Webnovel.Forum

MotivatedSloth Well argued point. I would just be more wary. It does seem on the surface that a number of these clauses are not worth being enforced by webnovel. And I personally believe you make a decent argument for it. However, it neglects how much pressure can be put onto a signatory to comply with them having a literal signed written agreement on them. It also neglects the fact that sometimes the companies might do things that initially seems illogical and just because you don't have the full picture. Music companies sued some relatively poor individuals for pirating music. It was not cost-effective and I believe it did not help reduce piracy significantly. They still did it though. How can you in all honesty say that another company won't resort to legal action to enforce something even though it costs them more than its worth? Human history is literally littered by bad decisions that almost any idiot could realise was was a mistake but was made anyway. Especially when you are not one of the decision makers who will determine whether webnovel chooses to enforce the clauses they specifically put into their contracts.

@Aby55's posts imo make several good points that are also worth considering. Me copying what he wrote, I also hope you have a good day and realise that what we write is about making informed decisions with the appropriate information.

ATCkit Makes sense to me. Though I have not gone through the whole contract and I am sure there are other clauses you need to consider. For example, there are some other points I recall being mentioned like a minimum word count per month. These other clauses are worth looking into, because maybe you don't want to be held to a minimum. Maybe you like the flexibility of having an off-month or a going back and editing-month or creating a plot outline for future arcs. Or maybe you have advanced chapters for patreon supporters and are not sure you can keep that supply sustainable and also meet the minimum requirements while maintaining your commitment to these patreon supporters who might be giving you more financial support than the company. And that is just one of the clauses.

TL:DR version: Consider each and every clause of this contract and see if it is something you are comfortable with. Maybe the example I gave would actually be a plus in your mind as maybe you are the type of person who thrives with this external pressure? However, maybe there is a clause that has not been mentioned in this post that will trip you up in the future (e.g. morality clause, or if you want another author to "inherit" and continue your novel but webnovel does not allow it).

As mentioned in earlier posts, it depends on what you are willing to accept. If I was considering a contract with webnovel I would:

1) read through the ENTIRE contract, preferably with a lawyer;
2) determine if you are comfortable with ALL of the clauses; and
3) if you are serious about doing this for money, check out the competing sites (e.g. Penana, Wattpad, RoyalRoad, etc.) and see if they might be able to offer you something you prefer. Though how you make money on those sites is slightly different from webnovel.

Whatever you choose, you can then be assured that it was the best option available to you at the time. Hope this helps and sorry it was not more concise.

mng advice still worth less than dirt. Even giving incorrect information now.

ATCkit thank you

Wow.i was considering posting here but it doesn't seem worth it on any level. Glad I read this thread.

mng That's an excellent point. I've personally seen companies spend $3 million to defend a lawsuit but wouldn't offer more than $40k in a settlement. Makes absolutely no sense, but like you said: people are often illogical.

Aby55 Yes, and sometimes companies make seemingly logical decisions that turn out to be bad due to having insufficient information. Not a perfect example but I believe most would agree that Harry Potter being rejected by other publishers was bad business decision by said publishers.

And apologies for the late reply. I have no idea how I missed your reply from both my notifications and my own two eyes viewing the screen. Sorry about that. It was not intentional.

Dan_Ryder While apologising about other mistakes I made, I guess I should also apologise for assuming you also did not read this post just because you did not read my other posts before replying to it. Can you point out any incorrect information? I believe today has provided a few more to my unfortunately huge list of mistakes I have made just recently.

Deleteduser87 ATCkit Found some new information that I was not aware of (and not sure if you were aware of), but apparently there is an option to retain the rights to your own work (https://forum.webnovel.com/d/40195-non-exclusive-contract-question). Also serving as an example of how asking questions and negotiating with the other party rather than blindly accepting might be helpful.

So just to add my own two cents into this thread, I believe anyone at any time should have a lawyer look over a contract which is the main point. Technically speaking, the normal contract do have clauses in it to protect web novel (like any other company offering contracts) like the ones you have mentioned, but it does not mean that web novel will use said clauses and such. If you are worried that they would for whatever reason, then yes the non exclusive is better in that regard but with a non exclusive, as stated it is through a third party service and you will overall be making less on web novel for your work.

However, I have not met a contracted author personally (I know quite a few) who have had said things brought up with them.So it mainly comes down to your trust in web novel as a platform and if you want to give up X% to be in a better position where said clauses are even less likely to happen to you.

