I just spent $40 US and probably will spend another $20 US to complete a novel I randomly started reading. Why should I remain on this site when I can go to many other sites and pay a one time for book? There was numerous grammatical and syntax errors in the book I was reading. If I paid decent amount for the book I might over look but to pay almost $60US and catch an error on almost every page is dissatisfying. I hope the author appreciates the money but I am going to be very vigilant about what books I choose if I continue to stay on this site.
Incentives for me to stay
Hey,
It's usually because that book was most likely not a single book in the end but an entire series.
The author will definitely appreciate your support, but if a book has too many grammatical errors, you can consider choosing another one.
Thankfully webnovel offers access to thousand of books, and at least half of them (at the very least the top books) are paying attention to grammatical errors, syntax etc.
The other positive point is that webnovel usually offers 40-80 free chapters to read for free (which is usually the volume of a single book 40k-80k words) depending on the book, so if you think that the storyline isn't interesting enough, there are problems with the author's way of writing, you see obvious plot holes or any other similar issue, you can judge the book beforehand without having to pay and support the author.
I completely agree however that having to spot errors on practically every chapter will most likely ruin your immersion, which is why you will be able to select your book beforehand, and read at least 40-80 chapters for free before choosing whether that book is for you or not.
Hope this helps ^ ^
ZeusTheOlympian thank you for for your response. I do feel for the author, and it a bit like “caveat emptor”, but again I don’t feel the satisfaction. Like I said I’m giving the money because I like this author. However a true reader knows when it’s worth slogging through 40-50 chapters to get a good story going. But yeah once you hook me, make my money worth my time.
You are right.
A story need to not only be interesting enough, but also needs to be well written as well, otherwise, the typos, the grammatical mistakes and everything else, will take a portion of the satisfaction away when reading the book.
Both of these are essential and one can't do without the other. An interesting story is only perfect when it is well written, but a well-written book also needs to be interesting enough to hook readers and attract their full attention.
Although this will not directly solve anything, there are some readers who will point out mistakes as well in the paragraph comments, allowing the author to spot them and potentially fix them as well, or at the very least, avoid repeating them in the future.
Aside from that, my only advice would be, to try and enjoy the book as much as possible.
Considering that you have spent 40$ for that book, it's more likely than not that its length must be anywhere from 300 to 400 chapters, so I assume that the story must at least be interesting enough.
There is no shame to leave a (hopefully polite) message to the author and tell him/her to try and fix their grammatical mistakes because they put readers off, this is completely normal.
Aside from that, I sincerely hope you will have fun reading.
Lol! I think I’ve been watching too much Shark Tank during Covid. This platform is driving my business sense crazy. It’s working because it’s tapping into my passion. I guess the question I need to ask is this satisfying that passion or is my annoyance going to win over.
Scentofawoman are you talking about originals or translated books?
Scentofawoman I am going to be very vigilant about what books I choose if I continue to stay on this site.
You should have been doing this from the start.
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Scentofawoman You can point out the mistakes the author makes in the comments. And, if you are spending this much, and are continuing with the story despite its errors, then it must mean the story is good enough. There is a chance, many other are doing the same. So, you can just tell the author to get a proofreader. Unlike Editors, proofreaders are cheaper and WN authors would be able to afford them. This suggestion would increase your reading immersion and would make more paying readers like you stay and read it further, increasing the author's income.
It's a win-win for both.
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Most of the writers here are making a huge effort to communicate their stories in English. The great majority never had formal education in English. Most of them have it like their second language, and some just taught themselves because it's not really spoken in their countries (it's my case).
All people like me can do is ask the readers to point out my mistakes and correct them. I use a software to help me, but it's not enough. I struggle with conjunctions, prepositions and words that are not often used by natives.
It's easier to spot mistakes in other author's works.
I'd need to sit my own text for a long time before come back for them, to be able to find my mistakes. But webnovel is a fast paced publishing machine, with thirsty readers demanding daily releases. It's hard to find time to edit it three or four times before publishing. Almost anyone around can afford paying for the copy editing.
I understand how truncated is reading something that's full of errors. I even abandoned a few 'trending' novels here because I couldn't stand the quantity of errors. I found it had more errors than the ones I do, at least. BUt perhaps I was just being condescendent to myself.
Unfortunately, yes, it's, as you said, caveat emptor.
I hope you find more novels you like and can stand the grammar, because there's no easy solution for this problem. WN can't edit the novels because it would make the product more expensive than it is. The authors cannot edit it themselves, for lack of knowlegde, or time, or money, or else.
SusshiRoll I am going to assume it’s translated? I don’t know I was recommended this site by someone and picked up a book. I did start putting in my corrections but I stopped after I noticed multiple times on the same page.
Michael_Ryman Tell me why? I can walk into any Doller Store and pick up a published book that doesn’t have grammatical errors on every page. I paid $60US and am getting errors on almost every single page?
