For many of us, Wattpad is a comfort home for book lovers varying in many different ages. It is a place for aspiring writers to share their passions and for readers to enjoy literary pieces ranging from hilarious fanfictions to original novels that soon turned into published works. We’ve spoken to two Wattpad writers who became published authors, and they shared their journey with us as well as more information regarding their works!
The Authors
Jessica Cunsolo
Jessica Cunsolo’s Wattpad series, With Me, has gained over 215 million reads since 2015. Published in multiple languages, her story is currently in development with Wattpad WEBTOON Studios. Jessica enjoys the outdoors in her home just outside of Toronto, and gains inspirations for her plotlines from her real-life awkward situations.
Whitney D. Grandison
Whitney D. Grandison has been passionate about writing for as long as she can remember. When she is not writing, she enjoys watching Asian dramas, John Hughes films, and horror movies. She currently resides in Akron, Ohio with her cats.
The Questions
For those who may be new to your work, what can readers expect from your upcoming release?
Jessica Cunsolo: Best Summer Ever is a dual point-of-view story following two cousins, Jenna and Olivia, on a weeklong trip to a Muskoka lake house to savor the last week of summer before heading off to university. Both girls’ lives have imploded — Jenna’s dad is selling everything and moving to Vancouver without her, and Olivia is nursing a broken heart after discovering her boyfriend of 5 years cheated on her. Stuck in close quarters with their big friend group, tensions rise, secrets come out, and sparks fly.
With moments of heartbreak, self-discovery, and the messy yet beautiful dynamics of relationships, Jenna and Olivia’s journeys are deeply relatable. From Jenna’s flustered encounters with her childhood nemesis who knows exactly how to push her buttons, to Olivia’s unexpected connection with her ex’s best friend, the story balances humor, heart, and plenty of drama. Some fun tropes include forced proximity, old rivals, only one bed, and ‘it’s always been you,’ but at its core, Best Summer Ever is a heartwarming, entertaining summer read about the chaos of growing up, grief, and falling in love.
Whitney D. Gradison: It’s a coming-of-age romance that will definitely make you laugh, cry, and FEEL. I hope to have readers walking away feeling butterflies.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and your journey as a writer?
Jessica Cunsolo: My journey as a writer started in an unexpected way. When I was 17, I discovered a story-sharing website and came across a book I loved, written by someone my age. It made me realize that writing wasn’t just for people with degrees — it was for anyone with a passion and story to tell. Inspired, I decided to take a chance and post my own story, “She’s With Me”, one chapter at a time, where it quickly garnered over 100 million reads. I was blown away!
Readers connected deeply with the characters, the chemistry, the angst, the drama, and those unforgettable ‘who did this to you’ moments. Their messages and comments encouraged me to not only finish the story, but complete the series and even write a spin-off. The support and enthusiasm from readers have been the driving force behind my journey, pushing me to keep sharing stories and pursue my career as a full-time author. I’m incredibly grateful for them and the opportunity to do what I love.
Whitney D. Grandison: I’m from Akron, Ohio, which is why a lot of my books are based in either real or fictional Ohio cities. I grew up obsessed with reading and going to the library. In the second grade, my teacher had us write short stories and I fell in love with writing. She liked my work, and her joy and encouragement really sparked a desire to keep telling stories.
Do you have favorite characters you’ve created? If so, what makes them stand out to you?
Jessica Cunsolo: It’s so hard to choose a favorite (my characters all feel like my children!) but one that stands out to me is Faye from my fun, drama-filled, beachy YA novel “Best Vacation Ever”. Faye is probably the most vulnerable and imperfect character I’ve ever written. She has a complicated relationship with her older brother and is secretly in a friends-with-benefits relationship with his totally off-limits best friend. When she realizes she wants more, she tries to make him jealous, setting off a chain of drama and self-discovery.
What I love about Faye is her complexity. She’s confident, fiercely loyal, and determined to go after what she wants, but she’s also insecure, afraid of those hard, deep conversations, and sometimes blind to how her actions affect others. She makes a mess of her relationships, but that’s what makes her so relatable. In my favorite scene, she gets her friends kicked out of a nightclub, hitting her lowest point. To make it worse, it’s the person she can’t stand — Kiara — who steps in to help her. That moment captures Faye’s growth and shows how messy and imperfect people can be, while also highlighting the kindness and forgiveness others are capable of. Faye’s rawness and journey toward understanding herself and others make her a standout for me.
