Lagrange7 Well... Splitting SS is pretty straightforward. Someone pays SS for the chapter, Qidian gets this amount, the author gets this amount, the translator gets this amount.
Splitting a subscription is different though. Are you going to split it evenly among the novels they chose for the month? Or are you going to split it according to the length of the novel? Are you going to track the chapters they read and split it that way? Or possibly split it according to word count? It can be very complicated, and every method has issues.
Well, it's a different meaning of fail. Subs work to an extent. There are still games that do subs and have been doing them for 10+ years. Though, most of them have switched to a hybrid system of sorts. However, especially with low quality work like this, subscriptions aren't going to be very appealing for long.

Well, the thing about the authors is somewhat ambiguous. But it's an ambiguous statement that came from a translator. And, legally speaking, it's still their story, so I'm pretty sure they get something.

Qidian... Yeah.

      bachingchung Have you ever thought of some people actually not being on this site for a month or two? To some this IS actually new.

      Not to me tho, i just like to take my time to put my opinion about things together.

          lozlo Considering the author doesnt get anything when we use free SS to pay him i think this system is kinda ripping the author off. Most seem to be fine with it tho, which is kinda sad tbh.

          Regarding splitting the sub-amount per month: I was thinking to about an even split between novels with minimum amounts. Basically, every author gets SOME money, but you can use a slider or just put in % to allocate an author more or less. If authors try to abuse this system by releasing less chapters readers would use their "slots" on other novels and the author gets nothing or a very small amount of money. If the novel sucks same. If your story is awesome and has a stable release people will probably want to reward you for it, making you earn more money and having time to focus on the novel. Its a virtuous cycle, the opposite of the "RELEASE ALL THE TIME AND BEG FOR DEM POWASTONES OR DROP IN RANKING AND FADE TO OBSCURITY"- mode of operation we have right now. Its just not a good enviroment to create a literary work of art is what im saying.

          On the other hand my proposal would give more control to the readers while ending the current system of buying chapters which might or might not be filler. If you want more novels to read you can either upgrade your subscription-level or purchase single "slots" which come at a fraction of the price of an upgrade. This way you pay a minimum amount (smallest subscription) towards the authors while still maintaining the flexibility to add more novels at a reasonable price.

          I guess you are right, most subscription games i know off have some kind of ingame-cash-shop.
          We also have that with gifting the author, except we dont get jack in return...its kinda like a black hole for SS with nothing in return? A few hours or so earlier access to chapters in return or anything at all wouldve been nice...

              Lagrange7 Well, first of all, you have to understand that, as I said before, the author got their money when they released it in their original language. The authors of these novels should be secondary at this point. It's the translators, and maybe editors, that are getting cheated 100%.
              Second of all, you're speaking about an old community. People have been translating this stuff for free for years, which is why it's even popular in the first place and part of why I say the translators are the ones getting cheated. The Chinese authors and Qidian did jack shit to create or support this community. Qidian just swooped in and bullied their way into claiming some profit while destroying a system that, if there weren't too stupid to take advantage of, probably could have netted them far more money. I don't even remember what my second point was now... lol...

              As for the ideas. They all have their benefits and losses. In the long run, the paywall probably makes the most, but I question how much it will really make with the overpriced SS they have now. They're basically begging people to pirate it with these prices. And their wish has been granted as far as I know.

              I guess in that aspect games are a little different. Games NEED more players, even if they aren't paying, because the players who are paying don't want to play alone. They need to form parties, and they need to have people to compete with. Possibly even people to show off what they blew last weeks paycheck on, lol.
              Novels don't need that. They do need publicity though. So maybe it's a toss up?

                  lozlo

                  Ok i guess i didnt consider the long history of haphazardly translated novels on obscure websites. Thats actually how i found and got into light novels in the first place, lol.

                  Yeah, the more and more i read about Qidians business-practices (if you can call them that) the less i like them.

