Wattpad’s Secret Recipe: How Fandoms Fueled Netflix’s Biggest Romance Hits (EXCLUSIVE)
Inside the beloved platform that turns fan-favorite love stories into global streaming hits
Hollywood has long loved the ‘book to screen’ adaptation, but in recent years, this format has skyrocketed to new levels of success for specific romance franchises. Teen dramas like The Kissing Booth, After and My Life With The Walter Boys now have devoted viewers across the world, but millions of fans were championing these stories for years before they ever made it to the screen, thanks to Wattpad—the reader-writer community storytelling platform. Founded in 2006, Wattpad made space for aspiring writers and passionate readers to connect, create and rally around new stories, and it’s since become a massive force in pop culture.
The recipe for success lies in the platform’s one-of-a-kind approach: Wattpad’s ability to foster a unique connection, create community and drum up enthusiasm for books before they’re traditionally published or picked up by major streamers like Netflix. So, whether you’re a romance fan (the platform’s most popular beat!), an avid Wattpad reader across genres, curious about what tropes are trending now—or all of the above—you’re in the right place! Woman’s World recently sat down with Alessandra Ferreri, Head of Content at Wattpad, to discuss how—and why—the platform became a storytelling powerhouse, its fanfiction origins, which romances (and fandoms) are capturing hearts right now and more.
Read on for our exclusive Q&A!
Woman’s World: Thanks so much for talking with us, Alessandra! Can you start by telling us a little about Wattpad’s origin story and its history with fanfiction?
Alessandra Ferreri: “Sure! As you know, Wattpad is a user-generated content platform that launched in 2006, and from the beginning, it’s been a space that encourages writers to tell their stories and for readers to discover new work—while also engaging deeply in the fandoms and narratives they love. Fan fiction, in particular, has always felt like a natural fit for the platform. It’s a place where communities of readers and writers come together around the things they’re most passionate about. If you think back to 2006, that era also gave rise to platforms like Tumblr, Archive of Our Own (AO3) and early Twitter. There was a huge shift happening—fandoms and social commentary were really starting to move into digital spaces. Wattpad was right in the middle of that cultural moment, but what made it unique was that it’s always been a storytelling platform first.”
WW: That’s fascinating. What do you think sets Wattpad apart from the other storytelling platforms you mentioned?
AF: “What really sets it apart is the combination of storytelling, fandom, social connection and conversation—all in one place. That’s why fanfiction writers and readers were among the earliest adopters. Today, as Head of Content, I lead a team of experts who are constantly trying to make sense of what’s creatively happening on the platform. We dive into data, we read constantly and we look for themes and patterns that reflect or influence what’s happening in the wider pop culture landscape. Ultimately, it’s about deep immersion. We’re all big pop culture people, so we’re always asking ourselves: What’s the cultural conversation right now? What’s resonating in the world—and how is that showing up on Wattpad? Our job is to connect those dots and understand the creative appetites of our readers and writers through that lens.”
WW: What are some of Wattpad’s biggest authors and book-to-screen sensations in recent years?
AF: “After was a huge phenomenon. And even before that, The Kissing Booth was one that ‘did numbers,’ as they say, on Wattpad. So I think those two are good examples of things that started to set the tone for what the platform was going to be. Wattpad is uniquely a really social platform and I think that these two authors—specifically Anna Todd and Beth Reekles—were particularly good at setting a tone for building that fanbase on the platform, which creates such a nice reading experience for others. For example, it’s one thing to read a book passively—like, you bought it off a bookshelf and then you’re at home reading. It’s another thing to read something socially with a bunch of other readers—and then also know that the author herself is reading your comments and sometimes responding to your comments as well. So it creates this really lovely reader-writer dynamic and relationship. And I think that type of ‘buy-in’ is what helps to generate the sense of connection that you just don’t get from reading print books alone—this format fuels passion and community around the story.”
WW: Was there something extra-special about After and The Kissing Booth that really resonated with fans?
AF: “When you think about stories like After, you also think about The Kissing Booth. After is, you know, basically falling in love with a bad boy who happens to be Harry Styles on your campus. The Kissing Booth is falling in love with the brother of your best friend. I think those all have a sense of relatability—of ‘what if this happened to me’? And I think that’s part of the joy of reading romance. It’s seeing yourself in the story itself. And you can live vicariously through those characters. So even outside of the social aspect of Wattpad, I think the nature of those stories tends to be—whether it’s fan fiction or original fiction—immersive. Readers can see themselves in those stories in a way and it’s fun to escape and have some fun with that ride.”
WW: Wattpad also launched a production company! Can you tell us a bit about this?
