tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88700538945609402302024-03-19T01:39:13.016-04:00The Self Publishing RevolutionAuthors talk about their journeys in self publishing. Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-24243799483825237232018-04-28T21:04:00.000-04:002018-04-28T21:07:46.683-04:00Amazon Scammers Take Over Kindle Unlimited - Game Over for Real Authors?I've been quiet about Amazon's Kindle Unlimited Program, and self-publishing in general, for several years. Part of me just gave up. (It really does feel good when you stop banging your head against a wall!) I'm an old cynic about Amazon now, I guess. They have been squeezing authors, paying us less and less, since the program started.<br />
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Personally, I've removed most of my books from the program, even though I've left a lot of money on the table doing so. Why? Because it's unethical. There's no other way to say it. Authors are getting screwed by Amazon every which way in the program. I kept a few books in, hoping to entice those all-you-can-eat Kindle Unlimited readers into paying customers.<br />
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I am, however, now rethinking that. Why? Because <strong>any author in the KDP Select Program is now in danger of losing their account.</strong><br />
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I've been accused of being "Chicken Little" in the past, and here I am again, screaming at the sky. But this is reality. This is happening.<br />
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I'm going to let my author friend, D.A. Boulter explain it to you in his open letter to Jeff Bezos. He explains it much better than I do.<br />
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And it happened to him. Authors, it can happen to you. Readers, it can happen to your favorite author.<br />
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<strong>Even if they did nothing wrong whatsoever. </strong><br />
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<a href="https://daboulter.blogspot.com/2018/04/forced-from-kindle-unlimited-open.html">OPEN LETTER TO JEFF BEZOS from author D.A. Boulter</a><br />
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Mr Bezos:</div>
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I opened my email program and found I’d received a message from your company.</div>
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The mail came from ‘content review’, asking for my attention, and I got the immediate feeling that this would be bad. I didn’t know why I’d receive that message now; I’d done nothing with my account in almost six months, haven’t changed a bit of content at all. Thus, it was with no little consternation I opened the message and found that my account is in violation, and if it continues to be so, I’ll be faced with penalties up to and including the termination of that account.</div>
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What did I do wrong? Actually, nothing. Not a thing. Amazon claims that accounts suspected of ‘manipulation’ have borrowed my book and I therefore accrued ‘illegal page reads’. I’m told that Amazon doesn’t offer advice on marketing, but I’d better be careful because if this happens again, well, see the termination threat above. There’s only one problem with that: I don’t do marketing. I’ve never hired any marketer, and for the past year or more I’ve not even advertised any of my books.<br />
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The only advertising I get is by word of mouth. Yes, I sometimes – but not always – put a notice in one of the infrequent entries in my blog, and I sometimes, but not always, make a mention of a new book in the two writers’ forums of which I’m a member. Other than that, nothing. I’m lazy, know nothing about marketing, and don’t want to spend the energy finding out about it when I could be writing.</div>
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So, because Amazon alleges that suspect accounts have borrowed my book through Kindle Unlimited, I’m in danger of losing my account with Amazon. I use the word alleges, because Amazon up front refuses to give any details on their ‘investigation’. At first I found myself just sitting there, stunned. Then I looked up my stats. I’d sold three books so far in April, and had 3000 page reads in nine days. What kind of manipulation was that? Like a fool, I asked.</div>
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Why do I use the words ‘like a fool’? Because we can rarely get any sort of a straight answer when dealing with Amazon KDP. I asked, “What sort of manipulation?” I got the reply that they rechecked my account and stand by their determination; I will not be paid for illegal page reads.</div>
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See what I mean? I didn’t ask them to assess the status of my account or to reinstate my page reads. For the leader of a multi-billion dollar industry, you can’t seem to hire anyone for KDP who can read and understand a simple sentence in plain English.</div>
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I keep daily records of my sales and pages read through Amazon-provided KDP reports. After receiving this letter, and conferring with other authors with whom I share certain authors’ forums, I discovered that the letter would refer to my March totals, not my April month-to-date. I checked my March figures. Of the 24,829 Kindle Pages read (from the daily reports), I find that Amazon has now removed 15,924 or 65%.</div>
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As the book which constituted over 80% of my previously counted page-reads contains upwards of 750 Kindle Pages, I have to suspect that your company believes that I contracted marketers to “read” a grand total of 21 copies during a 31 day span, grossing me some $72 (approx). You must think I engage the bottom of the barrel marketers.</div>
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Amazon has a great reputation with respect to customer service. In fact, I’ve enjoyed just such great service. Last year, a CD I ordered from one of your 3<sup>rd</sup> party suppliers in Germany failed to show up in the stated time – in fact, I didn’t complain until some weeks after that time had passed, wanting to give the CD every opportunity to show up. Within hours of my finally making a complaint, I received a choice of them sending a second CD or giving me my money back. I chose to receive the second CD. It took 8 weeks to arrive – but I don’t blame Amazon or the 3<sup>rd</sup>party retailer, because the postmark on it showed that the German Post Office had received it only 3 days after my complaint (and one of those days was a Sunday and Monday was New Years Day, as well). It was marked Luftpost (airmail). So, I blame the Post Office – either the German PO, the Canadian PO, or both. (The first CD never did arrive.)</div>
