On March 28, 2019, the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself: speaking to author Len Webster. The Aussie author is famous for her success on Wattpad, where she then moved on to self-publishing and became an international best-selling author. Six years after beginning her unexpected career, Webster agreed to do an interview, something she doesnât often do.
Back in her second year of University where she was studying marketing, Webster was in a rut; second year wasnât as thrilling as sheâd thought itâd be. Uni life was boring, just as her classes were. She needed a change, and she turned to writing. âI wasnât always creative in high school, but I needed a change in my life,â she said. She would send her work to only two friends: They encouraged her to do something more with her work, but Webster thought it was nothing more than a hobby. âIâm supposed to be a manager or a marketer; not a writer.â
Beth Reekles, the author of The Kissing Booth, had found success to the point of getting a Netflix hit by starting on Wattpad, a website where itâs free to write and read anything you want. It was one of the first times a Wattpad author had a story of theirs turned into a movie. Websterâs friends encouraged her even more. âYou donât have to have thousands who look at it; you just need to have one person look at it outside of us.â So, on January 22, 2013, at two in the morning, Webster posted the prologue of her soon to be best-selling novel, 38 Days.
A Wattpad admin extended an invitation for her to join a Writers Group on the site not long after. âItâs actually how I met a lot of my friends, especially my best friend, Jaycee Ford. Sheâs the one who encouraged me to share my story in more places than just Wattpad.â Another friend even suggested to Webster that she should submit her story to be featured on the site. âWhy would they feature me? Iâm a no one. They feature people like Anna Todd and Beth Reekles.â
It took a while, but Webster did send in an email. It took a year, but one day, clear as day on her screen, Wattpad featured her. Her story quickly went from hundreds of reads to millions! Sheâs still baffled to this day. âYou have to start with a small, loyal group of passionate readers. My biggest, most dedicated readers are the ones from Wattpad, been there through 2013. Itâs crazy to think theyâve been there through all of my upâs and downâs, but theyâve been there from the start, theyâve seen me grow, and itâs insane that so many of them were commenting on my stories.â
When her first novel ended, it had a major cliffhanger. âI knew it was going to get some backlash, and people would say, âOh my god, why did you do this?â All I knew was that it was going to be a two-book series. It depended on if people wanted the sequel.â She tried to remind everyone that as a University student, she didnât have time to write like she did on Holiday. But she quickly caved and announced a short time later a sequel was in the works, 38 Reasons.
At the same time, she also was considering self-publishing. Sheâd been on Wattpad for long enough and hadnât been able to win contests on Wattpad due to her refusal to cut over 50,000 words from her manuscript. She knew besides money, there was nothing else to lose, and she was willing to take that risk. It was just supposed to be an attempt, not her career.Â
Webster was on the train on her way back home from an exam when her book went live. She was officially a published author. Not too long after, she published 38 Days. Her stories were ranking on charts for Top 100 for iBooks and Amazon, all over the world. What had started as a hobby had grown exponentially.Â
After the 38 Series was over, Webster wanted to do something new. Over time, a different story was brewing, and she wanted the chance to evolve as an author. She wasnât sure if this was her future, but sheâd put everything on hold in her marketing life to write this novel, and thus Sometimes Moments was born.Â
With a full-time job in marketing off the table, a year off after graduating University, the confidence she could return to that life if this novel failed, and insanely good internships to return to, Webster began writing her next novel. This was where she had a whole new team behind her as well. A new editor, a new proofreader, a new cover artist sheâs had ever since, and a new novel was all very risky because of the amount of money sheâd invested into it. âIf weâre going to go out with a bang, I figured I might as well get some tears out of people.â
The reception from Sometimes Moments exceeded everyoneâs expectations. People were taking on the concept, message and loving her characters, and thatâs when Webster realized, âMaybe the first and second times werenât a fluke. Maybe I could do this. Maybe I could be an author. I didnât have to hit New York Times, or USA Today. I just have to be memorable to my readers, and Iâll be pretty happy with that.â
Sometimes Moments was her best-selling book for a very long time. All the big blogs shared it, it climbed charts and it began to rank higher than her first two books had. It even ranked in the Top 10 for certain sellers like iBooks, Kobo and Amazon. Itâs what Websterâs best known for. If you pick up a copy of Websterâs novels now, they always say âBest Selling Author of Sometimes Moments.â âThey know the book that made them cry,â she laughed.
Webster went on to explain the reason she ended up writing the sequel as well: it was all for a friend. She didnât believe readers wanted a sequel and would be okay with moving on from another character from the first novel, but she was wrong when she ranked once again for the sequel.
