A bit over two years ago, I wrote about two companies, A&D Entertainment and EMP Entertainment, that appeared to have been deputized by serialized fiction app Webnovel (one of the biggest players in the serialized fiction space) to recruit authors to non-exclusive contracts. The contracts from both companies were (and continue to be) absolutely terrible.
EMP Entertainment no longer appears to be active (it has no website and I’ve heard nothing about it since 2020), but A&D is still going strong, and over the past two years I’ve been contacted by a lot of (mostly very young and inexperienced) writers who are confused about its complicated English-language contract, or have changed their minds after signing up and want to know how to get free (as with the contracts of so many serialized fiction apps, there’s no option for the author to terminate).
A&D recruits via a bait and switch. Writers are solicited by an editor or Author Liaison who claims to have discovered the writer’s work on Amazon or elsewhere, and invites them to publish on the Webnovel platform (the bait).
Writers who express interest in the non-exclusive contract are contacted by a second person, who claims they got the writer’s “details” from the Webnovel editor who made the initial approach. This new person, however, is actually from A&D Entertainment, and the non-exclusive contracts they offer are A&D contracts (the switch). As mentioned, those contracts are terrible, not least because their supposed non-exclusivity is heavily limited by the requirement that authors who want to do what non-exclusivity supposedly empowers–publish elsewhere–can’t do so without written permission.
The “Royalty Contract”, on the other hand, is from Webnovel itself. I’ve been trying for some time to get my hands on it, and recently I was successful. You can see it here–and it includes plenty of things to be concerned about.
The grant of rights is exclusive and extends for the life of copyright, and there is virtually no provision for termination by the author.
Lengthy, irrevocable contract terms are a common feature of serialized fiction apps, and Webnovel is no exception. Since the contract is governed by Hong Kong law, that means it extends for 50 years beyond the author’s death (rather than the 70 that’s the law in the US and most of Europe–not much comfort):
The only circumstance in which the author can terminate is in the event of breach by Webnovel (Clause 8.2). Such breach is defined as author income that has gone unpaid for more than 30 days, or “breach of [Webnovel’s] obligations stipulated under this Agreement”. There is no provision for the author to cancel at will, or even to remove their work from the Webnovel platform.
The author does retain copyright, and the contract is explicit that moral rights aren’t being transferred or waived (Clause 2.5). Nevertheless, many writers presented with this contract may not fully appreciate the implications of contracting their work 50 years beyond their death with virtually no ability to regain control of their rights.
The contract claims not just the right to publish the writer’s work on the Webnovel platform, but the entire range of subsidiary rights included under copyright.
Specific language, from Clause 2: “worldwide, exclusive…, perpetual, irrevocable, freely transferable and sublicensable license of the entire copyright subsisting in the Work…together with any and all intellectual property rights in and to the Works [sic].”
This is not a transfer of copyright. As noted above, the author retains copyright ownership. But it does represent a sweeping and unilateral surrender by the author of control of rights and subsidiary rights–not just rights that the average writer might be familiar with, such as electronic, audio, print, film/TV/broadcast, translation, and merchandising, but others they may not recognize, which carry major implications for the use and exploitation of their work. For instance, something called Fan Works Rights, which allows for the creation (presumably by users of the Webnovel platform) of a big list of derivative works:
Per the last paragraph of Clause 2.1, Webnovel would own the copyright to all these derivative works, as well as the right to “commercially develop and utilise” them. (Webnovel does throw the writer a bone, in the form of a royalty on any monetization of Fan Works, but at a much-reduced rate of 10%).
Royalties and other income are said to be paid on Net Revenue–but this actually means net profit.
This is another common feature of serialized fiction app contracts, most of which, like Webnovel, deduct a host of mostly-unspecified “expenses and costs” from revenue before calculating royalties and licensing income. What sounds like generous payment–50% of revenue for all use or licensing of the huge menu of rights included in the contract (except, as noted above, for Fan Works)–could potentially be seriously reduced in real terms. By how much? Since the expenses and costs are neither itemized nor priced, there’s no way to know.
Another common app feature (which, judging by the emails I receive, authors often miss): there’s a payment threshold. Webnovel doesn’t have to remit payment unless more than $200 is due (Clause 6.2).
Unlike some other apps, this contract offers no advance.