Hope this helps! :) -The Sleeping Tadpole

Dan_Ryder

Hello, I just read the whole thread and read your post. I was contacted by a rep from WN today interested in my stories on Wattpad. I went online to research the company and other platforms that have contacted me in the past week to sign with them. I am a bit worried about the validity of the platforms especially because they are Foreign. I don't want to be screwed in the end if I do write for any of them.

Can I ask if you are happy with writing for them and is it worth the pay? This rep mentioned they would offer me a non-exclusive contract so I can keep it on Wattpad, mind you I already have a few stories on another platform and 3 others are interested in the same ones. I do not want to give up the rights to my stories so that will be the only way that I will consider even looking at a contract.

I would really appreciate your advice before contacting the rep.

Thank in advance.

JKSManga Thanks for the information. I kindof assume this third party is either affiliated with or owned by webnovel, but that could be a wrong assumption on my part.

I just stand by the read the whole contract with a lawyer and see if it meets your needs or not. For example, if you have a starving family then any money is probably a good thing. Even if you "trust" the company and people who you are dealing with, that could change. People come and go in a company or they might turn out to be different from how you envisaged. Especially when money gets involved.

MotivatedSloth you made a good point and you are right in most aspects but just having those clauses in there worries people and alot of writers would prefer to own all the copyright of there book I'm not saying you are wrong and I have all the information on the topic but alot of writers write for fun and don't like the idea of there book being edited or taken over although it will probably won't happen people just like to stay safe

heyitsbluejay

While there appears to be some truth to what you said, let me explain why its only an illusion.

1st - Getting a freelance, from home work is already an extreme rarity. Most of the people will work 9-17 in their lives if they are capable enough to get any proper job, or spend most of their days working anywhere that offers them the chance to earn. Most of the jobs are not dream jobs, but necessary ones. As much as it applies to me, it applies to everyone else.

2nd - Jobs that helps you create a passive income are even harder to come by

3rd - If we are talking about contracts, we are talking about money. Childish fears no longer apply. You can either take a leap of faith (or just be normal person and ask already contracted people) that gives you the chance of becoming someone who is realistically unheard off in normal life. When people learns that I live my life with writing (as close I am to reaching the point where I won't be able to do it anymore) they just can't believe me, because of how unusual it is.

4th - If you treat writing as a hobby and do not wish to reach greater heights, why are you considering the contract in the first place? Asking around will let you learn in a flash that to earn, you need to work hard. And while this kind of work is far more pleasant than answering customer calls, it's still a work. You won't get anywhere without daily releases, and after extended period of time, it gets hard to keep them up.

Cultivator199 I like you on this one. I hope that you could visit my profile and read my story and tell me how unoriginal it is (Seriously, I am not being sarcastic. I really need some finishing all the chapters I posted for now and they what they really think of it. Because the truth is that I think my work is shite.

I'll private message you the link and hope that you see it anyway.

heyitsbluejay When it comes to contracts, it comes down to whether it is right for you. It is entirely possible that a few years from now you won't really care about your IP. Or maybe like @ReincarnatedSaint you need the money. All perfectly logical and good reasons to sign the contract and see some income.

Just make sure you read the whole contract and are fine with the terms and conditions. You should also research the people you do business with, but it should be relatively easy to find the good and the bad about Webnovel.

MotivatedSloth Several good points, but I would like to mention that contract fears are actually adult fears, a child would probably sign it sight unseen. Children tend to be more naive than adults. Also can you clarify about 2nd point about passive income? Pretty sure you have to actively write to earn money as an author. Unlike say purchasing a bond and earning interest or buying shares for dividends. For additional minor nitpicks, asking other people about their experience is a good thing to do. However, it is not fool-proof. Most people downloaded music illegally with no negative consequences. Then you have a handful who got hit with lawsuits, even though they were nobodies compared to the giant music industry. If you were to talk to any of those people about their experiences, most would say it is fine. If you did a bit more research you would find out the odds are pretty good that it is ok, but that you should be aware there is a small chance of it not being ok.

ATCkit Interesting. And highlights the importance of reading contracts. Its not a bash against a particular company. Reading and understanding contracts before signing them is good practice for all contracts from all sources.

PS: I am a pretty infrequent visitor to the forums, so no worries about being "late" for me. I am much worse than you in that regard and should probably be apologising to you instead. Hopefully what you were busy with has been satisfactorily been resolved.