For starters, I wish I had an easy answer for this one. I'm sure I'm not the only one trying to figure this out either. So, I thought I'd share my ideas. Hopefully, some of it will be helpful to others facing the same problem.
Who knows, maybe I'll even come up with a solution for my own issues by the time I'm finished. You might be surprised how good writing things down is for working out stress and confusion. Sometimes, it's even better than talking out a problem. This way you can look back at what you've said and not rely on memory.
Okay, so here's the thing. Sales have almost completely stopped for the past 2 weeks on my 2 self-published books. (I'm not counting my books with publishers, because I have no control over those. Sure, I promote them. But I make a smaller portion from sales which equals to about the same thing as say 1 self-pub book vs. 3 traditionally published.) Therefore, I'm focusing on the books I have total control over.
This also makes it easier if I decide something needs to be changed, book description, price, etc. I'm in complete control of all that.
Like I said, sales have been at almost a complete stand-still. I have no idea why. Both books have good reviews. Readers have written to me to tell me how much they enjoyed them. And yet, these stories aren't moving.
My free read was a different story. As you may have read, I just removed Eaten by The Wolf because of a series of nasty fake reviews. This short story was downloaded 8,000+ times in the past 2 weeks. Why the hell would I take it down and not stick it out? Because I don't think it was helping my sales. The reviews were messing with my concentration and pissing me off on a daily basis. That's never good for creativity. Besides that, since the short had been free, only downloads of the short story increased. My sales of other books got lower.
Was the free read actually hurting me? If so, I don't believe it had anything to do with content. I believe it was more like people who'd never heard of me were going to get one of my books and, "Hey, this one is free."
Out of over 8,000 free copies, my sales only went up by about 3. That's right 3 copies! What a crock, right?
I have considered putting the free read back up. But I believe that will only add to more frustration and personal attacks from whatever nutters are after me. Besides, I wasn't making any money off it, and apparently it was NOT helping my sales.
My other idea is maybe I should leave Frank and The Werewolf Tamer in the KDP Select program. I'd said before that I believe this offers no real benefit to authors. I'm still not sure it does.
My book was downloaded for free (through the KDP Select program) about 30 times. What did I get out of this? $1.70 - One dollar and seventy cents. That HUGE pot they send everyone emails about all depends on how many authors are enrolled and how many times everyone's books are downloaded. Unless you're already a big name and get like 100,000 downloads, this will not pay your bills.
Another thing to consider is this. If your book is enrolled in the KDP Select program, you can't have it listed for sale anywhere else. At first I thought that was ridiculous. Why wouldn't I list my book in other places? Wouldn't I be selling myself short?
Not necessarily. My second self-published book is up on Smashwords. It's sold a whopping 10 copies in a month. Sure, every book is different and sales will fluctuate based on SO many factors it's frightening. But seriously, 10 copies? Is it worth taking Frank and The Werewolf Tamer out of the KDP Select program to list it on sites like this? Maybe not.
I also have this to consider. The free read I had listed there was only downloaded 1,500 (roughly) times in 2 months vs. the 8,000+ in 2 weeks on Amazon. Even if it didn't amount to sales, it speaks volumes about how many people are purchasing off Amazon vs. Smashwords.
So, here's what I'm thinking. (After debating this with me, myself, and I, because I have no one else to talk to. LOL) I may leave Frank and The Werewolf Tamer enrolled in KDP Select and see what happens.
Maybe Amazon will come up with another incentive for staying in this program that is actually worth something. Plus, this allows me to offer my story for free for up to 5 days every quarter.
Who knows if that will spike sales or not. Right now, it's all I've got. At the very least, more people will be exposed to my work and maybe even remember my name.
What's the point in continuing to release new books if no one knows they are there?
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
I may never offer a free read again
I have decided to unpublish my short story, Eaten by The Wolf. Apparently, people are signing up just for the purpose of leaving bad reviews on this one. That's what I get for trying to give people something for free. You just can't be nice to anyone without having it thrown back in your face.
