Hello, so i kinda need some help here. I'm new to translating novels and I recently picked up the translation of Dry Monsoon novel. Is it compulsory for me to have my own website to post the chapters and link them to NU. I'm kinda broke right now and not in a position to have my own website. I'm just asking, is it fine if I post the novel chapters in Wattpad and put the chapter links in NU. I haven't done it just asking, is it illegal. Or are there any other methods where I can publish novel chapters somewhere. Love to have some advice.
There are free sites like Blogger and WordPress. All you need is an account (which is free) and you can set up a blog to post your translations on. It's fine to post on Wattpad but they're quite notorious for deleting novels, especially Korean ones, and banning the translators' accounts. So, if you do plan on hosting your novel on Wattpad, I'd suggest having a back-up blog where you can re-post your chapters if they ever get deleted. You could also join a group (just check the #recruitment tag) and post everything on the group's website.
You can try joining a translation group— that's what I recommend the most. Aside from having a fellow translator friends, they can also help you when you're having difficulty with a phrase, term, or something. Also, I think most of the groups offer shared ad revenue, too, so you can somehow earn while translating. It's not much, but the extra funds can help you buy raws and maybe an extra cup of milk tea or coffee, too! ❤️
You do need to post your translations somewhere to make them visible on NU, but you do not need to have your own website. If you want a website. The most common option that people choose is to use the free version of wordpress. The functionalities are limited, but it gets the job done, and you don't need to pay for it. If you really don't want a website or anything, the easiest alternative is to post the translation on NU's sister site, https://www.scribblehub.com/ . Scribblehub is owned by the same person that owns novelupdates, so you can rest assured that you won't have to worry about the novel being deleted or your account banned like it may happen with Wattpad. As for the legality of it... Posting translations of content that you don't own the rights for is illegal. Period. You have the right to translate whatever you want, but you cannot publish it online without explicit permission from the author and/or whatever company holds the rights to said work. In other words, every fantranslation is illegally published online (even if the act of translating in itself is legal). If you want to do it, please be aware of that. Though you should also be aware that chances of legal repercussions actually affecting you are close to 0. Which is why so many people do it without worrying about it too much... Nonetheless, it's still an illegal act.