Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

Is it viable to develop web novels in mainland China?The market across the strait has a huge population and many paying readers, but also many creators — even studios writing novels — so competition is fiercer. Utsudo’s advice: update speed matters more than anything. Once your updates and followers reach a threshold, you can apply for an official contract, but make sure you can keep up with update requirements and watch out for clauses that tie up your rights.

My experience posting on mainland platforms

　　Every now and then I hear people bring this up —going across the strait to build your creative career.

　　Honestly, I once posted on the mainland side too, but after a while I felt the environment there didn’t suit me, so it fizzled out.

　　First, I personally couldn’t get used to the interface. Maybe I was used to the reader-friendly interfaces before; suddenly landing on pages crammed with dense layouts was really hard to adjust to, and I’d get dizzy after reading for a short while QQ

　　But that’s probably a personal issue — after all, so many people post there, even sign contracts and build careers, including quite a few authors from Taiwan.

The big pie and competition of the market across the strait

　　The population across the strait is huge. With more people reading, naturally more are willing to pay for books, and many Taiwanese who like web novels read there too. I’m sure many people are very interested in that big pie.

　　But though this pie looks full of potential, whether you can get a bite is another story. There are many creators there — some even form studios to write works — so competition is fiercer. And I hear you might encounter attacks unrelated to writing, which I won’t go into here.

　　For friends who want to build a presence there, based on my shallow observations, info I read online before, and points from chats with editors, here are some suggestions:

Tip 1: update speed matters most

　　First,update speed matters more than anything。

　　because there are so many people and works there, to get exposure early on, you have to update as much as possible,finding ways to always appear on the first page. Of course, if you can sign with the platform so your work stays on the homepage, even better.

　　I heard their approach is one studio writing one work, though some people fight it out alone, which is really impressive. From my perspective, writing is undoubtedly output — squeezing yourself dry every day to churn out word counts, running it for at least N years with almost no rest, is just unimaginable.

　　For me, I’d only consider it if the work were already finished, but the other side prefers super-long epics, which really don’t suit me QQ

Tip 2: pros and cons of signing with the platform

　　Next,sign with the platform if at all possible。

　　Once your updates and followers reach a certain threshold, you can consider applying for a contract with the platform. But a reminder: if you sign, you do get more promotion and a cover boost, but you can no longer update as you please, or you may be penalized — something to keep in mind.

　　Make sure you can keep up with that update pace, or breaking the agreement will be a real hassle — you might even have to pay back what you’ve earned (?

　　Also,after signing, not only are your rights tied up, but many of a creator’s basic rights are too. You need to double-check all of this. The pay is basically not much; it seems to rely mainly on tips, subscriptions and gifts.

　　Here’s a video link a netizen recommended before, aboutthe perspectives and insights of top and mid-tier authors in the web novel ecosystem across the strait— I found it quite interesting; take a look if you’re interested~

　　From the interviews in the video, you can glimpse a few things you might encounter developing there. These experiences are precious, and getting through them is no easy feat. But I believe whatever the ecosystem or aspect, there’s a creative environment that suits you. I hope everyone’s career goes smoothly.

I’ve met so many people who love creating on my livestreams — the experiences everyone shares are endlessly useful XD

FAQ

Further reading (in Chinese)

• Previous: #92 (in Chinese)
• Next: #94 (in Chinese)
• Start from the beginning: #01 — Utsudo’s debut
• Column introduction
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.