Thank you very much to everyone who left positive reviews and comments. Please don't think I don't appreciate you. I really do. Your support is what keeps me going.
Having said that, I don't need the kind of negativity this story is generating. And for the most stupid reasons at that. I'm currently working on turning this into a full-length novel. I can't work on that while assholes are signing up just to leave reviews that say it's "the worst thing they've ever read."
Seriously, when they have no other reviews and it shows they've been a member for only a few days, you can't tell me that's not someone being a jerk just for the sake of being a jerk.
Why would they do that? What is it about me that's so offensive? Are they jealous of me? I'm not making a lot of money. I don't live in a big house or have lots of cars. What the hell are they jealous of? And if not jealousy, why do they hate me? What the hell have I done to them?
I make a point to be nice to other people, especially within the same industry. I do my best to help others and offer advice when it's asked for. I know I haven't done anything to deserve this.
So, to the author or authors out there behind this (because I know you are) ask yourselves why are you really doing this? What do you get out of it?
I wanted to give people a sample of my writing. Nice to know no one wants it.
Thank you very much to everyone who left positive reviews and comments. Please don't think I don't appreciate you. I really do. Your support is what keeps me going.
Having said that, I don't need the kind of negativity this story is generating. And for the most stupid reasons at that. I'm currently working on turning this into a full-length novel. I can't work on that while assholes are signing up just to leave reviews that say it's "the worst thing they've ever read."
Seriously, when they have no other reviews and it shows they've been a member for only a few days, you can't tell me that's not someone being a jerk just for the sake of being a jerk.
Why would they do that? What is it about me that's so offensive? Are they jealous of me? I'm not making a lot of money. I don't live in a big house or have lots of cars. What the hell are they jealous of? And if not jealousy, why do they hate me? What the hell have I done to them?
I make a point to be nice to other people, especially within the same industry. I do my best to help others and offer advice when it's asked for. I know I haven't done anything to deserve this.
So, to the author or authors out there behind this (because I know you are) ask yourselves why are you really doing this? What do you get out of it?
I wanted to give people a sample of my writing. Nice to know no one wants it.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Let's Celebrate Read an Ebook Week!
This week March 4-10 is Read an Ebook Week and Smashwords is celebrating big time. So far, I have 2 titles for sale with Smashwords. Authors are offering huge discounts on their books THIS WEEK ONLY.
Eaten by The Wolf is already free.
Diary of an Incubus is discounted 50%
All you need to do to get the discount is enter this code at check out REW50
It's always nice when I can do something special for my readers. I think being able to offer a full length novel (70,000+ words) for .99 cents is pretty special. LOL
So, if you like vampires, erotic romance, and a good menage, why not give Diary of an Incubus a try?
Here's the full book description:
Jewel Mathers needed a good story for her next novel. She turned to the ancient journals in desperation. But fame and fortune comes with a price … and a couple of hot vampires.
WARNING: This story contains violence, lots of sex, and some frightening creatures. No werewolves were harmed in the making of this book.
It's okay to get your hopes up
If you're like me, you can't write when you're in a bad mood or feel discouraged. For those who haven't been writing/published long, I should warn you, you will often feel discouraged. This is a discouraging business.
There will be both big and small things to bring you down. For example, I've had several reviews comparing my books to another author. Now, she's an excellent writer and very famous. The first time, it was flattering. The third and fourth time, not so much. I want to be known for ME, not because someone THINKS my work sounds like somebody else. Especially, since I don't read the other author's work.
Another example, (don't worry, this is not a rant) my short story Eaten by The Wolf. Even though the description says it's a short erotic story, 10 pages in length, people still leave bad reviews. Their only complaint? The length. It's one thing if they didn't know. But when you're told upfront (not to mention the story is FREE) then why leave a bad review?
I shared that (not just to complain) but to share this. I plan to turn Eaten by The Wolf into a full novel. Not only that, but it will be the first in a trilogy. I'm making notes on the project right now. What did ANOTHER bad review do for my ideas? I'll tell you, it shot them straight to hell for another afternoon.
