Medium is a famous American online website. It was created and launched by Evan Williams in August 2012. Evan claims that this platform exemplifies and promotes social journalism. It does so by bringing together both amateur and professional contributors in an open-minded and creative setting.

To call it short, Medium is a platform for all types of writers and journalists to share their work. Most users here prefer nonfiction, essays and journals over fiction. Still, fiction writers do not need to feel discouraged, as fiction also has quite a large fanbase here. There are a few sub-communities inside Medium for people who search for exciting and compelling fiction to read. These groups might not be as big as those on Wattpad, but the members are extremely active and have excellent writings. The moderators of these groups also ensure that every input writing is of the highest standards.

Unless you write blogs on life hacks and tips, it is a little bit difficult to gain a large following here. Still, this is a perfect place to ask for valuable writing tips. Most of the members here are well-educated and very intelligent, after all.

Website: https://medium.com/

Users: 80 - 100 million

Wattpad is one of the biggest online collections of fiction, particularly aimed towards teenagers. Most of the stories here are as long as a book or novella. Depending on the author’s fanbase size, response levels will vary. However, we could see that it is quite easy to establish a sizable and diverse audience on this site. Ever since Wattpad’s launch, there have been thousands of “superstars” with massive followings and millions of readers on this platform.

The most common criticism geared towards Wattpad is often about the frequency of bad writings. Many stories in this community - written by inexperienced teenagers - are quite difficult to read. Also, it's sometimes challenging for new authors to be noticed on the site, due to its massive amount of users. After all, millions of authors flock to this platform to fight for attention.

All in all, if you frequently participate in the community and interact with fellow writers, you will likely get some loyal readers in no time. With enough effort and quality material, there is no doubt that you would develop a sizable following. Furthermore, some books, which have been published and become worldwide famous, used to be Wattpad stories. They were noticed by big publishers thanks to their reputation on this platform.

Website: https://www.wattpad.com/

Users: 90 million

Quotev is a website dedicated to original literature and fan fiction. It can also help you create polls, surveys, and quizzes. You do not need to make an account to take quizzes or read books. However, if you want to comment, leave “like”, and write your own blogs, a login account is a must. With this account, you are free to conceal its online status, deactivate, and edit your information. And as we have already established, this account will allow you to create quizzes, write novels and leave comments.

All in all, Quotev is a very fun teen-oriented community. Every day, it is filled with entertaining quizzes, short tales, and fanfiction. The overall entertainment is very friendly, which makes it easier for you to gain fanbases and make friends. However, you should tread carefully with your story comments here - especially if they are constructive criticism. Lots of Quotev users are quite young and are not familiar with constructive feedback.

Website: https://www.quotev.com/

Users: 1.8 million

Commaful is a free service. This app allows you to hot and exciting romances, as well as thrillers, horror, ghost stories, blog entries, and poetry. The short stories are quite ideal for brief bursts of entertainment, especially tailored for busy readers. Furthemore, one can be both a reader and a writer here. You can create your own work and expand your fan following.

Yes, you heard it right: Commaful allows you to create your own narrative. These stories do not have to be novels or fictions, though. You can share all types of writing on this website, from your real-life experience, your future dreams, or thousands of blog articles about philosophical fields. If you want, you can even discuss and write about the latest movie franchise you have seen, or write long poems about beautiful romance. The opportunities and possibilities here are endless. With its open-minded platform, Commaful has been home to lots of authors - both novices and the bestselling writers in the market.

Each Commaful tale is presented in a stunning picturebook style. Thanks to their lively and vibrant illustrations, all types of stories - from short fictions, poetry, fanfics, and memoirs, to haunting tales - all come to life. The narratives are written in high-quality prose and accompanied by stunning photographs and GIFs. These features are extremely rare for a free program.

Website: https://commaful.com/

Users: 300 thousand

Smashwords is a self-publishing site. It is fairly popular, enjoying around 200 thousand active writers and readers to date. The site mainly focuses on novels (but it also accepts short stories and anthologies, so no worry!)

As most writers on Smashwords are young women, it is understandable that romance is by far the most prominent theme. Most of the published books here are not for free, though; they are marketed for a certain amount of fee. For those who are trying to sell their work, but not a keen fan of Amazon, then Smashwords would be an excellent alternative (not to mention that you do not have to pay anything in order for your work to be published, unlike Amazon).

Regarding prices, there are specific filters for both free and marketed stories. That way, free works still get enough exposure. According to recent statistics, almost half a million books have been published on Smashwords, with 80 thousands of them being free.

