News The Great Gender Bender Nation of Our Time

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by SilvaLau, Sep 18, 2019.

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  1. SilvaLau

    SilvaLau Well-Known Member

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    Too Long; Didn't Read (TL;DR)
    - Re:Library aims to gather supporters on Patreon to bring you more Gender Bender webnovels to read.
    - Project Gender Bender is proceeding too fast and we haven't got enough patrons yet, so Re:Library is sponsoring 2-3 projects from our own allowance. Also, special thanks to MechaCoin for donating an astounding 175 bucks in support of these projects.
    - A short rant regarding the conflict with one of our sponsored project; The Ancestor of our Sect.

    I am Silva, some know me as the translator of World of Immortals, some know me as the owner of Re:Library, and some know me as an avid fan of Gender Bender series, but most still haven’t heard of me. And that’s alright, in this competitive era where new translator and translation site pops up everywhere, old and unpopular translation site like ours get drowned in the sea of internet real quick.

    This is a question that every translation site owner has probably asked themselves once; how can we make our site stands out in this highly competitive field? The answer that came upon me is to focus on a single genre and gather like-minded readers in one area. And what could be better than to focus on a genre which I love and adore?

    Before we start, let me tell you a story. I started translating in Year 2015 and the first project I picked up was a collaboration project with Pika and Taffy, it was called Close Combat Mage. And it was during the same year I picked up World of Immortals based on reader’s recommendation. After translating for 2 years, I realized that my motivation to translate had waned so I took a 1 year break from translating.

    I returned to the translation scene in the final month of 2018 and decided that I should just translate what I love, which is a Gender Bender webnovel. So the first project I picked after returning was Demon Sword Maiden. After translating for a few months, I realized that I still have a Patreon account I opened a few years back, so I decided to wipe that account clean and post a few chapters on Patreon as early access reward. I wasn’t really expecting much people to subscribe due to my past experience with any money-related stuff, so I was really expecting only a few people to subscribe at most.

    But as time goes on, the patrons keep growing until it reached a point where I feel is already too much. Even though I claimed that I won't hold any responsibility and the Patreon rewards are not guaranteed, I was still hit by a sense of responsibility when so much money is involved. It was then I was hit upon with a realization:

    If I keep up translating at this pace, it will take too many years to complete this series, so what can I do to help speed up the process and repay the kindness the Patrons have shown me? My answer was to use the money given to me by the patrons to hire a translator that can keep up with the demand. And while the hired translator works on Demon Sword Maiden, I will find another series to translate, effectively doubling the amount of Gender Bender webnovel for all to read.

    And that’s the start of my grand plan to build a great Gender Bender Nation. This is a grand plan that can’t be accomplished by myself alone, it will require the support of the general public (the patrons), the dedication of the hired translators, and of course, me, the one who oversees the project and manages the money. The plan is simple but effective.

    With Phase 1 of Project Gender Bender, we will gather supporters on Patreon, use the money earned to employ translators for hire, have them work on the ongoing webnovel, and finally, I will randomly select new Gender Bender series to translate, open a new Patreon account to gather supporters and repeat the entire process.

    The plan is going well, too well in fact, as we just gained two more new projects before reaching our goals on Patreon. So to be completely honest with you, I am paying for these two new projects from my own allowance. And also a special thanks to our sponsor, MechaCoin, who has donated an astounding 175 bucks to help fund these projects.

    The two projects in question are Japanese Gender Bender webnovel: Female Knight & Dark Elf and Not Sure, Another World Reincarnation (which will begin publication starting next month if everything goes well). I am hopeful that one day we will be able to gather enough patrons for these series to become self-sufficient and eventually expand to more Japanese Gender Bender series (We are still looking into possibilities of a Korean Gender Bender webnovel).

    Actually, we are also sponsoring another project called The Ancestor of our Sect isn't Acting like an Elder, but the status quo is currently unknown, what with the conflict with another translation group and whatnot. We will just continue funding the project and go at our own pace while taking a wait and see approach to observe what the other translation group will do.

    I first announced my intention to pick up this project, but he went and released 5 chapters soon after my announcement, so I had a talk with him and kindly asked him to let us have a monopoly over this project, but he refused me. That's why I made a compromise and suggest a collaboration instead, he also shut me out from that option. Now I'm just scratching my head over what to do with this project when he's so unwilling to play nice.

    I do not have the intention to get into a petty fight over translation rights on a novel which we do not officially own, not only was that childish, it's also very rude to the original author in question. And also, I do not want to be seen as doing this purely for the sake of money, my love for Gender Bender novel is genuine, and I do not want to ruin this novel for the other readers due to a petty squabble between translators. So if the other translator really intended to bring the fight to us and steal this project from right under our wing, then we will just give it to him and find something else to pick up.

    Though I still have to say, what he did was not only rude, but it was also very unethical.

    Anyway, sorry for taking up your time with this long read, but if you are a Gender Bender fan like myself, and if you are in support of this plan, please visit Re:Library and pledge to the Patreon pages to support the novels you want to read.

    And of course, our ultimate goal is to turn Re:Library into a site where most (if not all) Gender Bender webnovel can be found. So if you translate a Gender Bender series, we are most delighted to have you join our small crew and help us build the bridge and foundation towards our great Gender Bender nation.

    That's actually Phase 2 of our project, but we are aware that it is still too early for that, I tried inviting a few freelance translators to host their project on Re:Library, but I either get ignored or rejected.
     
    Kana_SST, Lucenda, jersanxx1 and 3 others like this.
  2. jersanxx1

    jersanxx1 『Lost Toy』『Mostly Lurking』

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    I didn't understand the wall of text one bit, but I see the keywords "picking up novels", "GenBen", and "support". So, as an avid GenBen enthusiast myself, I fully support the project, whatever it may be.
     
    kenar and SilvaLau like this.
  3. Milanin

    Milanin [Reader] [???] [Freeloader]

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    The only Gender Bender that I find fascinating is the OSO one...
     
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  4. SilvaLau

    SilvaLau Well-Known Member

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    Have you tried reading Half Prince (manga)? That one's pretty good too :)
     
  5. SilvaLau

    SilvaLau Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, I knew the wall of text was too long~ Glad I included a TL;DR version then xD
     
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  6. Rivenn

    Rivenn 【I eat fruit】【commonhouseman】【RV_n/Rivelle】

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    tl;dr
    but hurray for gender bender~
     
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  7. ExQAlph03

    ExQAlph03 Well-Known Member

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    Well, good luck~ ^^
    Hoping for a smooth future.!
     
    SilvaLau likes this.
  8. Lucenda

    Lucenda Well-Known Member

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    :aww:
     
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  9. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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    Good luck, I hope things go well for you! ^^)/

    Can't really help you with anything though... >.>
     
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  10. SilvaLau

    SilvaLau Well-Known Member

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    Just the thoughts are enough :blobpats:
     
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