Sell Physical Copies Of Our Works Please!
up again
well i would keep copyright on all my works cause otherwise you are beholden to whims of the copyright holder (aka webnovel). you have many alternatives from where you can publish digitally and keep option of having copyright to publish physical copies. if you really want to keep working with webnovel you can get non exclusive contract. i have not read terms of it, but i saw they offered it to people on other platforms.
I get your point, and appreciate the input. But what you’ve said is part of my point. I could sign the Non-Exclusive contract and retain full rights to my works, but then I will generally only see about 30% of the profits(no matter the platform: that’s the standard). Plus Webnovel doesn’t advertise the Non-Exclusive Works unless the author and/or Work is already popular. With the Exclusive Contact, Webnovel splits all profits 50-50. Why would they not want to maximize profits?
I like Webnovel, and I love the readers I have. My problem is that my reader base is limited due to Webnovel’s inability to capitalize on other formats. I will not abandon my creations, but I will not sit idly by as I literally see potential readers that are genuinely interested in my stories not have an opportunity to purchase them. I really do think that the program I’ve described would be both profitable, and vastly beneficial to both Webnovel and authors; especially for those of us that are already signed(this program would be aimed at us).
Also, the fact that you had automatically suggested publishing elsewhere is another crucial reason that Webnovel should seriously consider this. How many excellent writers are they chasing away by limiting their publishing format instead of using them to advertise? (Hypothetically)Can you imagine how people would’ve freaked out over posting comments, and receiving feedback from authors like J. K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyers, or Stephen King while they were writing their bestsellers? Printed copies will pull people to Webnovel to interact with other readers and the author. And even if they settle for just the physical copy, at least that will still lead to word of mouth..
People love to share with others what we love and hate(it’s why we have multiple social medias). Friends and/or family members will most likely borrow or purchase their own copy, then be drawn to the app to read the authors other and/or current Works, and interact with the author. This is a some-what experimental rough draft for a proposal I want to give to a Webnovel editor, and am preparing to defend it as well. If you, or anyone else reading this can think of a reason that Webnovel would reject this idea, please share. 
Sara_Wilcox well webnovel has different strategy compared to more traditional publishers. it chases quantity over quality with low input costs. so it wants more authors and more novels regardless of quality. cause they already have server infrastructure, publishing new novel requires them 0$ cost. also compared to more traditional publishing, webnovel overcharges per word (i have read comparisons and IIRC it is somewhere around 2-3 times more expensive than books in other stores).
enabling physical books printing would require them to take the risk and invest thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars to adjust format to physical book, hire editors and then make printing run. usually you will need to pay 3-8$ per printed book with shipping depending on number of books printed, length, quality and complexity of the book. also they will need to rent warehouse to store your books before shipping and selling them. also they would need to price the book competitively, so printed book could end up cheaper than paying spirit stones on webnovel. and now repeat this process for x number of authors. not every author will sell, but they will have enormous costs and reduce profit of their original site. if they want to print books, they will select very few high ranked works where they can minimize their risk.
i have not read your works, nor do i know good they are, but my recommendation would be to branch out to many different sites and publish there to gain wider audience. make discord as main feedback channel for comments and open patreon with advanced chapter there.
idk how much you are currently earning with webnovel, but i have seen people earning from few thousands to 25k+$ monthly on just royalroad. if you were successful with attracting wider audience then you can start to consider making ebook for amazon (or few other sites) and physical copies.
also you will keep all copyright this way and you can do what you want with your work.
I was scouted for a contract with the opportunity but one of the main reasons I chose to not go through with it was this, the limited advertisement authors have other than webnovel. I still write on here but on my terms, I thought the contracts terms were kinda not my thing. If you wish to write for a living do it, but if you want to grow as an author, I don’t recommend it.
Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate it
But there are still initial costs for Webnovel to publish any Work. The editors have to vet the Work(s) before it is able to be voted on. Their legal department has to verify authors, their accounts, etc.. They have to run ads on the app and website, which have to be maintained. I could list more basic overhead costs, but you get the idea. No matter the business, there’s always initial costs. My point is that they could easily capitalize far more on the products(our Works), which they have already paid most overhead costs for by offering a version of the proposal I came up with.