But I can't let it do that or this awesome story I've got in my head will never be told! And it's worth telling. I've read enough to know a good story when I hear one and I've been hearing this one in my head for weeks now. It may be the end of the year before I get to actually begin work on it. I've got a lot lined up this summer. We'll have to wait and see.
My point is, I can't let what people say influence me to the point that I give up. I know other writers that will get a bad review and want to give up. Just because someone decides to be a jerk (and probably did so LOUDLY) they think all their work is crap. (I'm guilty of this too.) But you can't think that way! (On a side note, I'm not calling everyone who leaves a less that perfect review a jerk. Having a valid point is well, a valid point.)
Do lots of other people like your work? Have they told you so? How many times have your books been downloaded? And out of all those times, HOW MANY people complained? If your story has been read by thousands of people and only a handful complain, maybe they are too picky. Or if one person writes a REALLY nasty review, maybe they're just an asshole.
It doesn't mean you suck. Your books aren't crap. Every writer needs to hear this, regardless of the genre you write. Storytelling is how we communicate so much about life. Fiction has the power to make you see the real world differently. Maybe someone is going through a rough time in their life and they like to read romance. They get to read about someone who overcomes their problems and finds love in the end. Yes, it's only a story, but it has the power to make that person who read it feel better. Encouragement is a good thing, no matter what form it comes in.
There's no telling how many people your work may have encouraged. It might have brightened their day, made them laugh, made them smile. You can't quit. This is what you were meant to do with your life.
So, get up and get encouraged. Tell the stories you've got inside you. People do want to hear them. Maybe not those jerks who wrote the bad reviews, but they aren't the only people in the world.
You are unique. You are valuable. You have something to offer that no one else has YOUR WORDS.
There will be both big and small things to bring you down. For example, I've had several reviews comparing my books to another author. Now, she's an excellent writer and very famous. The first time, it was flattering. The third and fourth time, not so much. I want to be known for ME, not because someone THINKS my work sounds like somebody else. Especially, since I don't read the other author's work.
Another example, (don't worry, this is not a rant) my short story Eaten by The Wolf. Even though the description says it's a short erotic story, 10 pages in length, people still leave bad reviews. Their only complaint? The length. It's one thing if they didn't know. But when you're told upfront (not to mention the story is FREE) then why leave a bad review?
I shared that (not just to complain) but to share this. I plan to turn Eaten by The Wolf into a full novel. Not only that, but it will be the first in a trilogy. I'm making notes on the project right now. What did ANOTHER bad review do for my ideas? I'll tell you, it shot them straight to hell for another afternoon.
But I can't let it do that or this awesome story I've got in my head will never be told! And it's worth telling. I've read enough to know a good story when I hear one and I've been hearing this one in my head for weeks now. It may be the end of the year before I get to actually begin work on it. I've got a lot lined up this summer. We'll have to wait and see.
My point is, I can't let what people say influence me to the point that I give up. I know other writers that will get a bad review and want to give up. Just because someone decides to be a jerk (and probably did so LOUDLY) they think all their work is crap. (I'm guilty of this too.) But you can't think that way! (On a side note, I'm not calling everyone who leaves a less that perfect review a jerk. Having a valid point is well, a valid point.)
Do lots of other people like your work? Have they told you so? How many times have your books been downloaded? And out of all those times, HOW MANY people complained? If your story has been read by thousands of people and only a handful complain, maybe they are too picky. Or if one person writes a REALLY nasty review, maybe they're just an asshole.
It doesn't mean you suck. Your books aren't crap. Every writer needs to hear this, regardless of the genre you write. Storytelling is how we communicate so much about life. Fiction has the power to make you see the real world differently. Maybe someone is going through a rough time in their life and they like to read romance. They get to read about someone who overcomes their problems and finds love in the end. Yes, it's only a story, but it has the power to make that person who read it feel better. Encouragement is a good thing, no matter what form it comes in.
