Eli5: what is the difference between a normal novel and a light novel and web novel.

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I love reading light novels and for some series the people recommend the web novel instead of the light novel I searched online on the difference between light novel and web novel but it only says different plot never how is the plot different.

I want to know the difference between a normal novel and a web novel and a light novel. And if you know other types that you can explain then please do.

Thank you.

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5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

In the sense you’re talking about:

* Web novel: self published on the web. Often, no editor to proof-read, review, etc. They can be “long”, but each chapter will be short and with simple language. Usually, chapters are published as an episodic nature.

* Light novel: story of the web novel gets popular, gets picked up by an editor and transformed into a light novel. May include major reworks of the story to make it attractive to a wider audience. Chapters also usually published as an episodic nature.

* Novel: has nothing to do with the former two. Much longer, more complex language. A novel is usually also a complete work published in one go. Some novel may be part of a series, but other than knowing plot points, each book stands on its own as a complete story. There is an editor/publisher behind it. Overall quality of the language is better. The story will be more coherent. There is a reason editors exists after all. Now, there can be self published novels that will not fit the definition of web or light novel in that they are more akin to a novel in size, complexity, etc.

The lines sometimes blur.

Also, that doesn’t mean all web novels are bad, but you are more likely to find bad ones. By that I mean plot holes, quality of the language, etc.

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