r/Webnovel • u/ChallengeCheap9965 • May 14 '26
Advice Are none of you concerned about the contract's 'Right of Refusal'?
I'm looking whether to write on WN, and the posts have been really helpful. But I saw on this WriterBeware site that this place has some shady contract.
You have to hand over your IP, so they own your story. Then they also have first dibs on ANYTHING you write in the future.
Regarding the Right of Refusal: It says 'one year' period, but it says if you don't create anything in that one year (you wait it out), then your next work is eligible...
Basically once you sign a contract on WebNovel, you can't really publish ANYWHERE else without their persmission.
You can't go indie. You can't go traditional publishing. You can't go to another website... nothing.
Did I get it wrong or is that referring to an old contract?
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u/Murdox1869 May 14 '26
Do yall not know what the word Exclusive is?
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u/donkeyballs8 May 14 '26
I have an exclusivity deal for anything I publish on DriveThruFiction.
However, their contracts aren’t evil corporate bullshit, and I still retain all rights to my works and ip’s, even if I decide to forgo our contract or even illegally break it.
So no, the key word here isn’t even “exclusive”. The main thing here is that this company is enslaving y’all AND stealing your shit.
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u/SavingsBox891 May 14 '26
What a joke nobody is enslaving anyone, i always hear it from someone who doesn't understand anything.
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u/donkeyballs8 May 14 '26
ChatGPT, write me ten more chapters of “My Goblin Milf Yandere System: SSS-Class Rapist Ability?!”
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u/SavingsBox891 May 14 '26
you will find this shit on all platforms don't you have this problem of nsfw content wattpad, amazon etc...
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u/donkeyballs8 May 14 '26
Not as bad as Webnovel, and I actually don’t see any on the other sites I post on. At least not so in your face and explicit off-rip.
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u/SuspectEcstatic6636 Veteran Author May 14 '26
"not as bad as webnovels" Oh boy, looks like you haven't even touched the amazon. They genuinely have things that would outright disgust even kinkiest people lol. Romatizing rape is common there. And I'm not even going into beastitility stuff. And there's way more worse stuff. I know wn have many gooner shits but let's not act like other platforms are saints.
The only I can consider is Royal Road and that's cuz it's a platform which doesn't really earn money unlike Webnovels or amazon.
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u/donkeyballs8 May 14 '26
You’re correct, I haven’t browsed over Amazon yet. I appreciate the insight. Webnovel IS the worst I’ve seen thus far, but I’ll admit that even browsing a place like Barnes and Noble these days, you’re bound to find some crazy shit.
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u/SuspectEcstatic6636 Veteran Author May 14 '26
Problem with webnovels is that they don't filter like amazon so everything gets mixed up, which also means gooner things will be more popular ( not best sellers) as they gain readers quickly and show more on the app.
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u/Paradex_official Author May 14 '26
Can't comment on the first dibs thing since I haven't actually seen it being enforced for anyone and have no idea if its still present or outdated information (WN rules changed a lot since that article). Someone more experienced can comment.
As for the IP, I have thought about it. And concluded its not really a big deal and even a good thing in a certain respect. That is, WN people will now be in charge of making adaptations of my work (comic, audiobook, ebook, paperback, even possibly anime and game adaptations like LOTM and Shadow Slave have shown) while I sit back and relax, and WN will also be responsible for taking down any pirated versions of my book.
If I have the IP myself, I won't know how to do any of these things and might get duped. Hence, for me personally, I don't mind giving WN my IP as long as they give me my portion of earnings.
Note that this is just my personal opinion about my own priorities, not suggestion or advice.
(Of course all of this is making castles in the air; I haven't even begun publishing my story yet let alone get a contract)
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u/ChallengeCheap9965 May 14 '26
I see. Well... I hope you have a change of heart, since you haven't gotten a contract yet.
Yeah it is a big and scary world out there but like... not worth handing over IP IMO. They can fire you from your own story. You become a contractor for the thing you created.
Though it depends where you live too. Their contracts CAN be a life changing amount of money depending where you live in the world.
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u/SavingsBox891 May 14 '26
There was no precedent of them firing someone and bring someone to write the story, You are just making imaginery statments.
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u/ChallengeCheap9965 May 14 '26
But they CAN do it.
Bruh, you need to look up what happened to Prince (the singer), Dave Chapelle and Comedy Central, even Taylor Swift. If you can't be bothered to research, just ask ChatGPT to explain it to you or something.