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Yes, you are rightly proud of your company’s customer service. However, the concern that you and your company show to your customers falters somewhat when dealing with your content providers – those of us who write books and place them in the Kindle Store and especially in Kindle Unlimited.</div>
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When I began providing content to Amazon in 2010, things were simple. If someone liked the presentation of an author’s book, they bought it outright or read the sample and then bought it. The author then collected the royalty. If the customers didn’t like our presentation or the sample, they didn’t buy it, and we received nothing. And, finally, if the book did not live up to their expectations, they returned it for a full refund and again we received nothing.</div>
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There existed no way to scam the system to get more royalties than we deserved. Customers either bought our books or they didn’t. They bought short books, long books, epics. They either paid the price we set – or they didn’t buy. No one had a valid complaint over length or price; if they didn’t feel they got value for money, they didn’t buy the book or they returned it. The only scamming that occurred came from a very tiny minority of readers who bought books and then returned them on a regular basis. Some authors noted that book after book of theirs got purchased and then returned, in order. This suggested a multiple returner. We lived with it.</div>
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Then came Kindle Unlimited. KU started out and remains an irredeemably and irretrievably broken system. Its terms and make-up were almost created with the interests of scammers in mind, and it continues to provide them with the means and opportunity to – let us not mince words – steal money from legitimate authors. That went for the original iteration of KU and every iteration since then.</div>
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We legitimate authors don’t know what to do. We can only complain, but that rarely gets us anywhere. We hate scammers even more than Amazon does. They steal our money, not Amazon’s.<br />
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We hate the manipulation of rank that goes on. We believe in value rising to the top. We work very, very hard to provide the best reading entertainment we can. So, yes, we hate scammers. And, at times, we try to do something about it.</div>
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Example: One scam entailed putting up books full of repeated sentences, paragraphs, or short chapters – thousands of pages worth of repeated verbiage. A poorly-made cover and an enticing, though totally inaccurate description, accompanied the publication of these books. The authors in one of my groups spotted them, and we counted something like 40 obvious scam books in Amazon’s top 100. Eight “authors” with five books each. If a scammer had someone “read” one of these books (with 10,000 pages or more by my estimate), he’d make $50 for that one read.</div>
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I took it upon myself to report this to Amazon. All I wanted was an e-mail address to send the details to. Unable to find such on the Amazon site, I went the route of “Chat”. Upon discovering that I was not a customer who had been cheated out of money, nobody really wanted to hear from me. Over the next 45 minutes (I still have the transcript), I got passed through 6 different representatives, the last of which agreed with me and gave me an e-mail address. Those books quickly got taken down. I thought I had done my part. It took time, caused frustration, but a blow had been struck for justice.</div>
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You’d think that your company would be happy. I thought so, too. On my own time, I had investigated and presented the evidence. Amazon had struck quickly to maintain its honour. All was well with the world!</div>
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Then it occurred again just days later – the exact same sort of scam. Another 20-40 books. Annoyed with the scammers, I sent a second e-mail, only to get told that I should use “Chat” – they wanted to subject me to another 45 minutes of pass-along only to get told in the end to use the email address I’d just used? Not a chance; I then gave up.</div>
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So, if I’m a customer, I get treated royally. If I try to help Amazon prevent fraud in KU, I’m a nuisance. I’m a nuisance, because this fraud didn’t really hurt Amazon financially – they had already set aside the pool of money – it only hurt legitimate authors who would receive less for their page-reads.</div>
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We legitimate authors hate scammers with a passion. But then, Kindle Unlimited – as well as being a haven for scammers – is something of a scam in itself.</div>
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The contract we sign with KU gives Amazon exclusive right to sell and lend out our books; we can place them on no other platform. For this, Amazon undertakes that they will pay us per kindle-page read (present edition of KU). However, it turns out that Amazon does not have the ability to accurately determine how many pages get read. Scammers depend upon this weakness for their scams to bring in the money they steal from legitimate authors.</div>
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Authors have imaginations. You might consider possession of such as a prerequisite for the trade. We’re curious, inquisitive. Thus, when things seem just a little off, we investigate and talk among ourselves. At first we accepted Amazon’s word that they would pay us for pages read at face value. Then we noted strange things, and began experimenting. The result: we have determined that if someone borrows a book, downloads it to their Kindle reader and then turns off the wireless, bad things can happen. If that person then reads the book through – every page – but then returns to page one before again turning on the wireless and syncing with Amazon, the author gets credited with only one page read. This, in effect, is Amazon stealing from us. Amazon uses our content to entice readers to KU, promising to pay us for each page read, then paying us less than ½ cent for an entire book read – no matter how many pages.</div>
