Contributor guide

Help build a trustworthy novel database

A practical guide to adding Asian web novels and light novels, improving existing entries, and sharing useful reading sources.

Start with the essentials Add a novel

Quick start

Three habits make a good contribution

01

Search first

Search English, original, romanized, and alternate titles before creating an entry.

02

Cite a source

Use a trustworthy page that supports the information you are adding or changing.

03

Use official material

Prefer official titles, published cover art, and clearly attributable reading sources.

01

What belongs on NoviList

Country, format, publication, and duplicate criteria

Eligible

  • Web novels and light novels originating in China, Japan, or South Korea.
  • Works with an identifiable public author, serialization platform, retailer, or publisher page.
  • Self-published web novels that meet those same identity and source requirements.
  • Both translated and untranslated works; an English release is not required.

Not eligible

  • Works originating outside the currently supported countries.
  • Visual novels, comics, webtoons, fan fiction, or unpublished drafts.
  • Entries with no verifiable public source.
  • A duplicate, alternate translation, or nickname submitted as a separate work.

Before creating a record: search the English title, original script, romanization, common abbreviations, and publisher or author. Different translations of one work belong on the same novel entry.

02

Novel titles and metadata

How to describe the work without guessing

Titles

  • English use the official English title when one exists. Otherwise use the most established English translation found across reliable sources.
  • Original enter the title in its original writing system.
  • Romanized enter a consistent Latin-script romanization, not another translated title.
  • Put abbreviations, previous translations, and other known names in Synonyms—not inside the main title.

Description

Use a clean, faithful English synopsis from or based on your cited source. Remove navigation text, links, sales copy, translator notes, and unrelated release announcements. Do not invent plot details.

Factual fields

Use the country of origin—not the translation language. Use the original publication status and chapter/volume counts. Leave an optional field unknown instead of estimating it.

Evidence link

Novel drafts and submissions require one URL showing where the work or information came from. Prefer the original platform or publisher; an official retailer or reputable catalog may be used when the primary page is unavailable.

Cover artwork

  • Use an official cover for the work or edition.
  • Upload JPG, PNG, or WEBP files up to 5 MB.
  • Prefer a clean portrait image close to a 2:3 ratio.
  • Do not use fan art, generated substitutes, banners, or collages.

The contributor form accepts uploads; it does not currently accept a cover URL.

03

Publishers, groups, and staff

Create identities once, then connect them to novels

Publishers and groups

  • Search first and use the organization’s established public name.
  • Choose the role that describes it here: original publisher, local licensee, fan group, individual, or platform host.
  • A source URL is optional but strongly recommended for a new or unfamiliar organization.
  • Do not create separate records for spelling or capitalization variants.

Staff

  • Use the person’s professional name or credited pseudonym.
  • Add original-script and alternate names to their matching fields.
  • Link staff to a novel as author, translator, or editor.
  • A source is optional but strongly recommended, especially for identity or credit changes.

Profile images: upload JPG, PNG, or WEBP up to 10 MB. Recommended: at least 400×400px (square, portrait-friendly).

New publisher and staff records are reviewed before becoming public. Name, image, and external-link changes are also treated as sensitive edits.

05

What happens after submission

Drafts, automatic edits, and moderator review
  1. 1

    Draft

    Private and editable. Minimum required fields are needed before the first save.

  2. 2

    Submit

    The draft locks while NoviList decides whether review is required.

  3. 3

    Review

    New records and sensitive edits enter the moderator queue.

  4. 4

    Result

    Changes are accepted, partially accepted, or rejected with their recorded status.

Always reviewed: new novels, publishers, staff, and chapter sources; novel cover and external-link changes; staff name, image, and external-link changes; publisher name and external-link changes.

May publish immediately: supported edits to other fields on existing entries. The submit button may therefore result in either an accepted change or a pending review.

You may keep up to five draft submissions. Pending submissions are locked until a decision; view their status from your profile’s Submissions page.

Final check

Before you submit

  • The work meets NoviList’s country, format, and public-source criteria.
  • I searched all known titles and did not find an existing entry.
  • English, original, romanized, and synonym titles are in the right fields.
  • The synopsis and factual metadata match the evidence link.
  • The cover is official published artwork and meets the upload limit.
  • Publishers, staff roles, link purposes, languages, and translation methods are accurate.
  • Reading links are attributable and are not scraped or unauthorized copies.
  • Unknown optional facts are left blank instead of guessed.

Ready to contribute?

Start with the source in front of you, add only what it supports, and let another contributor fill the gaps later.

Add a novelSearch NoviList

This guide describes current contributor behavior and may evolve with NoviList. Material policy changes will be reflected here.