Hello everyone. I recently got offered a contract and I have some doubts.

  1. It says that according to market demand, if necessary, WN can tell the author to stop working on the novel or assign some other third party to continue with it. Does that really happen?

  2. It says that WN is authorised to create new works or kind of sequels based on my novel characters or settings and the copyright will exclusively belong to WN and may deal with such new works as they wish without my permission. Doesn't this kind of sound unfair? I mean I write the story and if WN is incorporating some or all part of it, shouldn't I be involved too?

  3. It also says that they provide suggestions towards our plot or it's direction but is it necessary to follow them if we are not convinced? Do they force us?

  4. When does the copyright protection period end? They say that the license starts from the date when the agreement is effective but I didn't see the end date. How long is it?

I guess for now that is all. If I have any more doubts I will add them.

It would be great if any contracted author or editor clears these doubts. 😊

    enthu_reader It says that WN is authorised to create new works or kind of sequels based on my novel characters or settings and the copyright will exclusively belong to WN and may deal with such new works as they wish without my permission. Doesn't this kind of sound unfair? I mean I write the story and if WN is incorporating some or all part of it, shouldn't I be involved too?

    True on the contract bit. In short, you're signing away your rights to all of your story for good/perpetually. Even the stuff you haven't written yet. Everything that is that story's world. You no longer hold creative control.

    In all honesty, WN editors don't have time to chase authors and dictate content control. I barely have conversations with mine. Most times I'm just keeping her up to date occasionally and when I've changed the cover.

    So you can write the story your way to outline, to the end. If you sign. I recommend you complete the story you sign, on regular updates, even if it's not ranking. The contract demands commitment especially on premium. If you want to change the outlines or story elements, that's when you'd have to go through an editor.

    If you want some exposure with your writing and don't mind donating a story or selling it off for some income, the contract might be good.

    I wouldn't sign away a labor of love. I recommend you don't sign off a series.

    I signed a standalone I love, but also happy to leave behind at the end. My reason was the story was an WPC entry. I'm basically handing over a creation from a prompt. I'm happy for WN to own it. And play with it however they like afterwards. What they do with it later, has nothing to do with me.

    Hope that helps.

        Veronica8

        A contract can't be negociated? What if i'm ok for my story to go premium but want to keep the rights on my story? Would they refuse even if a story is really popular?

            Veronica8 I recommend you don't sign off a series.

            Veronica8 .

            Is that so? I was actually thinking to start a series. Like my current novel is Because I simply love you. So I thought if I got another plot idea I would make it a 'Because....' series.

            I actually want to sign the contract because WN does good advertising and promotion and I can reach a wider audience.

            But like how I mentioned the points above I got a little skeptical.🤨🤔

            Ima confused now. 😑

                  enthu_reader Everything @Veronica8 said was correct. If you need your name to be promoted, signing off a novel is not that bad. Just mind the series.

                  Arkinslize You can't negotiate a contract, yet. If your book has tens of millions of views and tens of thousands of collections. Extremely popular. Then, you can.

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                  I know nothing, except the ignorance of my existence

                        Primate If you have tens of millions of views and thousands collections, you don't need a contract really. With such popularity, you can make it on your own. After all, you gained such popularity on your own, without a contract.

                        enthu_reader The number 1: Never heard it happened, but they can. They can ask you to stop working on your novel, but you still can (although they will not pay you and the copyright will be theirs anyway :D)

                        The number 2: You get 10% I believe, for 3rd party adaptations (and 50% for the rest of the stuff). Moreover, any sequels and whatnot that you write, they pretty much own it as well. Whether that is unfair or not, it's up to you to decide. The number 3: they are pretty lax about that from what I heard. People are usually left to their own devices.

                        4th: The contract never ends in a way, because you basically sign off all your rights to the novel. You are not the owner of that story anymore. I know, you write it, but you don't own it (confusing, but that is how it works). That is why they can do whatever they want with your story. (they own the copyright not you)

                        Then there is this part: Party A and Party B agree and acknowledge that, all other works created by Party B in
                        addition to the Work within one (1) year after completion of the Work under this agreement, shall be regarded as "Party B's New Works", for which Party A has rights of priority to exploit.

                        In other words, after you finish your contracted novel, any novel no matter if it has something to do with the contracted one or not, they have priority to exploit it. But that is not the end. Even after a year passes and you specifically write nothing, they have that covered. The first novel you write after the year passes, they can still exploit it.

                        "If Party B only creates new works after the expiration of the above stipulated period of time,
                        Party A shall enjoy the same priority rights described herein to the first new work
                        created by Party B (which will be regarded as part of the Party B's New Works) after
                        the above stipulated period of time...."

                        By the way, you have to ask them by writing (at least contractually), if they want to use your new novel. If they don't, yea you are free to licence it to anyone who wants, otherwise nope. Also, you are not allowed to licence your novel to anyone, before 30 business days pass (and after you notified them, but there is no answer or they give you a go ahead).

                        It's up to you guys. Signing it or not, it's up to you. To anyone who thinks about signing it, consult a lawyer, a solicitor or whatever. The language is convoluted like in any contract. If you don't understand it, don't sign. The best tip is, know what you are signing, before you sign it.