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I have often seen my page reads tick up by one page. [Let’s face it; I’m not a heavy hitter. I don’t sell a lot of books, and I don’t get hundreds of thousands of pages read per month – or per day – like some do. So, I can note this sort of thing better than more popular authors might.] And seeing my stats tick up by one page, I wonder if someone read one page of my book before putting it down, or if someone read through my whole book and then returned to the beginning before syncing with Amazon. Did I get my half-cent for one page, or did I get paid a half-cent for seven hundred and fifty pages? Did Amazon pay me justly according to contract, or did Amazon scam me out of three dollars? I don’t know, and Amazon relies on non-transparency to ensure that we don’t have more than the minimum amount of information useful to finding out.</div>
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KU’s lack of transparency doesn’t stop there.</div>
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When it became obvious that scammers were getting the monthly “All-Star” awards, and authors made this clear in blogs, in posts on forums, etc., Amazon’s solution to the problem seemed to be to make it more difficult … no, not more difficult to scam an “all-star” status, but more difficult to see the results of the scamming. Amazon stopped publishing the names of the winners, making it even less transparent.</div>
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When Amazon reacts to problems, it often uses a shotgun, where a rifle should be used – in other words, the solution often hurts the innocent as well as the guilty – often more than the guilty, because the guilty, if caught, simply abandon that account and start another. We legitimate authors cannot do that – or, if we do, we lose all books previously published.</div>
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Take this present situation. I, who have absolutely no control over who reads my books, find myself in danger of losing my account. Why? Because someone Amazon considers a scammer has borrowed them. I didn’t ask anyone to; I didn’t pay anyone to; I didn’t do anything. And my sales figures should show this to be the case. I had an average of 800 pages read per day in March (initial figures) of which you claim an average of 513 per day were scammed. No scammer worth his salt would try for a $2.50 per day payout.</div>
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I put in a lot of work to write a novel. It takes me a minimum of about 400 hours work to get one ready for publishing – I’m not fast. Sometimes it works out; other times I get a flop. One of mine (which I still believe is a fine novel) has sold 103 copies in almost 4 years. That’s $200 for 400 hrs work, or $0.50/hr. Not near minimum wage. A scammer puts in a couple hours work and nets thousands. We legitimate authors don’t think this is fair. But that’s what KU invites, what by its very composition it has always invited.</div>
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As I said, I don’t advertise – not any more. I did try AMS, but it gave me a very poor return on investment. And AMS has authors bid against each other to get what the Amazon algorithms once gave for free. The last time I tried for an ad, the bid went up over $1 per click. I think I got about 1 impression and no clicks before I gave up. At $1 per click, I would need a 50% success rate to barely break even. In fact, more likely I’d be paying Amazon more than my book is worth for the privilege of finding a reader. And Amazon knows that and still operates AMS like this. If I were to pay those readers a dollar each from my own pocket to read my books in KU, I’d make money – but that would be scamming, and I’d lose my account. So, doesn’t that make Amazon Marketing Services somewhat of a scam in itself as well?</div>
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To finish, I’m threatened with termination of my account for no valid reason; AMS doesn’t work for the author; KU is filled with scammers, and the innocent are tarred with the same brush by what? association? by the fact that alleged scammers may actually have read our books?; Amazon doesn’t seem to care who they damage with their shotgun attacks; Amazon actually scams us by not paying us for pages read – because they don’t know how many pages are read, and they knew they didn’t know this from the introduction of Kindle Unlimited. Yet they said that they did, and made a contract with us on that basis.</div>
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To protect my account, you have forced me to withdraw all my books from Kindle Unlimited when their present terms finish (one’s turn was up today – my best earner – and it’s out, the others should be gone by the end of the month). I can’t stop anyone from borrowing my books if I leave them in – I have no control over that aspect – and if the wrong people continue to borrow them, I may lose my account. I understand: your game; your rules (even though they are generally undefined publicly, and the internal definitions change at a seeming whim and without notice).</div>
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There is much more I could say, but this letter is long enough as it is.</div>
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So, if you can, sir, please tell me one good reason that I or any other legitimate author should endanger our accounts by maintaining any books in KU? (I already know why scammers should: they get our money – and in large amounts.)</div>
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D. A. Boulter.</div>
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Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-44975135263653427872017-01-13T16:15:00.002-05:002017-01-13T16:15:21.388-05:00The Future of Indie Publishing - Selena Kitt's Predictions for 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I remember in the old days, back in 2010 (*rocking like the old-timer I am, in a chair on the porch*) when the ebook market was the wild west of publishing…There was gold in them thar hills, I tell you! So. Much. Gold! Those of us who got in early? We made out like bandits. Now, I know this isn’t 2010 anymore, but the metaphor of the gold rush still applies. The avenues to “easy money” have mostly been closed off in indie publishing. As Amazon continues their attempt to dominate the ebook market, other income streams narrow down to a trickle. And Amazon themselves continue to squeeze indie authors, offering them less in profits, while their algorithms force them to spend more money in ads to make a larger sum. </div>
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Depressed? Dejected? Don’t worry. This isn’t the end of indie publishing. It’s just a shift in the market, and the best thing about indie authors is their ability to adapt. Yes, the market will continue to be flooded with new authors and more books. As the pond gets bigger, there will be a larger gap between the “big fish” and the “little fish,” and it will become even more difficult to gain visibility. But if you stick with it, and do all the right things, you can still make a career as an indie author. </div>