I believe someone already mentioned this up top, but there are ‘print on demand’ companies that do not hold stock of Works, but fill orders as they come in by having said Work(s) on a file. As to the way Webnovels are set up chapter-wise: most traditional books have about 2,000-5,000 word count per chapter. Webnovel could easily combine 2-4 chapters of a Webnovel to make it more similar to a traditional book format. And I’m not sure about them over-charging per word, as you said. Last I knew, most traditional books are anywhere from 60,000-160,000 words per Work. My first book of my on-going series is nearly 1 Million words, and there will be three more after that with nearly identical word counts. Webnovels are more expensive because they have more content, as well as having the perk of interacting with the author, and other readers as new chapters are released. Webnovel is honestly wasting one of their biggest draws: Author interactions. But that’s a different rant altogether
You are right: Webnovel has a ridiculous volume of Works. But that is also a unique advantage for Webnovel that they are not taking advantage of. They already know which of their Exclusive Works has the highest probability of turning a profit. Releasing them in more formats wouldn’t be a very large risk because they already know that said Work and/or Author are high earners. They could even do promotions involving signed copies, which seems to work very well for the Non-Exclusive Authors. The extra profits generated could allow Webnovel to take more calculated risks with smaller budding authors. There really isn’t much loss for Webnovel as long as they have a solid screening and vetting process.
Webnovel can carry any editing costs over to the Exclusive Authors, as well as the cost and legal responsibility of a cover. I covered most of this part in an answer up top already, so if you’d like more details on how Webnovel could keep any initial costs of the program down, you can find it up there. After reading this, if you have any other ideas why Webnovel might refuse my proposal, please let me know. And again: thank you
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Personally: I have gone as far as paying for ads on Facebook myself. I still do that on occasion, and I’m part of a lot of reader/writer groups. If Webnovel could just have one of those ‘print by the order’ companies work with them, I’d be happy to pay for an ad myself about buying a copy(with a link for it included of course). Like I said to someone else, I’m more than happy to put in the work if Webnovel would just…let me
Even though my books are one of the shitty books on webnovel and might not be considered when your idea is accepted, however, I find your idea congenial.
I think that webnovel is doing great when they don't allow the so-called "authors" to waste paper While some (maybe 0.001%) of the books here aren't that bad, the rest are nothing more than a horrendous graphomania
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If you read up top, then you will see that I suggested editing be required before the screening process even started(a prerequisite, so to speak). As well as the authors only being able to apply for the program twice before the Work is marked as unacceptable. Many people prefer the feel of a physical book in their hands, as well as the comfort of knowing that their copy is on a shelf whenever they want it(don’t have to own a phone or computer to read, or worry about WiFi/etc..). There’s a lot more details that I don’t care to repeat, but that’s the basics to your second comment. Your first and last comments are basically just shit-posting, so I feel no need to address them. Especially since you can’t even grasp the conceptual use of a Period.
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I came back to up!
Up! I like your idea!
Up, up, and away!
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@Sara_Wilcox editing be required
Haha, as if there was something to edit
Idk if your works are great or not, but as I said before - most of the novels here is pure graphomania
Actually, if you really like the feeling of having a physical book in your hands - just print it. I believe there is some kind of facility near your place where you can order a few physical copies for yourself and family/friends
@Hassy_101 It seems you didn't read what she said
She said enough
@Sara_Wilcox Webnovel does not sell physical copies of the works that they have exclusively contracted
I see that Webnovel is caring about ecology and doesn't want to waste trees 
I seriously doubt that Webnovel gives two craps about ecology, but that’s beside the point. And no, Exclusively Contracted Authors cannot just ‘print copies’. That’s a violation of the contract. It has to go through Webnovel. Since you are obviously not an author, and have nothing useful to add, please shut up and go shit-post somewhere else. I’m looking for actual feedback from people this will effect, not snobs with nothing better to do than troll the forum. It’s funny how you can talk crap about the writers on here when you clearly don’t know proper English yourself. And before you reply: I don’t care. I hope you find some happiness in your life that doesn’t require you to feed off of the negative feelings of others.