Fanqie Novel Launches Three Short Story Incentive Programs in October: 5 Million RMB Prize Pool, Short Stories Becoming the Gateway to Short Dramas and Animated Comic Series
Fanqie Novel Launches Three Short Story Incentive Programs in October: 5 Million RMB Prize Pool, Short Stories Becoming the Gateway to Short Dramas and animated comic series
On September 29, Fanqie Novel posted three short story incentive announcements in the author section, all accepting submissions starting from 0:00 on October 1: the fourth phase of the "Thousand Characters, Ten Thousand Gold" program increased the prize pool to over 5 million yuan, the third phase of the "IP Echo Plan" was launched, and the first phase of the "IP Golden Creation Plan" focused on manga and drama adaptations. The genre lists for the three documents were highly overlapping, with rewards stacking and submission windows largely overlapping as well—this time, the platform clearly laid out the directions they wanted to promote.
1. What Each Line Covers
Thousand Characters, Ten Thousand Gold Phase 4: The prize pool is over 5 million yuan, with the submission period from October 1 to November 30, 2026, based on the completion date of the contract. The top hit incentive for a single work is up to 60,000 yuan, and the reward pool has been expanded from the original TOP200 to include works from TOP201 to TOP600, tripling the number of works that can receive rewards. Two new incentives have been added: multiple work incentives, where a single author can receive an additional 25% of new media channel revenue, and category incentives, which provide an extra bonus for the top 10 works in 7 categories. The official announcement explicitly states that there is "no need to apply actively," and the rewards will be automatically distributed after the content is fully published according to the calculation period.
IP Echo Plan Phase 3: The announcement states that it aims to "continuously supply IPs for live-action short dramas and create the next big hit." The genres focus on 10 directions, including female growth, generational romance, and creative concepts. Selected works will be prioritized for adaptation evaluation under the Red Fruit Short Drama "Thousand Titles Plan."
IP Golden Creation Plan: This plan is the most straightforward, focusing on manga and drama adaptations and medium to short-length works. It covers 11 categories, including male/female brain teasers, fantasy and martial arts, palace and household conflicts, and generational stories. Participating works must be over 20,000 words, and the submission period ends on October 31.
2. How the Money is Calculated: Base Pay + Revenue Sharing + Three Layers of Bonuses
Breaking down the numbers in the details:
- Base Pay: Super short stories 80–500+ yuan per thousand characters, medium to short stories 100–700+ yuan per thousand characters, with higher rates negotiable for top authors;
- Revenue Sharing: The official text states that "short story revenue sharing continues at 10:0, with 10 going to the author," meaning the author receives almost all the royalties;
- Hit Incentive: Up to 60,000 yuan per work, with works from TOP201 to TOP600 also included in the pool;
- Multiple Work Incentive (new): A single author can receive an additional 25% of new media channel revenue;
- Category Incentive (new): An additional bonus for the top 10 works in 7 categories.
Qidian provided an example of how the incentives can stack: for a historical romance web novel over 20,000 words that qualifies for both the Resonance Plan's word count and quality incentives, as well as the Thousand Gold per Thousand Words' potential category and hit incentives, the additional bonus would be "30% of total revenue across all channels + 2000 + 1000 + 60000", totaling more than 63,000 RMB.
There's also an easily overlooked definition of word count categories: ultra-short stories are 8,000 to 24,900 words, and short to medium-length stories are 25,000 to 80,000 words. The category is determined by the initial submission word count. This directly influences how long you should write your story.
3. The Real Signal is the Exit, Not the Bonus
While 5 million RMB sounds like a lot, it's not a huge amount when spread across all authors on the platform. The more valuable information in these three announcements is that short stories are being treated as IP seeds, with clear exit strategies outlined.
The Resonance Plan points to Red Fruit Short Drama's "Thousand Works Plan" for adaptation evaluation, the Golden Creation Plan explicitly mentions the direction of manga drama adaptations, and the Thousand Gold per Thousand Words plan states in its benefits, "Your story is not just about earning manuscript fees—there's a chance it could become the next hit short drama or manga drama."
This path has already been validated by leading platforms. According to the 2026 mid-year performance report of China Literature Group, the revenue from short dramas and AI manga dramas in the first half of the year was 430 million RMB, a year-on-year increase of 230%; using AI technology, they adapted thousands of web novels into AI manga dramas, with 46 works achieving over 100 million views and 367 works exceeding 10 million views (Securities Times, 2026-08-11). The raw material pool for adaptations requires a large number of short to medium-length stories, which is why Qidian is willing to provide a guaranteed minimum for stories around 20,000 words.
4. There's Also a Reverse Clause in the Details
Incentive announcements typically only talk about rewards, but this time, all three documents include a similar clause. The Resonance Plan's activity introduction states, "Break away from homogenized formulas, abandon superficial satisfaction, and seek powerful, deep, and sincere expressions," and "Do not pursue exaggerated satisfaction, but rather write about the real growth of characters."
The violation clauses are very detailed: maliciously padding word count, abnormal traffic diversion, data manipulation, profit sharing fraud, plagiarism, repeated chapters, and copyright issues. The platform reserves the right to cancel rewards or reclaim any already distributed. The Golden Creation Plan adds another clause: if a work is intentionally mislabeled to a non-related category to obtain incentives three or more times during the event period, the participant will be disqualified and all rewards will be canceled. Clearly stating what does not count while providing financial incentives is a common change in the 2026 platform manuscript fee rules.
5. For Short Story Writers, This is a Guide to the Types of Stories
When you align the genre lists from the three announcements, you get a clear picture of the preferred themes: palace intrigue, historical romance, sweet and fluffy modern romance, urban daily life, marriage and family, women's growth, and more. Most of these 11 categories are exactly what short dramas and web series are currently using. Conversely, the more a manuscript relies on templates for mass production, the harder it will be to secure funding under the review criteria that emphasize "substance over superficial excitement."
The rules for short stories differ from those for long-form works: a complete story should be between 20,000 to 80,000 words, and the competition is not about daily word count but rather about whether the structure holds together and the emotions resonate. Using tools to ensure consistency in worldbuilding, timeline verification, and character development can make a short story compelling within 20,000 words. On the other hand, using AI to inflate a 10,000-word story into 30,000 words would likely result in disqualification according to the detailed guidelines.
Information Sources
- Qianzhi Wanjin 2026 Fourth Phase Launch (2026-09-29)
- IP Echo Plan Third Phase (2026-09-29)
- IP Golden Creation Plan - Mid and Short IP Incentive Activity (2026-09-29)
- Securities Times: YUEWEN Group's IP Copyright Revenue Increased by 41.9% in the First Half of the Year, Short Web Series Revenue Increased by 230% to 430 Million RMB (2026-08-11)
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