Sorry… It’s you not me.
Get ready for a long ride into the world of serial writers and the behind the scenes toxic relationships we have with pay-to-read apps.
As a serial app reader, you’ve probably seen numerous situations where some of your favorite authors walked away from reading apps. It may seem that many writers who started on these platforms, including myself, were ready to move into the self or trade publishing routes, but that’s not the only motivation.
Yes, it’s true many authors outgrow apps over time and want to move to the larger book market. Who wouldn’t? Even so, it didn’t start out as just moving to the next step. Often, it was from burnout or the disrespect given regarding things like copyright infringement, lack or pay, or shady contract clauses. Simply put, the majority of pay-to-read chapter apps are predatory and treat writers like sweatshop workers. I’m about to give a deep dive into the hardships app writers face on daily basis.
It’s time readers know the truth. It’s not only that you are being overcharged to read a book that could cost $100+ on a random reading app vs paying $4 for the same eBook on Amazon. Although that is a big issue in itself, your favorite reading app authors could be caught in a publishing scam they weren’t expecting while investing in their business.
The reality is that app writers are typically new or struggling authors trying to get a reader base. We are struggling artist wanting to earn some money along the way of being the next Anne Rice or Nora Roberts. Not to say there are not top authors who publish with apps, but there are far less experienced ones than you may expect.
To describe what is it like to write for these companies is easy. It’s basically a MLM pyramid scheme with a fancy book cover. The goal, prey on newbies to hustle sub quality books and a throw a few gems in to make it look legit. The less the authors know about the industry, the better for these companies who have become a festering puss-filled disease in the community. From ignored content that would repulse the average reader, to underaged users, and piracy galore, it’s not the book loving experience most authors expected when the reading app companies popped up several years ago. In fact, it’s a nightmare hidden within the icons of your phones apps stores.
Here are just a few reasons so many authors are standing against these apps now. Fed up, we are raising our voices for better work environments, fair industry standards, and better community ethics.
When We Became a Target. Although there are many qualified writers on serial platforms, the majority are young talent who don’t have a grasp on the basics of grammar and punctuation. Young writers who are still trying to develop their voice are thrown into a business they are not prepared for, and the staff do nothing to educate young writers. Honestly they are not equipped to do so because they too lack experience.
Although the apps prefer English written stories, most of the authors they sign are not fluent speakers. It’s common that these reading apps take advantage of people in third world countries because they know they can pay low wages to fill their libraries. In places like the US, they bank on over saturated markets and authors just wanting to earn a decent wage.
Sadly ghostwriting scams flourish in these circles as well, with less than a penny a word, given to those who don’t know their worth. Recently I came across an offer for $0.006 per word hidden in $10 a chapter pay announcements. Had I been an inexperienced author, I might have thought it was a great offer, but it’s far from it. These rates fall well below the industry pay of $0.03-$0.06 for entry level content writers. This is just an example of the low ball offers we receive from these companies.
Some apps claim that authors will receive up to 50% royalties, but in reality, many are only getting 5% to 10% on average after fees. When comparing that to Amazon’s 30-70% take home pay, it’s clear that many jump ship to self publishing. After taxes, meaningless fees, and contract minimums, the majority of authors barely see profit on these platforms, even if it gets thousands of reads. Top-tier authors who earn substantial income get promoted heavily but only make up roughly 1% to 5% of the author pool.
These top authors have pretty much stayed the same since the start of the apps trend began to boom around 2017. Only a handful of new authors have reached that level of notoriety, especially in the past couple years. It’s damn near impossible now to reach that level of success for a new author because the editors just don’t want to put in the effort to create new stars when the bigger names make them the money. Unlike trade publishers who are always seeking the next big thing, apps are like the boring uncle who is set in his ways and never changes. They haven’t realized in all these years that more stars means more money for all.
