My Experience With Payments

thepolarwife Translation, Webnovel Translation

No names named. I felt like I had to get this out there and no one really follows this blog anyway.

So here goes…

I had a deal with this small publisher that I would translate a serialised online novel. Projects like these are usually four million words and up, so they are very long term projects that will take years to see to completion. What the publisher promised in the beginning (late 2017) was that they would secure the publishing licence for the novel, and I would translate six chapters a week for the platform (these are free for the readers to read) for a cut of the advertisement revenue from views. One chapter is about 3,300 source words on average.

The contract only specified that I would receive 60 cents (USD) per 1,000 views in advertisement revenue.

At the time of our agreement, I could post additional chapters beyond the six I translate for the site for non-paying readers on other platforms such as Patreon, and get 100% of the earnings from subscribers on that platform.

In other words, I post six chapters a week on the publisher’s website for a cut of the ad revenue, and get to keep 100% of the earnings from the “crowdfunded” chapters I post on Patreon. These additional chapters are called “advance chapters” and readers who subscribe get to read ahead of what’s available for free.

Payment: Ad-revenue share (60 cents per 1,000 views) + 100% of crowdfunded earnings. Paid after 60 days from the time the publisher gets paid by the ad people.

For comparison, let’s assume 500,000 monthly views and $2,000 gross from crowdsourced earnings.

Views earnings: 500 X 0.6 = $300

Crowdsourced earnings: $2,000

TOTAL: $2,300 monthly

Fast forward a few months later in 2018, the publisher informed me that the advance chapters have to be hosted on their platform, and that the billing system for this would also be handled by their platform. 30% of the earnings from the advance chapters were taken as payment for the Chinese publisher’s share of profits. Transaction fees to be absorbed by the translator.

Payment: Ad-revenue share (60 cents per 1,000 views) + 70% of crowdfunded earnings – transaction fees. Paid after 60 days from the end of the month.

For comparison, let’s assume 500,000 monthly views and $2,000 gross from crowdsourced earnings.

Views earnings: 500 X 0.6 = $300

Crowdsourced earnings: $2,000 X 0.7 = $1,400

TOTAL: $1,700 monthly

Not long after, the publisher launched a ‘site credits’ system which would allow readers to read ad-free. The reader can purchase monthly VIP status at $5, $10, $20, and so on. The publisher told translators that this VIP system will help boost sales in the long run as it would encourage readers to subscribe at higher-priced tiers.

If readers bought the $5 VIP package, they would also get $5 in credits which could be used like regular cash to purchase chapters from a translator’s advance chapter subscription tiers. For example, if a translator had an advance chapter tier of $10, allowing the reader to read ahead by three chapters, the readers who purchased the $5 VIP subscription can use a corresponding $5 credit on this tier, so the translator would only get $10 – $5 = $5. This is then subject to the percentage shares, plus the transaction fees. Thus, the ones who have to bear the entire financial burden of the site credits were the translators and not the site, and the site continued to take their entire cut from the net profits.

Additionally, the credits are applied according to the time of renewal of the current subscriptions. This effectively means that credit allocation is a Russian roulette for the translators.

This means:

If a reader is subscribed to Translator A at a $5 tier, Translator B at $10 and Translator C at $10, then purchases the $20 VIP subscription and gets $20 in credits…

The publisher gets $20.

$20 credits – $5 tier = $15 credits

Translator A gets $0.

$15 credits – $10 tier = $5 credits

Translator B gets $0.

$5 credits – $10 tier = $5 real money spent on tier.

Translator C gets $5. This is then subject to the Chinese publisher’s 30% profit share cut.

$5 x 0.7 = $3.50

The translator gets $3.50, and this will be subject to transaction fees.

If Translator C’s tier was the first to be renewed, the credits would apply to Translator C first, then hit either Translator A or B, whoever’s up next.

Payment:  Ad-revenue share (60 cents per 1,000 views) + 70% of crowdfunded earnings after the deduction of credits. Oh, and after transaction fees, of course.