There's no telling how many people your work may have encouraged. It might have brightened their day, made them laugh, made them smile. You can't quit. This is what you were meant to do with your life.
So, get up and get encouraged. Tell the stories you've got inside you. People do want to hear them. Maybe not those jerks who wrote the bad reviews, but they aren't the only people in the world.
You are unique. You are valuable. You have something to offer that no one else has YOUR WORDS.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Romance you can sink your fangs into: Author Spotlights Tracey Kitts
Romance you can sink your fangs into: Author Spotlights Tracy Kitts: Today's Spotlight shines on Author extraordinaire Tracey Kitts. If you like Paranormal it gets no better than this. If your new to the ge...
Click the link above to check out the full article. I couldn't resist sharing. :)
Click the link above to check out the full article. I couldn't resist sharing. :)
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Interview with the author of Behind the Hood Marita A. Hansen
Where were you born and where do you live now?
I was born and bred in New Zealand, but am currently living in Singapore, where I’ve been since December 2009. I will be returning home in 2013.
What are your hobbies?
I love sport, in particular soccer, running, and karate. I’m soccer mad, and am a youth coach and referee. My other hobbies are reading and art. I do all my book covers.
Do you have another job apart from writing?
I am an artist, but I’ve put it aside for the moment to concentrate on my books. I would prefer to be an author, and to keep art as a hobby rather than a job. When I was in New Zealand art was pretty much a full time thing. At one point, while doing a large commission, I was painting seven days a week. I am passionate about both my art and writing.
On writing:
Can you describe the place where you write and the view?
I write from home. My view is of the gorgeous garden outside: Palm trees, Bougainvillea, bamboo and so forth.
What genre(s) do you write in? How did that develop?
I write realistic fiction. Originally I did try my hand at YA fantasy, but I ended up putting it aside. When I first started writing “Behind the Hood” I intended on doing a fantasy based in Singapore. But the location for the story wasn’t working, so I moved it to one of my old neighbourhoods in New Zealand. As soon as I did that it rapidly morphed into realism. From there, I found that this genre was a lot easier to write and held more meaning for me. At the moment I’m also writing a spin-off series for “Behind the Hood” called “Graffiti Heaven,” which is set ten years earlier.
At some point you decided to self-publish. Can you tell us how that process developed?
I don’t like sending off submissions to agents. It’s absolutely horrible. They take way too long to reply, and a couple have wasted my time. This was one of the reasons why I decided to self-publish. Plus, when I took the plunge into self-publishing I thought I was returning home by the end of 2011. Due to this I was feeling the pressure of getting my book out there, because if I returned back to New Zealand without having done so I was worried “Behind the Hood” was going to languish in the depths of my computer unread. But, I did have it professionally edited, thus doing my best to get it up to publishable standards. And so far it has been well-received with some really good reviews both on Amazon and Goodreads.
How do you feel about self-publishing? What are the advantages, disadvantages, etc.?
At first I was nervous about self-publishing, because the hardest thing is marketing. Someone can have the best book in the world, but if people don’t know about it, it won’t get anyway. Self-published authors have to be persistent with marketing their books, getting it onto people’s blogs, participating in places like Goodreads, twittering, and joining in with the Facebook community. Writers’ websites are also important, along with forums. You also need to do talks at writing groups or bookstores. I’ve done a few of these and they went very well.
Are you in a network of Indie authors?
I’m a part of the Facebook group Writing Kindle Books.
When was your first book released and how did that make you feel?
“Behind the Hood” went live on August 12, 2011. I felt nervous about it, because it’s a pretty full-on read and I was worried about how it would be received. I was also nervous about the formatting, but one person told me that there were no errors in relation to this. Additionally, the marketing side of things was daunting.
Can you tell us some background information on the book?