There are two gag clauses.
Clause 3.1.6 forbids the author from making “any inappropriate statements…or any statements that may have any adverse effect on the distribution, promotion, and exploitation of the Works”. Clause 3.3 prohibits, in really sweeping terms, “slander and competition”:
Per Clause 8.2, violation of these obligations is considered breach by the author. Such language could seriously curtail your ability to say virtually anything about Webnovel or your experience there. Plus, taken literally, the second sentence of the clause above could be interpreted to forbid you from promoting other work you’d published on similar apps.
Speaking of breach…there are some potentially severe financial penalties.
Another characteristic of serialized fiction app contracts: threatening financial punishment for breach or other misdeeds by the author–from violating warranties to providing material that the app deems to be substandard. Webnovel’s penalties aren’t as draconian as some (*cough* NovelCat *cough*), but they aren’t nothing, either.
For breach of the Confidentiality clause (Clause 7, which defines as “confidential information” pretty much anything and everything to do with the contract and Webnovel’s use of the author’s work, and bars the author from disclosing any of it for the full term of the agreement), the author must pay “compensation in full for all direct and indirect losses suffered”, including “travel expenses, litigation fees and all other reasonable expenses” (Clause 7.5).
For other breaches, including of the author’s warranties, the “slander” clauses, and failing “to satisfy the requirements for Publication on [Webnovel’s] Web Channels”, the author must return “100% of all income received from [Webnovel] from the performance of this Agreement, and compensate [Webnovel] for all losses suffered from that breach”, including attorney fees, travel fees, and more.
Ouch.
There are claims on successor works.
Per Clause 9, Webnovel claims the “right of priority” (basically, the right of first refusal, with a 30-day written notification period), on “all other literary works created by [the author] with one (1) year after completion of the Work under this Agreement”. If the author doesn’t create any new works within that one-year period, Webnovel claims the same right over “the first new work created by [the author]…after the above one-year period”.
This is not the kind of super-greedy claim I’ve seen in other app contracts (for instance, Goodnovel, which claims right of first refusal not just on prequels, sequels, etc., but on all future work by the author). But it’s still something to be aware of–especially since any new contract for a successor work will contain the same provisions, thus constituting a claim on yet another future work.
Disputes must be resolved by binding arbitration in Hong Kong (where Webnovel’s parent company, Cloudary Holdings Limited, is based).
Clause 11 describes this complicated process, which potentially involves significant costs. Arbitration is a difficult process even where it happens in your home country; handling it from overseas would be really tough.
Of the awful serialized fiction app contracts I’ve seen, the Webnovel contract falls toward the less awful end of the scale (which isn’t saying a whole lot). Nevertheless, it includes plenty of bewares–not the least of which is that it’s couched in dense legalese that many writers will not be able to effectively evaluate, especially if their first language isn’t English (Webnovel and other apps recruit internationally).
Like other apps, Webnovel offers rosy dreams of free-flowing money. This is from the recruitment email I quoted above:
More and more, I’m hearing from authors who are discovering that the big money–or even a little money, given the payment thresholds most apps maintain–is a pipe dream, and the caveat at the end of that paragraph is the reality. I’m also hearing from authors who started writing on app platforms just for fun, but have developed more serious ambitions and want to be able to reclaim their work, revise it, and publish or self-publish it conventionally–but can’t do so because of irrevocable exclusive grant terms, or non-exclusive grants that require them to get permission to exercise their rights.
When considering an app contract (or indeed any contract), it’s important to make every effort to understand what you are agreeing to. But it’s equally important to evaluate your writing goals–not just now, but for the future–and carefully consider how the terms of the contract, and its claims on your rights, may impact them.
At the very least, don’t sign a contract that lays claim to your work beyond your death and doesn’t allow you to cancel or terminate unless you’re prepared to cede control of that work indefinitely.
Whether webnovel is good or bad depends on what you want to do in your writing career. If you wanna you use webnovel to build a community, then perfect. If you want to keep your rights, then don’t sign with them. After your first novel when they say priority over your next work it means you have to at least consider them but not publish with them again. I’m going to publish with webnovel soon as i’m a beginner author want to grow my skills, build a community, and gain some money.
While all she says is true, that’s a privileged standpoint, no? She is assuming many things with her critiques.