For comparison, let’s assume 500,000 monthly views and $2,000 gross from crowdsourced earnings.

Views earnings: 500 X 0.6 = $300

Deduction of roughly 20% in site credits: $2,000 X 0.8 = $1,600

70% of crowdsourced earnings: $1,600 X 0.7 = $1,120

TOTAL: $1,420 monthly

A few months later, the publisher started promising readers things like faster releases and “encouraged” all translators to increase their chapter outputs to give the readers 14 chapters a week for free. Advance chapters, and hence, earnings, were up to the speed the translator could manage to maintain. The focus moved from quality to quantity since the readers were not particularly fussy about standards and were, in general, more likely to support a translator who churned out more content than someone who didn’t. Earnings also varied depending on the plot, what the readers felt like supporting, the way you priced your chapter tiers, and a myriad of factors. Unfortunately, quantity is seen as a sign of quality and skill by the publisher, and work of barely acceptable quality is highly encouraged if it means the translator can produce more content. I like to compare this sort of work to trying to make it big as a Youtuber, only your content is not really within your control. The content is dependent on the author you translate.

In 2019, the publisher started claiming that revenue was bad, that they needed more funds to gain more readership, so they were going to take a cut of the earnings too. The publisher took, and still takes, 20%.

Payment: Ad-revenue share (60 cents per 1,000 views) + 50% of crowdfunded earnings after the deduction of credits. The publisher promised payment after five business days from the month’s end but it was often delayed to the 20th. The publisher continued to be late and irregular with payments. They only paid on time once in a blue moon.

To make it clearer:

A reader spends $10 on VIP credits.

Translator has an advance chapter tier of $20 in value.

$10 credit is applied to the $20 tier, effectively meaning that the reader is paying only $10 for it.

30% of the $10 goes to the Chinese publisher, leaving $7.

20% of the $10 goes to the publisher, leaving $5.

The translator gets $5 from this $20 purchase.

The Chinese publisher gets $3.

The publisher gets $12.

(This does not take into account the transaction fees of the micro-transfers.)

If a reader spends $10 on VIP credits and this credit is applied to the advance chapter tier of $10:

The translator gets $0.

The Chinese publisher gets $0.

The publisher gets $10.

For comparison, let’s assume 500,000 monthly views and $2,000 gross from crowdsourced earnings.

Views earnings: 500 X 0.6 = $300

Deduction of roughly 20% in site credits: $2,000 X 0.8 = $1,600

50% of crowdsourced earnings: $1,600 X 0.5 = $800

TOTAL: $1,100 monthly

In 2019, the publisher said that the translators would have to help bear the burden of losses to advertisement revenue. The loss was due to the publisher’s oversight in making sure that certain guidelines had to be followed, and the site was added to advertising blacklists because of inappropriate content. The publisher has all the data on advertisement revenue and only discloses the monthly per-1,000 views amount when pressed to answer.

Payment: Ad-revenue reduced to 50% of what the earnings were for that month + 50% of crowdfunded earnings after the deduction of credits. Delayed payments as always.

Not long after, the publisher launched the mobile phone app version of the platform. This led to a reduction in views on the site and also chipped away at ad-revenue. Queries of what the ad-rev rate was supposed to have been for the month was answered with a curt “the same as last month” or pretty much “10 cents”.

Payment: 10 cents per 1,000 views + 50% of crowdfunded earnings after the deduction of credits.

Note: The initial contract stated that the payment for ad-revenue share was 60 cents per 1,000 views. This is in the contract.

For comparison, let’s assume 500,000 monthly views and $2,000 gross from crowdsourced earnings.

Views earnings: 500 X 0.1 = $50

Deduction of roughly 20% in site credits: $2,000 X 0.8 = $1,600

50% of crowdsourced earnings: $1,600 X 0.5 = $800

TOTAL: $850 monthly

The publisher also introduced another credit system for the novels which have been completely translated and put behind a paywall. The system is structured in such a way that it made much more sense for the reader to purchase VIP credits than to unlock individual chapters with the credits. This boosted sales for the publisher’s VIP subscription system and reduced the earnings of the translators.

