tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post7928555124789739492..comments2024-03-18T21:30:04.613-07:00Comments on <b>Smashwords</b>: Inside the Mind of Best-Selling Erotica Author Selena KittDovetail Public Relationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-20453371284810967082012-03-30T19:43:31.312-07:002012-03-30T19:43:31.312-07:00I love that Selena was able to write what she love...I love that Selena was able to write what she loved, and make a living from it. Many writers are just writing what they think the market wants most. Me? I'm caught in between.<br /><br />Best of luck Selena...Adminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16891262330472470413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-27287049558871232252012-03-22T21:36:33.811-07:002012-03-22T21:36:33.811-07:00Write m/m fiction and I'll be first in line ;)...<i>Write m/m fiction and I'll be first in line ;)</i><br /><br />Hey, have you read Second Chance? It won the Epic award for erotica - and it's my only m/m title to date. ;) It's only 10K. But you asked! <br /><br />As for Amazon, yes - they continue to censor without rhyme or reason. I'm not letting them off the hook, I promise. I even blogged about that issue <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/03/corporate-bullies.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> recently.Selena Kitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-82533896768774287432012-03-18T05:06:27.074-07:002012-03-18T05:06:27.074-07:00Excellent interview! Great questions and Selena, y...Excellent interview! Great questions and Selena, you're so eloquent I get sucked into every blog post you write. Write m/m fiction and I'll be first in line ;)<br /><br />One idea did spark out of this whole thing. The government can't put restrictions like these on erotic content because of the First Amendment ... but would they be able to use a privately owned company with a huge market share to do it for them? You know, without no one else knowing. <br /><br />I was starting to lean toward this explanation after Visa's letter and before PayPal's update. It's just a conspiracy theory, but I did read somewhere that PayPal's done a lot to stay in the good graces of government offices to be able to do what they do, so it didn't seem too off base. Of course, I don't believe the Obama Administration would do this, but I worry if people like Santorum ever get elected.<br /><br />Anyway, today I blogged about what I hope to be the last post on this matter. Thank you Mark and everyone else who's fought for this. http://eripike.blogspot.com/2012/03/paypal-censorship-over-hopefully.htmlErica Pikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01410036734790965799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-39347939703036824442012-03-17T18:00:21.987-07:002012-03-17T18:00:21.987-07:00Excellent interview!
I agree with a previous com...Excellent interview! <br /><br />I agree with a previous commenter, Amazon is censoring as well, but they are sneaky about it and don't publicize it. <br /><br />I recently had an erotica novella 'blocked' by an adult filter. A book that was a #12 Hot New Release, hit the Top 100 and was poised to do so again, is now dead. Can't search it. Can't topic search it. Not listed in also boughts.<br /><br />And it's just a sweet romance with a little spank spank. Not even as raunchy as Fifty Shades. Paypal wouldn't have banned it.<br /><br />I have to give Paypal credit for at least being transparent so that we could represent our genre and shape policy. The largest bookseller in the world isn't even that ethical.<br /><br />MichelleMichelle McCleodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10196974458072940669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-57041645877090573272012-03-17T15:36:43.673-07:002012-03-17T15:36:43.673-07:00Interesting interview on several fronts. As an ind...Interesting interview on several fronts. As an indie author, I am interested in the success of other indie authors (or perhaps more so how they became so successful so that I might emulate their strategies and techniques). Well done, Selena!<br /><br />Secondly, although I do not write erotica, I have been very interested in the Paypal saga for all the same reasons that Selena and others were. If Paypay, Visa or anyone else for that matter, including the government, begin censoring free speech in the name of decency and morality, which is totally subjective by the way, then where does it stop?<br /><br />Will they then turn around and say that my Detective Marcella mysteries are inappropriate because they include murder, and murder is unacceptable in civil society?<br /><br />Perhaps because the series also centers on witches and witchcraft, then that is reason enough to censor my work. Well I say that's fine, maybe in Russia, comrade, but not here.<br /><br />Kudos to Mark and Smashwords!<br /><br />I think we all (authors and readers alike) should celebrate this victory for the milestone it is.<br /><br />Excellent interview! Thanks.dana e donovanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09018257326494278111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-58094236572687572572012-03-17T07:33:40.772-07:002012-03-17T07:33:40.772-07:00I agree with everything Selena said, but there was...I agree with everything Selena said, but there was one omission. Amazon does not merely refuse erotica which involves incest or bestiality. They also forbid erotica which contains rape or any other kind of non-consensual elements. In fact, I and other authors have learned that if you even have the word 'rape' in your erotic ebook somewhere, even if there is no actual rape, your book might be blocked by Amazon. And Amazon never offers any explanation for why they block your book, nor will they tell you if you write them and ask - as I have done - repeatedly. Amazon still does not admit they censor books...JJ Argushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17721826296600271089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-14274487769168218202012-03-17T05:06:04.828-07:002012-03-17T05:06:04.828-07:00Excellent and well put. The ludicrous attack on er...Excellent and well put. The ludicrous attack on erotica, as if it were the only genre that includes these "objectionable" themes, simply highlight the puritanical nature of the censorship.<br /><br />I'd only add the small caveat that while the perception is that horror is a male-dominated genre the readership and many of the writers are women, too. I've been part of a Horror in Film and Literature group since 1994 and it's certainly full of women. But a lot of women who write horror have been tagged in "dark fantasy" or "thriller" categories because of the continuing perception by marketing depts that horror is "male".C. Margery Kempehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15910282257993793334noreply@blogger.com