First, she assumes that you, as an author, can make your book popular without the help of an editorial. While normal editorials are still good, online publishing is king. Webnovel, as one of the industry leaders, gives you visibility as a new author.
Second, she assumes that you will not commit to the contract until the end of your novel, making all the clauses of “dropping the novel” possible. If you are not committed as an author to finishing your book in the first place, you shouldn’t be searching for contracts where they pay you money.
Third, she assumes that granting the rights to the work is a bad thing because people can create “fanfiction” about your work. However, as stated clearly, you remain as the owner of the copyright of your book. This is from her own words. 1703497378713.png
The thing you don’t own is the fanfics. Imagine if Naruto, One Piece, or one of those owned every single fanfic of them, and the money you might win from writing fanfiction should go to Oda or whoever the author is.
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Fourth, She says the royalties are bad, but you earn 28% of what people spend on your book after taking into account everything. if someone spends 100 dollars, you win 28. That might seem low, but Webnovel is taking care of marketing a book that otherwise would’ve been lost in the sea of books uploaded every day online.
Fifth. the breach of contract through criticizing web novel. If you are advertised by a brand, for example, coca-cola, I want to see which contract will allow you to say “Coca-Cola is shit!” It’s a normal thing that ALL contracts with a major brand will have. No company will want a person insulting their brand while they are giving them money to advertise it or be part of it.
Sixth, earnings. If your book gets popular on Webnovel, it will do well and therefore make income. If it doesn’t, with or without a contract, you will win 0 dollars. I think it’s logical, and you can understand it by comparing Xqc, the streamer, with a random other streamer. Xqc is popular, so he is rich; others are not, so they aren’t. It’s not like Xqc is doing something different that others are not doing. It’s just popularity.
Seventh, “Right of priority.” If you are hired by a company, the company has the right to fire you with prior notice, right? Well, the same here. Moreover, if you are working as a web developer, and your company fires you, can you reclaim all the work you’ve done for them? You can’t; it stays as their property, the same as with Webnovel.
So, her critique all falls into. “If you are not loyal to Webnovel and breach every single one of their terms, you will face consequences of a “Exclusive” contract.”
TL;DR: It’s not as bad as it seems as long as you are not going to act as if you own the world and you adhere to the contract terms.
Oh, hi, an anonymous Webnovel PR team employee! Fancy meeting you here!
Hi~ To show to ‘other side of the coin’ as a Webnovel writer, here are the reasons why a lot of author still flock the site despite what some people find ‘shady’ in the contract (which honestly I didn’t find that scary, unless you’re already a famous, established author with your own fanbase).
1. The final calculation of earning shares minus all the marketing costs, admin costs, etc is 28%. Don’t think this is too low, most other platforms who even claim higher than 50% actually give out less than this. In terms of share, Webnovel actually has one of the BEST.
If you ask ACTUAL earning webnovel writers from different platforms, you’ll find out this is true.
2. The users of Webnovel is in the millions and they’re willing to actually PAY on a per-chapter basis. From my and my online friends’ experiences, Webnovel definitely pays much better than others.
They also market your story for you (provided you’re writing a good and marketable story) which is hassle free if you don’t have excess money or a huge fanbase to support you.
3. You don’t need to complete the novel first. Just 12k words and you could get contracted. I know a lot who got contracted in less than 10k.
Up until now I’m still in awe by how many articles popped up against the site when pretty much every author I know are all praises (unless their stories aren’t doing well in the site, in which case they don’t blame the site. They just their current ‘marketability’).
So, yeah, if you’re a NEW/UNKNOWN AUTHOR, looking for relatively QUICK PAYOFF, writing for tropes/themes that are considered ‘marketable’ in the platform, then I’d say go for it. xD
P.S. I hope I didn’t ‘offend’ anyone with sharing my opinion. 😉
I’m a little confused about the “right of priority”. If i was to finish a novel on webnovel under the royalty contract, and I wanted to write a new novel that isn’t anything related to the old novel on webnovel under a year period since my old novel , Can I immediately publish it to other places?
The Webnovel contracts I’ve seen give Webnovel the “right of priority” (i.e., you have to give them the right to match any offer by a third party) over “all other literary works” you create within one year of completing the contracted work, or “the first new work” you create _after_ that one-year period if you don’t create any new work during the one-year period. So if your contract is the same as the ones I’ve seen, you must offer a new work to Webnovel first, even if it’s not related to the contracted work.