This could now mean that the site credits eat even more of the translator’s profit pie, especially for the novels which are not popular. It will be fair to assume a (slightly exaggerated) 40% cut due to site credits. This will mean:

Views earnings: 500 X 0.1 = $50

Deduction of roughly 40% in site credits: $2,000 X 0.6 = $1,200

50% of crowdsourced earnings: $1,200 X 0.5 = $600

TOTAL: $650 monthly

In 2020, I couldn’t take it anymore and quit. I started focusing my efforts on commercial translation and I’m specializing in game translation now. I am also looking to move to working with print publishers and I’m studying towards a Master’s degree in Translation.

This has been a great learning experience, for sure. Think twice about who you want to work with.

Things for Newbie Webnovel Translators to Consider

thepolarwife Webnovel Translation

Let’s first define a newbie. This would be someone unaware of how the webnovel scene works, in general, and those who have no real idea of what he or she wants to do. Someone who has not translated very many chapters of a novel.

A common webnovel translator newbie profile is of a student who is bilingual in Chinese and English, usually just looking for some small side-job which can be done “at leisure” or perhaps for leisure, for some way to get a following.

So what pitfalls could these newbies encounter when they go out into the big bad world of webnovel translations?

The very first steps a newbie translator would have to take are:

  • Choosing a novel.
  • Obtaining the licence.
  • The actual translation.

 

When choosing a novel, the newbie would have to be careful to pick a series from a publisher who can be contactable and supportive of the work. It would be best to approach platforms with existing partnerships with publishers, so these platforms can negotiate the license of the novel on your behalf. At this point, one should realise that this is not going to be some casual affair because businesses are being involved now. Money is very usually paid upfront for these licenses, and the cost goes up into the thousands and thousands.

Business aside, the novel picked should also appeal enough to the translator working on it, since it will likely be a long-term project which could take years to complete. It is highly recommended to read the entire novel to be absolutely sure that the author does not introduce elements of the story which may prove disturbing later in the story. There have been several instances of translators who start a novel but find themselves unable to continue due to the jarring content which appears in the story later. My personal experience with this was that I read the first 200 chapters of the novel which has a total of 2,600+ chapters, and things seemed fine. What I should have done was to read the entire thing to be absolutely sure that the novel did not contain elements which were highly objectionable to myself.

Then there are those who choose to go down the route of not seeking licenses. These would be the translators who either don’t care, or are just entirely clueless about copyright issues. The issue with translations is that while the translator owns the copyright of the translation itself, as a form of derivative work, the translator has no right to publish to public domain without the permission of the original copyright holder. 

With all of that sorted, let’s now have a look at the translation itself. Now, remember, this newbie would most likely be a student with no formal linguistic training. Being a native speaker of anything also does not guarantee that the texts he/she produces is without glaring grammatical errors. A newbie webnovel translator would also be likely to fall into the literal translation trap, translating phrases and lines word-for-word, and sticking fairly closely to the original Chinese syntax. One should aim for an end product which reads smoothly, and not a clunky mess of, well… mess.

Try to be open to criticism of quality, and learn, learn, learn. Also, I strongly recommend that webnovel translators keep a glossary of terms so that the terminology would be consistent throughout the novel. The glossary could also serve as a form of goodwill towards the publishing platform for the continuation of the novel by another translator should you give it up.

Another thing I would like to highlight is the industry’s mad demand for speed speed speed. Keep that in mind if you want to make money from translating webnovels. The focus is (sadly) on the speed of the releases and good quality comes as something the readers take for granted in general. Of course, what you actually make would depend on the contract you’ve secured with the publishing platform you’ve formed a partnership with.

And when he/she has it sorted out, next comes:

  • Gaining an audience.
  • Commitment to schedule.
  • Criticism.

Quite a few newbies don’t put much effort into promoting their novels beyond the first steps of securing the licenses and the appropriate publishing platform. It is a mistake to assume that the publishing platform will do the advertising for you. 

