Q1: Can I get notified of new updates?
Q2: How do I stop getting notifications?
Q3: Why are your updates so short?
Q4: What do I do when I find a typo in your work?
Q5: Why do you use passwords for NSFW content?
Q6: The password is not working!
Q7: Why do you split your chapters?
Q8: What numbering system do you use for your chapters?
Q9: Do you have night mode or dark mode on your website?
Q10: Can I translate one of your translation projects into another language?
Q11: Why is my comment not showing up on the website?
Q12: Can you make a special reward tier (on Patreon) for a specific novel only?
Q13: You’ve already translated so many advance chapters on Patreon, so why can’t you just upload all of those chapters for free on your website all at once? Why are you putting your translations behind a pay wall? Why are you making us wait for updates?
Q1: Can I get notified of new updates?
A: If you would like to get update notifications, try checking the box next to “Notify me of new posts by email” before submitting a comment. You should then be notified of new updates via email.
Please note, however, that you will be notified of all updates on this website. Unfortunately my website is not sophisticated enough to only notify you of updates on a particular story.
Q2: How do I stop getting notifications?
A: Someone commented that they checked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox, and now wants to opt out of the service. Unfortunately I don’t see anything on my end that could remove you from it, but try looking in one of those emails that you get, and see if there’s an “unsubscribe” option towards the end of the email. This has worked for me on other news subscription websites, and I hope it’s the same in this case.
Q3: Why are your updates so short?
A: First off, I should point out that I translate multiple stories at once. Many readers only come to my site for a specific story and neglect to notice that I am actually putting out more work than what they are reading. Just because a reader is not invested in my other stories, it does not mean that they do not exist or that I am not putting in time and effort for those other projects.
Second, all of my translations are passion projects. I translate them because I myself would like to read them in understandable English, instead of breaking my brain over MTL. That being said, this is also a hobby. I still have a life outside of cyber space, and I have many real life responsibilities that I must take care of just to live.
Third, the chapter may look short in English, but that “short” chapter actually takes me several hours of work. Here is a break down of my translation process for every chapter I put out. First, I read the Chinese raws and puzzle out the meaning of the text. (It’s a real headache when the author uses Chinese Internet slang that’s not easy to find on English Google.) Second, I look up vocabulary and idioms that I don’t understand, and sometimes I also have to do research if there is a cultural phenomenon or reference that I don’t know about just to decipher one sentence. Third, I translate a rough draft into broken English. Fourth, I re-write the entire first draft to make it flow better in English. Fifth, I do a quick edit for grammar and punctuation, but I usually run out of time at this step and have to rush the chapter out, so I end up with frustrating typos, which leads me to…
Q4: What do I do when I find a typo in your work?
A: If you catch any mistakes, please don’t be shy, leave a comment on that chapter and point out the typo. I will fix it as soon as possible, and thank you in advance for your help.
Q5: Why do you use passwords for NSFW content?
A: I get flagged for that kind of content. (Just to be super safe, I censor out curse words too.) I’m actually not even supposed to put NSFW content up on my website, but after a little experimenting, I found that I could get around that restriction by putting the content behind a password. It seems that the automated system can’t find my NSFW content when it’s protected by a password. Therefore I don’t get flagged, and I can still provide that content for you on my site. I also feel like using a password makes it harder for bots from aggregator websites to steal my work. Aggregator websites are already stealing my easily accessible SFW content, so I like to make the juicy NSFW stuff harder for them to get to.
Q6: The password is not working!
A: I’m really sorry about this! I don’t know the exact reason why this happens, but most of the time it is only a temporary glitch. Usually if you leave the site for a bit and then come back to it, the password magically works again. I know this method works because the same thing actually happened to me with a different translator’s site. Multiple times. I know, it can be so frustrating that I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I think it might be something with the wordpress interface, since both me that other translator are using wordpress. But I’m not 100% certain, so please don’t quote me on that.
At this point in time, I’ve translated so many chapters that I don’t want to risk changing web hosting platforms for fear of losing data during the transfer. Between work and other real life responsibilities, I really don’t have the extra time to fix such a lost in data, and it would be so disheartening that I might end up quitting this hobby of mine, which I really don’t want, because I want to see the end of these stories and I don’t know when or if someone else would ever pick up these projects in the future.
If you’re a bit impatient, you can try some of these other methods to see if the password will work sooner. But I’m not tech savvy, so I can’t guarantee anything. These are just some solutions I found after looking around on the Internet:
-Use a different web browser (i.e. Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Lynx, etc.)
-Use a different electronic device (i.e. computer, tablet, phone, etc.)
-Use incognito mode
-Update your web browser
-Update your computer system
A reader also told me that whitelisting this website helped them fix the password problem, which makes sense, since programs like ad-block might prevent the website from working properly.
