What’s a Web Novel and Why Are They Exciting for Writers?
The new publishing method that’s already a multi-billion dollar industry
Since the early days of the internet, writers have been sharing fiction with readers online. Across the web, websites became spaces for writers to post their stories, find an audience, and hone their craft. Suddenly, anyone with an internet connection and a computer could publish their writing for anyone to read, and fan fiction and original fiction abounded.
Today, millions of people are writing and reading fiction online, and the web novel industry is worth billions.
What is a web novel?
A web novel is simply a novel that is published online. It can be free-to-read or pay-to-read. They are usually serialized, which means the author publishes the story in installments — often one chapter at a time and usually released on a schedule. If the story is published on a platform that allows it, writers can interact directly with their audience, and readers can comment on each new addition to the story.
There’s so much innovation going on with online storytelling, and nowadays there many ways to share web novels — and many methods of monetizing them, too.
Websites like Patreon and Substack allow writers to put their work behind a paywall for supporters read in exchange for a monthly subscription fee. Web novel platforms Tapas and Moonquill share ad revenue with writers. If a writer’s application is accepted at Radish or Dreame, these online publishers will pay writers for their work with the potential to earn more in their pay-to-read programs. Wattpad, one of the biggest apps and websites for web fiction, has an invite-only program that pays writers through micropayments from readers. On Amazon, writers can serialize their novel with Kindle Vella, which readers then pay for with tokens.
And then, of course, we have our very own Medium, which isn’t focused on web novels per se, but is ripe with possibilities with its membership-funded model and huge subscriber base.
Web novels are already massive in East Asia. The West is next.
Web novels are extremely popular in China, Japan, and South Korea.
In China, the web novel industry is thriving. Self-publishing websites are visited by 40% of all internet users and the most popular web novelists can make millions. Chinese web fiction site Webnovel is now taking its successful business model to the Western market with English web novels.
In Japan, publishers in the popular light novel industry often source new content from Japanese web novel sites. The light novel versions of these web novels are usually heavily edited, which encourages readers of the original work to buy the new release.
In South Korea, the domestic web novel industry is worth over 400 million USD and the market grew by 4000% between 2013 and 2019. In 2021, South Korean tech giant Kakao purchased Radish and Tapas for a combined $950 million, with its competitor Naver acquiring Wattpad for an estimated $600 million.
In each of these countries, filmmakers and video game developers will buy the rights to popular web novels and adapt them into films or games. It’s safe to say that the web novel industry is a big deal in the East.
But it’s not as though web novels haven’t already achieved incredible success in the Western world, too — we have the success stories to prove it.
A web novel can get a huge following and become very lucrative.
The Martian was the 10th highest-grossing movie of 2015… but did you know it was originally a web novel?
After experiencing poor luck with literary agents in the past, California-based writer Andy Weir decided to publish his entire novel in installments on his personal blog in 2011. A small cult following sprang up and his readers encouraged him to list it on Amazon as an eBook, where it rocketed to the top of the Sci-Fi best-seller list. The book was then picked up by Random House and later scored film deal, with both deals earning Weir more than six figures.
That’s not the only story like this.
In 2011, a fifteen year old Welsh teenager named Beth Reekles was tired of reading werewolf and vampire stories on Wattpad. She decided she would publish her own web novel— a story about ordinary teenagers called The Kissing Booth. The story quickly earned a massive following on Wattpad. Eventually, this caught the attention of Penguin Random House and led to a three book contract. Reekles’s series has since been adapted into three films by Netflix.
Both of these success stories are remarkable, and both end with books being traditionally published and even adapted into films. They also show that Western publishers and filmmakers, too, are watching cyberspace for good stories and invested audiences.
But although you might dream about having your story turned into a movie one day or finding it at your local bookstore, keep in mind that you don’t have to achieve massive popularity to be a successful web novelist.
A web novel can get a small following and still be very lucrative.
We’re now in the age of the digital streaming giants and we’re seeing more and more niche content in television and film. These platforms can reach anyone, anywhere. Because this content is digital, it is possible— and desirable — to host a vast library of content for patrons all over the world. In the literary world, however, traditional publishers are limited by their ability to produce and market only so many books per year.
The digital world opens a million possibilities for all kinds of stories and audiences because writers are no longer restricted by what a publisher thinks it can sell. Catering to a small niche market can pay very well, if you can find your audience and you’re using the right monetization strategy.
Writers were dismayed when The New York Times reported that 98% of traditionally published books sell fewer than 5,000 copies. A few thousand readers isn’t much to get excited about in terms of traditional publishing success, but if those same readers are subscribed to a monthly subscription service like Patreon or Substack? You’ve got a full-time career on your hands.
And the ability to tell the unique stories that actually interest you, and connect with readers who share your passion? That’s priceless.
Web novels offer complete creative control.
Aside from the content restrictions and requirements of the platform you choose to publish on, you’re in charge of your web novel. It’s the story you want to tell, in the way you want to tell it.
This doesn’t mean you can’t still have beta readers or an editor if you choose. However, with a typical publisher, you’re signing away some of the control over your work, especially in terms of how the book is marketed and what it looks like.
In traditional publishing, there are also guidelines that limit word count for various genres and your novel will likely be expected to follow them. Did you know that Young Adult novels are generally limited to 100k words, and Adult Fiction at 120k words? With a web novel, however, word count is completely irrelevant.
The only thing that might have influence on your work is the one person that really matters: the reader.
Web novels can make writing fiction for a living a possibility for many people.
Like how YouTube can give anyone their own television channel, web novels can give any author a spot on someone’s virtual bookshelf. With many different ways to monetize, the right story paired with the right audience can reap impressive profits.
Ten years ago, hardly anyone thought of being YouTuber as a viable career path, but nowadays, that’s absolutely the case. In a few years, chances are good that web novelist will be just as viable and desirable. That’s already the reality in several parts of the world, and this industry is getting ready to become a major player in publishing on a global scale.
And that’s really exciting for writers.
