Webnovel.Forum

Sara_Wilcox I can totally get why many people prefer physical copies. There's just no way to top the feeling of holding a book in your hands and turning the pages when a story has completely captivated you. It may even be healthier than staring at a screen for long periods of time. I really hope Webnovel sees this and does something. It's in their best interest, right? Would any author on here object to the opportunity of having physical copies of their work made? Highly unlikely... Everyone would win with this. Now... How do we make sure that Webnovel hears about this?

Jonkohrr

My plan is:

1. Post this to see if I can get the Webnovel community’s support. I want to pop onto the discord server and ask the other authors to check out this thread too, but I really dislike going on it. I find it difficult to jump into the middle of people’s conversations in the chats, but I’m gonna try tonight. Whether I can get readers and authors to like and support this thread or not: I’m still doing part two.

2. Send a message to one of the editors to gain their perspective, and see if Webnovel would consider doing this. I plan to send something similar to what I’ve outlined in this thread to the editor. It will be a bit more comprehensive, and better outline the benefits of selling different formats of completed Works, but the points are essentially the same.

3. If I cannot get Webnovel to at least explain to me why they wouldn’t want to do this, then I will no longer be publishing through Webnovel exclusively, if at all. I want to share my Works with as many people as possible, and if Webnovel doesn’t, then I’ll just go straight to Amazon. And they can have none of my profits

Sara_Wilcox I support you 1000000%!

The two biggest costs in even print on demand physical book copies would be cover design and layout for every volume of completed works. I can't imagine Webnovel actually spending the money to pursue that option, even if they just slapped the same cover on every volume of a given series.

But if they don't plan on taking advantage of hard copy publishing, they should at least give authors publishing rights for hard copies only of their own books.

I've already begun writing my next novel and I don't plan on putting it on this site. I'm even writing a secret true ending to my first novel, but it doesn't look like there's any point in sharing it here. However, IF I could print a physical book that would be a whole other story... I guess we'll see what happens...

EldritchBlade

I see your point about the covers, but the cost(as crappy as it initially sounds), can be put on the authors. I personally paid to have both of my book covers created, so I hold the legal rights to them. This could be another step in the screening process for selecting works to go to print; authors must own their covers if they wish to be selected. Stolen images from Instagram and the like won’t fly.

As to the layout: a basic template or list of requirements could be presented to the authors(also as part of the screening). They could have it so that the authors must provide all the things expected of a traditional book(table of contents, original book cover, credits list if any apply, etc..). Authors would usually have to provide these things if they were self-publishing in a traditional style anyways, and I don’t mind the extra work if I know that it gets my Works into print. I know quite a few authors that would be more than happy to do the extra stuff, as long as they had a clear and concise list of what was needed.

There will always be initial costs, but I believe that having a program like this will also incentivize writers to go Exclusive. Which is what Webnovel wants. Also, since Webnovel is owned by China Literature: they can afford the initial cost for the payout of a contract with a printing company of some kind(or Amazon preferably since they’re such a massive market unto themselves). If you can think of any other reason Webnovel might want to refuse this idea? It will help me when I bring this to an editor.

Jonkohrr

I’m with you. I was going to enter the Spirity Awards contest again, but I’m holding off on doing anything else with Webnovel until I hear what they think about this. Like I said, I’ll just go straight to Amazon if my fans and family can’t purchase physical copies of my Works.

Up

up again

FNU_LNU

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.

FNU_LNU

Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate itBut 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

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

Dwarkin It seems you didn't read what she said

Hassy_101

Thank you hon I hope they listen