Message from the Soap Box: Censorship or Illegal Content?

Topic: Censorship or Illegal Content?

With all the facebook posts, blog posts and other comments made on this topic in the last week, you guys should have known it wouldn’t be too long before I would put my two cents in on the matter. Why? Because I don’t even write Erotica… But I got a message from Amazon about their upgrading their Terms of Service (ToS) two months ago. Just like ALL Authors get whenever Amazon gets it in their head to change something. Whether anyone aside from me READ the email is beyond me. I know I did.

Amazon is NOT pulling all Erotica off the shelves. Amazon did give a warning in their last ToS upgrade email, that books that violated the new ToS would be removed. You guys have had TWO MONTHS to fix the things Amazon LISTED in the email. You really have no business whining and complaining and calling the removal a witch hunt when it’s your own fault for not correcting the things that would get your book removed.

Since you apparently didn’t read the ToS update email I’ll list the things that potentially got your book removed.

1) Titles that can be miscateorized. (Daddy’s girl, Mommy’s Favorite Pet, etc) Titles like these can EASILY glitch and show up in a search for children’s books.

2) Being there is no way on certain websites (like amazon) to BLOCK specific content (Like you can adult filter Smashwords to prevent seeing any erotica books at all), covers that depict gentalia, compromising positions, etc were the FIRST thing to be removed. Amazon, Kobo, B&N, do NOT have a filter system like Smashwords does to prevent a book from showing to certain people.

3) Inappropriate titles. If your book title sounds like a low budget porno, chances are it’s getting pulled. Erotica is NOT an outlet or a good clause to right hard core porn without pictures. I’m not a fan of the genre, but I’ve read enough DECENT Erotica to know people don’t want erotica that holds no storyline. If you have more sex then story, you might want to make a screen play and find a porno director instead of tainting an entire genre with pictureless porn

What content can get your book removed?

1) Adults having sex with minors. This is against the law in the real world, it’s safe to assume it’s also against the law when writing a book

2) Bestiality. We aren’t red necks, our animals are not our lovers x.X When it comes to Paranormal Erotica, this is still an iffy subject. It might be safer to write the scene assumed then graphically go into someone screwing their werewolf, shifter, or whatever lover in their animal form

3) Incest.  This seems to be a favorite among the low budget wannabe porno writers. I mean personally, I don’t have a problem reading it, however a book who’s title displays it will be quickly over looked by most people. I know I’m not fixing to read (Gangbang with Daddy) and yes that is a title of an actual book that was removed from Amazon.

Really the only people who read the afore mentioned material, are people who do those things themselves. Do you REALLY want your fan base to consist of pedophiles, zoophiles, and parents who molest their kids?

Also a nice bold disclaimer in your blurb letting it be known who this book is aimed at helps as well.. So does categorizing your book properly. The culprits behind all these new rules and whatnot labeled their erotic books as children’s books, and thus caused a problem for everyone who writes the genre.

Instead of trying to get everyone to sign petitions crying censorship when you did not read the new ToS update isn’t going to do anything but bring more problems on yourself and other erotica authors. It would be much easier to contact amazon and find out WHY your book was removed and what can be done to get your book back on the site.

As to those assuming Kobo is just not dealing with Indie and Self Pubs anymore. Did you even read their disclaimer? IF they pull them all down, it will only be until they can sort through them and get them categorized correctly. WH Smith is completely offline (well was last time I checked) and they  are PRIVATELY owned. It’s THEIR choice whether or not they want to sell indie and self pubs.

And have any of you claiming all indie and self pub books are gone from kobo checked to see? I’m an Indie and my book is still listed http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-rise-of-xosha-prequel.

Stop claiming there’s a witch hunt when there isn’t. I can show you LISTS of Erotica books on B&N, Kobo, and Amazon that are still there. If yours isn’t, you might want to find out what ToS you violated.