“Behind the Hood” is the first in a series. I will release “Behind the Tears” in November of this year, and so forth. The idea for “Behind the Hood” basically came from setting it in one of my old neighbourhoods in South Auckland, New Zealand. As soon as I had my character Maia walk past a gang, things just flowed and the story took on a life of its own. Plus, I did include things that were familiar, personalities, settings, etc. which was why it probably came so readily. But because I was new to this writing game, and was still persisting with the notion of going down the conventional route with publishing, “Behind the Hood” took fifteen months to complete.
What are your writing habits?
I go with the flow; I have no set number of words. I just write when it comes to me.
Who’s been your biggest inspiration and why?
Life I suppose. My experiences and what I see around me.
Where do you see yourself in 5-years’ time?
Hopefully being able to support myself and my family from my books, as well as getting “Behind the Hood” turned into a television drama since the structure of the chapters are suited to this.
Synopsis, Review and Links to Behind the Hood
Life on the rough side of New Zealand. In this South Auckland neighbourhood where gang culture, drink, drugs, sex and violence is already a way of life, a vicious attack on a teenage girl sparks a ripple effect of revenge and fury. Live the carnage through multiple viewpoints as the tale unfolds to a bloody climax.
An Amazon Review:
INTENSE! I could probably leave my review at this one word and that would say it all. What a nerve wracking read. At first I thought there were going to be too many point of view characters for me to get involved emotionally, but they all tied back to each other perfectly. I had no problem keeping track of who was who and how they related back to each of the other characters. By the last three-quarters of the book I had the phones turned off and the Do Not Disturb sign hung on the door. I had to know what was going to happen and I didn't want any interruptions. Marita Hansen did not disappoint. I can't wait to read the sequel.
Links to Behind the Hood (Free sample available through Amazon’s look inside feature):
http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Hood-Lives-ebook/dp/B005H3DGR4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=A3QI763M62X7GQ
Monday, February 27, 2012
Censorship is a scary thing
Apparently, Paypal decided to lay the morality smackdown on certain types of erotic content in books. A few days ago, I received this email from Smashwords. (By the way, it's not only Smashwords doing this, it's Amazon, Bookstrand, and others.)
February 24, 2012
Re: Your Smashwords account at http://smashwords.com/profile/view/traceyhkitts
Dear Smashwords Authors, Publishers and Literary Agents,
This email is being sent to all authors, publishers and agents who have published erotica at Smashwords. We will also post this message to Site Updates and the Press Room. According to our records, you pubish 2 erotica-categorized title(s) out of 2 title(s) now live in the Smashwords system.
This message may or may not pertain to you. Today we are modifying our Terms of Service to clarify our policies regarding erotic fiction that contains bestiality, rape and incest. If you write in any of these categories, please carefully read the instructions below and remove such content from Smashwords. If you don’t write in these categories, you can disregard this message.
PayPal is requiring Smashwords to immediately begin removing the above-mentioned categories of books. Please review your title(s) and proactively remove and archive such works if you are affected. I apologize for the short notice, and I’m especially sorry for any financial or emotional hardship this may cause the authors and publishers affected by this change. As you may have heard, in the last couple weeks PayPal began aggressively enforcing a prohibition against online retailers selling certain types of "obscene" content.
For good background on the issue, see this Selena Kitt post here - http://selenakitt.com/blog/index.php/2012/02/19/slippery-slope-erotica-censorship/ or here - http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/02/slippery-slope-erotica-censorship.html#comment-form or this Kindleboards thread here - http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,104604.0.html
On Saturday, February 18, PayPal’s enforcement division contacted Smashwords with an ultimatum. As with the other ebook retailers affected by this enforcement, PayPal gave us only a few days to achieve compliance otherwise they threatened to deactivate our PayPal services. I've had multiple conversations with PayPal over the last several days to better understand their requirements.
Their team has been helpful, forthcoming and supportive of the Smashwords mission. I appreciate their willingness to engage in dialogue. Although they have tried their best to delineate their policies, gray areas remain.
