goes missing, and Richard, the boss of the law firm Nicole is interning at. While Nicole has managed to hide the fact that her life is crumbling, Richard eventually finds out. And he does not react well. Then there's the well-meaning stuff he tries to do that comes across badly.

Ok, I should stop before I end up giving the whole story away.

To me, the book is fantastic because of the characters. I found that the main character for me was Richard, the well-meaning dude who unintentionally lost his soul to the corporate law world, but Nicole was cool. The two leads were sympathetic, even if Nicole did spent half the book (justifiably) angry at Richard.

And I can't believe it took me half the book to realise this, but this world is set in the same one as Second Chances!! And it kind of gave me a different perspective on some of the characters I first heard there. Mostly, it gave them more flaws, and Richard more sympathy.

In short, I loved this, even though I am super biased. I actually read the first few chapters on WriteOn, and was wishing I could get a copy until Lincoln sent me one (he's super helpful and generous to newbie writers like me) as a formatting example.

If you like stories about people, not necessarily big flashy stories, but one that digs into the characters and shows you what they're made of (and gives them a chance to grow), you'll like Second Chances.

The Librarian by M.N. Arzu

Ok, so I'm sure quite a few of you have heard me talk about WriteOn before. Today's review is of a book from a WriteOn friend. So consider yourself warned - I'm not the most unbiased reviewer here.

The Librarian is about, surprisingly, aliens. Yeah, not something I guessed from the title either. So basically, some strange activity is found, and when the US military goes to investigate, they find a man (Nick). They're pretty sure he's not human, because of said strange activity, but he isn't talking to anyone but his wife (Jane). So, desperate for contact with aliens, they get Jane. Only, Jane can't really accept what's going on (obviously). And Nick? Nick's hiding something...

Even though this story was pretty short, it being a novella, it took a twist that I didn't expect at the end. But, it made sense to me in retrospect.

Personally, I loved this novella. I actually grabbed the official copy, and no, I didn't spot any mistakes. But then again, I didn't have my feedback cap on, so don't take me at my word. I was just enjoying the story this time round.

Oh, and I was left with some questions. I want to know more about what happens after the ending, because the way the world works, I'm wondering if the happy ending is going to be happy. I'm speaking in riddles because I don't want to give up any spoilers, but let's just say the way the alien works makes me think this is just a happy ever after for now, rather than a happy ever after. I wonder if there's going to be a short story sequel dealing with that...

Generally, I really enjoyed this story. It had an interesting premise, I liked the two main characters, and the ending gave me enough information that I was intrigued. Again, I'm not the most unbiased of readers, but I'd like to believe that even if I didn't know the author, I'd write an equally positive review.

Disclaimer: Like the previous two disclaimers, I know the author. She's a friend of mine, and I generally really enjoy reading her stuff on WriteOn.

WriteOn: (Almost) 2 Months Out of Beta

I've previously blogged about WriteOn, and even did a comparison with Figment and Wattpad. I also mentioned that this was really a recommendation of the site while it was in Beta, but as of March 11, the site has gone public. Now that almost 2 months have gone by, I thought it's time to provide an update.

Actually, I wanted to do this a month ago, but then school started and boom. All my time was gone.

Anyway, before I even start, here's a relevant post on Feedback. It's a relevant post because it affects how strongly I recommend WriteOn, but that's something that I'll be talking about later.

First off, let's talk about the obvious changes:

The site has undergone a revamp, and it's much, much brighter now. The notifications also disappear after you check them (unlike the past, where you were permanently "notified"), and they have numbers too. Author reads of their own story are no longer counted (this was a cause of much joy), and comment statistics are also included, so that uh, you can see how many comments other people have written, I guess.

A lot of new members have also come in, and they have really awesome stories with them. I'm really enjoying reading them.

But, and this is a big but, the tone of the site seems to be going downhill slowly. I talked about it on the Feedback post, but it's getting "risky" to give constructive criticism. Authors with thin-skin will call you a hater and/or naive/ignorant/stupid, and dog-piling has occurred.