I know that when a dealership is telling me $99 a moth for 24 months My first question is how much down? Then what type of car. Webnovel is doing the same thing... but I’m coming out with a lemon.
SrtaA hi! Honestly it took me a long time to figure out what to write in my response. Firstly I’ll give you a platitude you deserve. It is difficult to write in a second language. I have not read your work but I can tell by your response you definitely are trying and giving effort.
So here comes the bad part. Your whole response... I don’t care. In the end I am the consumer. And “you” gave your blood sweat and tears to produce a product that was substantially substandard then I’m walking. ( please understand my third person you)
“You” as an author might want to re evaluate your perspective if you want to go forward actually thinking to make money, especially on this site.
You see, I am someone that this site, and authors want. I have disposable money to spend on books. I have already stated and as this thread title implies, I have already committed to paying money, and will have paid more.
What is your product to me? Your tapping into my curiosity about translated novels to an English speaker. How easy is it for me to choose Amazon over Webnovel?
The flippantly given answers in many threads are provoking my passion. In the end business sense wins out. If I don’t like the product I won’t buy it again.
Right so you want to be the product or.. product line I come back too. I hate the store, it sells shitty beauty care products, but I like your brand of shampoo, and maybe your brand of conditioner, and the your brand of soap. But you can’t sit in the parking lot and ask me to keep coming into the shitty store and put up with shitty service just to emapathize on your brand of product.
I hope that puts a little insight into my thought process and what the premise of my thread was.
Good luck to you and maybe I’ll check out “your shampoo”! Lol!
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I thought you was complaining about grammar.
What is worth your money is a completely personal perception. The priority you gives to it is what makes it cheap or expensive.
I understand not being loyal to a store, you don't owe it any loyalty.
In the end, it's about whether how bad you want to read a novel that's on their catalog.
Good luck with your readings, wherever you chose to read.
PS: I'm amused I deserve some platitude.
Scentofawoman A very well written and thought out message, but I would note that your complaint is about a single "product" and you are saying it's a bad "store" because of it.
- WebNovel gets a lot of complaints (like yours) that it has too loose of control of the translators.
- WebNovel gets a lot of complaints that it has too tight of control of the translators (eg, it should allow fan translations of dropped novels).
The conclusion is that WebNovel will always get a lot of complaints about the translators. Different folks value different things.
There are a lot of well-written, well-translated stories on this site, and the number is growing. But there's also a large number of poorly written or poorly translated stories,
You seem to be demanding that every original story or translated story must be of high quality. But that's a very different sort of "store" than WebNovel has ever pretended to offer. Every "Dollar Store" physical novel in your example has had a publisher who has been willing to spend (before any reimbursement) thousands of dollars on producing the physical copies. Of course they are going to spend the hundreds of dollars on proof-reading their to-be-published work. If WebNovel had to make that kind of outlay on every novel here, they would be able to offer a very small fraction of the number of works they offer.
Would you prefer the flawed novel you are reading or not being able to get it at all; you are not likely to get both!
Scentofawoman and people think we're in the wrong when we complain about the monetization on this app, saying we're being too greedy. The works here aren't like traditional books, most of the time the writing quality is shit and if they were submitted to a normal publisher they would be thrown in the shredded.
CrispyCritter
Dude, come on. This is classic Business 101. You ever gave response like this in college or at a professional job evaluation?
Whycanti
Exactly look at the other threads and responses to complaints! It’s simple business. I’m voice IV something that I’m sure many people just disappear into the night because they found a better application somewhere else to satisfy their needs.
Scentofawoman My answer was classic business 101. I was a small business owner (2 employees) for decades. There has to be a balance of costs and benefits. You had no response to my points, so just attacked me rather than my answer.
CrispyCritter
Well I had a different response except I happened to be talking to lawyer and bottom line the minute my credit card was charged it became a product. So yes Webnovel is a store and subject to better business criteria.
So that being said... yes I demand quality work for the value of the money I pay subject to what the market feels is equivalent to that same product.
“would you prefer the ... cant get both.” Then I don’t need to be this site because other sites can.
I spent a lot of time raising of a flag. It’s left me with a bad feeling. There are many other reading apps that will take my money and satisfy my quality needs.
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Whycanti saying we're being too greedy
The greed isn't because you complain about the monetization of the app. The quality, as you said, is awful. The stories should be cheaper. They should give discounts for bulk purchases, make it more accessible to buy tons of chapters. Give more incentives for buying loads of coins. In that way, you have valid complaints. You are paying for a product or being confronted with the option of paying for products that are visibly low in quality. Of course you have every right to complain. I wouldn't waste my money on something I think is awful. I have better things to spend my money on. I understand that much and I agree.
But if your complaints consist mainly of "why are they giving us less free stuff? I want more free stuff!" Then yeah, I'm sure you appreciate the irony. Webnovel might be greedy in charging high prices for low quality work, but I'm not sure how demanding for more free stuff is not greedy in itself.