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Censorship Petition - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, KOBO: Drop the clause of removing Erotica and self

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nicola
Matriarch
Alan posted this link in the authors' private forum, but it would be good if our whole community are made aware of the direction the big online publishers are heading in:

http://www.change.org/petitions/amazon-barnes-and-noble-kobo-drop-the-clause-of-removing-erotica-and-self-published-indie-authors?share_id=ecrKvjPzoD&utm_campaign=twitter_link_action_box&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=share_petition

It's not great news for erotica writers and indie publishers.

Selena Kitt, one of the most successful erotica authors of the last decade (for good reason), posted about this a while ago, but it's still relevant today: http://selenakitt.com/blog/index.php/2013/04/30/survival-tips-for-the-pornocalypse-erotica-writers-get-armed-and-ready/

I recently checked several of our own titles, and sure enough, some have been filtered. What it effectively means, is that your books will not appear in the "All Departments" search, and there's a good chance they'll be buried elsewhere.

Authors who have existing books published on Amazon, can check the status of their books here: http://www.salesrankexpress.com, it's a very useful tool.

Please sign the petition and help spread the word!
Forbiddenwriter
Advanced Wordsmith
I signed. I'm always willing to give Selena an extra hand.
Guest
Lurker
Signed.
That is not good news at all but I am so glad she wrote some tips. I am just starting out so its good to know. Thanks.
Magical_felix
Wild at Heart
It's so odd because you can walk into a brick and mortar Barnes and Noble and purchase a particularly nasty little book called Tampa by Alissa Nutting. If you don't know what the book is about, Google is your friend. I have read it and it has no redeeming qualities. It reads like exploitation. But there it is at Barnes and Noble, in a nice hardcover, among the new fiction releases.
nicola
Matriarch
Thank you to those who signed the petition.

MF - yes, there are rather a lot of double standards.

I can understand their need to protect their corporate image (s).

It must be a nightmare too, trying to put in place measures to prevent the worst possible stories hitting their online stores.

Things like titles, covers, keywords, are easy to filter. The content itself, another matter entirely. I am fairly certain all the stories published on Amazon, Barnes & Noble for example, are not manually checked prior to publication.

We'll need to change the title of "Pussy Ownership", apparently the word "Pussy" is seen as a profanity, and the book has immediately been flagged and filtered as Adult.
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
Quote by nicola
Thank you to those who signed the petition.

MF - yes, there are rather a lot of double standards.

I can understand their need to protect their corporate image (s).

It must be a nightmare too, trying to put in place measures to prevent the worst possible stories hitting their online stores.

Things like titles, covers, keywords, are easy to filter. The content itself, another matter entirely. I am fairly certain all the stories published on Amazon, Barnes & Noble for example, are not manually checked prior to publication.

We'll need to change the title of "Pussy Ownership", apparently the word "Pussy" is seen as a profanity, and the book has immediately been flagged and filtered as Adult.


and yet...

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
Lisa
Moderator
I've signed the petition, too. I received this email from Kobo:

To our Kobo Writing Life and self-publishing partners:

As you may be aware, there has been a significant amount of negative media attention in the UK regarding offensive material that became available across a number of eBook platforms. Kobo was included in the reports from media and we are taking immediate action to resolve an issue that is the direct result of a select few authors and publishers violating Kobo’s content policies.

In order to address the situation Kobo is taking the following steps:
1. We are removing titles in question from the Kobo platform.
2. We are quarantining and reviewing titles to ensure that compliance to our policies is met by all authors and publishers. We will ensure that content meeting the policy is made available online as soon as possible.
3. We are reviewing our policies and procedures to implement safeguards that will ensure this situation does not happen in the future.

We are working hard to get back to business as usual, as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Our goal at Kobo is not to censor material; we support freedom of expression. Further, we want to protect the reputation of self-publishing as a whole. You have our promise that we will do all we can to ensure the exceptions that have caused this current situation will not have a lasting effect on what is an exciting new channel that connects Readers to a wealth of books.

Sincerely,

Mark Lefebvre
Director, Kobo Writing Life



There appears to be something going on with Barnes and Noble when it comes to the rankings of erotica authors in their sales as well. I've read a few blogs on this topic.

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/4244850-important-barnes-and-noble-appears-to-be-manipulating-its-best-seller-l
Dancing_Doll
Alpha Blonde
I signed this earlier as well.

I guess their banned-material censor guards were too loose and some authors/publishers managed to slip banned content through and now there's been enough backlash that the whole industry has to suffer for it. Sigh. sad
Guest
Lurker
Signed. Good luck to authors.
Milik_the_Red
Internet Philosopher
Signed. Thanks Nicola. Once again you have taken a stand for freedom of expression
Wilful
Devil's Advocate
I'm miles off myself, but nonetheless, I have signed too.

I'm the first to admit that I'm a Luddite, and I don't know anything about Kindle software/format/coding etc, but is there any merit in opening an e-book store here on Lush? We have over 200,000 members and God knows how many visitors who are already specifically looking for erotica. A few Google ads to redirect the traffic... Why not cut out the middle man?
My latest story is a racy little piece about what happens when someone cute from work invites you over to watch Netflix and Chill.
Master_Jonathan
Active Ink Slinger
I signed it as well, even though I haven't published anything there yet. I hate to see good work stymied!
Ravyn
Cock Connoisseur
Signed and in full support!
Guest
Lurker
Quote by Ravyn
Signed and in full support!


Ditto!
Callisto
Rocker of the cocker
Quote by Ravyn
Signed and in full support!


This.
Jayne33
Velvet-Voiced Titillator
Signed