Webnovel.Forum

GodBrandy This is going to be long winded, so I will understand if everyone ignores it, but I have a lot to say about this issue so here it goes:

Before I rant, let me make it clear that I believe there is no such thing as a free lunch. Webnovel has been offering free spirit stones, chapters, etc. to build a following so that they could later make money off us. They had to build that following first, and now that they have done so they are moving into phase two, which they had planned all along. Fair enough. Businesses exist to make money; if anyone thought Webnovel was altruistically giving them stories to read and expecting nothing in return then they have too much trust.

In addition, I do not think that a boycott is the answer. Unless the majority of the user base agreed to a boycott, which just will not happen, it will not work, and just hurt the community. Boycotts of electronic IP rarely, if ever, work. No matter what you say, there will always be people willing to support the thing you are boycotting and undermine your protest.

My issue with this situation is that the premium model uses nonrefundable, virtual currency usable solely on one website. There are two problems to this:

One, spirit stones are basically monopoly money that costs real money. You are less likely to think about how much you are actually spending when what you are spending doesn't actually look like money. It is the same reason casinos use chips instead of cash and video games with micro-transactions have their own virtual currency. And if you ever want to back out of spending money on the spirit stones, you can't get your money back. They could theoretically just connect a bank account or credit card to your Webnovel account, but that would make people watch real money go away with each transaction, which they would be less willing to do.

The second issue ties to the first. Has anyone read the forums where people reveal personal information like age? A large portion of users are teens, who may not know how to be financially responsible yet. You can argue this however you want, but it is a fact that the human brain does not finish developing its prefrontal cortex (the decision making part of the brain) until the age of about 25. You can be addicted to anything: drugs, alcohol, food, video games, gambling, and yes even reading. This is why companies always gear advertising to younger audiences to try gain brand loyalty early on.

You can say that the premium model is not that expensive, or that any reasonable person won't lose a ton of money on it, but it could prey on a specific group of people rather viciously. Mobile game marketers have called these people 'whales.' Rather than the model in place, I would be interested in seeing a subscription service at a flat rate where you get to read ahead for every book. That would be a less predatory means to monetize in my opinion.

Here is the reason I believe Patreon, though flawed, is still the better option to support translators in comparison to the current model. If I want to give anywhere from $1-100 a month to support my favorite translator on Patreon I can do that because everything is not tied to the word count the translator pumps out. Patreon offers more reader agency and doesn't price people out of keeping up with the story. The way the premium method works you are building up a larger and larger pile of locked up chapters each day, releasing one for free and adding two to the premium bank, making everyone else fall further and further behind.

I feel tying profit to word count can be a problem for the actual quality too. From what I understand this pay model is similar to the model they use in China. I used to wonder why some webnovels were so tedious to read, going on for thousands of chapters with constant repetition and very little plot/character development from chapter to chapter. At first, I just chalked it up to cultural differences, but now I can clearly see why this happens. This payment method does not encourage quality, edited content. It just pushes the authors, translators, and editors to pump out as much as possible as quickly as possible without a lot of quality control. The more fluff you add to your novel the more it can be monetized under the pay per word model.

In the end, if you work for Webnovel then defending the premium model is in your best interests, and no one can blame you for that, but there are better ways to monetize.

immortal_corrupt Generally most solo TLs will have a lower release as compared to bigger groups like WW, Volare, Gravity

And these bigger ones have novels with 4 chapter too. And the reason why they novels with higher release rate (7+ per week) is because of patreon. Money will always rule the motivation.

immortal_corrupt You are trying to cover up the fact that.

Yeah let us play interpretation game. Which one is it? Either say it or don't even mention it indirectly.
My guess: If you mean that PFF is a limited time event and not forever, I learned that later on and then suggested a sub system ( on a different thread) similiar to patreon with difference that unlike patreon, Qidian wont take 29 cent + 2,9% per pledge and that the gap shouldn't increase. If you know think "hey I didn't mean that", not my fault, it was a guessing game. (づ◔ ͜ʖ◔)づ

immortal_corrupt i remembered only WW

Only Deathblade and CK (shared a bigger percent) atleast the only ones who said something. Well they now have contracts with 17k or zongheng (forgot which one it was), pretty sure the authors now earn a fair share of the money (atleast I hope).

immortal_corrupt not so blatantly shoving the SS wall into our face

Agree 100% with your opinion since I know that almost all novels will become premium + that PFF is just a long-term event. Lemme just quote myself. I would be interested if you like that idea or not (well it's just a dream)

Ebu8b Actually I don't like the current system very much, but I am doing fine. I am waiting for other novels or I just watch the ads and only use my SS for RTW.

But I would prefer a sub system with 2,99€ and 4.99€ subs.
4,99€ all novel for free + no ads. 2,99€ you choose 10 premium (if we ever reach that number or higher) + no ads.

Before anyone ask why 2 options. We have novel addictics and casuals here. 4,99€ for everyone would be unfair for casuals.

Second quote is from a different thread, where I explained how others regulate that stuff (you can ignore it, if you want)

Ebu8b Wattpad, Kindle Unlimited, Scribp, Playster, 24Symbols, Overdrive (I think they went the total free way with only ads now, if I am not wrong), Amazon Lending Libary (similar to audible);
Sub systems and authors get paid per chapter/book (one time fixed + ads) or clicks + ads.

Gamblejay
How am I delusional??

There are 530 premium chapters left for Immortal Mortal

Let's assume the cost is 7 SS for every chapter (which is wrong and will most likely increase)

So 530×7=3710 SS just to finish Imortal Mortal
If they take away the bonus SS (They will do eventually) you will need to spend 80$ in 5 months just to read 1 novel. That's 16$ a month if you just follow 1 novel.
If you follow more novels with a higher word count or a higher number of premium chapters this number will most likely increase exponentially depending on the number of novels you read.
Imagine following MMORPG, the cost for every chapter of that novel is massive and there are a lot of chapters left to translate, so the cost for that full novel would be like 2 or 3 times higher...

This system is very 'addictive' and is just forcing for you to pay for it all if you start.

Considering you stop halfway because you want to take a break as you said, "Have you ever got tired of a story and just let it sit for a week or two then decided, hey I want to give this another shot" . 530/2=265 days. 265=7/8 months, so for you to get another free chapter and give that novel another shot you would have to wait 7 months. If you ever start to read a premium novel you have to be ready to spend 80$+ to finish that novel or it would be pointless...
I am not delusional I am just doing maths