Go! Join the various communities on discussion forums and try to promote the heck out of your novel. Operate on the assumption that nobody else will do it for you. Reader interaction via social media is one of the ways in which a webnovel translator can connect with his/her readers, and make themselves seen as fellow humans to be cared for, rather than an online pseudonym with no personality.

What happens next? Thousands, hundreds of thousands of eyes would be now reading your translation, and the owners of these eyes would want to know when to look again for the next chapter. Keep to a release schedule and the consistency, if not the quality of your translations, would draw loyal followers. This is because they will come to trust that you would deliver as promised and people love people who keep their promises. In most cases, anyway.

Last but not least, let’s touch upon criticism. In this internet age, the mask of anonymity allows for a lot of things to be said to others and of others. While some criticism may be constructive, there are also comments which could hurt. The number of people posting negative comments can, and most likely will, outnumber the positive ones and make you feel like crap. Be prepared to undergo scrutiny and hazing, or just don’t read the comments for your own mental well-being. Always keep in mind that these strangers on the internet are more concerned about their own interests than yours. Most of the people who complain are the ones who read for free, and feel entitled for some reason to ask for things from you. Of course, if the problem is the quality of the translation itself… Please, do study and try to improve if you do care about translating.

 

All in all, getting started in the industry may seem simple, but there is a lot going on in the background that one has to consider. It is not a hobby anymore when money comes into play. You will be providing a service, and the onus is on you to provide this service no matter how well or how badly you are compensated for this.

The Long Story (Why I am not translating TranXending Vision anymore)

thepolarwife News

Hello~

First of all, thank you for reading. It has been two years since I started translating TranXending Vision and there have been several ups and downs with this novel, especially in terms of release speed. After all this time, I find it best if I relinquish it to someone who will be able to complete it and stay sane.

The long-time readers and frequent readers of the Chinese webnovel market know how it is with these novels. There is certain content which gives insight into the mindset or culture, and it does not entirely agree with Western mindsets. I have come across too many snippets of these in my years of translating this novel. The plot is also largely dependent on the wishes of the author, and it is not truly up to me to edit the story as I see fit. All I can say without spoiling the plot is that there is a certain development in the future which I strongly object to and cannot bring myself to relay to readers in English. It is sometimes so bad that I get this feeling of dread when I click on the document folder containing the chapters I have to translate or edit.

The ‘market demand’ for quick releases of 12 to 14 chapters a week is also too much for me to meet, even with helpers. My children are in daycare three days a week, which leaves me just these three days to work on the novel. That’s 24 hours for 12 chapters. Even if I do take two hours a chapter, it is not entirely feasible to expect that I will be able to begin and end exactly in two hours and have it all translated and edited in this time frame. Even with helpers, I have to edit, fill in the paragraphs which were missed and check for translation errors. The 24 hours for 12 chapters is a best-case-scenario too. Daycares are a hotbed for viruses, and one sick child can infect the others very quickly. The infected child comes home, and… you guessed it. Parents get sick too. Read on for a recent example…

Thursday night to Friday, early morn

Everything seemed normal in the afternoon. The children were a little fussy with food but it happens with children so I think nothing of it. My daughter went to sleep first, then I try to make my bouncing boy settle down and go to sleep.

Midnight:

Wailing came from our bedroom, where my daughter was. I groped about in the dark to locate her on the bed to pat her back and soothe her. I found her but my hands come away slimy, and there was a smell. I switched the lights on to find that she had vomited all over herself, the bed sheets and the pillow. We get her clean; wipe her body, change her clothes and change the sheets on the bed. We moved her to my son’s room and try to get them to sleep again. My son stayed awake and kept talking to his sister. He let her cuddle his toy goat and they settled into sleepy silence.