Confusing much? You bet. These serial fiction app contracts are all extremely confusing, even for someone with knowledge of publishing contract terms–much less the many young and inexperienced writers who are drawn to the apps.
Does it mean I can’t write outside of webnovel for the rest of my life? Please guide me on this. I have a book contracted with webnovel. Am I not allowed to write for other platforms or publish my other book imdependently in future?
You can, you just have to let webnovel make an offer that matches the best offer from other platforms. For example, if wuxia offered you 2k per year or something for a new work you wrote, you’d have to let webnovel have the chance to give you a similar offer and you can just decide to let wuxia take the novel instead if you don’t like webnovels offer.
Hello. I have a few questions. My main one is what if the author wishes to post via proxy. Such as the author writes it. It goes through a editor the author gives the editor rights and then the editor posts it under their name with the author stated as a coauthor. Would that be an issue? Just curious, my friend made the decision and is regretting it.
This is way outside the scope of the Webnovel contract. Without knowing details (for instance, was there a written agreement between the writer and the editor formalizing the arrangement?), it’s impossible to comment–other than to say that this sounds like something that could go badly wrong, and possibly also something that Webnovel wouldn’t be happy about if it knew.
What site is best for thriller novels
Thank you for this post. I received an offer of collaboration from these guys through Wattpad. Just looking at their web site had my writer scam senses tingling, lol.
Thank you for doing this. Got comment from them on one of my works, and I almost thought of considering it. Good thing I did some research. God bless you.
I wonder, if the contract is based in Hong Kong law, the company is located in Hong Kong, disputes must be handled in binding arbitration in Hong Kong, and you live in the United States, can’t you just ignore whatever happens if you break the contract? Like, if you breach their confiscation of your copyright and post your work elsewhere because you realized they suck, what are they gonna do? Send the Hong Kong police to arrest you in California?
You may be right about the long arm of Webnovel not bothering to reach out from Hong Kong–though one important rule of contracts is that if the contract language indicates it _could_ happen, you should never bet that it _won’t_ happen.
Even if Webnovel didn’t take action, though, you have to remember that any new publishing venue will also have contractual requirements, among them various warranties you must provide as a condition of publication. These usually require you to warrant that you have the full and unencumbered right to publish. If your rights are tied up elsewhere, you don’t have that right–and lying about that could get you in trouble with your new publisher or publishing platform.
For all of you considering WebNovel; try RoyalRoad or Scribblehub instead. Both are much better platforms that aren’t exploitive of the authors there. Both have pretty large reader bases, especially RoyalRoad. For monetization you can simply set up donations to paypal; or even better, setup a Patreon. Most authors who monetize offer advanced chapter releases on Patreon in return for a monthly subscription. From there if things take off a lot of stories move to Amazon and self-publish or find an actual publisher.
Hello!
I’m a new author and I’m 18 years old. I got a comment on my book on Wattpad and an email about an exclusive contract. I rejected the exclusive contract and got another email from AandD about a non exclusive contract.
I’m thinking of signing the non exclusive contract cuz I need the money. And I don’t have the money to publish my book offline. My book is really good as I’ve been getting a lot of comments. My mom says I shouldn’t sign the contract cuz she thinks it’s the best book I’ll ever write.
My question is does signing the non exclusive contract give webnovel full right over my book and future works?
If you sign exclusively with them, you can’t post your work elsewhere.
Please run away from their non-exclusive contract. You can sign non-ex elsewhere, but don’t let it be on webnovel.
Hello, i have a question. I read online a statement that states that webnovel doesn’t only steal your copyright but the one for your future books too. Is this an exaggeration? Is it even possible to track that person? Like i don’t really get how it actually works (them being in control of all your future works just because of one contract).
My post is also online. If you read it, it will answer your questions.
Hi Miss Victoria: Thank you for this important information about the knot
I’m a writer, and I started publishing on Webnovel about three months ago. I’ve read a quarrelsome novel called: solo levelling.