Their hot buttons are bestiality, rape-for-titillation, incest and underage erotica. The underage erotica is not a problem for us. We already have some of the industry’s strictest policies prohibiting underage characters (we don’t even allow non-participating minors to appear in erotica), and our vetting team is always on the lookout for "barely legal" content where supposed adults are placed in underage situations.
The other three areas of bestiality, rape and incest were less well-defined in our Terms of Service (https://www.smashwords.com/about/tos) before today. I’ll tackle these one-by-one below, and I'll provide you a summary of the changes that will go into effect immediately.*Incest:* Until now, we didn’t have a policy prohibiting incest between consenting adults, or its non-biological variation commonly known as "Pseudo-incest."
Neither did our retailer partners. We’ve noticed a surge of PI books over the last few months, and many of them have "Daddy" in the title. I wouldn't be surprised if the surge in "Daddy" titles prompted PayPal to pursue this purge (I don't know). PI usually explores sexual relations between consenting adult stepchildren with their step parents, or between step-siblings. Effectively immediately, we no longer allow incest of any variety in erotica. Like many writers, censorship of any form greatly concerns me. It is with some reluctance that I have made the decision to prohibit incest-themed erotica at Smashwords.
Regardless of your opinion on incest, it’s a slippery slope when we allow others to control what we think and write. Fiction is fantasy. It’s not real. It unfolds in our imagination. I’ve always believed fiction writers and readers should have the freedom to explore diverse topics and situations in the privacy of their own mind. From an imagination perspective, erotica is little different from a literary novel that puts us inside the mind of farm animals (1984), or a thriller novel that puts us inside the mind of a terrorist, or a horror novel that puts us inside the mind of an axe-murderer or their victim. All fiction takes us somewhere. We read fiction to be moved, and to feel. Sometimes we want to feel touched, moved, or disturbed. A reader should have the right to feel moved however they desire to be moved.Incest, however, carries thorny baggage. The legality of incest is murky. It creates a potential legal liability for Smashwords as our business and our books become more present in more jurisdictions around the world. Anything that threatens Smashwords directly threatens our ability to serve the greater interests of all Smashwords authors, publishers, retailers and customers who rely upon us as the world’s leading distributor of indie ebooks. The business considerations compel me to not fall on the sword for incest. I realize this is an imperfect decision.
The slippery slope is dangerous, but I believe this imperfect decision is in the best interest of the community we serve.*Bestiality:* Until now, we didn’t have a stated policy regarding bestiality. I like animals. Call me old fashioned or hypocritical (I’m not a vegetarian), but I don’t want to be a party to anyone enjoying animals for sexual gratification, for the same reason we’ve never allowed pedophilia books. I don’t want to publish it, sell it, or distribute it. The TOS is now modified to reflect this. Note this does not apply to shape-shifters common in paranormal romance provided the were-creature characters are getting it on in their human form. Sorry I need to clarify it that way, but we don’t want to see bestiality erotica masquerading as paranormal romance. *Rape:*
Although our Terms of Service prohibits books that advocate violence against others, we did not specifically identify rape. This was an oversight on our part. Now we have clarified the policy. We do not want books that contain rape for the purpose of titillation. At Smashwords, rape has no longer has a place in erotica. It has no place anywhere else if the purpose is to titillate. Non-consensual BDSM - or any other form of non-consensual violence against another person - is prohibited.
There is more to the letter, but I decided to cut it off here as the rest only give steps on how to remove your content IF you fall into those categories. Before I go further (because when I mentioned this on Facebook recently, someone misunderstood my intent) I am NOT advocating the topics of rape, incest, or bestiality. I AM advocating freedom of speech.
In my opinion, that's what this is really about. I find those topics disgusting to say the list. However, I do not have the right to tell other people what they can and cannot write, publish, or read. And neither does anyone else.
Read the Selena Kitt article listed above. It's scary and eye-opening. I had no idea any of this was going on until I got that letter from Smashwords. Thank God I decided not to write any BDSM because that is being targeted now also.
I could understand being in an uproar if someone was selling images depicting acts of rape, bestiality, etc. But these are WORDS. FICTION for crying out loud.
