Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade
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Considering how many licensed series are axed, this request is for a publishing label to rescue the series by way of licensing their original web novels. I say J-Novel spade because it would be like digging them up from their grave.
This would apply to series like:
- Gear Drive - Axed after one volume due to the illustrator getting sick. The Web Novel has plenty of content.
- There Was No Secret Evil-Fighting Organization (srsly?!), So I Made One MYSELF! - Axed after two volumes while the Web Novel completes at seven.
- Deathbound Duke's Daughter - Axed after two volumes but the Web Novel is still ongoing.
- The Epic Tale of the Reincarnated Prince Herscherik - Axed not long after the license was announced. The author has been waiting for the contract with the JP publisher to expire but we have no guarantee that another publisher will rescue it. There's still a little bit of Web Novel not published.
- Her Majesty’s Swarm - The entire publishing label in Japan is basically dead and there's one volume left before completion in the Web Novel. This is a relatively popular series considering it even got a physical print in English.
- Teogonia - The LN was axed. The Web Novel is slow but ongoing.
- Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke: This Time I'm Gonna Tell Her How I Feel! - The author basically half-confirmed that it was axed and to read the web novel for the continuation in the last JP volume's afterword. The Web Novel is ongoing.
- Monster Tamer - The Light Novel is basically axed at one volume to completion. The Web Novel is completed.
- The Sidekick Never Gets the Girl, Let Alone the Protag’s Sister! - Axed one volume to completion. The Web Novel is completed as mentioned.
Thanks @wellwisher and SirBlackmane for web novel links to include in the post.
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Upvote for Deathbound alone, oh how I wish the LN continued.
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Monster tamer’s axed?
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I don’t agree on Teogonia being axed. It’s not published by a JP pub that is known to frequently do that (I think). I believe the pub is simply waiting for more web novel content before releasing the next volume. It looks to me that the manga is getting close to catch up so they should have an incentive to release the next volume (also JNC please license the manga 🙂).
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While I'm still holding out hope for more formal Teogonia, I'd still love something like this just to get more Deathbound and Gear Drive.
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@MasterLillyclaw said in Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade:
Upvote for Deathbound alone, oh how I wish the LN continued.
Agreed DDD is one of my favorite JNC titles and I would kill to get more volumes
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There are some of those that I’d like to see a new volume of, yes.
However, there have been several good objections when this subject has been brought up in the past. For example, it could seriously damage JNC’s relations with the publishers as they would now be a potential competitor. And it would be a large increase to JNC’s workload, as they would have to do the work currently done by JP publishers - taking WN content and turning it into publishable form, which could be a lot more work than just translating.
Do you have good answers for these issues? Without those answers, nothing changes.
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@Travis-Butler brings up the biggest issues with this idea. However, I think the key would be if JNC could prove that there's enough demand for the series they might be able to convince the Japanese publisher to re-license the series. This would likely involve putting alot of money into the deal to cover alot of the work, which would help minimize the risk for said publisher.
That cost could then be passed on to us buyers. I would be more than willing to pay an extra premium to see more of an axed series I love though, especially since Monster Tamer has become my 3rd favorite JNC series since I started reading it on catch up in March.
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@Liu-Yonghui-e3pdrix said in Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade:
Monster tamer’s axed?
It has been over two years since volume sixteen came out and it only covers to the end of the penultimate arc.
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@LurkingMcLurk To be fair, two years ago was October 2020, which was deep in the middle of a global pandemic. That's not necesssarily an indicator of a series being axed.
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Oh, right, the poison, the poison for Kuzco, the poison chosen especially to kill Kuzco, Kuzco's poison. ...That poison?
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@Travis-Butler said in Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade:
There are some of those that I’d like to see a new volume of, yes.
However, there have been several good objections when this subject has been brought up in the past. For example, it could seriously damage JNC’s relations with the publishers as they would now be a potential competitor. And it would be a large increase to JNC’s workload, as they would have to do the work currently done by JP publishers - taking WN content and turning it into publishable form, which could be a lot more work than just translating.
Do you have good answers for these issues? Without those answers, nothing changes.
The talk about straining relations with the JP Publishers has traditionally been about licensing web novels before they could get picked up for Light Novel publication by the JP Publishers. (Like Cross Infinite World does.) Rescuing titles that were purposefully axed by the Japanese publishers should fall outside of this realm because they already gave up on the series. Holding western audiences back from being able to enjoy the stories would just be pure malicious behavior on the JP Publishers' part if they try to do so.
On the increase in work-load, it would just come with the territory. It's not the first time J-NC will have done something on par though as The Bloodline was something never even published in Japan so I assume that they would go through a similar process as with that.
Lastly, J-NC would be able to easily self-regulate how much they pick up for J-Novel Spade by licensing more completed series. (Or licensing less axed series in general.)
Ultimately, I'm just a consumer that is frustrated with the amount of axed series we'll never get endings for. I'm not obligated to somehow figure out every possible detail on how the label would work. I'm just proposing an idea for a company to consider if they want to make a pro-consumer move. Whether J-NC will adopt something similar to it or not is up to them and they would have to weigh the cost to profitability, and how much good-will it would earn them. As consumers, we should always be pushing for companies to improve in some way or another, or they stagnate.