Because of this novel they responded so badly that I started writing my own novel and started publishing it in Webnovel and they sent me a contract from them but when I read it I got so scared of it
And suddenly, if I sign it, they will take a novel and reject it, and another person will be sent to me
For a non-exclusive contract, and after I read it, it was more terrifying than the first contract, and I also rejected it
At the moment, I am discontinuing the publication. Do I have to delete the chapters that I have published in it?
The second is that I want to know whether all the sites publish fictional novels. It is not possible to publish a novel and get money without such terrifying conditions.
I don’t think you’re required to delete the chapters. You might want to, though. I’m not all that familiar with the Webnovel platform, so don’t know what the process is for doing that.
FYI, a novel is fiction by definition, so you just need to say “novel”, and people will know it’s fiction.
I’m not sure I understand your second question. If it’s about whether there are any serial fiction apps with good contracts, there may be some–but I’ve seen contracts from about ten apps now, and all of them are terrible, so I think you really do need to be on your guard. Also, I very much suspect that most writers who use the apps don’t earn very much. The lavish income promises the apps make may be fulfilled for some writers, but my guess is that they are a tiny percentage.
You can delete the chapters. There are also other platforms you can submit your work to.
Hello Everyone, thank you for all the advice and insights, I am a new author and obviously new to this game.
I recently finished my Novel and loaded it on Wattpad, and a few months later I got an e-mail from an Editor from Webnovel, off course i was excited but at the same time sceptical, Now that I have heard all the warnings and insights from all of you I am now on the look out for a publisher but a genuine/promising one at that, does anyone know of one?
Kathy,
Have a look at the Writer Beware website, which offers all the tools you need to research appropriate publishers (and agents, if necessary)–along with info to help you avoid scammers. http://www.writerbeware.com/
Thank you very much Victoria, will definitely have look.
I was writing a book on Webnovel and unfortunately I had already signed the contract so now I have no way to get that novel back. But I do worry if even after giving up that novel and everything associated with it, Webnovel might still affect my future works.
Well, from what I understand, this is nothing new. We all know we will be giving our novel rights once it’s contracted. It’s not bad to do it if you find your novel disposable and want to spread your name but I would never contract a serious work.
By the way, when signing a contract, do you need to fill all the blanks? Even your Bank Code? (Not sure how bank cards work) but isn’t giving both your bank number and swift code giving access your money? Isn’t number just enough?
If you have the option to be paid without giving them access to your bank account (via Paypal, for example), you should definitely take it it. On principle, I think everyone should be extremely cautious about providing bank information to anyone. They may not give you the option, though.
Hi, after reading all this im a little scared, i publish books on webnovel and have signed 2 contracts already. they arent my books but i got permission to publish them from the writer that i edit for. i publish all my edited work.
How can i get out of all those terms? or are we lucky since i am not the writer?
ps. the editor i got from goodnovel who fixes things and arranges things for me there is a really sweet woman but she said that the books probably do better on meganovel now i dont see any posts about that one. its an app and not a website but im scared to use that one now.
Melanie, Meganovel is run by the same company that runs Goodnovel, and uses the same contract.
As to the books on Webnovel, I don’t feel like I have enough info to really comment, but depending on your arrangements with the writer and also how you signed the contract (as yourself? As the writer, acting as their proxy?), this could be a can of worms. Did you get formal permission from this writer to publish them–that is, in writing? If not, do that now–you need it to protect yourself in the event of any future disputes.
The writer is my husband so yes i do have permission and the contracts are on my name
They do allow you to continue without a contract.
I won’t sign the WebNovel contract because they take the rights from your own novel from you. No, thanks.
The reason I am publishing online at all is because it helps me write. One chapter at a time is way better to me because if I focus on the entire novel it feels like it will take forever and I will want to give up. Then, the act of publishing that novel’s chapter is nice because you get that instant gratification (lame, I know, but I am human). It’s also a way for group editing to happen. WebNovel encourages comments. Readers could point out plot holes I missed. What I end up turning in to the publisher would likely be different than what’s published.
Regardless, it’s easy to delete chapters from WebNovel, you just can’t delete the book cover / title. I might just go offline and finish it that way, but I was hoping some experienced WebNovel users might have some insights. I can tell my novel isn’t a great fit for WebNovel. They are focused on fast churned romance, with little to no regard for grammar. What is important on that platform is consistently publishing 1k count chapters daily, even if the story isn’t amazing.
