After Wattpad was acquired by the parent company of WEBTOON in 2021, the company created a division for creators called Wattpad WEBTOON Studios (WWS), which replaced earlier creator-focused efforts. The studio’s purpose has been to produce successful TV and film as well as bestselling books and to partner with other top companies to produce entertainment.
In 2026, WWS will be broken up. The publishing business (Wattpad Books and W by Wattpad Books) will be moved into WEBTOON Entertainment. The entertainment business will be moved into WEBTOON Productions. Creators paid by the company will see payments coming from WEBTOON, not Wattpad or WWS. Thank you to reader Ben Sobieck for the tip.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