Perhaps they are only targeting erotica because the "morality police" are afraid of sex? If they're going to get picky about content, then mysteries and thrillers should also be removed due to content. How many mysteries and thrillers contain rape, murder, mutilation and the like? Don't even get me started on horror! But you know what? I LIKE horror and I'll be damned if anyone is going to tell me I can't read what I enjoy.
Same goes for romance. Today it's the (in my opinion) really sick shit that gets targeted. That of course, doesn't include BDSM. Targeting consensual acts between adults is way out of line.
My question (and concern) is, what's next? What if they decide that vampires and werewolves are immoral? That means I lose my source of income. But more than that, I lose my dream. I lose what I love and the best job I've ever had. And thousands of people lose their favorite form of entertainment. Not just my books (I wish) but all of those that fall into the same categories.
I do not believe that I am immoral and I do not believe my content is in any way "sick" or "unnatural." But what happens when someone else does and they happen to have the power to ruin my life?
That my friends, is scary as hell.
February 24, 2012
Re: Your Smashwords account at http://smashwords.com/profile/view/traceyhkitts
Dear Smashwords Authors, Publishers and Literary Agents,
This email is being sent to all authors, publishers and agents who have published erotica at Smashwords. We will also post this message to Site Updates and the Press Room. According to our records, you pubish 2 erotica-categorized title(s) out of 2 title(s) now live in the Smashwords system.
This message may or may not pertain to you. Today we are modifying our Terms of Service to clarify our policies regarding erotic fiction that contains bestiality, rape and incest. If you write in any of these categories, please carefully read the instructions below and remove such content from Smashwords. If you don’t write in these categories, you can disregard this message.
PayPal is requiring Smashwords to immediately begin removing the above-mentioned categories of books. Please review your title(s) and proactively remove and archive such works if you are affected. I apologize for the short notice, and I’m especially sorry for any financial or emotional hardship this may cause the authors and publishers affected by this change. As you may have heard, in the last couple weeks PayPal began aggressively enforcing a prohibition against online retailers selling certain types of "obscene" content.
For good background on the issue, see this Selena Kitt post here - http://selenakitt.com/blog/index.php/2012/02/19/slippery-slope-erotica-censorship/ or here - http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/02/slippery-slope-erotica-censorship.html#comment-form or this Kindleboards thread here - http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,104604.0.html
On Saturday, February 18, PayPal’s enforcement division contacted Smashwords with an ultimatum. As with the other ebook retailers affected by this enforcement, PayPal gave us only a few days to achieve compliance otherwise they threatened to deactivate our PayPal services. I've had multiple conversations with PayPal over the last several days to better understand their requirements.
Their team has been helpful, forthcoming and supportive of the Smashwords mission. I appreciate their willingness to engage in dialogue. Although they have tried their best to delineate their policies, gray areas remain.
Their hot buttons are bestiality, rape-for-titillation, incest and underage erotica. The underage erotica is not a problem for us. We already have some of the industry’s strictest policies prohibiting underage characters (we don’t even allow non-participating minors to appear in erotica), and our vetting team is always on the lookout for "barely legal" content where supposed adults are placed in underage situations.
The other three areas of bestiality, rape and incest were less well-defined in our Terms of Service (https://www.smashwords.com/about/tos) before today. I’ll tackle these one-by-one below, and I'll provide you a summary of the changes that will go into effect immediately.*Incest:* Until now, we didn’t have a policy prohibiting incest between consenting adults, or its non-biological variation commonly known as "Pseudo-incest."
Neither did our retailer partners. We’ve noticed a surge of PI books over the last few months, and many of them have "Daddy" in the title. I wouldn't be surprised if the surge in "Daddy" titles prompted PayPal to pursue this purge (I don't know). PI usually explores sexual relations between consenting adult stepchildren with their step parents, or between step-siblings. Effectively immediately, we no longer allow incest of any variety in erotica. Like many writers, censorship of any form greatly concerns me. It is with some reluctance that I have made the decision to prohibit incest-themed erotica at Smashwords.