AF: “Yes! It’s called WEBTOON Productions now. That was actually my prior role—working on the studio side and feeding books and stories to our publishing and entertainment partners. My first role at Wattpad was actually on this team—way back, when I was entry-level. I was in charge of community engagement and content for just the platform, kind of like what my team is doing now. Then I moved over to the studio side for probably seven or eight years and got to help build the production side from the ground up.”
WW: That’s so cool to be a huge part of the book-to-screen process! What were the day-to-day duties like? How does it differentiate from your role now?
AF: “That role involved looking at content not just from the perspective of what was performing well on the platform, but also through the lens of adaptation—like asking yourself, could this be a book? Could this be a TV show? A movie? And we got to see so many amazing stories come out of that pipeline. Through My Window, which became a huge hit on Netflix, came through that process. More recently, The QB Bad Boy and Me is an adaptation on Tubi, which is now getting a sequel. It was buzzing on TikTok, and I remember it popping up on our radar like, ‘Hey, this is doing numbers—what can we do with this?’ So it’s been incredible to watch that side grow and succeed. Fast forward to now and I’ve returned to Wattpad, where I get to lead the very team I started on, which has been amazing. The platform has evolved so much and so have I! Everyone’s grown. So it has felt like a nice homecoming. I feel really lucky. And I still talk to and collaborate with the studio side all the time—literally every day. So it’s been so cool to be on both sides of that pipeline. I’ve worked here 10 years this year—it’s a big chunk of time!”
WW: We love hearing about the behind-the-scenes brainstorming that goes into these viral sensations! When it comes to what’s popular, it makes me think of tropes. Enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, romance, etc. What tropes are you seeing trending now on Wattpad? Any titles you think are about to be huge?
AF: “Wattpad acts like a mirror for pop culture. We see users bringing in what inspires them: Sometimes it’s fanfiction, other times it’s original stories influenced by moments in movies or TV. Right now, tropes like ‘my brother’s best friend’ are really popular, which puts a Wattpad twist on familiar themes you might see in mainstream books and series. I already mentioned The QB Bad Boy and Me. It’s a fun sports romance. But also, the author, Tay Marley, just published an in-between novella that takes place between the first and the second. So it’s a nice way for her to expand on her universe. So that franchise is thriving! I’m thrilled to see what’s happening—and what will happen—with that one.
We also have an amazing international slate, specifically in the Spanish language. The Through My Window franchise, which is on Netflix, did super, super well. And that same author, Ariana Godoy, is releasing Sigue Mi Voz (Follow My Voice). So that is coming out soon, and it’s getting a lot of exciting traction.
The other buzzing one right now is a Wattpad story from way back in the day—it’s called Kissing Is the Easy Part. It’s a play on Clueless, so it’s the pretty popular girl meets the very studious boy.”
WW: How does submitting stories to Wattpad work? Can anyone post stories?
AF: “Yes! Anyone can post a story on Wattpad, whether you’re a brand-new writer or a seasoned pro looking to experiment or reach a new audience. We work closely with publishers and producers and Wattpad really tries to democratize the publishing process so it doesn’t feel so cumbersome. You can sign up, post your work, find your readers and really just have fun. Overall, Wattpad makes the writing journey less lonely. It’s still a grind to write, but here, the community supports you—whether that’s through comments, contests or collaborative events. It’s a place where anyone can create trends, not just follow them. That’s why I love waking up every day to see what’s new…the next big thing always comes from these niche spaces.”
WW: How do you choose which stories to pitch for screen adaptations? Do you and your team look for something specific?
AF: “That’s a good question! On the Wattpad side, what we’re really looking for is exciting stories. We’re looking for authors who are doing their own thing—because we’re a user-generated content platform, there’s no set formula. And we like it that way. Traditional publishing and film industries tend to have their own rules and expectations. Wattpad operates as an alternative space. We’re not saying things like, ‘vampires are out,’ or ‘nobody wants YA anymore.’ We’re open to all types of stories.
We’re always looking for compelling writing and strong fan engagement—comments, interaction, readers building a following. We definitely keep tabs on that. We use a mix of art and science. On one hand, we look at a lot of data and analytics. On the other, we spend time reading ourselves, leaving comments and getting a sense of the community vibe. From our perspective, it’s important to stay open, because you never know when a trend will hit or when a new appetite will emerge. We’re not prescriptive about what’s in or out—and that flexibility allows us to say, ‘Hey, we know you’re not looking for this right now, but this particular story might change your mind.’
We regularly float standout stories to our publishing team, who are always scouting and in conversation with us. Sometimes they come in knowing exactly what they’re looking for. Other times, they’ll say, ‘What are you seeing? What’s exciting you right now?’ So it really goes both ways. Overall, we try to keep things open-ended because we’re listening to the audience first and foremost—not just our own tastes. That’s the heart of what Wattpad is all about.”
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