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2017 holds a lot of promise. It may not be the gold rush anymore, but there’s still a lot of gold in them thar hills—you just have to work a little harder to find it. </div>
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I think upping your marketing game this year will be key. Learn how to create effective ads with the biggest bang for your buck—or hire someone reputable who can do it for you. Amazon Ads will start giving Facebook ads a run for their money. <a href="http://www.bookbub.com/">Bookbub</a> will continue to be effective (but less so than in previous years – we may have reached a saturation point there…) To be fair, most mailing list sites are less effective now than they’ve been in years previous. That said, many are still worth investing in to get the most eyes you can on your books. </div>
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Unfortunately, I do believe that Amazon’s market share will continue to grow. However, I think we are starting to see the giant just beginning to stumble, now that they have to turn a profit and actually pay shareholders (and this isn’t limited to selling books). Amazon has made several missteps this year, and they’re battling widespread fraud (again, not just in ebooks) and I see this trend causing mistrust, both in their customers and their vendors. </div>
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Amazon algorithms will continue to give boosts to KDP Select books, but given the issues that have recently come to light about “Kindle Unlimited” (not the least of which is Amazon’s inability to actually count the “pages read” they’re using to pay out to KDP Select author participants) authors may become more selective about their use of KDP Select as a marketing tool. Authors may put only certain books into the program, or put books in for just the first 90 days and then use sale prices coupled with a Bookbub ad (or a cluster of other smaller ads) to push the book wide. I believe authors will continue to use KDP Select, but many will begin to back off from the “all in” philosophy. Personally, I’ve never been a proponent of putting all your eggs in one basket. </div>
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Still, Amazon will remain the elephant in the room, and I believe their own imprints will continue to dominate the top book spots on the site. Because of this, we may see authors seeking to go hybrid this year, whether it’s looking to become an “Amazon author,” or submitting to traditional publishing houses. </div>
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I think growth in 2017 will be in foreign markets (where <a href="http://www.kobobooks.com/">Kobo</a> already has a foothold), as well as audio (where the market is still growing by leaps and bounds) and direct sales (which means sites like <a href="https://gumroad.com/">Gumroad</a> and <a href="https://www.patreon.com/">Patreon</a> will gain even more popularity with authors). And while we’ve seen some small pubs down-size (like <a href="https://www.samhainpublishing.com/">Samhain</a>) and other smaller sites collapse (like <a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/">All Romance Ebooks</a> / <a href="https://www.omnilit.com/">Omnilit</a>) others like <a href="http://www.excitica.com/">Excitica</a> and <a href="http://www.a1adultebooks.com/">A1 Adult Ebooks</a> (and their sister sites) will be around to pick up the slack. And as Amazon and other vendors crack down on more “adult” material, these sites will offer niche markets for subsequently disenfranchised readers and authors. </div>
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My best advice for 2017 is to work smarter, not harder. It may feel as if you’re on a writing treadmill, forced to release something new every thirty days or so, and the truth is there are plenty of authors doing just that. And some prolific authors have found success doing so. There is certainly something to the formula of “writing to market, writing fast and publishing often.” But don’t worry if you’re not the 5-10K-a-day sort of author. You can still be successful writing just a book or two a year. How?
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Work smarter. Make sure you’re growing your own mailing list—and engaging with your readers on a regular basis. Don’t let them forget you exist (but don’t spam them—or annoy them—either). Readers like engaging with authors. And what they seem to enjoy most is authors with big personalities. So find your author persona and work it! I’ve seen authors do this in many different ways, from the inimitable <a href="http://www.chucktingle.com/">Chuck Tingle</a> to the sassy <a href="http://jordansilver.net/">Jordan Silver</a>. Take the best parts of you—the parts that others tend to be drawn to—and amplify them by ten. Turn up the volume. Be bold. Do and say the things that will make them remember you, in your newsletter and on social media. Just make sure you’re doing it from a genuine place. You’re just turning up the volume, not changing the channel! </div>
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Also, remember that no author is an island. Find other authors who write things similar to you and work out a way to cross-promote and cross-pollinate on a regular basis. Trust me, even if you’re the most prolific author in the world, you can’t turn out books fast enough to keep up with readers. Cross-promoting keeps readers on your side. They’ll start looking to you for recommendations and it will help keep their interest while you’re writing your next novel. And if you find you really click with another author, you can always consider an author partnership. After all, two authors can writer faster than one! </div>
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I don’t think 2016 was a great year for indies—but I do believe 2017 has the potential to be. No, 2017 won’t be anything like the gold rush year of 2010, but it’s still full of possibilities. I think the indie author community has grown together and become stronger over the years, and their future is still quite bright. Indies know how to adapt. They’re natural entrepreneurs, and even when the learning curve is steep, they’re willing to jump into the deep end to learn how to swim. </div>
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Looking forward to 2017, I think indie authors will continue to innovate, push the envelope, and transform the face of publishing itself.</div>
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Selena Kitt<br />
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/" target="_blank">www.selenakitt.com</a></div>
Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-33572749728381875152016-04-20T15:52:00.000-04:002016-04-20T17:05:29.164-04:00ScAmazon 2 - Mammoth Consequences: The Digital Sweatshop<div style="text-align: justify;">