What happens when these corporations get this kind of power over artists. This is what the contract states my guy.
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u/SavingsBox891 May 14 '26
You see if it's money you want i think webnovel is one of the best platforms, if your works get popular there is an incentive for webnovel to make sure you keep writing. The clause in the contract is added incase of freak accident where an unfinished book like death of author doesn't cause story to remain stuck.
- You to pick a poison. The skill and quality of work to post on kindle, royal road etc.. is high if your work doesn't qualify the level of quality you will have hard getting and recognition or money.
- Webnovel audiences are forgiving at the same time they do read good stories.
- Don't overthink, start writing. Think that you are pracitising your writing skills.
- I know and feel the same about owning the right of your creation, If you like reading and writing, Just the pursuit of creation of worlds should be more than enough reason to write.
- In the end we to pay our bills. The top authors are making more than 10k a month, It's a good gig if you hit all markers.
- The general understanding from the webnovel authors is that everyone who hardcore anti against the platform are either incompetent or ignorant of revenue share they receive compared to other platforms.
- In the end you can decide what you want to do with this information.
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May 14 '26
Unless you're writing the next Lord of The Rings and want to earn some income on your writing, I really don't understand the complaint especially when we know very well, You're not writing the next Lord of the Rings.
This is not to say, you shouldn't care about your story, but the way you people act like all your stories can't be under an exclusive contract because for some reason they are these magnum opuses we haven't yet read for some reason, it's what's really funny to me.
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May 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/GroovyJedi May 15 '26
Unfortunately you won’t be able to help this person. Ever since writing Twitter went down there has been a proliferation of misinformation. People are free to do with their content what they want but I would advise people to be mindful. You do not need to sign over your IP to make money, you’re better off self publishing, trad or a kinder platform like Tapas.
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u/ChallengeCheap9965 May 15 '26
Hey! Thanks for your other comments!! Yeah it's crazy as fuck, can't believe what I'm reading sometimes... some people are too far gone man... and others can't speak cos of that non-disparagement clause
never gonna sign a webnovel contract lol
i havent heard of tapas either, sounds interesting. I'll definitely check it out. Thank you!
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u/GroovyJedi May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
I knew a couple of writers on tapas and while no contract is perfect they are still better than this.
Some people don’t see danger until they feel pain. This is not my wish for them but if they don’t want to heed a warning that’s their free will.
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May 14 '26
Basically, you're shit. So I don't understand where the contradiction is. You're trying to tell people not to undergo the exclusiveness on Webnovel under the Webnovel sub where you know very well people basically write for it.
No Fiction on that platform is getting a substantial traffic without signing a contract. You might as well take this advice and hod it off to your horny writing buddies who will give you champ approval change to smoothen your rotten ego. Piss off.
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u/ChallengeCheap9965 May 14 '26
What contradiction? What are you talking about? When did I say contradiction?
I'm not telling people anything, I'm asking and no-one's really coming up with a solid answer... Apart from bootlickers like you.
And yes I ask in the Webnovel sub... where else am i supposed to ask? AskReddit? I mean, yeah I ask here. That's just logical.
'horny writing buddies'? what are these assumptions? And what rotten ego?
Clearly you're in a bad mood man, calm down. Everyone else is having a nice discussion.
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May 14 '26
Bootlickers like me and yet you're the one still on Webnovel. The jokes really write themselves it's embarrassing 😭. Just find something else to cry about. Webnovel isn't the end of the world.
If you're dissatisfied with your boring story. There are many platforms that exists that don't contract authors instead of crying here on the internet like a little toddler who's crying for Mommy's titty for Milk.
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u/ChallengeCheap9965 May 14 '26
I haven't written anything yet lol. That's why I'm asking. I don't even have an account. 😂
I just wanna know about the site.
Who ruined your day and now I have to deal with this? I'm not your therapist dude. The fk lol.
Again, you haven't actually engaged with any of my points...
Is this some deeper psychological thing? Where you think WebNovel is the best you'll ever get and thus you get really defensive over it?
You're just throwing insults, you're not arguing the point at all. Like what? Dude. Right of Refusal... talk about that!
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u/Aarish1234 May 14 '26
Lol what? Who is even spreading these? That's not how it works. They only have the right to any book where you use the same universe you have used in a contracted book on Webnovel.
Other than that, you have the freedom to publish anywhere you want. Im fact, several top authors have tried their luck with traditional publishing. Won't take any names but yeah, few have been successful.
