The Upside of Falling

There are two popular routes in the publishing world: traditional publishing and self-publishing. On each side, there are critics. Some argue that traditional publishing is too hard to break into, too rigid, and offers less creative control for authors. Critics of self-publishing argue that the process is unregulated, too easy to achieve, and often results in lower-quality work. However, self-publishing is an attractive option for those who want to write with more freedom, and many critically-acclaimed authors have launched their careers through self-publication. Websites like FictionPress, Wattpad, and Episode Interactive have allowed millions of aspiring writers to share their stories with readers worldwide. For everyday Wattpad user Alex Light, a humble story about love in a small town resulted in millions of readers and a massive fan following.

The website Wattpad was first launched in 2006 and boasts a monthly audience of roughly 90 million readers. Wattpad, like other self-publishing websites before it, was created to unite readers and writers and eliminate the walls between those who read and those who write. The website is predominantly visited by younger readers, especially those in the Gen Z and Millennial age groups, and the site is most often accessed through mobile devices. According to this data, younger generations are reading more, but by using platforms such as Wattpad, younger audiences are choosing to engage in literature produced more often by their peers instead of big-name authors.

In a series of interviews with book bloggers, Light explains that the inspiration for the novel came from a peculiar dream she had one night. She dreamed that she had to find a fake date for a wedding, and when she woke up, she couldn’t get the idea of fake-dating out of her head. Light began writing the story in pieces, and the initial characters and plot took hold. The Upside of Falling was originally published in 2017 under a different name, and it quickly exploded in the Wattpad online community. In June 2017, it was ranked highest in the Teen Fiction category, and it was a featured read in the Teen Fiction section of the website two months later in August. In September, it won the 2017 Watty Award for Riveting Reads. To date, the story has over 47 million reads on Wattpad. However, Light notes that the version that is currently posted on Wattpad is very different from the version that went on to be published by HarperCollins in 2020. The Upside of Falling might have gotten its start on Wattpad and garnered the attention of the Wattpad publication team, but the Wattpad version and the HarperCollins book by the same name couldn’t be more different. Still, Light credits the success of both versions to her loyal readers, and she has voiced her gratitude for their support across all platforms.

For those who dream of being published authors, Alex Light’s story is somewhat of a Cinderella story. In a world where the publishing industry is supersaturated with stories that are highly regulated by big-name publishers, websites like Wattpad allow writers to get back to their roots and connect with readers in a way that is low-risk, approachable, and allows them to stay true to their creative visions.