About a month ago, <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/scamazon-amazon-kindle-unlimited-scammers-netting-millions/">I did a post about the scams that are rocking the self-publishing world on Amazon</a>. I pointed to the <a href="http://www.davekoziel.com/"><del>scam</del> Kindle internet marketing course that Dave Koziel was doing</a>, and the <a href="https://imgur.com/a/YwBA0">15-year-old German kid who made 130K</a> using his methods.</div>
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Today, I saw a video from Dave Koziel on YouTube. He apparently felt it necessary to explain to his viewers that his methods weren't really "scammy" and why he, himself, is not really a scammer. Watch the video for yourself. (I don't recommend eating anything beforehand, though, if you have a tendency to get queasy...)</div>
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You see, Koziel admits he's not a writer but more of an internet marketer who hired ghostwriters to write his hundreds (literally, hundreds) of 8,000-10,000 word "books." He would then publish those books under pen names on Amazon. In KU 1.0, those 8-10K books would yield $1.30-ish a borrow. After KU 2.0, Dave clearly found himself with an abundance of short books that paid about half-a-penny per-page-read. So about $0.40-$0.50. That's quite a pay cut.</div>
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Then Dave realized, if he bundled all his books together (and, you know, published them under different titles, changing up that order with every new title) he'd get paid more and could maximize his "Kindle real estate" so to speak. In fact, he discovered, if he got his reader(s) to click to the end of that mass of titles, even if they didn't read them, he'd get paid for a full read!</div>
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This is particularly interesting to me because, as I revealed in a previous post, a representative at Amazon had directly told me, at the very beginning of KU 2.0, that "skipping to the end of a book" would <em>not</em> result in a full read. Dave Koziel, on the other hand, says that Amazon directly told him that yes, skipping to the end of a book <em>does</em> result in a full read, and that they somehow planned this by design.</div>
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<strong>So, Amazon - which is it?</strong></div>
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Clearly, the evidence shows us that skipping to the end of a book <em>does,</em> indeed, result in a full read. We now have conflicting reports about whether or not that was intentional, or even known, by Amazon.</div>
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Dave Koziel took it upon himself to put a call out to his readers at the beginning of his books, asking them to click to the end if they wanted him to get paid for all his hard work (or in his case, his <em>ghostwriters'</em> hard work and <em>his</em> cash outlay...) He explained to them that Amazon had started paying authors by the page read, and in order to get fully paid, they had to skip to the end.</div>
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What reader, who picked up a book because they liked the cover/blurb enough to borrow it, <em>wouldn't</em> click to the end after that plea?</div>
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Koziel claims he was just being honest with his readers. And his scam wasn't a scam, or even a loophole - that Amazon told him they'd designed the system this way <strong>on purpose</strong>. I don't know if that's true or not. I do know that Koziel and the others he taught his "system" to clearly had some ethically questionable morals, but they weren't technically doing anything against Amazon's TOS. As with the short "scamphlets" (making books so short, just opening them would get a reader to 10% and count as a $1.30-ish borrow, no matter what content was inside) this "loophole" was built into Amazon's system.</div>
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The shocking thing, to me, was that Amazon decided to pay authors by "pages read," when in fact, <em>they couldn't actually count those pages</em>. They threw out a communal pot of money to the authors and like some literary Hunger Games, we were forced to fight over it. And the thing is - the game was rigged. Not just Amazon's algorithms that favor their own imprints (they do) or Amazon giving authors sweetheart deals in Kindle Unlimited.</div>
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No, this game was rigged by Amazon's own design. In the first version of Kindle Unlimited, they created a perfect storm where erotica authors (who already wrote short) could get $1.30-ish per borrow for a 5000 word story. This made authors of 100,000 word novels mad--and allowed <del>scammers</del> internet marketers like Dave Koziel to create scamphlets--so Amazon closed that loophole. But it turns out, Amazon had "fixed" the loophole in Krap Unlimited 1.0 only to create an even bigger one in Krap Unlimited 2.0.</div>
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So the game's still rigged.</div>
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<a href="https://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2016/04/15/ku-scammers-attack-amazons-free-ebook-charts/">David Gaughran and Phoenix Sullivan recently pointed out</a> how many of these scammers have taken courses like Koziel's and run amok with them, adding even scammier ideas along the way to the mix. These scammers are using giant click-farms to drive their books up in rank on the free charts (and Kindle Unlimited subscribers can still borrow books while they're free).</div>
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They're stuffing their titles full of keywords (a practice Amazon cracked down on years ago and have since let run rampant again) even going so far as to put keywords at the beginning of each title so they'll appear high in the search rank. (This has made it nearly impossible to find anything on Amazon - they've effectively broken Amazon's amazing search engine.)</div>
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While many authors have learned that adding a "bonus book" at the end of their titles can increase pages read (a <del>bird</del> book in the hand, and all that) and actually add value for readers - scammers have taken it upon themselves to add thousands and thousands of pages of "bonus" content. Sometimes they just put all their ghostwritten books in to increase that page count to 3000. Or they translate those books with Google Translate into twenty different languages and put those at the back. Some are even so bold as to just put gobbeldygook culled from the internet with a link at the front with an incentive (win a Kindle Fire!) to skip to the end.</div>
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They're also putting their books into as many categories as possible (most of them unrelated to the actual content) and sometimes aping the looks of covers, titles and even author names, to appear high in searches for popular books.</div>