                              DarkRay

                              It sounds crazy bad for a contract. I get it that the first contract is as strict as possible, but are they not losing money anyway if you decide to remove your work from webnovel or selling it somewhere else instead?

                              You don't need a really popular story. A story with 200-300 chapters for free with good enough content which target the current market can probably get more popular than the current top original premium stories. Not a good way to advertise your platform to refuse to contract such authors.

                                  3# Is quite worrying, you mean they can force ideas on what to write? I'm confused, I thought that was optional
                                  enthu_reader
                                  Do you at least get paid for them making a sequel of your work? Probably not huh. I can't help but wonder where they would get the manpower to write it.

                                  Veronica8 Why do you need to inform in changing cover? Or do you gotta inform in everything?

                                  DarkRay
                                  Uhh I don't think there's anyone here with that many type of views/collections lol

                                          Arkinslize

                                          Arkinslize t sounds crazy bad for a contract

                                          Oh, I haven't mentioned a few other things. This is just one subpoint? of the contract, I have 3 or 4 more I simply can't overlook. Hence my decision. If they are willing to negotiate in the future, I might sign a contract with them. As it stands and as my novel stands (I already finished my novel, so no point even getting a contract), there is no need for me to sign.

                                              HolyDragon17 Then you are wrong. Chrysalis is one such novel. 11m views, loads of collections I'd say, in top 20. Not contracted. He is doing very well at patreon too. So yes, you can do it by yourself.

                                                  HolyDragon17 Why do you need to inform in changing cover? Or do you gotta inform in everything?

                                                  It belongs to the story. Not everything, just major changes like cover and plot outline.

                                                      enthu_reader If this helps.
                                                      If you sign, it's for a story not a book. A story can branch off into others and a number of books, but all related and linked to each other. That's what you'll sign off.

                                                      A story becomes known as the work in the contract.

                                                      If you're able to seek legal aid or references, I'd recommend it. Ultimately, you should feel comfortable about what you're signing.

                                                          Great, informative conversation!
                                                          I'm shocked by the clauses in WN's contract. That's like a slave contract in a sense! Where your story becomes the slave you sell and can no longer be its master completely. But as Veronica said, WN doesn't actually seem to do any of the drastic things mentioned in the contract.

                                                            Chryiss yep. That's why I don't recommend signing off a series.

                                                            If you can get the income on your own, I wouldn't bother too. Majority of writers struggle for readership, so WN is providing an opportunity. Of course with a caveat. 😶

                                                              DarkRay exactly 😂. I nearly laughed my head off when they told me that. Why sign a contract with such popularity? Sometimes, they can be really funny.

                                                              Btw, I hope this helps.

                                                              There are 2 types of contracts that are still functioning.

                                                              The FRC and the RC.

                                                              First, they will tell you there's only one, the FRC. You either take it or leave it, don't listen to them. You'll loose your rights if you sign it.

                                                              Ask for the second one, the RC, and insist on it. Much better. You keep your rights. They will ignore you for a while but you'll get there. If you are patient enough.

                                                              I'm still on mine after 4 months. It's like ping pong 😂. But I have the patience and it's not do or die for me.

                                                                  enthu_reader Not signing the contracts better in the longrun unless if you dont think your story is that good (below average, maybe even average) because u r signing all of your rights away. This means u lose at the very least hundreds if u ever decide to publish/ebook it or some1 contacts for an adaptation work like drama in the future (which this 1 is kinda doubtful, especially since most novels rnt that type of material as better storied tend to focus on publishing). You also sorta forever lose a passive incomes since u r focusing on temporary gains more so. You cant ever post on other sites (idk about patreon though), which means u lose lots of viewership and advertisement. There's kind of more problems too. The contract is only written like this because they know lots of people will still agree mostly because they are young and not business savvy. (I think) its under Chinese Law. If its signed, their company is likely to get a lot more in the long run. You might also lose all translationsm rights, not sure about that though, Im new so I only know details on th contract based on what Ive seem in forums. Lots of rookies will still agree because they lack patience. Also if its a series, then you will lose all rights to the future books u were going to write.

                                                                      DarkRay

                                                                      Thank you so much 😃 you cleared every point. True, if I don't fully understand the contract then it is better not to sign. I was excited to become contracted but some of these clauses and terms don't seem fair to any author. 😔We work hard towards our stories but this contract seems a bit too binding and restricted.

                                                                          Veronica8

                                                                          Absolutely right! Thanks for your views. 🤗 I had already heard a bit that the contract is really a slave contract.😓 Some part I understand but I can't entirely give away my copyright. Yup im really not comfortable. They said that can make us stop writing our novel anytime. It may not actually happen but this clause really scares me. 😰It is still part of the contract so they can enforce it anytime.

                                                                            JKaiya

                                                                            Yeah. I kinda wanted them to advertise and promote my novel to reach a wider audience and perhaps also earn through my hobby that I actually like but the novel rights is a big issue. It's demeaning that we write and craft the story but don't own it. 😕
                                                                            If I don't sign, it may take a while to build my reader base on my own but at least I will get there and also retain my rights.
                                                                            Plus getting an offer from WN itself is a proof that my novel has potential to grow😉😌

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