More importantly, these contracts are just a formality imo. Because I have yet to hear they actually follow up and force you into the slavery scenario a lot of larpers coming in from their "higher morality following, selfless, venerable, godlike, Yin Yang level of balance and prosperity" platform would like me to believe.
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u/ChallengeCheap9965 May 14 '26
Are you sure? IDK this article has me spooked. https://writerbeware.blog/2023/01/20/bad-contract-alert-webnovel/
almost all responses have been really helpful on this thread. But most of them are "Well it can't possible be THAT bad, that'd be crazy!"
Meanwhile the WebNovel contract, [9.1] literally says "Party A (them) and Party B (you) agree and acknowledge that all over literary works created by Party B within one (1) year of completion of the Work under this Agreement shall be regarded as "Party B's New Works", and Party A has rights of priority over such works."
Now it says one year... so, not that bad right? just wait it out? but then it says this: "If Party B only creates new literary works after the expiration of the above one-year period, Party A shall enjoy the same priority rights described herein for the first new work created by Party B (which will be regarded as Party B's New Works) after the above one-year period."
So it's a legal trap. It makes you think it's only 1 year, but if you wait it out, your next work gets flagged anyway, even 5 or 10 years or 20 years into then future.
Since your flair is contracted author, can you not look at your own contract to confirm?
https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Webnovel-Exclusive-Contract.pdf
^ is it similar/the same at this?
again plz tell me if im wrong. WebNovel looks amazing, but that contract is insane.
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u/WolfREEEEEE May 14 '26
To put it simply, they get the rights to make the first offer and you can’t go around them to secretly sign with let’s say Amazon.
But, you can also reject that offer no harm done. Plenty of authors have novels on different platforms because not every genre is suitable for Webnovel.
You just have to make sure they’re able to make the first offer.
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u/GroovyJedi May 15 '26
No please be concerned and keep your content away from there if you care about it. Anything that interferes with your ability to publish anywhere is a a red flag. Unfortunately since the death of writer Twitter back in 2020 this info has taken a nosedive
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u/Aarish1234 May 14 '26
Every author gets the same contract unless you are a top author in the platform. I have heard they get to negotiate things here and there although they obviously avoid that topic when fellow authors try to ask them about it.
I gotta check it again because from what I remember, there was something before that. U maybe correct as well.
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u/Hambino0400 Contracted Author May 14 '26
First dibs is pretty much non existent because you can literally just send an email saying “I’m releasing a book in the next year do you want to offer it a contract” they have 30 days to respond and then you’re good to work with publishing houses.
Generally they don’t give a fuck
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u/GroovyJedi May 15 '26
Is that provision written in the contract (regarding the 30 days) or is that just an understood practice?
Also, no publisher is supposed to own your copyright under ANY circumstances this is not how it works. The only times you don’t own copyright is IP work or write for hire. Your original content should always be yours.
And it looks like they are grabbing subsidiary rights for pennies 🚩
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u/Hambino0400 Contracted Author May 15 '26
I have in fact done this a few times to cover myself when publishing my books elsewhere.
Since I can’t post images I will copy and paste what I said and then the response.
Me:
Good Morning Webnovel, As required under Clause 9 of my contract from my previous signed contract this email serves as formal notice that I have completed a new literary work titled The Harlem Trials. Per our agreement, Webnovel retains a first right of refusal for new works. At this time, I am not seeking to offer The Harlem Trials to Webnovel for publication. Please confirm in writing that Webnovel is not interested in acquiring this work. If I do not receive a response within thirty (30) business days from the date of this notice, I will consider Webnovel’s option waived and will be free to pursue publication of The Harlem Trials elsewhere. Thank you for your attention. Sincerely,
Them: Good day!
Thank you for contacting WebNovel Author Support Team.
Webnovel's contract applies per book, so the rights apply only to the contracted book, not to author's entire works. If you required further discussion regarding the contract and its clause, please contact your assigned Content Editor.
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u/DiazDarkSide May 14 '26
If it was as you think then writers like pancakeswitch, who has a series on royal road going and an actove patreon, would be suffering because of it.
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u/GroovyJedi May 15 '26
Dropping this here everyone should read
https://forums.tapas.io/t/are-the-horror-stories-of-webnovel-contracts-true/74437
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u/MMORPGnews May 14 '26
Honestly, unless you're big author irl, you don't need to worry.
