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  • Is signing up a contract with webnovel really that bad?

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.

      5 days later

      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.

          16 days later

          Patricia_Hernandez_7480 mng hey guys sorry for the late reply I have been very busy for the last month and just got around to coming back on the forum. I haven't read the forum post MNG was talking about before (https://forum.webnovel.com/d/40195-non-exclusive-contract-question).

          But I just want to mention what I know about it. from what I have heard about the practices it's even worse than Webnovels in house contracts. see this post from a wattpad author down below showing how bad some of them can be. https://web.archive.org/web/20200324165720if_/https://www.wattpadwriters.com/t/i-dont-know-what-to-make-of-this-offer/21977.

          Edit: lucky I backed it up before wattpad nuked there forums lol.

                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.

                                      mng You do not need to actively write to earn anything at all. If you can somehow convince thousands of people monthly to binge your novel after finishing writing it, then as long as the novel earns, you earn.

                                        I honestly have no idea. I just read some of the responses and am giving my opinion here so don't take this as advice or anything: For me earning $200 monthly for writing 45000 to 50000 words per month is sort of an amazing offer. Especially since even if I had a full time job right after graduating from university I might not be able to make this much money. But the contract is offering the chance to make this much money even if you might be a relatively new author, as long as you earn a chance to get the contract you can earn the money. So from my perspective this isn't a bad idea.
                                        As for being forced to change certain aspects of the novel, I think that if there is a clause that says that I might be forced to change something I will cross check with them about what possible reasons there might be which require for me to change it, before signing the contract. One of the responses said that they only force you to change troublesome topics but if they do force me to change something that is harmless I'd probably try to tell my readers about it so they don't get confused.
                                        If you live in a country which offers better pay for a fresh graduate or even better pay for any job that you can do instead of this which requires similar amount of effort, then I can see why you're hesitant but if you're like me and most jobs won't offer such a high pay in exchange for such limited work then I think you should consider it. Either way try to go over the contract yourself to determine whether or not it's a good idea to sign. That's life advice I'd give not only for this platform but for anything in life, don't sign anything without reading it properly and having some understanding of it.

                                          yiyuehua I'm not saying $200/month is the best deal for life, I'm saying that as a starting point earning $200/month is a good deal, especially for someone who writes on here as a hobby or is just starting out as an author.
                                          As for living expenses and other things, since most beginner level jobs don't pay too much this sum is pretty good, although it isn't something I'd recommend as a full-time job or a permanent thing. In comparison to doing multiple jobs daily which offer equally low pay, having one consistent full time job along with this is probably not a bad idea.
                                          As for where I live, I live in Pakistan. And for beginner level jobs $200/month can be considered good pay. Yes for higher level jobs $200/month isn't sufficient.

                                          I don't think you should move out before finding a cheaper place! Even here the rent is very high, people usually just stay in hostels or shared apartments until they can afford to rent a place by themselves.

                                              itsmeTuba Ahh I see. That's interesting! Pakistan's economy is very different! Rental prices are approximately ten times higher where I live in the U.S. so $200 a month is not sustainable whatsoever. Of course, it's separate cases for many people. The contract is very subjective for sure.

                                                  2 months later

                                                  Uh... Hi. I got a non-exclusive contract from an editor. I sent an email to her as asked and also the Facebook address she dropped. I got a message from the Facebook address first, though it was another Editor. Is that a problem? Plus, when I got a message from her later, I noticed there was a difference in the steps. One required inkstone and another said nothing about inkstone. Who else had steps that had nothing to fo with inkstone?
                                                  And does anyone know how the non-exclusive contract earnings are made?

                                                    Deleteduser87 you have to inform them not to change my story has been signed and contracted but I reused my editor to change my. Story...

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