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So... why isn't every author out there doing this? Well, the reality is, some of them are. They've found out about the loophole and have jumped on the bandwagon because... if you can't beat them, join them? After all, the loophole is still open. Amazon has done nothing to close it. Skipping to the end of a book still results as a full read, right this very minute. Amazon recently capped the amount of pages read per book at 3000. <a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/community/ann.jspa?annID=991">They have also now disallowed</a> (sort of... in certain cases... about what you'd expect?) putting the table of contents at the back of a book.</div>
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Of course, none of that has actually fixed the problem. And that is ALL the action they've taken. That's it. They still have a loophole big enough to drive a $100,000 a month Mack truck through!</div>
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As Phoenix Sullivan pointed out: "How many ethical authors are feeling pressured into adopting black hat techniques seeing how many black hatters are making bank on them with seeming impunity? Some days even I’m tempted to grab a few EINs and a handful of throwaway email accounts, put on a black hat and go to town. I understand the system—all I need is one good month to game it…"</div>
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Authors learned very quickly that Amazon is where the real money is. Amazon allowed self-publishing stars like Joe Konrath, Amanda Hocking, and Hugh Howey to rise to the top after being rejected by the gatekeepers or legacy/traditional publishing, to make thousands, <em>hundreds</em> of thousands, from their work.</div>
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When self publishing first became a thing, everyone claimed that with no gatekeepers there was going to be a "ton of crap flooding the market!" Oh noez! Of course, what they meant was a "ton of crap writing" from authors who couldn't write up to legacy standards.</div>
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I don't think anyone thought, <em>"from hundreds of ghostwriters paid by internet marketers!"</em></div>
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Forget devaluing our work by offering it for $0.99 or free. Forget devaluing "literature" by allowing self-published authors to publish directly to readers. That wasn't the "race to the bottom" everyone worried about. THIS is the true race to the bottom.</div>
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Dave Koziel claimed he wasn't doing anything wrong. He says he's not a scammer (even though he admits he's not really a writer.) He's a self-proclaimed "internet marketer," just looking to make a buck on the internet. Nothing wrong with that, is there?</div>
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Actually, there is.</div>
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Koziel is just one example of his kind. (In fact, he teaches and sells internet courses to others who want to copy what he's done.) And if <em>Koziel alone</em> has hundreds of ghostwritten books, and they're not plagiarized or written like a third grader (two things he claims in his video...) then the reality is, he's accumulated material at a rate that no reasonable writer could accomplish. Only a few outliers (Amanda Lee, I'm looking at you, girl! :P ) can reasonably write 10K a day without burning out. But Koziel can hire 10 ghostwriters a day. 100 a week, if he wanted to. He can mass-produce titles at will.<br />
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Granted, the system itself is the problem when everyone is vying for a piece of the same pie. The more scammy you get, the more money you make. Yay you! But as the system starts to erode, and more and more mercenary types get on board, the further things collapse. While there's nothing inherently wrong with hiring a ghostwriter (Patterson does it all the time in the legacy world - and no one cares) there's a problem when people start taking advantage of ghostwriters and working it all like a "system."
</div>
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<br />
If you pay a ghostwriter well, and that ghostwriter does a good job, that's a legitimate business transaction. But most (if not all) of these odesk-type ghostwriters are undercharging (that hurts legitimate ghostwriters) because they're overseas (there's outsourcing again) and IMers can (and do) take advantage of that. There's a difference between an author who has a story to tell who hires a ghostwriter (either because they don't have time to write it, or because they don't have the skills) and an IMer who gives an army of ghostwriters the trope-du-jour and says, "write me as many stories as possible."</div>
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<br />
These guys may hire click farms, as Gaughran and Sullivan noted - but guys like this are also getting legitimate readers and building a following. (They talk a lot about building mailing lists so they can accumulate a way to sell all their <del>scammy</del> internet marketing things, not just books...) So what's wrong with what he does? Clearly <em>he</em> doesn't see anything wrong with it. But there <em>is</em> something wrong with it. I call it the Jurassic Park problem. Remember Jeff Goldblum's speech to Hammond about cloning dinosaurs? When Hammond asked (like this guy Koziel) what's wrong with what he's done?</div>
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<strong>"I'll tell you what's wrong with it - it didn't require any discipline to acquire it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you're selling it. Well... you were so preoccupied with whether or not you <em>could</em>, you didn't stop to think if you <em>should</em>..."</strong></div>
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Since Koziel likes YouTube videos so much - here's one he and all of his minions should watch:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4PLvdmifDSk" width="560"></iframe></div>
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The problem is now we really <em>are</em> competing for readers with this guy. It's like the outsourcing to other countries that corporations do to trim margins in any business - it's a slippery slope. And now what do we have? A digital sweat shop environment. Writers terrified of falling off a 30-day cliff, utilizing voice software like Dragon to keep up and write as many words as possible as fast as they can, creating shared pen names to try to get a foothold in a flooded market.</div>