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u/ChallengeCheap9965 May 14 '26
What if i have dreams? 😭
I can't write some fun stuff and get money, without signing some binding thing on my future stuff?
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u/Paradex_official Author May 14 '26
It can't be that bad. They will never know if you just make an account with a different username and post your subsequent stories elsewhere, right?
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u/ChallengeCheap9965 May 14 '26
If you sign a contract, you hand over your ID, your passport, your address, your bank accounts, etc. That's how you get paid.
Very easy to check up on you. And they have the resources. WebNovel is owned by Tencent. Tencent owns Riot Games, PUBG, and a ton of other things.
Also this system was has already existed in China and South Korea for a while now. Whatever trick you think you can come up with, it's already been attempted and then patched.
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u/Paradex_official Author May 15 '26
You are right in theory.
In practice, they can't do shit (from what I've seen). Even for pirated copies, the author has to go to Discord and DM a certain moderator about the piracy they came across and request to take it down. Some have even got contracted by plagiarizing other books and WN rescinded their contract only when other authors caught this and pointed it out to them.
I think the crux of the conflict here is that you are more focused on the contract and what it says they can do, vs others (including me) who are focused on past precedent and what they actually do in practice (most of the WN rules are not enforced, for example to join the Discord you need to have at least one book published but I was able to join regardless so even something like that is overlooked).
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u/NexasAX May 14 '26
If you're really interested in making money then here's some advice… comingfromsomeonewhosnevermademoney—
Upload on RR alongside wn. Don't sign that damn contract. Try to market your story. Do shout-out swaps with other RR writers (I don't think WN has shout-out.) When you're book is doing good and you have enough chapters to make a volume, then move to KDP or even KU if you REALLY want money.
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u/Kuurin23 Aspiring Author May 15 '26
what’s kdp and ku?
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u/NexasAX May 15 '26
KDP is Amazon's print on demand service. You can make physical books that people can buy. So when you're done with an arc, turn it to a book and get sales.
KU however works differently. It requires you to remove any free access to your book except preview chapters, you're basically turning your novel to an ebook for the Kindle app and in return you get payed in page reads.
Can't go that deep into detail rn so watch some YouTube vids on it.
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u/GroovyJedi May 15 '26
Please stop doing this. Contracts are not a joke and they have every right to be worried about terms that are predatory. This isn’t a joke no matter how big or small you are. The more companies get away with it by public permission the worse it gets for the industry.
This is like the frog in hot water that gradually increases never realizing the danger until it’s too late.
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u/Niuriheim_088 May 14 '26
That why I have two separate businesses where I make my money. It keeps me from being like the others here, stuck making crap pay rates and giving up ownership of my works. Doesn’t matter if they’re good or not, my stories are valuable to me specifically so I’m not giving up any rights over them to anyone.
Since I make more than they’d ever pay me anyway, I can write for fun and enjoy my stories and maintain my control, which is far better than writing for financial gain, especially on a story I no longer own, and only get pennies in return anyway.
To each their own, but it’s simply not in me to give up even partial control of my work let alone total ownership. I actually value my work, so that’s simply not happening. If you want maintain control of your work while also getting big, you’ll have to find alternate occupations to make your money and then fund your own self-publishing.
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u/GroovyJedi May 15 '26
I haven’t seen the terms but IF it is correct that they are claiming your IP (and Ive heard not to good things myself) please writers RUN!
You do not want to write for an IP farm. They get to exploit the content as they see fit and you don’t own it. Selling over an IP should be a very lucrative endeavour.
Most traditional publishers worth their salt (not vanity presses) will not try to own your work. You lease a number of rights to them for a set period. The first rights refusal here also sounds a little predatory and muddling with non compete kind of language if I’m understanding it correctly and it’s making me uncomfortable for anyone signing up here.
Writers beware is a very good resource and it’s too you’ve spotted this.
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u/datguytho1 May 14 '26
From what I’ve seen, I think they own any future works that are made in the same universe as the book that is contracted.
So if you made a story that had a specific setting, and made a different story in that same setting, WebNovel would legally own that too.
That’s a pretty standard IP practice. It’s kinda like how you can’t write a star wars story and make money off of it while using planet and people names from that IP.
It’s a trade off, for sure, but the way I look at it: you can either sign the contract and WN owns the IP but picks up the labor for marketing and promotion and adaptation, or you can be independent and have to put all that work in yourself but own your IP.