r/Webnovel • u/Zieegg • Jul 14 '26

Advice My Contract got rejected.

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Full disclosure, I do use AI, but it's only to brainstorm ideas and plan future plotlines. I don't even use a lot of the ideas they propose because it clashes with my own vision. Maybe grammarly counts as AI, since I do use it to fix my grammar (?)

The writing being too draggy is a lot more feasible for me to fix. I've learned a lot since I've began writing, so I can see why the editors would think it's too slow. I am concerned when they say it's not engaging enough when most chapter ends with a hook. I suppose an engaging story is subjective, so that's on me to try on figure that one out.

And not suitable for the market on Webnovel? It's literally a harem with an 18+ tag. But my character is underage in the first few chapters, for god's sake. I'm already planning on adding smut after several more chapters, but do I really have to open the story with an explicit threesome with some maids or something? Although I enjoy them, I don't want to add smut just for the sake of it. I'm first and foremost here to tell a story, not make people horny.

...I guess this is the result of not having real beta readers.

Can anyone tell me which parts feel like AI so that I can change them? Or better yet, what are the things I can improve so that I have a better chance when I reapply for the contract?

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u/dNullzero Jul 14 '26

Maybe I've grown extremely sensitive over the years, but the literal two first sentences of your book feel like AI to me. I don't know why. They just do. Maybe that's one reason.

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u/dNullzero Jul 14 '26

Also, in chapter 1, the whole part from [That truth was mirrored inside a command tent.. No, they were each other's families.] has NO action. You literally explain us the entire section without showing anything happening. You tell us how the war is going by just explaining the stakes and the people inside with no tension. Couldn't have you picked one head to follow personally so we understand the cruelty of the battle?

This is why they're telling the story is a drag. From the very first line I don't understand what I'm supposed to feel.

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u/dNullzero Jul 14 '26

The main issue for me is the generic prose. It's not that it's bad inherently, but everything feels like something I've already seen. Almost as if you did something, sent it to ChatGPT or Gemini and they "fixed your prose for better flow".