How that effects readers? Less successful authors means less reading choices. Especially when you expect to pay for quality. Yet the companies are delivering sup par writing and elementary level skill, primarily because the vetting is not up to large market standards. If you’re lucky to find a gem in the sea of bad writing, it’s rare. The quality books are often buried in the sludge of chaos, and never see the light of day.
Why is that? Because it’s not uncommon for only the first chapters to be reviewed by editors, if at all. For readers those are usually your free chapters at the beginning of a book. This leaves huge opportunities for scammers with no writing ability, or AI written works, to flood the market. Once those paid chapters kick in, expect the quality to drop dramatically, unless you have found a gem of an author who knows their stuff and is serious about their craft.
So how do they even get authors to agree? Spam recruiting.
It’s not secret that being a paying author isn’t easy to come by. Enter the the MLM of the book world…
It begins with spam emails dropped into authors DMs with unsolicited recruitment and promises of making money. Many authors are constantly spammed by so-called acquisition editors (AEs) claiming to represent reading apps and pretended know-how to get you on top. These recruiters send mass social media group post, emails, or DMs; promising big earnings and exposure that soon falls flat. The majority AE/recruiters have no legitimate experience in the publishing industry and are amateur writers themselves. Anyone can sign up to be an AE, with no background, training, or credentials.
Once you are drawn in, you are sent to an in-house editor who are barley more qualified than the AEs. Many don’t speak or write fluent English, lack basic grammar skills, and don’t actually edit anything. In reality, they’re digital content managers with no editorial training. They are hired to control the flow of content and get books trapped into the contracts. Yes, some review books, but there is no experience required since they are only looking for semi-readable content with a list of limited tropes. Not to say there aren’t some good editors in the app community, but it’s not as common as you would think.
Once authors are locked in, it doesn’t take long for the regret to set in. With pie in the sky dreams and stars in your eyes, it’s easy to fall for the chance your book can be read by millions.
When the honeymoon phase finally wears off, many serial writers will try to break away like leaving an abusive ex. But that’s when the hard part sets in…
Predatory, indefinite contracts. Some apps like Dreame, Goodnovel, Webnovel, and the likes require indefinite rights that completely taking away any say authors have over their work. Not only do they take digital rights, but print, gaming, film and other rights are no longer in the authors hands. Often writers aren’t allowed to remove their books at all because they are locked down in the website dashboard. Asking to be let go leads to legal threats or often ghosted completely by the staff. These contracts often lack clear exit clauses, and can trap writers long after they’ve stopped earning, including taking your penname and any future works. If you don’t earn at all, you have no chance to getting your book back to seek other options.
Unrealistic demands. Even when you do try to live up to your contact your are met with more worry. I honestly believe serial writers on these pay-to-read platforms are under more pressure than any other form of novel writing. The demands to produce fast content can leave a writer overwhelmed. Most apps require a word count of at least 100,000 words per book to be placed on any in-app listings, which is the average length of a fantasy novel in the trade market. Some editors even encourage writers to get as high as a million words to keep the book earning once it sees any level of success.
Almost all exclusive contracts demand monthly outputs of 50,000+ words just to stay eligible for bonuses or continued visibility. Keep in mind that 50k is the length of many print novels you could find in any grocery story, and can take some trade authors several months to years to produce. Daily updates, with few days off, are required to get paid. One missed day means the loss of a monthly $200 writing bonus. For some that’s a big loss if you rely on these apps to supplement your income. It’s not uncommon for them to deny payment at any time using various loopholes in the contracts.
Non-exclusive authors get the shaft. Non-exclusive books are rarely promoted, and are often used to pad the library rather than support the author. They may throw the occasional lower than average bonus our way, but $50 for a book isn’t worth the hassle when knowing you won’t earn anything when it comes to royalties. Often apps expect authors to market their own books to drive traffic back to the platform while offering little to no help in return. The platforms do take out fees from all authors royalties to pay for marketing, but only the top authors see any of these advertising perks. This is why you will always see the same 5-10 authors marketed on places like Facebook, or on the suggested list within the app. In many cases, non-exclusive authors are completely overlooked.