Q7: Why do you split your chapters?
A: It’s a psychological boost for myself. Whenever I finish one update’s worth of translation in a reasonable time, I feel accomplished, and it motivates me to keep on translating. But if it’s taking me forever to translate one long chapter, I lose steam halfway and I’m put off of the project for a while. So translating in digestible portions means I’m actually translating more in the long run. I usually split longer chapters into two parts, but if they’re super long chapters (like FOD) then I will split it into multiple parts.
When I’m splitting the chapters I always try to have each update be about 1300 Chinese characters long (sometimes longer) depending on the length of the chapter. I decided on that number because the first chapter I ever translated on this website (which was TBL 15) was ~1300 Chinese characters long. And then when the chapters suddenly started getting longer (at chapter 20), it was coincidentally ~2600 characters long. So that’s been my standard ever since.
Q8: What numbering system do you use for your chapters?
A: When I first started splitting chapters I numbered them with .1 and .2 at the end (i.e. chapter 50 part 2 = chapter 50.2), but I’ve always thought that it looked messy. So when I saw another translator simply numbering their split chapters chronologically without using decimals, I followed suit. (The Big Landlord and FOD: Xue Zi Xuan uses the decimal numbering system, and the rest of my stories are in simple chronological order.)
Q9: Do you have night mode or dark mode on your website?
A: Sadly no. I tried adding a plugin for night mode, but it seemed to mess with the CSS, and it also didn’t work for every browser. I’m not tech savvy at all, so I just ended up taking it down. But here’s a trick: try inverting the colors on your monitor.
For Mac: command + option + control + 8
For Window 10: Windows Key + key to open the Magnifier tool. Then press Ctrl + Alt + I (Here is an 18-second video tutorial: YouTube)
Q10: Can I translate one of your translation projects into another language?
A: Initially I said okay to everyone who asked me this question, but I am a regular reader of online novels myself, and I have noticed that a lot of translators that I follow actually say no. The reason is that we are not professional translators, so our translations are not perfect and we sometimes miss things during the translation process that we’re simply not aware of due to lack of understanding. So if you use our imperfect translations as reference, the results will get progressively further and further away from the original author’s intentions. Therefore, we recommend that you translate directly from the original source. I always make sure to link the raws in the title page of the stories whenever possible. So please go there to find the original story and support the author. 🙂
Q11: Why is my comment not showing up on the website?
A: All new commenters have to be approved first. After they’re approved, their future comments will post to the site right away without a pending period. This is to prevent bots from spamming the site. (The last time I checked the spam folder, there was a crazy amount of cialis ads…) If your comment is still not coming through, then the spam filter software is reading your comment as spam for some reason, and I don’t go through the spam folder anymore because it is simply too cluttered.
Q12: Can you make a special reward tier (on Patreon) for a specific novel only?
A: Unfortunately, I don’t have any plans to make a specific reward tier for an individual novel, because on my end it looks like a nightmare to organize. It took me a long time to set up my current organization system when I first created my Patreon page. To create tiers for specific novels will make a mess of the tiers I already have up. On top of that, I am already strapped for time just trying to translate and get the updates posted on schedule, so I really don’t have the spare time to mess around on Patreon.
Q13: You’ve already translated so many advance chapters on Patreon, so why can’t you just upload all of those chapters for free on your website all at once? Why are you putting your translations behind a pay wall? Why are you making us wait for updates?
A: I know myself well. I tend to get intensely invested in a new hobby for a period of time, and then I spend a lot of time and energy on that hobby while I am interested. That “period of time” can last anywhere from one month to one year. When I first got into translating I wasn’t sure how long my passion for it would last, but I knew I would feel bad if I left a project unfinished since that would mean leaving the readers in limbo. (As a fellow reader, I know how dissatisfying that can be.)
Patreon keeps me accountable. Knowing that people are paying for my translations means that I won’t drop all my projects as soon as I get bored (which is something I have done with previous hobbies in the past). There are also days when I don’t have the time, energy, or will to translate, but because there are people financially supporting me in this endeavor I feel obligated to continue translating. Basically, I am guilt tripping myself to keep translating and it’s been working so far.
If I didn’t offer advance chapters on Patreon, there would be no incentive for people to support me on Patreon. And even if there are people willing to support me without any incentives, I would feel bad if I’m not giving anything back. A one-time payment on Kofi or Paypal is one thing, but Patreon is a monthly thing. Also, please think about this logically, even if I do post everything that I currently have on my website all at once, you would still have to wait for me to translate more chapters in the future once you’re done reading whatever is on my website in the present. My translation speed is not always consistent. Having chapters in reserve means that I can keep up a steady updating schedule.