Regardless of your opinion on incest, it’s a slippery slope when we allow others to control what we think and write. Fiction is fantasy. It’s not real. It unfolds in our imagination. I’ve always believed fiction writers and readers should have the freedom to explore diverse topics and situations in the privacy of their own mind. From an imagination perspective, erotica is little different from a literary novel that puts us inside the mind of farm animals (1984), or a thriller novel that puts us inside the mind of a terrorist, or a horror novel that puts us inside the mind of an axe-murderer or their victim. All fiction takes us somewhere. We read fiction to be moved, and to feel. Sometimes we want to feel touched, moved, or disturbed. A reader should have the right to feel moved however they desire to be moved.Incest, however, carries thorny baggage. The legality of incest is murky. It creates a potential legal liability for Smashwords as our business and our books become more present in more jurisdictions around the world. Anything that threatens Smashwords directly threatens our ability to serve the greater interests of all Smashwords authors, publishers, retailers and customers who rely upon us as the world’s leading distributor of indie ebooks. The business considerations compel me to not fall on the sword for incest. I realize this is an imperfect decision.
The slippery slope is dangerous, but I believe this imperfect decision is in the best interest of the community we serve.*Bestiality:* Until now, we didn’t have a stated policy regarding bestiality. I like animals. Call me old fashioned or hypocritical (I’m not a vegetarian), but I don’t want to be a party to anyone enjoying animals for sexual gratification, for the same reason we’ve never allowed pedophilia books. I don’t want to publish it, sell it, or distribute it. The TOS is now modified to reflect this. Note this does not apply to shape-shifters common in paranormal romance provided the were-creature characters are getting it on in their human form. Sorry I need to clarify it that way, but we don’t want to see bestiality erotica masquerading as paranormal romance. *Rape:*
Although our Terms of Service prohibits books that advocate violence against others, we did not specifically identify rape. This was an oversight on our part. Now we have clarified the policy. We do not want books that contain rape for the purpose of titillation. At Smashwords, rape has no longer has a place in erotica. It has no place anywhere else if the purpose is to titillate. Non-consensual BDSM - or any other form of non-consensual violence against another person - is prohibited.
There is more to the letter, but I decided to cut it off here as the rest only give steps on how to remove your content IF you fall into those categories. Before I go further (because when I mentioned this on Facebook recently, someone misunderstood my intent) I am NOT advocating the topics of rape, incest, or bestiality. I AM advocating freedom of speech.
In my opinion, that's what this is really about. I find those topics disgusting to say the list. However, I do not have the right to tell other people what they can and cannot write, publish, or read. And neither does anyone else.
Read the Selena Kitt article listed above. It's scary and eye-opening. I had no idea any of this was going on until I got that letter from Smashwords. Thank God I decided not to write any BDSM because that is being targeted now also.
I could understand being in an uproar if someone was selling images depicting acts of rape, bestiality, etc. But these are WORDS. FICTION for crying out loud.
Perhaps they are only targeting erotica because the "morality police" are afraid of sex? If they're going to get picky about content, then mysteries and thrillers should also be removed due to content. How many mysteries and thrillers contain rape, murder, mutilation and the like? Don't even get me started on horror! But you know what? I LIKE horror and I'll be damned if anyone is going to tell me I can't read what I enjoy.
Same goes for romance. Today it's the (in my opinion) really sick shit that gets targeted. That of course, doesn't include BDSM. Targeting consensual acts between adults is way out of line.
My question (and concern) is, what's next? What if they decide that vampires and werewolves are immoral? That means I lose my source of income. But more than that, I lose my dream. I lose what I love and the best job I've ever had. And thousands of people lose their favorite form of entertainment. Not just my books (I wish) but all of those that fall into the same categories.
I do not believe that I am immoral and I do not believe my content is in any way "sick" or "unnatural." But what happens when someone else does and they happen to have the power to ruin my life?
That my friends, is scary as hell.
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