Hello, Dear Writers 👋 

We are improving the quality of content for our readers and aiming to offer a better writing experience for our authors. In order to ensure the writer’s success for every author, we are sharing the updated rules for exclusive contracts ✨

Read the rules below if you are already an exclusive author of AlphaNovel or just planning to become one 🙂 You can also find more details in the Guide for writers: How to increase your chance of approval & not get rejected.

1. Reviewing of a contract up to 2 working weeks

Over the past 2 months, the number of AlphaNovel authors has increased significantly – and it’s a blast 🔥 We are happy that you trust us and choose us to publish your novels.

In order to thoroughly check the documents and give equal attention to each contract and book, the review of contracts for exclusive books will now take up to 2 working weeks.

We ask you to pay close attention to the data you add to the contract. Provide the correct data so that our legal team could check your documents faster and there would be no need to reject your contract due to data errors.

2. Ongoing bonus >>> MAB

The ongoing bonus will no longer be available to all writers from Dec ‘22. All authors who have received confirmation for the ongoing bonus from Sep ’22 to Nov ’22 will receive their payments.

Instead, we are launching the MAB: monthly attendance bonus. Every writer will get an opportunity to track the MAB from their personal account, view the attendance calendar, and more. Additionally, we plan to suggest you even better conditions 😎

Why? Unfortunately, our team has faced cases of book plagiarism, abuse and fraud. Since AlphaNovel is strictly against plagiarism and inappropriate communication, we have revised our bonus terms. We want to be the best platform for our authors, and we take your feedback seriously in order to improve our product and operations. That is why we see the MAB as a better way to incentivize the top writers.

3. KYC and plagiarism check

We continue to work on the quality of our content and, as previously, emphasize the importance of KYC and checking books for plagiarism. It allows us to be sure that the person who uploaded the book is its legitimate author, and that no one else would be able to receive the payment.

KYC means Know Your Customer and sometimes Know Your Client. KYC or KYC check is the mandatory process of identifying and verifying the client’s identity when opening an account and periodically over time. In other words, banks must make sure that their clients are genuinely who they claim to be.

In case something is still unclear to you, we have collected all the answers here. Check the Q&A for exclusive contracts and carefully read the rules above.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact your editor or our partnerships team at: [email protected]. 

Your fans can’t wait to see the next chapter of your book… but you’re hopelessly stuck and don’t know what to do. Let’s face it, every writer has been there, but there are practical tips on how to overcome the nasty writer’s block and stay productive. Go check them out! 

1. Build a Routine

Writers write best when they feel inspired, but you don’t really have to depend on that in your work. Start by figuring out the most productive times and days for you. Is it late at night or early in the morning? Does the weekend work better for you than the work days? 

Whatever the answer is, make sure you are consistently following your new schedule. It may seem difficult at first, but after a few weeks, your writing sessions should become a habit. And a habit is harder to break, right? 

2. Write a “Bad” Draft

Wait… bad? Yes, if you are a hopeless perfectionist and stall because you want it done 100% right from the first try. Don’t sweat over one sentence for half an hour; try to write what you’re thinking as it goes. Relax and leave the perfect phrasing for later, when the chapter is all but done. 

The (absolutely) hardcore way to keep on writing is to use this free app. If you don’t put in a word or two every few secs, guess what happens? All of your progress gets instantly lost. This may be cruel but can train you to stop overthinking – and start writing, at last.  

3. Swap the Perspective

Sometimes you’ll feel like going in circles with a character. Their perspective is all drained for the moment, and you just can’t think of what to do next. Your best action in this case? Switch to a different character and start describing the events from their point of view. 

When using this particular tip, try not to be repetitive. Picking another character as the perspective doesn’t mean you should go over the same events again, only through their eyes this time. Remember the classics? A rose is a rose, however you name it. Revisit the scenes only if it really drives forward the character development and plot. 

4. Eliminate Distractions

A noisy neighbor, the street traffic, or a loud fan are not the writer’s best friends. No wonder they retreat to forest cabins or seaside property so often in the movies. Writing is a tricky thing, and not every author has the superpower to shut out the rest of the world. 

Your job or other commitments can be a roadblock, too. Trying to write a chapter in between clients or calls can be (very) unproductive. If you’re an author who needs time to “warm up”, take that time after you’re done at the office – or simply on the weekend. 