No room for creativity or genre diversity here. Most apps only push a narrow set of tropes with outdated trends. Usually billionaire romance and wolf shifters are their bread and butter. The editors push for books in these tropes without variation to the plot points. We’ve all seen it. The grumpy Alpha wants to claim a Luna, treats her poorly, falls in love, wash and repeat. Editors regularly reject fresh, unique ideas and try to force every book to fit into the same outdated mold. If your story doesn’t read like everything else already on the app, it gets dismissed before it even has a chance for readers to decide if it will be a hit. Authors are often pushing for more diversity, but it’s falls on deaf ears.
Low pay and broken promises. When you figure out you’ve been duped, it’s too late. With the promises of big promotion and fast cash, you signed your book away for the chance of a few bonuses that may or may not come. If you’re lucky-very lucky-royalties may be dropped in your account once a month, but don’t hold your breath. It takes a lot to get there and most never do. If the book is completed, don’t ever expect it to be seen by readers after the daily update notices are gone. Those books fall into the dungeon never to be seen again.
When it comes to payments they are often unclear, late, or missing altogether. Authors are left chasing down support teams to figure out when they’ll receive it. Forget receiving any sort of financial breakdown, because they only will show you want they want you to see on the author dashboard, and it’s very vague in most cases.
All this has lead authors at a loss. App writing could be a wonderfully lucrative opportunity, but sadly that’s not what’s happening behind the scenes. There are few avenues to earn in the app side of writing unless you are a best selling, trending author. Not all of us go viral on Tiktok, so we have to find other avenues to support our writing and up until the companies became greedy, this was it. It’s exhausting and downright disheartening that one of the few options are shady app developers posing as publishers.
Unprofessional editing staff. It’s not just the pay and sketchy contracts we deal with. Writing in a high-pressure, low-reward system drains the joy of creativity. Authors in this community walk away just to protect their mental health. Speaking our mind can be met with rude and combative behavior, especially when some of the editing staff has created almost a cult like following. Many authors report being treated disrespectfully by editing teams and bullied on social media in the past. This happens often and some staff has gone as far as black listing authors they think are being too outspoke. Instead of a professional relationship, the tone is often patronizing or overly personal. It’s common that when you find a good editor you stick with them because they are few and far between.
As you can guess when dealing with companies who run primarily by interaction on social media, favoritism runs rampant, and those who don’t play along are often pushed aside or ignored. Top authors have even been known to brag about special treatment too, proving this behavior happens often. How do authors get noticed enough to get seen by readers? It’s a mystery, expect for those who were lucky to get in the clique with their bestie editors. That is in no way the authors fault, but defiantly says a lot about the lack of professionalism in the staff, and the owners leadership when it comes to training.
Sadly, once you sign, it’s almost imposable to get out, even when you can prove you were conned, or the company has breached contract by not living up to their own contract agreements. When you figure it out, you’ve lost a book and your sanity. Live and learn.
In conclusion, the majority of these apps are owned and operated by companies based in China. There are some recently who try vigilantly to hide this fact. That plays a major role in how copyright, creative rights, and author relationships are handled. Many of these platforms operate under completely different standards than the larger trade markets with ethics that are reprehensible. Pirating runs heaving in the apps community and copyright protections are treated with no priority. Even a few of the apps and staff themselves have be caught plagiarizing works as famous as 50 Shades of Grey. Some authors have seen their work copied, reposted, or altered without consent and contract loopholes leave us with our hands tied.
Many of us in the beginning of the app trend came to these platforms with excitement and hope, believing they offered a new way to connect with readers. The reality has been nothing but disappointment and broken dreams.
What can you do?
As readers, your support matters. When you choose where to read, you’re also choosing whether that writer is treated fairly or exploited for fast clicks. Money talks and when readers stand with authors, these companies will be forced to make a change.
Loretta Kendall 