The whole idea is really good, but nothing new I believe. I do remember MangaReborn doing something similar.
Yep, I know, I've already talked about it in the first post and also said why this project is different.
The thing is, that we scanlators don't do this so we can make money from it. We do it, because we like it. I'll list some reasons why I scanlate Manga :
1.) Translate manga, so that it can reach many people. People often don't read manga, because they don't know the language. Hence, we remove that barrier.
2.) Giving back to community.
3.) When I see "Dropped Manga Series", it hurts me a lot, because it hurts when you can't read the story ahead because you don't understand the language.
4.) To learn and grasp more experience and knowledge in PhotoShop.
5.) To kill some time.
6.) To get e-penis, lel.
These are just some reasons why I scanlate. It's a hobby and I'd like to keep it that way.
That's exactly why I'm totally grateful to you, guys! xD Because I don't know Japanese (yet), your passion and generosity is truly important for me.
If scanlation groups do join this "business plan" of yours, that means, they'll be doing a job, which obviously requires dedication to it and deadlines and what not. It's not rare to see that groups drop the projects all the time due to basic reasons like "no translator", "some important person lost the interest in series" etc. etc. If you get paid, you just can't drop the series mid way and you'd have to be consistent.
Nope. I though I've talked about this enough, but here again, I perfectly know scangroups do this as an hobby and there's lots of reason because a scanlator have to backoff. I also know that if a fundamental person lose his interest, not one but many groups could just die. I know that because I'm studying and this convince me even more that total freedom is the first requisite to make this happen and to be sustainable. This can seems contradictory, but trust me, history tell us it's not.
Please note that you will be paid for what you have done and not for something you will have to do! You get paid when an user buy a chap you already published. You will not sign any contract that force you to translate this or that manga.
You will translate what you want and as much as you want, just like you already do; the only difference will be the limited catalog, but I'll work hard to let you access as much manga as possible!
That's why who want to let this be a simple hobby, can totally do that
Even if you have the community on your side, I hardly believe that the publishers will accept this. Why? Legal reasons, duh!
So, the best would be, instead of asking the community first, talk to some publishers first and get their opinion and views on the matter. When you have something to surely back you up, then look for Scanlation groups that'll be interested.
Everyone above this post have already made valid points, and most of us (if not all) share the same POV more or less.
Then there's problem like Quality assurance. let's say I paid to read a chapter and the group did an awful job. The cleaning isn't good, grammatical errors, typo, etc. etc. I'd really hate to pay up and get "crap". Plus, if you say that, you will keep "QC" to check each and every chapter, how many people can you pay up for QC? 'cause there isn't just 1 release to check. Depending upon the group count, the series counts can be high or low. If it's low, that ain't a problem.
Plus, pay per chapter? that is going to be costly for people who read a lot of manga... 20 - 30 manga at the same time. Do you have any plan for that?
I think the legal reason would be exactly why publishers will listen to us. They know that scanlation is a big thing and, even if for some point of view it help the manga culture to spread, it still cause a significant damage to the industry.
However, as MangaHelper demonstrated, they aren't willing to directly cooperate with "pirates". That's why my clean records will come in hand and why I can be the bridge that unite the two facets of the same medal.
That's said, I can't really go to the publishers without your support, sadly I'm not a VIP or anything like that, hence I need you to be credible and tell them this is something concrete if they want to. Please note that in the last year Japan is a lot more interested in the international market for manga, that's why I think this is the right moment to strike!
If you really like the idea as you said, please give me a chance! ^^
Edited by iazeru, 26 May 2016 - 01:58 PM.