5. Stay Positive

Sometimes the writer’s block is just too strong to overcome it in one day. Instead of torturing yourself and feeling lame, keep calm and use the tips above to make things right. Even if all fails, that doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer and can’t do it properly. The magic will return, sooner or later, and you’ll surprise the world with a real banger of a chapter. 

Just wait and see!

First chapter matters. In fact, it matters a great deal, and you don’t want to lose any potential readers, right? Give your book a real head start by writing a strong and engaging number one chapter. In this article, we’ll share a few working tips on how to do it. 

Grammar, Grammar, Grammar

Your novel may be an instant hit, but grammar errors are what makes it or breaks it for many readers. If an author doesn’t take time to proofread the text, they may feel it’s not really worth it. Avoid this mistake and double-check your work for any grammar fails. You’re welcome to use an online spell-checker; the more advanced ones will even give you some wording suggestions. 

One of the best ways to proofread your text is to find an editor. That’s what all publishing agencies do, after all. No need to pay a professional: ask your friend who’s good with the language to go through your primary chapter. You can also discuss the editing limits in advance to spare time and effort. Opt for grammar only – or ask for wording and style suggestions as well. 

Don’t Summarize Your Book

Think of your first chapter as a good movie trailer. On the one hand, you want to introduce the main characters, plot, and style of your work. But on the other hand, if you give away too much, what’s the point of watching the whole movie? 

In simple words, don’t include a plot summary or massive spoilers in your primary chapter. Find a way to hook the reader from the first few paragraphs – but don’t give away all that’s coming next. The plot twists and shocking revelations work best where there is a build-up, and the first chapter simply doesn’t have enough space for it. Instead, give the reader a solid reason to continue with your book.

Focus on the First Paragraph

Let’s be real: you don’t have the luxury of a reader’s infinite attention span. That’s why your first chapter must really hit the bull’s-eye. Think of an opening scene that will have them instantly hooked. Some writers even write such scene after finishing the book, but you don’t have to go to these lengths.  

A common first chapter mistake is dragging out the character/plot introduction. Unless you’re a 19^th century novelist, don’t be too wordy or reflective at the start of your book. The room décor or character’s appearance can be described in one-two sentences (and you can get back to that later in the story). Focus on showcasing your character’s goals instead: who are they? What drives and motivates them? How will this kick-start the plot? 

Action Set-Up Works

Have you thought of opening your book with a flashy action scene? Of course, this depends on the genre and style of your writing in the first place. But if the story does have a good fight or chase scene, why not simply move it to the start? Unlike in real life, a fictional story doesn’t have to start with the beginning. You can always pick one of your top scenes (no heavy spoilers though!) and proudly put it on the first page. 

Decided to go with an action opening? Make sure your fight/chase scene is not dragged out, doesn’t stray away from the overall book tone, and takes at least some time to introduce the main characters. This way, you’ll bring down two birds with one stone: hook the reader and deliver a proper introduction. If a decent movie trailer can pull this off, why can’t you? 

Penning a solid first chapter will take some work – and imagination, but we at AlphaNovel believe that yours will be a real smasher. So good writing luck! 

Judging a book by its cover is not so right, but let’s be honest: we all do this. A good cover can draw in more readers and give your novel a nice popularity boost. So, how do you make yours an instant hit? Let’s find out in this article!

1. Make It All About Your Book

Let’s be Captain Obvious: your cover should be about your book. We know it’s tempting to just throw in a picture of a hot guy you’ve googled up. Click-baiting does work, but do you really want to mislead your future fans? Try to pick the images that actually represent your characters and plot. It’s the best strategy that will pay off, unlike the random click-baity pictures.

Another good idea is to make sure that your cover reflects the book genre. Writing about a CEO billionaire’s romance? Make sure the man on the cover looks like one. A werewolf novel? Use some images of wolves, and you’re all fine.

The next tip is to give your readers a sneak peek into the book content. No spoilers, of course, but you can always add some hints at what’s to come. Even if your characters don’t get together in the second chapter, don’t be afraid to show them hugging or kissing (or both).  

2. Stand Out from the Crowd

There are hundreds of good covers around, so it’s always nice to be unique. Instead of a copy-paste solution, take time and think out: a) your character representations; b) the composition; and c) the title font. These are the key elements of your future sweeping success.

We’ve already talked about the characters, so let’s skip a) and focus on the composition. There are actually dozens and dozens of tips on how to do it right. If you’re new to this, your best bet will be to google them up (we suggest starting with the “rule of thirds”). In a few words, your composition should be of the right size, symmetrical, and not contain distracting details. The most common mistake here is making characters or objects too big or too small for the frame.