Whitney D. Grandison: This is kind of a tie really. I’d like to say from an unreleased book there’s a boy named Cru I love because I like to think we grew up together. I wrote a trilogy for him when I was fifteen and that’s one of my favorite stories. Like Trice from A Love Hate Thing, Cru’s character comes from a bad neighborhood and is thrust into a wealthy coastal town, and it was so much fun writing his journey from boyhood to manhood. Seeing him go from underdog to hero.
And my other favorite character is Cree from Playin’ Hard because she’s such a full character and someone I hope Black girls can cheer on and love because she’s headstrong, opinionated, soft and vulnerable too.
What inspired you to drive into your novel’s theme, and how do you approach writing about it in a way that resonates with young adults?
Jessica Cunsolo: I started writing She’s With Me when I was 17 using a pen name. I think writing anonymously gave me the freedom to explore the themes I loved without fear of judgment. It allowed me to craft a story where the stakes are always high, weaving in elements like stalkers, car chases, death threats, and life-or-death situations — things that might not happen to the average person but make for an intense and captivating story.
Because I wrote it as a teenager, I think it naturally resonates with young adults. I wrote about what I wanted to read at that age, and it found an audience of readers who also love the mix of angst, mystery, and heart. She’s With Me is about friendship and loyalty, where a group of friends would do anything for each other. I think that sense of found family, paired with Amelia’s resilience and general badassery, makes the story immersive and gives us a heroine we can root for. And I mean, Aiden is just the ultimate book boyfriend. I wrote him and even I swoon when I reread his scenes (nothing is better than a touch her and I’ll kill you moment, am I right?).
Whitney D. Grandison: I think first I had something I wanted to say, because there’s definitely an element of the book that just highlights praise and want for Black togetherness as a whole. Cree and DeAndre were two different people with two different viewpoints, but the more I wrote them, the more they came to understand each other inside and out. The more they showed up for each other and held each other down. I always wanted to see a Black YA romance that was bold, real, and fun, and that influenced why and how I wrote Playin’ Hard as well.
You started out as a writer on the platform Wattpad and then became a published author, can you tell us a little more about that experience?
Jessica Cunsolo: Transitioning from writing on Wattpad to becoming a published author was definitely a learning curve. On Wattpad, I wrote at my own pace, posting chapters episodically for millions of readers. But becoming a published author meant that suddenly I had deadlines, editors, and an entire team involved in the process, which felt overwhelming at first. I had to adjust from writing when inspiration struck to writing on a schedule, learning to push through writer’s block and stay productive even under pressure. I also had to adapt to the differences between writing episodically and writing for traditional publishing, as there are different tricks and techniques for both. But despite the challenges, the experience has been incredibly rewarding. I absolutely love seeing my books in stores and having readers send me pictures of the book or annotated notes, it truly makes my entire day. It’s an amazing feeling to know my stories have connected with people in such a meaningful way.
Whitney D. Grandison: Playin’ Hard is the catalyst for me becoming a published author. For so long my biggest dream was to be published, and I’d previously queried other books and wasn’t successful. When I wrote Playin’ Hard my reader base was huge and in love with the book. I felt it was too authentic to ever be published, so I sat on it for two years, and it was my readers messaging me and asking me to publish it so they could own physical copies that made me feel brave enough to query Playin’ Hard and the rest is history.
I think in a lot of ways, going from Wattpad to published author is jarring. On Wattpad I’d built a reader base who knew me and my works, and when I became published it was a lot of misconceptions about me based on my debut and in a way it felt like there were expectations laid out for me I had just failed to live up to. It was amazing to be published finally, but at the same time, writing on Wattpad brought me joy and becoming published gave me whiplash because I was instantly compared to other authors even when we had nothing in common. It was an eye opener for sure.
What do you hope readers will takeaway from your books, and how do you hope they will feel after finishing one of your stories?
Jessica Cunsolo: Every story has different themes and vibes. For example, some things Best Vacation Ever focuses on is friendships and the importance of communication, while Best Summer Ever touches on growing up and the uncertainty of the future. But what I ultimately hope readers take away from my books is a sense of entertainment and escape. When I read, I love getting lost in a story, feeling so connected to the characters that it’s like I’m living alongside them. That’s the experience I want to create for my readers.
As books have always been a source of comfort for me, especially during lonely times, hearing from readers who’ve felt that same connection to my characters inspires me to keep writing. I love creating characters that feel vivid and relatable, so I hope my books can offer readers the same comfort and companionship stories have given me throughout my life.