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It's hard enough to gain visibility on Amazon these days, when there are plenty of excellent, legitimate writers out there putting out some great books. Because the reality of the gatekeepers was not that there was too much "garbage" out there to publish - the reality was always that there was <em>never enough room at their table</em>. There was plenty of stuff leftover that just went to waste - that's the stuff that writers can now self-publish, now that the traditional gatekeepers are gone. And much of it is great stuff - books readers prove, with their buying dollars - they actually want to read.</div>
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Today, self-publishing authors don't have to worry about getting past the gatekeepers. But they have to compete with internet marketers who see Kindle as a "business opportunity" and who are using it, solely, to make money. We're competing with someone who can scam Amazon's system (which, admittedly, is Amazon's fault - they've made it "scammable") and they've proven with hard numbers that they can take upwards of $100,000 or more a month out of the pot.</div>
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There are people in the world whose ethics are very fluid. Who think, "Why shouldn't I take advantage of this giant money-making loophole?" And when those people don't stop to think if they <em>should</em>, just because they <em>can,</em> and they decide to take advantage... there are plenty of people who come afterward who feel like they have to, as well - just to level the playing field.</div>
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How can a "real author" (as opposed to a <br />
<del>scammer</del>internet marketer) compete in a self-publishing world where <del>scammers</del> internet marketers can buy and publish hundreds of titles at a time? Where they can make enough money <del>scamming</del> publishing their deluge of titles to spend those ill-gotten gains on Amazon marketing (Dave Koziel says he was paying Amazon to market his "books") and Facebook ads, outspending legitimate authors by thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands?</div>
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Who can compete with that? Unless an author is going to throw up their hands and decide (a temptation that Phoenix Sullivan so eloquently expressed above) "The hell with it, if I can't beat them, I might as well join them!" how is that author going to have a chance?</div>
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In his video, Koziel says he can see why authors might be angry at him... but I don't think he really does see. He feels he's simply taking advantage of a legitimate business opportunity. Like most internet marketers, he's looking at the short-term gain, and not paying attention to the long-term consequences. Or any consequences at all.</div>
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Granted, Amazon created this monster. All of these loopholes, from the scamphlets in KU 1.0 to today's garbage-stuffed tomes in KU 2.0, could have been prevented with a little forethought on Amazon's part. I told them this was a risk when they decided to change to paying by pages-read and they either a) lied to me, knowing readers could skip to the end for a full-read or b) they actually didn't know that skipping to the end would result in a full-read. I'm not sure which is worse.</div>
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But if Amazon hadn't started down this road to begin with, most of these <del>scammers</del> "internet marketers" wouldn't have gained a foothold in the first place. Now they're like sharks circling in bloody waters, and they're not about to leave, unless someone cleans up this mess. And even if Amazon takes action, KDP and self-publishing is now a hunting ground they're not likely to give up any time soon.</div>
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Even if Amazon cleaned up the waters tomorrow, these <del>scammers</del> internet marketers would continue to work the system, looking for ways to game it. Like the raptors in Jurassic Park--they have no ethical dilemmas whatsoever--they'll continue to test the fences for weaknesses.</div>
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As Koziel's video goes to show. These internet marketers will say and do anything to make money in the system. They haven't paid their dues. Goldblum's argument applies categorically - no discipline was required to obtain it, so they take no responsibility for it. Because they're not writers, because they don't care about the craft, telling a story, supplying a reader with real value and creating a real relationship between author and reader (rather, they just want to collect mailing list subscribers so they can spam them...) They remove themselves from the "system" they are gaming, and see it as just that - a system to game.</div>
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To them, it <em>is</em> a game. And thanks to Amazon's lackadaisical attitude, they're winning.</div>
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It's readers and real authors who are losing. Because of the crap (<em>real</em> crap - now we know what it looks like) flooding Amazon's virtual shelves, because of the keyword-stuffed or deceptive titles muddying up the search waters, real authors and readers are the ones who lose in this game. Readers can't find what they want to read (I know, as a reader, I can't find anything on Amazon anymore in the Kindle store, because of the keyword stuffed crap) and authors can't compete with <del>scammers</del> internet marketers who could care less who they hurt with their scams.</div>
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They do hurt people. Real people. Because KDP Select is paid out of a communal pot, there is a finite number that decreases when <del>scammers</del> internet marketers decide to make "books" their "business." Except they're not writers, and they don't really care about books. Or readers. Or the self-publishing community. Their idea of "paying it forward" is to monetize their <del>scams</del> "knowledge of the system" and sell it to others so they, too, can be <del>scammers</del> internet marketers.</div>
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Not once do they talk about craft--about plots and voice and point of view. Those are pesky details they outsource to someone else. They're not even providing outlines - just pointing to the best-selling trope of the hour (what is it this month? is it shifters? billionaires? navy seal shifter billionaires?) and letting the ghostwriters do all the heavy lifting. While they sit back, package and re-package the "work," publish and republish titles (sometimes dozens of times - and Amazon doesn't care) with new ASINs when they drop too far in rank (to gain those extra five free days in KDP Select) and find any possible way to <del>scam</del> internet market themselves as high of a paycheck as they can manage for the month.</div>