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@TheGrimLich said in Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade:
@LurkingMcLurk To be fair, two years ago was October 2020, which was deep in the middle of a global pandemic. That's not necesssarily an indicator of a series being axed.
To be fair i find it baffling how many authors whose job by nature is work from home based seem to have stopped working during this period.
Physical releases are understandable but digital releases of LNs in japan should have been one of the easiest industries to adjust to the pandemic. It's even an industry that would have seen increased sales as remotely accessible home entertainment. -
@kurosov said in Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade:
To be fair
I do not think it is at all fair to assume authors have no connection to the outside world just because they don't have a public workspace. The pandemic is a world-changing event that upset everyone's sense of normal. Some people's livelihoods may have been affected less than others', but not everyone made it through the last two years entirely unscathed, regardless of, or even in spite of, their profession.
Whoever said nothing's impossible never tried slamming a revolving door.
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@kurosov I dunno, even if the author is belting out work, that doesn't mean everyone else that's part of the process hasn't been negatively affected. If the editor for example works for the publisher, they may normally have had an actual office at the publisher where they would have done their work.
Plus it's hard to say that releases in digital are easier. In theory it's true, but we have no idea what these people's contracts say. There could be stipulations that are hamstringing everyone because of requirements for a print release.
If the publisher has had to slow things down, authors could also have chosen to slow things down on their end to give them more time to think about where they want to take their stories. I think we've all seen stories that inadvertently write themselves into a corner because the plot went past where the author had planned things out initially and they were trying to keep up the pace.
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@myskaros said in Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade:
I do not think it is at all fair to assume authors have no connection to the outside world just because they don't have a public workspace.
That isn't what i did at all though.
If your workplace is already at home then there is no transition to work at home. You aren't affected by a loss of workplace a job that cannot work from home has to deal with.
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When one considers the culture surrounding physical releases in Japan, where there are retailer-specific extras and it's common to purchase multiple copies at different retailers to obtain all of the extras, and that they are only available as physically purchased at the brick and mortar location [mail order doesn't get them, even if from the proper retailer], I'd argue that the pandemic could well have hit this market especially hard.
The publisher's revenue calculations would reflect all of these multiple purchases.The whole "waiting in line to get your copy of the limited edition" thing is the complete opposite of pandemic control, especially as you will all be scattering around to similar venues in short order, resulting in an inter-mingling of fans in weird transmission routes due to how each fan has set up their routing to get the extras they most desire.
It's not just who were your neighbors in line with at the previous venue, but three or four venues back for everyone present all on the same day.So while all of this does seem to be starting up again, there could well be an a-typical blip in publication schedules around the periods of greatest lockdown.
Digital editions wouldn't get the [multiple purchases of a given title] boost in revenues for the publisher, nor the revenue boost for the individual retailers that went hand in hand with retailer specific extras.Thus, if a break in publication pattern coincides with the higher lockdown levels, that can't be taken as an indication a given title was truly axed.
Publication being postponed until the situation allows them to resume the practices that maximize their revenues isn't craziness on their part, provided their financial reserves allow them to do so. -
@kurosov I mean... you're still doing it. There are plenty of predictable reasons someone whose workplace is unaffected by the changes due to the pandemic could still be unable to work, such as:
- They get COVID and have to be hospitalized
- Friend or family member gets hospitalized
- Friend or family member dies
- Shutdowns drastically affect their lives
Saying "as long as their work isn't affected, there's no reason there should be any delays" is a very siloed way of viewing another person's life.
Whoever said nothing's impossible never tried slamming a revolving door.
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@myskaros said in Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade:
@kurosov I mean... you're still doing it. There are plenty of predictable reasons someone whose workplace is unaffected by the changes due to the pandemic could still be unable to work, such as:
- They get COVID and have to be hospitalized
- Friend or family member gets hospitalized
- Friend or family member dies
- Shutdowns drastically affect their lives
Saying "as long as their work isn't affected, there's no reason there should be any delays" is a very siloed way of viewing another person's life.
Nonsense. Absolutely none of those examples show in any way i assumed authors "have no connection to the outside world".
Also, they're things everyone had to deal with during that time.
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@kurosov said in Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade:
Nonsense. Absolutely none of those examples show in any way i assumed authors "have no connection to the outside world".
i find it baffling how many authors whose job by nature is work from home based seem to have stopped working during [the pandemic].
I don't know how else to interpret what you were saying here. Why are you so baffled?
Whoever said nothing's impossible never tried slamming a revolving door.
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@myskaros said in Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade:
@kurosov said in Publishing Label Idea: J-Novel Spade:
Nonsense. Absolutely none of those examples show in any way i assumed authors "have no connection to the outside world".
i find it baffling how many authors whose job by nature is work from home based seem to have stopped working during [the pandemic].
I don't know how else to interpret what you were saying here. Why are you so baffled?
How is saying one line of work is well suited to a sudden shift to a work at home economy in any way like calling an entire profession a bunch of shut ins?