I also don't think this is related, but I know at least one member who gave awesome, detailed feedback who left the site. She wasn't bullied, but she wasn't getting feedback back. There's another member who has stopped giving feedback because she was dog-piled on. That means that the quality of feedback is lower compared to the early-beta days.

The forum too, has gotten meaner, and that's thanks to one member. She speaks as though she won the Nobel Prize for Literature and Man Booker Prize and what have you, referencing her work constantly instead of, I don't know, Shakespeare or Austen or Twain. If you dare to disagree with her, you're an idiot. Oddly enough, she likes to rail against the Western Education she received, but somehow I'm the dumb one. A real puzzle, that one. But then again, I'm dumb.

My forum participation has basically gone down to threads where I "know" the posters and am pretty sure that divisive personalities won't be participating in.

The mods have stepped in once or twice (pretty much after the storm), but not enough to make me feel like this is an actively moderated community.

Does that mean WriteOn is doomed? Nah.

While I'm not going going to be recommending the site as wholeheartedly as I did before, it's still my writing site of choice because I've made the most friends there. I've found a small group of users whose opinions I trust and that's where most of my activity takes place. I will give feedback if asked, and I do reach out now and then, but for the most part, I'm just in my tiny little circle that I'm trying to slowly expand.

Just to be clear, there are a lot of awesome people on WriteOn. It's not the next Wattpad (yet), but tt's still a good community if you want feedback. I'm still hopeful that the small group bringing it down will either eventually get tired and quit, or that we'll be able to "block" users.

The Rift by J.T. Stoll

This one requires a pretty big disclaimer, so let me get it out of the way (I'll repeat it again later). Not only did I receive a free copy from the author, I happen to know the author. He's one of the WriteOn members, and I have traded critiques for it. That said, I've done my best to be objective.

The Rift follows four, well, they're not really friends, so perhaps averaging out their relationships, I'd say acquaintance? There's Vero, who's dating Pieter, who brought her on a double date with his friend Neil and Gloria. I suppose Pieter is the friend in common. Anyway, there are these four kids, and on the double date which wasn't really working out, they come across a dying soldier from another world. He warns them of a coming invasion, gives them special weapons then dies. The rest of the book would be about the four trying to decide what to do, and running away from two of the evil soldiers that slipped in when the first soldier did.

Because this book is the first in the series, a lot of the space is there for the laying of groundwork. Sure, the kids are running and learning how to deal with their weapons, but the threatened invasion is absent for most of the book. But, the start at the end does focus on the other world (which gave me a shock, because Chapter one and the Prologue seemed so drastically different), tying this to the overarching plot.

I liked Vero and her family, and I hope to see more of them in the next books. As for the other three, they did have their appearances, but I felt Vero was the strongest character, and I liked her the best. Gloria sort of, faded, into the background until the end. Neil and Pieter were basically opposites - One super enthused about getting a quest like in a video game while the other is just trying to get away from it.

This book was short, but I'm not lying when I say that I enjoyed it. I'm the sort that likes reading about people mastering new skills and new environments, so while I do wish that the story was a bit longer and had more about the other world, it was still a fun and fairly read for me.

Disclaimer (the second one): I received a free copy of the book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review.

WriteOn vs Wattpad vs Figment

UPDATE: This post is really out of date, and I'm no longer using WriteOn, for reasons the reasons in this blogpost. I still have an account there, but I don't use it anymore.

Previously, I wrote about WriteOn, my new writing site of choice. Since I've wrote about it, WriteOn has made a few more changes, Wattpad did an update, and I've did NaNoWriMo on WriteOn, and I thought it's time for a comparison between the three writing sites (Click the link to see my previous post about Figment vs Wattpad). Of course, some of this information may become moot when WriteOn comes out of beta - I'll do another followup post then.

Creating a multi-chapter story
WriteOn: Creating a story is extremely easy. Click on the "Create" tab, and start. You can add chapters, save, move chapters around, add your cover, spend as much time making your book perfect as you want without having to post your story. I've typed, saved and exited, and come back, without any problems. Everything is in one page, and it's extremely easy to use.