Website: https://www.smashwords.com/

Users: 200 thousand

If you are an active member of popular fandoms (example: Harry Potter fandom, Lord of The Ring fandom,...) and write frequently on Fanfiction.net, then there is a high possibility that you may have heard of Fictionpress. Fanfiction.net is a renowned place for fan fictions (aka made-up stories about famous fictional characters or real-life celebrities). Fictionpress is a counterpart of Fanfction.net, but for original stories.

Users on this site are mostly ambitious authors and writers who want to publish their novellas. Frankly, Fictionpress is not as active and popular as many other networks on this list. Still, you will not regret your time here. Experienced writers on Fictionpress would offer many useful comments that could help you improve your skills.

Of course, we do not mean to say that every single story here is well-written. Aside from extremely good novels, the number of bad stories are also quite astonishing; but that is understandable, given that this app is free.

Website: https://www.fictionpress.com/

Users: ~ 50 thousand

Archive of Our Own (AO3) is free and open-sourced repository, dedicated to fan fictions and other types of fan works. It was created and founded by Organizations for Transformative Arts in 2008. In 2009, the site officially debuted on the Internet. To this date, Archive of Our Own has been home for at least 8 million works for 50 thousands fandoms. The site has gained tons of praises for the smart interface and designs, as well as its curations and organized features. This feat is not achieved by the site creators alone; in fact, lots of its long -time users have suggested and proposed ideas for the platform’s improvement.

At the moment, you can say that Archive of Our Own is easily the best fanfiction website on the Internet. If you are an enthusiastic fan of certain celebrities or movies, films and books - and want to write stories about these people and characters - then this is the best place for you.

The community is incredibly active, with millions of fans and contributors. Feedbacks and comments are not frequent compared to other sites (some silent readers just like to leave kudos for the authors instead of commenting). Nevertheless, there are lots of smart readers and writers here, who could provide excellent writing advice for you when needed.

Website: https://archiveofourown.org/

Users: 4 million

FanFiction.net is the counterpart of Fictionpress (which ranks number 6 in this list). The platform is dedicated to fan fiction authors. It was founded on 15 October, in 1998 by Xing Li, a computer programmer from Los Angeles. Xing Li is still the manager of this website till today. Fanfiction.net now enjoys around 12 million active members, featuring one-shots and fan-fiction in at least 40 languages.

To cater to different users, the site divides itself into several major categories. These groups include: television shows, movies, comics, games, cartoons, books, and anime/manga. Once finishing their free registration procedure, users may create a user profile, write and read fanfiction, and apply for a beta reader job. They can also communicate with other users through private messaging, and keep track of their favorite fictions and authors.

Fanfiction.net used to be the largest fanfiction website on the Internet. Nowadays, it falls quite far behind Archive of Our Own (AO3). Despite that, it still retains a significant fan base compared to many other similar websites. Also, similar to AO3, there is no place for original fiction; only fan-made stories about existing characters and figures are uploaded.

Website: https://www.fanfiction.net/

Users: 12 million

When it comes to numbers of users alone, Tumblr easily defeats all the other options in this list. The only reason it ranks in the second half of the list is because Tumblr is not a site purely dedicated to writing. In fact, this platform is often used to post gifs, images, and videos. Nonetheless, lots of writings and relevant fiction postings still thrive here.

Most importantly, many Tumblr pieces often go viral - not just on the Tumblr platform itself, but also throughout other social media networks. There are also options for sharing and retweeting, which helps stories reach a larger audience demographic. That is why we deem Tumblr as a cultural hotspot worth exploring.

Another important thing is that Tumblr is heavily influenced by fandoms (similar to Fanfiction.net and AO3, which we have briefly explained about). Hence, if you have written a high-quality fanfiction story and applied the appropriate tags for it, your post is very likely to take off and enjoy immense exposure.

Website: https://www.tumblr.com/

Users: 472 million

The Young Writers Society, founded in 2004, serves as the premier worldwide network for young writers. Their mission is to encourage writing skills as a hobby, to train prospective writers for eventual publication, and to build enduring friendships across countries and cultures.

The Young Writers Society is indeed an excellent environment for you to develop as both a writer and a creative person. The Young Writers Society's members produce and share all of their stories, experiences and opinions on the site. Each day, they offer hundreds of literary pieces, reviews, and forum entries. Users actively contribute their own writing and artwork, while the other community fellows give critical critique to help each other improve.

Apart from the literary portion, the Young Writers Society also includes interesting platforms for study, debate, and publication. Everyone is encouraged to cooperate, discuss, compete, review, talk, and exchange images – all in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere. And last but not least, The Young Writers Society is run entirely by volunteers. Their moderators (denoted by green usernames) do their best to educate budding authors, stimulate creative development, and assure the proper operation for the site.

Website: https://www.youngwriterssociety.com/

Users: N/A