Whitney D. Grandison: First, I hope they’re entertained, able to escape from their worlds and just get lost in mine. I hope they walk away feeling happy, hopeful, and just fully satisfied and rewarded.
Where do your most captivating tales originate?
Jessica Cunsolo: I think it all begins with writing a story I want to read. I become inspired by a moment or comment, and suddenly a scene will pop into my head that gets me excited to write. I’ve recently learned I’m an ‘intuitive writer,’ meaning I let the story unfold naturally instead of using an outline. Plot points, character development, and story beats emerge as I write, guided by what feels authentic to the scene.
Sometimes, I get inspired by real life scenarios, but I’m not nearly entertaining enough to write a book about, so I’ll amplify the situation with more tension, drama, and humor. For example, in Best Vacation Ever, Dean saves Lori in a way that mirrors a real-life moment when someone kind of probably saved my life — but unlike Lori, I was too embarrassed to ever talk to him again, even though we went to school together for six more years! I also love taking scenarios and asking, ‘What would make this worse for the character?’ Then, I write that in and let the story evolve as they figure out how to overcome it. That tension and growth make for a much more compelling read.
Whitney D. Grandison: My ideas can spark from a real-life event, person, or something as simple as a song. With A Love Hate Thing I was inspired by two boys I knew, one from childhood who I used to boss around, and another I met in high school who was rough around the edges. At first, they were two different book ideas, but then I merged them together, as the boy I knew from childhood had moved away and I hadn’t seen him in years, and I thought ‘what if he came back and was like this new guy? Just hard and tough and jaded?’ and thus Tyson Trice was born.
With Playin’ Hard, it was super organic. I had heard Nicki Minaj and Cassie’s “The Boys” and loved Cassie’s hook and thought about a book idea about a girl who sees through these popular guys at her school because she knows they’re jerks. And then I heard “Clique” by Kanye West, Big Sean and Jay-Z and I loved the hook and the idea of a group of guys who were just super cool and untouchable and DeAndre was born. And somehow I merged those two book ideas together and Playin’ Hard was born.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors who are just starting out?
Jessica Cunsolo: One piece of advice that has stuck with me is: the first draft is always going to be bad, and that’s okay. As writers, we put so much pressure on ourselves to perfect every sentence, punctuation mark, and detail as we go. But the reality is, the first draft is just the starting point. It’s going to evolve through edits and rewrites, often becoming something almost unrecognizable from where it began.
The most important step is just getting the words down. Don’t worry about making it perfect right away, focus on letting the story flow and allowing the characters to develop naturally. You can (and will) go back to refine and rewrite. That advice has saved me countless times from getting stuck or overthinking scenes. It’s reminded me to embrace the messy, creative process of drafting and trust that I’ll polish everything later. So, don’t stress about the first draft — just have fun writing!
Whitney D. Grandison: Most importantly, have fun. Don’t worry about what the next author is doing or what’s trending, write ideas you genuinely love and have fun. Believe in yourself first, because being your own biggest belief system will take you far and help you weather any storm in the publishing industry whether trad or indie. And never, ever, read reviews.
To close, are you working on any WIPs at current? If so, anything sneak peeks you can give to your fans?
Jessica Cunsolo: I love sharing snippets and excerpts of my work on Instagram, and sometimes I even draw the characters for fun! Right now, I’m working on my new summer YA novel, The Blind Date Agreement, which is set to be published in summer 2026. It’s about a girl who agrees to go on a series of blind dates arranged by her best friends as a way to get over her secret crush… on her best friend’s boyfriend.
This story is genuinely so much fun — I’ve never laughed so much at my own work! But it’s more than just the hilariously disastrous blind dates and the main character’s antics. There’s so much self-growth, discovery, and exploration of complex relationships and the teenage experience that make it relatable for readers of all ages. And, of course, I couldn’t resist adding some good old-fashioned angst — it’s an enemies-to-lovers story after all, and the love interest almost throws her off a cliff during their first meeting! I cannot wait for readers to get their hands on it.
Whitney D. Grandison: I have an old idea I’m planning on rewriting. I noticed swimming is coming around for sports romances and I have a book where my male lead is on the swim team and plays water polo and I’d definitely like to revisit the story and make it stronger. Who doesn’t love a good sports romance?
These two inspiring authors and many others prove that passions can turn into something greater, and well beyond what you imagined. Whether you wish to be a bestselling writer one day or are a devoted reader, Wattpad continues to be a space where stories thrive and dreams come true.
Find Jessica Cunsolo here.
Find Whitney D. Grandison here.
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