One in the morning:

Loud crying from my daughter. She’d vomited again, and it was all over her pyjamas, the bed sheets and the poor toy goat. My son made a face of horror and dismay as he exclaimed ‘my goat!’ There was vomit in her hair, so I decide to give my daughter a bath to clean her properly while my husband went about changing the sheets again. After she was all cleaned up, my husband took her to our bedroom to settle her down. I stayed with my son and sang him songs to help him go to sleep.

Three-thirty in the morning:

I woke up to loud crying and a smell. My son had vomited. I tried to call my husband for help but he and my daughter were fast asleep from exhaustion. I cleaned my son up, and changed the bed sheets. He was very tired, so he lay down and promptly fell asleep after I got him clean.

Four in the morning:

Crying again. My son vomited for the second time. I switched the lights on to see him gush a little more vomit out as he lay miserably on his side. I stripped the bed of the soiled sheets, and cleaned him up. I moved him to the other mattress with clean sheets (where I was sleeping next to him) and he fell asleep.

Four-thirty in the morning:

The clean boy was no more. Vomit dribbled down his front as he sat up, crying. I stripped the mattress of its sheets and cleaned him up. We have no more clean bed sheets. I moved him to the sofa, and put a mattress protector sheet under his head. He fell asleep as I covered him up with a blanket.

Five in the morning:

Tired crying from my son, again. No more clean pillows for him. The mattress protector sheet saved the sofa from damage. I cleaned my son up yet again, but there were no more anti-leak sheets which I could put under his head. I lay a towel under his head and hope for the best.

Five-thirty in the morning:

Exhausted crying, which I swear must be me. No, it was my son. More vomit. The towel had tried its best to save the sofa. I clean my son up and put another towel under his head. I finally get to sleep.

Friday

Friday was supposed to be one of the days I can leave the children in daycare and get to work on the novel, but this was not going to happen, obviously. The children were sick and not allowed to be put in daycare in case they infect the other children. I woke up at 10 am. My husband said he would try to help out for a bit, but he had to go to work at 12 pm because there were important projects he had to complete. I was alone with two sick children till 8 pm (husband normally comes home at 6pm), trying to feed them, changing their nappies… There was a lot of diarrhorea. The vomit phase was over, and now it was time for their waste to come out the other end. Also, laundry. So much laundry.

Saturday, IKEA

The children seemed quite okay, so we decided to take them to IKEA to get a new wardrobe for my daughter (finally). We arrive there with no major incidents. I went for lunch first because my son had fallen asleep in the car, and my husband decided to wait with for him to wake up. Husband and son came to meet me in the middle of my meal. I was close to the end of my meal when my daughter started crying. I checked her nappy – diarrhoea. I grab the baby bag and then my son says he pooped too, so he followed me to the baby changing room. I figured it would be quick, so I took just the baby bag, and not my handbag or my phone. My husband stayed at the table to finish his lunch.
I got to the baby changing room and find out that… horror of horrors, the diarrhoea had blasted out of her nappy, UPWARDS. She had watery shit all the way up to her shoulder blades. I tried to clean her up as best as I could on my own. Meanwhile, my son was exclaiming ‘Big poopoo! I poopoo also!’ and trying to tiptoe to see more of the damage on the baby changing table. I had no phone on me, so in desperation, I tell my son to ‘go to Daddy and say that Mummy needs help’. My son says okay, and runs off. All throughout trying to get my daughter clean, a family is outside the baby changing room with two children of their own waiting their turn. They knock and they knock but I was not done. This was a race against the clock. I could feel the pressure from my wailing daughter, and those knocks… knocking… knocking… the smell of diarrhoea filling my nostrils…

I unlocked the door and let them see that I was busy. The mother of the family came to ask how long more I was going to take, and I hold my daughter up to show her what sort of mess I was dealing with. The shit going all the way up to my daughter’s shoulder blades convinced them to stop knocking, and I didn’t hear from them again.

