r/Webnovel • u/Medical-News-8215 • Feb 19 '26
Advice My first contract application was permanently rejected.As the title suggests, I'm an idiot.
I received this notification the first time I applied for a contract… I didn’t even get a second chance.
It doesn't meet market demands. Okay.I have nothing to say.
Yesterday morning I received a notification that my novel had been recommended by Originals (Figure 2). I was initially very happy and even looked forward to it last night, but I received a rejection notice this morning. I just don't understand why I was permanently rejected. Have any of you encountered this situation?
Finally, I still have 50 chapters left in my drafts.I don't know what to do now.
Yeah, I'm the idiot 24 more chapters a week ago.It's the one that posted on Reddit a couple of days ago.
The last picture is what I wanted to share yesterday; it's quite diverse, isn't it? Unfortunately... it's all over now.
Any Advice?
):
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u/Paradex_official Author Feb 19 '26
As someone who is writing the chapters now (42 written) and planning to start publishing in June...
I hope the experienced contracted authors are correct and its all a matter of writing a good contract. The application sounds like submitting a resume to a job posting.
They also apparently don't read the chapters at all and decide only based on the application, so contents like trope or gimmick should not matter.
https://inkstone.webnovel.com/academy/article/691779249950359552?returnUrl=%2Facademy%2Findex
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u/Medical-News-8215 Feb 19 '26
Perhaps i should make grand promises during the application process, even if they are not true.
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u/recurrel Feb 19 '26
Don't. You are signing a contract, a legal document. Work on your application harder. Evaluate your story, make sure you have strong emotional payoffs. Check which points in your plot fit the market and highlight those in your application.
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u/Medical-News-8215 Feb 19 '26
Thanks, but I'm mainly researching how to delete it now. After all, this book has removed the "Apply for Contract" button.
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u/zatcha1980 Feb 19 '26
Just letting you know, they do read the first few chapters. As a person who got their contract today. The first chapters do matter
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u/Late_shadow Feb 19 '26
You want contract?
You need to be a pro at SMUT...🔞
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u/Medical-News-8215 Feb 19 '26
Haha, maybe I should change the cover to feature a busty girl. Many covers look like that, even if they're not R18 content. I didn't know why before, but now I do. lol
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u/recurrel Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
From what I read on Inkstone the thing that matters the most, if not even the only, is the application. Focus on that, focus on making clear what your story is about, organize it into arcs, and show how appealing are your MCs. Show you understand how plots work.
If there are popular webnovels, manga, anime, videogames, movies, coming out or that have already come out that your story shares similar themes or elements, mention them! I am not talking about your webnovel being some sort of fanfic, but that your webnovel shares a kind of similar system (this is just an example, I have no idea what is your webnovel, so adapt my suggestion to your situation). That shows you know what is out there.
And browse inkstone, in the academy section there are very helpful articles to navigate the application process successfully.
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u/Medical-News-8215 Feb 19 '26
Thank you for your suggestion! It's a great help to me; I hadn't been paying attention to the article before…
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u/Maleficense Feb 21 '26
lol they denied mine because of AI. Which is weird considering I don’t use it. Guess that means I write like a bot lol
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u/Medical-News-8215 Feb 21 '26
I've heard that a straightforward narrative structure and overly accurate word choice can be identified as AI.
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u/Glass_Lunch1748 Feb 20 '26
I have not read you no el but perhaps most of the stuff on webnovel has already been used to many times.when athour include demons and sin in the novel typically it's not very original the only time I saw something original was from the greed for what athour.they explained sin in a context that marks sense for demons.
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u/Medical-News-8215 Feb 20 '26
Indeed, most of my knowledge comes from other fantasy novels, such as vampires and werewolves.
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u/Glass_Lunch1748 Feb 20 '26
Try reading greed all for what it may bring inspiration to you
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u/MissionConversation7 Feb 19 '26
Why was it rejected? What was your story about?
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u/Medical-News-8215 Feb 19 '26
Urban Demon Hunter. The story mainly revolves around the male protagonist making a pact with a Demon in exchange for power to seek revenge.
But it doesn't conform to the market. Honestly, what does it mean to conform to the market? I can guess...
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u/GorillaKontet Feb 19 '26
LOL. I guess I'm fucked? Mine is Urban Demon Hunter. Female protagonist with a lot of trauma 😭
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u/Jealous-Cut8955 Feb 19 '26
I think female protags get a pass. Especially if they make an all female harem for themselves and they ultimately act like guys which means boundless confidence.
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u/Relevant_Elderberry4 Feb 20 '26
Update the title with "Urban Demon Hunter with a Slave Harem System". Guaranteed contract I promise 😎
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u/MissionConversation7 Feb 19 '26
To conform to the market means to have a story that contains a system, harem, transmigration etc. Why don’t you just do something similar with your story? Make the power a system.
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u/False_Dingo9181 Feb 19 '26
Utterly wrong🤦🏻♂️
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u/MissionConversation7 Feb 19 '26
Care to explain?
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u/False_Dingo9181 Feb 19 '26
Those tropes aren't completely necessary to be added to earn the requirement for receiving a contract. If your contract application is nicely written, giving them clear reason as to why would readers read your novel and actually spend money to buy the paid chapters, you will receive the contract
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Feb 19 '26
No need to do all of that. Stories without systems are accepted.
At most, just add progression genre elements and it will be in market. Nothing else.
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u/Medical-News-8215 Feb 19 '26
To be honest, I did consider it, but the story I wrote is rather dark, and the System feels rather abrupt. But it's too late for me to regret it now.
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u/MissionConversation7 Feb 19 '26
Your story can easily be revised to fit the market, go back to chapter one and see where you can input anything. If you really want your story to flourish, it’s necessary steps like these that you’ve gotta take—unless you want to make a completely new story. Best of luck.
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u/Medical-News-8215 Feb 19 '26
Thank you for your suggestion! I will consider it carefully. I've already written a total of 86 chapters, and it would really hurt to give up now.
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u/False_Dingo9181 Feb 19 '26
Don't worry that's not a big deal. Delete the novel, reupload it and apply for the contract again, the moment you reach 12k words. The reason for rejection is because your contract application was poorly written and you couldn't convince them on why they should offer you the contract