Wattpad: There is a create button, but it seems to lead you to the My Works page (or is that just me?), from which I have to click on the new story button. And everything seems to be published as soon as you hit create - there's no testing here (not without deleting it anyway. And one thing about Wattpad that annoys me is that I cannot toggle between chapters very easily. I have to write, go back to the main page, and then edit. It's only one extra step, but I imagine it'll be very annoying if I'm doing major edits.

Figment: Like Wattpad, Figment's "Start writing" button on the main page leads you to the writing page, from which you create a new story. On the bright side, the organisation of the story is similar to WriteOn. You can add chapters, move them around, edit the actual contents, all on the same page.

Winner: WriteOn, followed by Figment. Wattpad is still too clumsy for me. 

In lieu of the site logo, here's a screenshot of the site. 

Cover Creator
WriteOn: I believe that the cover creator in WriteOn is the same as KDP. I'm not sure, because I've never published on KDP, but that's what I heard. Anyway, the cover creator here has many different pictures you can use (you can also search by category or enter a keyword), a few templates (6 image-based templates and 4 Non-image based templates), and font size and choice customisation. It's not as good as Canva (on which I'll base all comparisons), but for a free program, there's a decent amount of changes you can make. I don't recall a default cover.

Wattpad: Wattpad used to have the worst cover creator. Or at least, I didn't remember a cover creator, just the option between an awful default cover (still awful - it's your profile picture with the cover) or your own upload. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a creator from March of this year (which explains a lot, I haven't tried looking for a cover creator since... quite a few years ago). There is a very limited number of pictures (I think 10, or less), and the option to change font choice and size, and I think colour. There are no template options.

Figment: Although it possibly has the nicest default template (it's clean simple, although you don't have your title or name on it), the cover creator is now tied with Wattpad (since it improved). You have a choice of certain backgrounds (I think the number of choices are about the same as Wattpad), although none of them are pictures, and I think two places where you can place the title, with very limited font choices.

Winner: Canva. Oh wait, sorry. I mean WriteOn, for sheer choice. And then Figment and Wattpad are tied.



Getting Readers
WriteOn: Since it's still in Beta, there are more writers than readers. Not the best way to build up a fan-base, especially since you need to log in just to read the stories, but who knows what will happen once it leaves beta mode?

Wattpad: I think there's very little competition for Wattpad so far. There are way more readers than authors on this site, plus a reader-friendly mobile app (my sister uses it), and if you know how to work it, you might be able to develop a following. I've never had any success, even in the days where I was actively reading other people's works, but it's worked for a lot of people. But be warned, there are some big-named writers there, so you face a lot of competition.

Figment: Figment is probably where I get the most unknown eyes on my story. Even with me doing very little, every now and then, I get a notification that someone liked my story and/or reacted to it. So something is working there. Readers can also read the story without logging in, but they can't vote or react.

Winner: Depending on the person, either Wattpad or Figment. For most, it might be Wattpad, since they have mobile apps that make it easy for people to read your stories. WriteOn isn't in the running, since it's still in beta and is closed off from all non-member readers. 

Getting Feedback
WriteOn: I've gotten the best feedback on WriteOn so far, hands down. Perhaps it's because of the site culture that they've been trying to inculcate, plus the fact that authors can customise their feedback requests (you can tick areas "e.g. characters, plot, proofread" AND include a personal message "hey, I think my MC is whiny, what do you think?"). But I don't know why, on average, my feedback received on WriteOn has been the most helpful and longest. You can request feedback in the "Ask and ye shall receive" subforum. This may change when WriteOn goes out of beta, although I'm very optimistic by the discussion about how to encourage good feedback taking place in the forums.

Wattpad: I don't actually recall getting feedback. From my impression, Wattpad is for your nice, polished stories (despite what the site says in their interview with The Verge), not for getting beta feedback. Of course, it's possible that in certain genres that I don't write in (like fanfiction), Wattpad may be good to get beta-readers.

Figment: The second-best feedback I've gotten is from Figment. Some members make it a point to leave detailed, useful feedback, while others just give general encouragement. You can also request feedback in the forums.

Winner: WriteOn, followed by Figment. This order may change when WriteOn comes out of beta, but who knows. Wattpad is trailing behind. 