A short while after the family left me alone, my husband came knocking. He’d finished his lunch but he looked ready to lose it when the smell hit him. My son still has poop in his pampers. Apparently, dear son had not relayed the message of ‘help’ but only told my husband that ‘Mummy say I come to Daddy’. My husband helped hold our daughter steady as I clean her up, and I put her soiled inner-layer clothing and trousers in a plastic bag. She had just her outer-layer tunic and nappy left to wear for the trip. After I was done, I cleaned up my son’s poopoo. His poopoo looked normal compared to her diarrhoea. After an eventful start, we got to the rest of IKEA and pick up some stuff in addition to the wardrobe we came for.

When my husband was done loading the wardrobe into the car, we found that it would be impossible to have the wardrobe and two car seats in the back. I would have to take public transport back, and take one child with me. I couldn’t take my daughter since she was dressed poorly for 13 deg C, so I took my son with me on the trip home. Bus to train, to train. The trip took us almost two hours because I had to stop for groceries on the way back. My son pooped again while we were waiting for the final train back home, and I had to stay with him with the smell of poop filling my nostrils yet again. I had foolishly left the baby bag with the clean nappies behind in the car because I had been rushing to the bus stop to make it for the bus. I get home, cook, give the babies a bath, and we settle down to sleep for the night.

Sunday

I woke up feeling… not so good. The first wave hit within 30 seconds of me gaining consciousness. I had 15 bouts of diarrhoea in three hours. I was dizzy, and there is this roiling in my stomach which surged upwards once in a while. I felt like vomiting, but I didn’t. There was no way I could stay upright, so I lay in bad for most of the day, only sprinting up to use the toilet. I feel 40 times to be a close estimate of how many times I had to go to the toilet. Ring of fiery pain. A wish to be dead to this suffering. Thankfully, my husband was there to pick up the slack and help me keep the children busy. They seemed fine; no more vomiting. Some squishy poop, but not liquid like mine.

Monday (today)

I woke up feeling fine, but my husband was on the sofa. He’d woken up at five in the morning, and once more to vomit. I got the children changed and dropped them off at daycare since they did not seem to be in too bad a state. As I’m writing this, my husband had just received a call from the daycare at 1 pm, asking for us to pick my daughter up from daycare at 2.30 pm because she has diarrhoea.

 

So, in general, this sort of sickness-bug hits us every month or so. This means the so-called 24 hours I get to translate is lessened to 16 or less, perhaps only 8? There was a time when my daughter had to stay home for an entire week because she had fevers on and off. I just can’t release so many chapters when the above example happens.

In addition, I have enrolled in a Masters studies course which will commence next year, in February 2020. The need to study for this course will mean that I won’t have time to be translating this webnovel.

I have decided that I will translate till chapter 800 of TranXending Vision, and leave the project to someone else who will have the time, energy, and tolerance to translate it.

Thank you to all of the readers who have stuck with me thus far, and I wish you a pleasant reading journey, with or without me.

Levels of translation remuneration in the Chinese webnovel scene.

thepolarwife Webnovel Translation

The lines between fan, amateur and professional translation have become blurred. This is very much so in what has now become the webnovel industry.

First, we had fan translations. People with no real background in translation did this as a hobby, to keep language skills sharp, perhaps, or to practice a new language. The translator released chapters as and when time allowed, and expected no payment. The quality of their work range from barely comprehensible to gold. These translations have not been licensed and are liable for legal action.

The next level up, would be amateur translators. I feel this group has ‘come into being’ with the rise of commercialisation of what used to be a hobby, and this is where the Chinese webnovel scene is at right now. These translators expect monetary compensation for their efforts, and the quality of their work is much the same as a fan translator’s.

This is where the line is blurred between amateur and professional translation. Here, because money is involved, the reader now has expectations of the translator. While the quality produced would be much the same as it is with fan translation, the speed at which the translations are published is to some extent, not up to the translator to decide. The translator is obligated to conform to the rules imposed by the publisher, and these rules can keep changing.

As of this time in writing, the ‘industry ideal’ is to have 14 chapters a week published. The current model is also such that these 14 chapters are published for free, with most of the profit coming from those willing to pay to read ahead in the form of advance chapters.