After the Sometimes series, Webster hadnât planned on going right back to her freshman books. âItâs called the 38 Series; itâs supposed to be just those two books. But for me, being the person that I am, kind of left little hints about if it ever happened. People picked up on what happened to the secondary characters, and thatâs how the series evolved into what it is today.â Webster went on to write another five novels for the series, which was what her fans wanted. She didnât realize sheâd fall in love with the other characters the way she had with Noel and Clara.Â
Webster also explained that she is a âBlock Writerâ when it comes to completing a novel. She will spend large portions of time not writing, but instead planning, before sheâll start. At the time of the interview, Webster was working on a stand-alone and had started writing a week prior. Sheâd taken nine months off after sheâd completed the Science of Unrequited novels, and only a week later did she finish with over 100,000 words. The title is still unknown. She explained that one of her standard 90,000+ word novels can take up to nine days to write, but novels like Dissolution took a few weeks due to the book being more than double of a normal novel. But like all authors, Webster did struggle with a novel for three years, her only standalone so far, The First Touch of Sunlight.
Having just completed the Science of Unrequited series, Webster finally opened up about the story behind the story. Originally, she wanted a road trip between two best friends but didnât know what it would be about. Plus, she wanted to set the novels in America, something sheâd never done due to being from Australia. She didnât know how to write about the states. It wasnât until later down the road she knew what she would write: one of the friends was in love with the other and the other one doesnât know it. âThe issue was Unrequited had been done a million ways. I wanted to tell it my way, keeping it as new and fresh.â
Behind the title of Unrequited though was much more to learn. Webster wanted the series to stretch from four to six years so the characters could figure out who and where they are, if they want to be together, their dream and everything in between before they get to the ending. Thatâs where the series eventually went to. âItâs about AJ and Evan, best friends figuring out life and their dreams and where theyâre supposed to be. If theyâre meant to be together, theyâll find each other.â It went from a road trip to life, dreams and goals, and everything in between.
She was initially scared of writing about America. She felt her voice would be too Australian. So with research, a lot of help, a lot of mistakes, and learning, Webster eventually was able to get through with a very accurate American tone. âI wanted the first American book to be special, and Theory of Unrequited is special in my eyes, and the reader’s eyes.â
With those questions answered there was still one more question that needed to be answered: Why did Webster use physics for an unrequited love story? Sheâd always wanted to write a girl who was in love with science. She kept every female sheâd ever written in a position of their own power. âClaraâs a chef, Stevieâs a marketer, Allyâs a socialite with a CEO title, Josieâs a lawyer, Peytonâs a hotel owner, Meredithâs a teacher. I wanted them to be successful at their jobs, so these women had the power to change the world of a life when it came to their careers. But for AJ, I wanted this girl to love something so much and have it be something she believes she deserves.ââWebster explained how sheâs read a lot of novels with different characters, but sheâd never met a strong, confused girl with a love for science. Most wanted fame or fortune, but AJ wanted science so much it was embedded into her. As previously mentioned, the story isnât just about unrequited love, itâs about AJ discovering her wants and desires and getting to become the physicist she wants to be. It had so many elements that worked, formulas that worked, and it was the ability to be able to incorporate different aspects of science. âWhen AJ explains the collision of her and Evan in scientific ways, itâs fun, but it also makes sense to her and how she and Evan worked. I wanted AJ to have it all be part of her, and have it be what helps discover who she really is.â
AJ doesnât let love take her away from her dreams. While her love life is a main point of the story, she also chooses herself over the two men she falls in love within the story. She ends up becoming a TA and goes to Switzerland to work with a world-renowned physicist and follows her dreams. Webster wanted that to be who AJ was, not just somebody in love.
âI also wanted to show how influential teachers can truly be. AJ had her full share of mentors, but [her high school science teachers] Mr. Miller was the one who supposed her through times where she didnât really know who she was and times when Evan, so clueless, tried to take away what she could be without even realizing it. At the end of the series, AJ had to choose what was best for her as a person and academic. As much as she wanted AJ to go to MIT and live that dream in the novels, it wasnât going to make her happy as an accomplished physicist. She had to follow what she really wanted and show that sometimes you can have the best dream in the world, but sometimes that dream will change, and youâll have something better.â
Science is a male-dominated profession, so AJ had to balance it. Webster came out of the series being proud of AJ and her choices. âI donât make decisions for AJ; she makes them herself.â
After the whole story was over, Websterâs reflection on it is probably the most profound. âThe one thing I love about AJ is that she kept getting back up and chased after her dreams.â
She wanted to show her young readers that it may not look like it now, but you donât have to give up your dreams or a career for a significant other. âYou gotta do it for yourself once in a while and thatâs what I wanted for AJ to do for herself. To stand up for herself, to choose herself, and Evan allowing her to choose herself. To go after her dreams.â
To follow Webster, go to her website at lennwebster.com. Start reading a Webster novel today!