                  EA of light novels i suppose...

                    Lagrange7 nah, the main problem root from ignorance and not reading the announcements. I'm already aware that this will happen a while ago since WN is on the stage of infancy, they considered it as a promo period. Then the successful novels will be Ad walled, premium then fully pay walled. I think it was on FAQs or BoA. So it's not surprising. Yet a lot of people still post the same sh!t everyday, typical. All rant yet they never bother to read the forums. Besides there are a lot of solutions posted to the older threads already, they are being highlighted till now.

                        lozlo The authors of these novels should be secondary at this point.

                        It depends on the contract. If they sold the rights of their novels to QI then yeah, but since those authors could still call some shots, it's safe to assume that they have royalty based contracts. As long as QI make money out of their novels, they are legally obliged to pay them. So you can't really put them before TLs and EDs.

                            bachingchung That's why I say secondary and not that they are completely unrelated. It's still their work, and they should receive something for it. But the people who worked to get it here in English are the translators, not Qidian and not the authors. Of course, there is an issue regarding contracts, so there is a lot to take into account depending on the terms of that contract. But, even so, the authors should be second. Their books are worthless here without translators. Much like how authors use to be nothing without a publisher and an editor. I believe that has changed over the years, but that's just a guess after considering amazon, kindle, etc. Even now, authors are probably still second place, but it's probably not as bad as it was in the past.
                            But, I guess with all that said, popular authors are a different story. They do get to throw their weight around, even in places they shouldn't have weight to throw. And, some of these authors ARE quite popular in China and in this... community?

                                Average word count is way cheaper on Any American novel. While Qidan has almost 110% markup. Go look for your self. They want .02 a word while hundreds of books on amazon only want like .00025 a word on average. Premium cost is a joke.

                                  WigglerGod Yeah, thats what i often read and the reason i was proposing a premium model with variable amounts. People are ready to pay for their entertainment, but they will never be willing to get screwed over for it (dont factcheck that).

                                    lozlo the previous translators were doing it as a hobby with around 2-5 chapters a week, that's why QI contracted these TLs and EDs for a steady pay and stable 7-14 ch/wk. Even back then these TLs have reserved or lock chapters that could be seen through paid subscription. Everyone kept praising the old Patreon pages when $ 1 could only make you read 2-5 chapters ahead per month. depends on the translator. Some translators don't even translate unless the donation pool is filled.

                                        bachingchung What you don't seem to understand is that, we don't HAVE to get used to anything, also respect goes both ways okay

                                            bachingchung I don't believe for a second that they did it for those reasons. However, it is true that there are a lot more novels out, and some of the projects are coming out faster. So there are upsides.
                                            As for those locked chapters via patreon. That's true, but they had a more involved system than what you're mentioning. The good ones released more chapters per week/day according to the total donations, on top of giving early access. And, the ones that did that really raked in some money. Also, those are the projects they went after first. But, nothing in life is simple, so I'm sure there are other hidden issues as well.

                                                bachingchung Pretty much most authors in China are on royalty-based contracts, similar to the ones the English original authors have. The higher level authors (Platinum or Phenomenal level) have even better royalty contracts. There are, however, some that prefer to take a fixed rate. And authors are still more important than translators. There will always be someone willing to translate a work if you pay enough, but you can't replicate the originality an author comes up with for their novel (Regardless if people claim that there is no originality in web novels, the success these authors show is that their works are popular among readers, and I believe English original authors are realizing that it's actually not that simple.)

                                                    bachingchung No, i live in a Place called Real World, where Reality exists...

                                                        lol! The whole 'well, if I translate it into a different language, I should get that copyright' argument again, only wearing different clothes...

                                                        If it was MY work, you'd be hit with a DMCA so fast, your heads would spin and you'd be crying because I would go after every single cent you made off my stuff without my permission. I think WN was being pretty soft and obliging when they officially showed up in the English market. Arrggh...now i want my writer's block back!

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