Compensation for the translator comes in the form of:

  1. a flat-rate per-chapter basis.
  2. a profit share of the novel’s advertisement revenue on the publishing platform, with supplementary revenue generated by people who pay to read ahead of the ‘free’ releases (sponsors). This supplementary amount is untouched by the publisher. This model mostly applies to smaller publishers who just want their name out there.
  3. a profit share of what sponsors pay towards the novel, where the publisher gets a cut of the profit.

In the case of the flat-rate payment model, there is a guarantee. You do this amount of work, and you get this amount of money.

The profit share models, on the other hand, are largely dependent on various factors which may be beyond the translator’s control, such as the highs and lows in the story where you may gain or lose a reader’s interest. Sponsors can also cancel their support at any time due to a variety of reasons. There has to be a high level of engagement to keep the sponsors coming, or the profit suffers.

Note that this is all the translator’s job, and the publishers mostly just take a cut of the profit simply because they own the right of publishing. A similar example of how the profit share percentages can be split is shown on this website, though this platform deals in complete books instead of serialised novels:

https://www.babelcube.com/faq/revenue-share

(The Chinese webnovel scene most closely resembles the first pillar in the diagram, and can be even lower.)

Now imagine if the translator is getting 2,000USD a month in sponsorship money before the profit share cuts are implemented. The translator would also be expected to produce an average of two chapters a day. Let’s assume each chapter has 3,000 source words, and there is an average of 30 days in a month, which brings the total to 180,000 words a month for USD 1,100.  This means the person is working for $0.006 a word and is severely dependent on the kindness of sponsors to even get this amount of money.

On the bright side, if, IF the hard work pays off and the translator accumulates enough of a fan base, his or her efforts would be rewarded handsomely. This struggle to be successful can be compared to how people aspire to make it big on Youtube. Let’s assume that a wildly successful translator makes USD 10,000 a month before the profit cuts, and is working on producing the same amount of 180,000 words a month. After the profit cuts are implemented, this comes to a total of USD 5,500. That would mean that this person is working for $0.03 a word.

The reality of the market, however, is such that only a small percentage is wildly successful and that most are in the USD1,100 take-home range.

Last but not least are the true professionals. These individuals have spent years honing their craft, studying languages and attaining certifications which affirm their skills as linguists. The professional translator focuses on specialising within certain industry fields, and may also act as consultants to companies seeking to bring their brand into a foreign market. These translators are part of professional associations, uphold standards of the industry, and generally possess a high level of quality.

A professional translator is largely out of the reach, and budget, of the Chinese webnovel scene, with rates which start in the margin of $0.10 a word. If this rate were to be applied to a webnovel, the publisher would have to cough out $18,000 a month, all on their own dime, for just one novel. This makes no business sense to them, and they would much prefer to fish in the fan/amateur market.

Before you take a dive into the Chinese webnovel industry, please, please, please, also do keep in mind that it is NOT the best way to get rich, and your success will be dependent on various factors outside of your control. Which factors? Well… I’ll write about them sometime.

News

thepolarwife News

Hello Dear Readers,

I received an E-mail from a concerned reader and I think I’ll just respond here in case anyone else has the same question.

Due to the recent and ongoing issues with Qidian, I may have to drop Godly Hunter. I have not received any ‘cease and desist’ messages or E-mails from them so I’ll just keep going till they ask me to stop. My E-mail contact is available and they should contact me or moonbunnycafe if they are concerned and let me know so I can respond. 

However, it’s not exactly a comfortable position to be operating under worry that I’ll be threatened with a lawsuit one of these days, so I’m going to start another long-term project with another platform in October. This other platform has an agreement with the publisher so the novel is ‘safe’ to work on.

The Godly Hunter series would, of course, not be a priority and from October onwards the release of chapters will be when I have extra time to do something about it and if there is no ‘ban’ on making my translations public.

The current plan is to stock up on chapters for my new project and slow Godly Hunter releases to at least one chapter a week. Maybe if I keep a low profile I can slip through their net…?

Sigh… All this drama messing up the peaceful old community…