Webnovel.Forum

BrightDawn It's as @Dr_Zombie has said: They reserve themselves the right to not include your story in the contest.
For example, let's say the contest is "Schoolboy meets Ghost" and you decide to make it a ghost-harem R-18 story where the MC is a highschool student.
In such a case, Webnovel could decide that your novel doesn't count for the contest without giving a reason. Maybe a mod doesn't like harem. Maybe they don't like the fact that the MC is underage. Maybe it's something entirely different.
Whatever it is, they decide no to include your story by referring to the "Webnovel reserves the right of final interpretation for all stories submitted in this contest." Rule.

The copyright for the story will always belong to you. In fact, if that story were to go premium, you have the opportonity to lease the copyright to them so that they're allowed to monetize your story. I've never heard of any case where Webnovel takes the copyright away from the original author. They're fair in that regard.

BrightDawn
Note: Not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

The copyright belongs to you unless you sign a contract with Webnovel.

Not sure what @Yozuka means, as he is incorrect in his last paragraph. The only way a story goes premium is if you sign a contract with webnovel, and that would typically give Webnovel your copyright. Perhaps an extremely popular author could negotiate the contract differently, but I've never heard of it being done another way.

SnoozySloth According to this link on webnovel "https://acts.webnovel.com/2018/62185143/index.html", which is an official statement on their website, there's two types of contracts:

1. Royalty Contracts, where you keep the copyright and anything else and share the revenue with webnovel. In exchange, they help you make money with it. In other terms, you're the copyright holder and creator, while Webnovel becomes your publisher.

2. Fixed-Rate Contracts, where you can sell the copyright to webnovel for a fixed price, which will be paid, and this is only my assumption, in monthly wages as long as you continously undate your novel. However, and I quote, "Successful and experienced authors are given priority!".

For me, that sounds like the first option, the Royalties Contract, is the 'normal' one that everyone will be given, while the Fixed-Rate Contract seems like an option for follow-up projects of contracted authors.
I am not a contracted author in any way, so I can also just speculate, though.

As for the writing constest; As long as you're not signing a contract, the copyright will belong to you no matter what. Anything else would be blatent theft of intelectual property.

Yozuka Thanks B :)

Yozuka
That's not what it says though?
It says:
Authors sign a royalty contract with Webnovel. Authors will share the revenue earned from subscriptions on the website, direct sales from other platforms, and other monetization of the copyright. With the advantage of a continual stream of revenue, the standard royalty sharing is also the best choice to ensure an author’s long-term earnings.

It's pretty much a 50/50 split of revenue for a royalty contract for most contracted authors. That includes premium chapters in addition to if Webnovel sells the rights to another media adaptation such as a movie, anime, drama, comic, etc.

Just check those contracts. Retaining your copyright is of little help if you sign off an exclusive licence including any and all sublicences with no wording about how such a license reverts back to you.

Guys, don't worry. You are not giving anything away just by participating in the contest.

And its not so easy to get a contract, you will have to be successful enough first.

At least 100k worth of content and a lot of views and collections just to get noticed by them. Most of the contracted authors of this site had to ask to a Webnovel Editor or Staff to check for eligibility before receiving a contract offer.

Also, once they contac an author they provide several different contracts available for the author to choose.

Plus, a more successful author would probably receive better offers than a less successful author. So if you want more money you will ultimately have to rely in your own work and capabilities.

So participate in the contest without worring about this at all.

GabrielDetchans This scardy-cat doesn't like locked-in contracts. I'll stick with KDP thank you.

ImBloo In a nutshell that's how it works. Cheers :smile:

ImBloo Why did you think i did not read the whole thing . I even post the link so people can check it.

I agree with the interpretation of the second paragraph, I did not say anything in the contrary at all. I think you misunderstood me there.