Now, let’s be straight about the title font: Arial or Comic Sans are not good. Your font must be unique to stand out – and, ideally, reflect your book genre and style. No army fonts for a romance novel, or horror blood drips for a friendship tale (unless you’re writing the next Stranger Things). Also, make sure that your cover has the correct book title and your pen name.

3. Quality Does Matter  

Your book may be the next best thing on this platform. But if your cover is poorly made, too blurry, or too small, this may be a bad signal to the reader. Think of it as a business card you’re giving to potential partners. Would you want it to be neat and professional – or clumsy and confusing?

Make double sure that the cover image is not blurry or pixelated in full size. It’s not the 1990s, right? High resolution images show that you love and care about your readers. They also look stunning on your book, so make sure you’ve got one.

Next, pick the right color scheme and double check if anything sticks out. Is your cover too light or too dark? Does it have enough contrast to catch the reader’s eye among the other books? The colors you choose must evoke the right emotions – and be palatable to the viewer.  

Got it all? Amazing! Our very final tip is not to make your cover overly spicy, even if that’s what you’re writing. The R-rated content is more than welcome at AlphaNovel, but it’s better to leave it for the book text, not the cover. Let’s show respect to the readers that come to us for different types of books.  

Now, go and make your novel cover a real champ!  

Hello, writer! The editorial team has specially created this guide for writers where we answer questions about our platform in detail so that your work with AlphaNovel is comfortable.

If you want to post your novels in AlphaNovel, we will be happy to help you at all stages – register, get bonuses and promote your books. Today we want to tell you how to start working with AlphaNovel.

ℹ️ Check out our guides

We are sure that you have already subscribed to our social networks and studied our website and FAQ. But we still can’t skip this point 😊

You will definitely have a million questions before you start publishing your novels on the platform and start earning. For example, what is the minimum word count for a novel, and how to get a signing bonus? Spoiler: the minimum word count is 10,000, and the information about bonuses is below.

To make the first acquaintance with our platform comfortable, we have written a detailed FAQ. Please look through it carefully, and you will find answers to most of your questions.

💶 Explore the bonus system and royalties

Names of bonuses on different platforms could sound similar, but each product may have its own rules and features. We at AlphaNovel believe that writers’ comfort is our top priority, so we have created a transparent and understandable bonus system.

For writers, we have a signing bonus and a completion bonus.

📲 Register on the platform

To start working, you need to create an account in AlphaNovel. To do this, follow the link, click “Join Us” and fill in the fields according to the instructions.

If you have already created an account, but suddenly forgot your password, you can restore it. Feel free to click “I forgot my password” and we will send you a link to reset your password by email.

📚 Upload your first book to AlphaNovel

When you have already registered, it’s time to start publishing your first novel! 🔥 In your personal account, you can upload text from your laptop. To do this, click “Create a Novel”. If you are working from mobile and cannot publish a book from your smartphone, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]!

In addition, there are many tips in your personal account. For example, we have instructions on how to upload and edit a book.

We want your novel to get to the top, and therefore we try to target the interests of readers with books. Help us learn more about your novel – before uploading the book, fill in the information about it – genre, main characters, plot, and features. The more precisely and in more detail you tell us about your book, the more often your readers will see it.

📃 Don’t forget the contract!

We have already mentioned that we have two options for writers – an exclusive and a non-exclusive contract. You can request a contract in your personal account or by contacting our support.

We offer two types of royalties and they depend on the contract type. For an exclusive contract, you can choose to either receive a 15% share of gross revenues or a 60% share of net revenue. For a non-exclusive contract, you can choose to either receive a 10% share of gross revenues or a 50% share of net revenue.

If you are signing a contract for the first time, please read it carefully and feel free to ask the support team questions. The AlphaNovel team will tell you everything you are interested in and help you deal with all the points of the contract. And before reading the document and choosing the contract type, we advise you to familiarise yourself with the topic of contracts in the FAQ.

Moreover, we plan to introduce an update to the platform for writers soon, where signing a contract will become even easier. 😎

🔥 We signed a contract, published a book… Please the reader and earn money with Alpha!

Hooray, now you are ready to win the hearts of readers! Books with 100k+ words will be added to top charts and categories, as well as exclusive books will be in our top recommendations!

Don’t stop writing and uploading new novels to the platform.