8 ms·

The more successful "self published" authors writing web novels make significant money from patreon (>$20k/month); this relies on copyright protection (but inte

The more successful "self published" authors writing web novels make significant money from patreon (>$20k/month); this relies on copyright protection (but interestingly, just a few months would be sufficient for that business model).

randysalami 15d ago
This is way too much
armchairhacker 15d ago
My understanding is that most of these web novels are free, and patreon grants early access at best, which is enforced by trust anyways (the creator doesn’t have the time or resources to track and sue someone posting the early access on a pirate site, when it will be public a week or month later, but the people who pay to get something a week or month early mostly aren’t the type who would pirate even if it was easy).
wizzwizz4 15d ago
In what way does that business model rely on copyright protection? "Get the next chapter early" requires a source of chapters, so all you need is for paying clients to not be motivated to redistribute the chapters in an organised way, or would-be paying clients to not be motivated to use such organised "slightly more chapters of that webnovel you follow" services instead. Humans aren't amoral ideal rational economic actors. The authors I'm aware of making >$20k don't do any significant gating. That practice is only really common with people republishing through Amazon (which probably demands it).
- myrmidon 15d ago
  > so all you need is for paying clients to not be motivated to redistribute the chapters in an organised way This is exactly what copyright is. I agree that you could work around this in a world without copyright (e.g. by watermarking content and blacklisting), but it would be difficult and make the whole profession less viable. Mass distribution and payment becoming accessible/low overhead was an extremely helpful development for authors in my view, and removing copyright would have the opposite effect (but cutting it down even to several years would change surprisingly little).
  - wizzwizz4 14d ago
    Not all motivation is externally compelled: there is such a thing as intrinsic motivation. Humans aren't amoral ideal rational economic actors. I do agree, though, that a few years' copyright provides most of the benefits of copyright, while removing most of the downsides (except stuff like clear abuses of anti-circumvention laws, which will happen for as long as there is a system that enables it).

randysalami 15d ago

This is way too much

armchairhacker 15d ago

My understanding is that most of these web novels are free, and patreon grants early access at best, which is enforced by trust anyways (the creator doesn’t have the time or resources to track and sue someone posting the early access on a pirate site, when it will be public a week or month later, but the people who pay to get something a week or month early mostly aren’t the type who would pirate even if it was easy).

wizzwizz4 15d ago

In what way does that business model rely on copyright protection? "Get the next chapter early" requires a source of chapters, so all you need is for paying clients to not be motivated to redistribute the chapters in an organised way, or would-be paying clients to not be motivated to use such organised "slightly more chapters of that webnovel you follow" services instead. Humans aren't amoral ideal rational economic actors. The authors I'm aware of making >$20k don't do any significant gating. That practice is only really common with people republishing through Amazon (which probably demands it).

myrmidon 15d ago
> so all you need is for paying clients to not be motivated to redistribute the chapters in an organised way This is exactly what copyright is. I agree that you could work around this in a world without copyright (e.g. by watermarking content and blacklisting), but it would be difficult and make the whole profession less viable. Mass distribution and payment becoming accessible/low overhead was an extremely helpful development for authors in my view, and removing copyright would have the opposite effect (but cutting it down even to several years would change surprisingly little).
- wizzwizz4 14d ago
  Not all motivation is externally compelled: there is such a thing as intrinsic motivation. Humans aren't amoral ideal rational economic actors. I do agree, though, that a few years' copyright provides most of the benefits of copyright, while removing most of the downsides (except stuff like clear abuses of anti-circumvention laws, which will happen for as long as there is a system that enables it).