Others
WriteOn: Apart from an active forum, WriteOn has what they call Feedback Fridays, where you participate by reading someone's book, giving feedback, and having others give feedback to you. It's all managed through the weekly thread. There's also Thank You Tuesday, started by Katie Adee, who gave the best feedback ever (and she wrote pretty fantastic children's stories), where you're reminded to thank your readers and reviewers in your status. They're also getting a few authors to come in now and then to do interviews and give feedback on member stories, which is really awesome and helpful. And, they just started a bookclub to give members who have completed their novels beta readers. Ok, I started it, after getting permissions from the mods. I heard something about genre-specific clubs coming up in the future.

WriteOn mod squad/team: Oh, and I can't not mention the WriteOn team. They've been extremely receptive to feedback, with one active subforum for member complaints/bugs found. And it's not just talk, we've had changes suggested by members implemented. If they keep this up, WriteOn will really develop into an awesome community.

Wattpad: I'm not really on there, so I can't say, but they seem to have annual contests, like the Wattys. And of course, the aforementioned famous authors putting their books up (although I've not heard anything about them giving feedback). Depending on your genre, their contents might be your thing.

Figment: I know of Figment ambassadors and several contests, as well as a prompt of the day. The contests tend to generate a lot of swap requests (more for hearts than anything), but that's only natural, I think. There are also excerpts of novels there.

Winner: Depends on whether you're more of a reader or writer. Writeon's extra features are geared more to writers, while Wattpad seems geared to readers. Figment is probably closer to the writer segment, although quite a few of their contests seem to be to promote new releases. 

Overall
So, which is the site for you? It depends on whether you want readers or feedback. For feedback, I really reccomend WriteOn, especially if you do not write in YA (WriteOn has a lot more different types of writers that can give feedback). Wattpad is the established go-to site to get readers, so if you have a polished permafree, you might want to put it there. Figment is very much like Wattpad to me, only easier to create stories, so between Wattpad and Figment, I'll choose Figment. But for now, my writing site is WriteOn, for the feedback I've gotten.

Note: While I'm totally recommending WriteOn now, please keep in mind that this is my experience of WriteOn in beta. As more people join, the tone and culture of the site is going to change (I've already noticed some changes, as have a few members that joined even earlier). It might become something like Wattpad in the end, it might be like Figment, but it might (and I hope it does) remain like it is now.

New Writing Site: WriteOn

So, for the past few months, I've been keeping a little secret to myself. You already know about Figment and Wattpad (I blogged about them here). And now, I'm here to give you another writing option, and just in time for NaNoWriMo too! Introducing.... WRITEON (by Amazon).

For a detailed look at how WriteOn works, fellow member, awesome author and great guy J.T. Stoll wrote a really detailed blog post, complete with screenshots. Right-click, open in new window/tab, read it and then come back. (My two yen, this site is very user-friendly)

I was invited to WriteOn from NaNoWriMo, and I love it! It's easily my favourite writing site now.

Why?

Because of the community.

Perhaps it's because it's still in Beta and pretty small, but it's easy (and un-intimidating) to go jump into conversations, ask for feedback, get feedback, etc. I've gotten loads of really great feedback from a bunch of different people and learnt a lot from them. After a while, you start to recognise the 'regulars', then as you post more and more, you eventually realise 'hey, I'm one of them now' - It's an awesome feeling, cause I'm used to being the new kid in writing sites.

And because of the mods.

The two most active mods I see are Nina and Jon, and both of them do a great job welcoming the members and responding to feedback. The rest of the team isn't as active, but you do see them around, addressing concerns and working their magic behind the scenes. They've started things like Feedback Friday (excellent for getting feedback - no matter if you're a first time poster or an established member. In fact, new posters probably have a greater chance at getting feedback), Weekend Writein, and now, I see writing exercises as well. The response rate makes me feel like we're in good hands, and it really does help foster a sense of community.

So, if you're looking for a site, come to WriteOn! I can get you access codes (while they're still in Beta), so leave a comment/drop me an email if you want one!

For a different opinion of the site, you can head over to Goodereader.

Next Saturday post: A comparison between all three writing sites I'm on :D