So, I guess that sort of decides it for me. I can make a note I am going to stop publishing on the platform. I originally started using it because a good friend of mine got contracted and she was really excited. She didn’t discover until later it was a bad idea.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!
Is it still ok to publish on WebNovel? They sent me a contract, and I am not going to sign, but I did want to continue publishing until my novel is completed. The ultimate goal for me is to be published by a publisher and have it made into an actual book. Would publishing on WebNovel hurt those chances?
Do they even allow you to keep publishing without a contract? Even if they do, it seems to me like a very bad idea; as bad as the Webnovel contract is, it affords you more protection (not to mention at least some assurance of payment) than no contract at all. Plus, if you want to have your book published conventionally, publishing it on Webnovel–with or without a contract–could definitely interfere. A traditional publisher might not be interested in acquiring a book that had already been published on a serial fiction platform. It would also definitely want the book to be removed from the Webnovel platform, which I’m guessing you might have a difficult time accomplishing.
Beyond all that…if your goal is traditional publication, why not complete your novel offline and then submit it to publishers? Why do the Webnovel thing at all?
I received a lot of emails from editors from WebNovel and so I dug up my old posts on Penana and Inkitt. They referenced a story that I had on Wattpad, Penana but I never posted on Inkitt so I was confused.
Obivously their e-mails are canned. So I searched around the net for articles and viola, I saw your blog and I am thankful that I took the time to read up on it.
I am currently writing something on Good Novel and it’s good to know that they are pretty much cut from the same cloth. Kinda puts a wet blanket over a lot of things but I just want to write again and so the contract if approved wouldn’t be something I would worry to much as being a published writer isn’t my main bread and butter. It’s just odd why their contracts are like slave contracts for writers.
Thank you for all your insights and warnings over the years.
I am always suspicious about any out of the blue contact. I also think that when such a contact refers to ‘your book’, but doesn’t mention its title is also a warning.
Exactly. Given the huge number of solicitation scams that are operating now, an out-of-the-blue email or phone call is a major scam signal.
Did you discover the actual location of Anna? I happened to recognize the accent of one of the people (not from WEBNOVEL) who contacted me, and I used a phrase in their language and she said, yes, that’s right. I found that enlightening. The person who contacted me claimed to be calling from New Jersey, even the phone number was spoofed.
I got a couple of emails from Webnovel about a year ago. One was on Wattpad and another to one of my author emails but they were pretty much the same with a different name attached. It didn’t really sound like a great deal to me. When I blogged about it I said, ” Maybe I should do an undercover expose, though that’s really more Writer Beware’s forte.” So now I guess it came to pass. This was what they sent me:
“My name is Anna. I’m an Author Liaison representative, representing W e b n o v e l.
I’ve read the initial chapters and I feel that your novel showcases your capabilities as a writer thus, I would like to invite you to publish on our platform W e b n o v e l. You may find our App on Appstore or Google Play, which has over tens of millions installations.
We would like to offer a non-exclusive contract for your novels currently on the site, this way, you can keep the novel on the site but at the same time also help you tap on the large reader base of on our platform with over 60 million unique user views, making it a win-win situation.
Please feel free to reach out to me with regards to this, we want to understand your needs first and foremost as an author to help you reach the target market you want to hit.”
I didn’t really have any novels on Wattpad so that was kind of a red flag
“Anna” was also the recruiting editor in the email I quoted in my post, and the first 2 paragraphs of that email are identical to the one you received. Obviously canned. They would have bait-and-switched you with an A&D contract.
Hello, I am an new author. And lately I have been contacted by different platform for publishing my noval and they want to write a contract with me including webnoval. I am not sure, if I should sign the contract. I started writing noval because for fun. But when my noval view reached more than 300k on webnoval and 500k on wattpad, I got many offers from different platform. First I ignored it, but lately I want to become a professional writer and want to have the exclusive right for my noval and I currently write on 3 app including webnoval. I want to continue wrote on this platform. But I don’t want to write for a single platform. So what I want to know is, even without signing a contract with a company or platform, can i protect my exclusive copyright for my noval..
Hello I have just gotten a contract from moboreader don’t know If I should sign it
Thanks for these insights, Victoria. It’s the side of publishing that I never thought much about until the publishing underworld began coming to me. There’s so much I never knew.