However, I don't agree with your intepretation of paragraph one. You are just assuming that the second paragraph is talking about your submitted material when in fact is talking about derivative rights from your submitted material which is not the same. That's why there is two different paragraphs talking about it. What you are talking is said here:

By submitting materials to us, you grant to Amazon.com and its affiliated companies a worldwide, royalty-free license (which we may exercise only in connection with our promotion and distribution of your products) to do the following:

Make reasonable modifications to the submitted materials. For example, Amazon.com may excerpt textual materials and may change the size or otherwise enhance (tilting, shading, etc.) graphical materials.
Use, copy, and distribute materials and modifications for our internal business purposes.
Use, copy, distribute, and display materials and modifications on the Internet and on other means of electronic or digital commerce.
Use all trademarks and trade names associated with the materials.

BUT WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT IS THIS OTHER PARAGRAPH
This license will continue in perpetuity, unless either party terminates it by giving the other party thirty days' prior written notice. You will retain all intellectual property rights you may have in submitted materials. Subject to those rights, Amazon.com will be the exclusive owner of any permitted modifications that it may create.

As you can see, it does not mention promotion or advertising here in this apragraph. And it specifically says that they are the exclusive owner (not you) of permitted modifications.

So, as long they do a derivative work of your submmited materials before the 30 days notice end, they will retain all rights about that derivative work (not your original submmited material). That's what I was talking about.

GabrielDetchans Amazon.com will be the exclusive owner of any permitted modifications that it may create.

Don't you wonder "What permitted modifications?" It was mentioned in the previous paragraph, that's why I asked if you read the whole thing.

GabrielDetchans Make reasonable modifications to the submitted materials.

That's the modifications. And they are created with authors permission. Not derivative works or whatever it is you're thinking. At least that's my interpretation from the context. I don't know where in the web page you found that phrase "derivative works" and conclude that it's exactly the same as WN.

GabrielDetchans I hope you're aware that "For example, Amazon.com may excerpt textual materials " constitutes a copyright bomb.

They rip a piece of your novel for promotional purposes, and after that the piece is their IP... No bloody way in hell I'd sign that.

GabrielDetchans I'm quoting what you posted. What could possibly be a matter of interpretation given these two lines of text that you, not I, posted here:

1) Make reasonable modifications to the submitted materials. For example, Amazon.com may excerpt textual materials

2) Amazon.com will be the exclusive owner of any permitted modifications that it may create.

StenDuring I agree with you. In fact, the lines

Use, copy, distribute, and display materials and modifications on the Internet and on other means of electronic or digital commerce.
Use all trademarks and trade names associated with the materials.

Its all they need for gaining any trial about rights.

But thats just my opinion.

Actually, I will probably be willing to sign away most rights about my own work if either Webnovel or Amazon offer me a contract. I love my novel and my characters but I can still make new ones easily. For a beginner like me, it would be probably much more money that what I can get from an publisher in my country.

I have a friend that is a professional writer and he gets only gets a couple of thousands dollars in advance from his paper publisher and afterwars 4% of the total sale value of every book. For a newbie like me the conditions would be much worse.

So the 200 dollars a month that webnovel guarantees any novel contracted writer in the first four months , would make about 40% of my friend total revenue. Not bad at all. And that is just the first four months...

Of course, I can understand than a famous and prestigious Author with consistance quality skills would see that as a bad deal. But then again, I believe that most famous and prestigious Author would not need a web platform for publishing in the first place.

GabrielDetchans Fair enough :D There are writers who make a good living out of writing media-tie-ins, or sanctioned fan-fiction if you want to be mean. Most of us newbs would realistically be better off signing away the explicit copyright for a decent one-time lump of money.

To be honest I've seen my fair share of contractual text that's was an immediate deal-breaker only to find out that the wording was unintentional. Ie it was a matter of a five minute long conversation to get the absurdity rectified.

However, for those writers who want to retain their rights no matter what (hell it might be a promise to their long dead dog for all I know) then it makes sense to read the wording closely.