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Never once thinking about or caring about the authors who are writing real stories, for real readers, who can't humanly produce on the mass level in the digital sweatshop environment these <del>scammers</del> internet marketers have created - where Amazon has allowed them to flourish. This is where we all work now, thanks to the <del>scammers</del> internet marketers.</div>
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Thanks to Amazon.</div>
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I hope Dave Koziel meant it when he said he could understand why authors were angry with him - perhaps his video is proof that maybe, just maybe, he's growing the seed of a conscience. Maybe he's finally thinking, albeit a little too late, whether or not he <em>should</em> do something, instead of focusing on whether or not he <em>can. </em></div>
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But I don't live in a fantasy world. I know Dave Koziel and those like him are just doing what they do. They've found a lucrative hunting ground, and they're going to continue doing what they do (while occasionally justifying or spinning it in a YouTube video) until they can't do it anymore.</div>
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In the meantime, authors and readers continue to lose - and their trust in Amazon wanes.</div>
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<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/"><img alt="Selena Kitt" class="size-full wp-image-1926 alignright" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/selenasigsmalltrans.gif" height="100" width="167" /></a></div>
Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-3289719239543133322016-03-13T20:00:00.000-04:002016-03-14T01:49:14.972-04:00SCAMAZON – Amazon “Kindle Unlimited” Scammers Netting Millions<br />
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<img alt="scamazon" class="size-full wp-image-2345 alignleft" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/scamazon.png" height="112" width="278" />
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How are scammers making millions off Amazon? (And off any author enrolled in Amazon’s KDP Select program?)</div>
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It’s easy. So say <br />
<del>digital entrepreneurs</del>scammers like <a href="http://www.davekoziel.com/" target="_blank">Dave Koziel</a> – who admits to outsourcing his material, he’s not an actual writer or anything. You see, all you have to do it just upload "books" stuffed to the gills with anything, even unrelated material (romance books, cookbooks, South Beach diet books, foreign language texts, any and everything you’ve got at your disposal) then use a click-bait link at the front of the book (something like “Click here to win a Kindle Fire!”) to take the reader directly to the very back. A <a href="http://selfpubli.eu/index.php/selfpublishing/67-die-betruegermaschen-im-kindle-unlimited-system" target="_blank">German blog</a> has detailed these tactics as well, although it seems the German Amazon store (much smaller than the U.S. one) is cracking down on this now.</div>
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Why does this method result in big bucks? Because of how Amazon has changed the way it pays authors enrolled in KDP Select. Authors know that when Kindle Unlimited was first launched (rather quickly and in direct response to other book subscription services that were just popping up like Scribd and Oyster) we were paid “by the borrow.” It was similar to a sale (on sales, we were paid 70% of list cost) except now we were paid out of a general fund instead of a set percentage. (Like a “pot” or “kitty” – a communal pool of money – except in this case, Amazon was the only contributor and authors the recepients.)</div>
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But Amazon changed that payment method from “per borrow” to “pages read.” Not pages written, mind you – but how many pages a reader actually reads.</div>
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Except, the problem with this method that’s recently come, shockingly, to light, is that there’s a loophole in the system. Apparently, if you put a link at the beginning of your book to the very back and a reader clicks it – the author is paid for <em><strong>all those pages</strong></em>. A full read. Even though a reader <em>just skipped over them.</em></div>
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Remember when Amazon <a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/community/ann.jspa?annID=957" target="_blank">capped the KENPC count at 3000</a>? This was why.</div>
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Except Amazon didn’t want us to know one important thing – they lied to us.</div>
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They have no idea how many pages a reader actually reads.</div>
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Let me say that again, just so you don’t miss it:</div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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<strong>AMAZON HAS NO IDEA HOW MANY PAGES A READER ACTUALLY READS.</strong></div>
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Wow. A little bit of karma coming back at you with these scammers, Jeff Bezos?</div>
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Because Amazon has been scamming authors in the KDP Select program all along.</div>
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They decided to pay us by “pages” read, when in fact, <strong>they can’t count actual pages read</strong>, and <strong>they can’t time how long a reader actually takes to read those pages</strong> (last time I checked, no one could read 3000 pages in less than two minutes…)</div>
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Oh, they can email me and my publishing company that I’m missing a “page break” at the end of my novel, or threaten to take my book off sale or <a href="http://www.thepassivevoice.com/2016/01/kindle-e-books-will-have-a-warning-message-if-they-have-spelling-mistakes-or-bad-formatting/" target="_blank">label it problematic for typos</a> (that may or may not actually be typos), or actually take my book off sale (which they recently did - <a href="http://bit.ly/bearnecKIN" target="_blank">Bear Necessities</a> - <em>just</em> after a great freebie run, too, while it was on sale for $0.99 - thanks, Amazon!) because I provided bonus content in the front of a book instead of at the back –<strong> but they can’t actually count how many pages a reader reads in a book.</strong></div>
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Yet… this is how they have decided to pay authors. Per page read.</div>
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See anything wrong with this picture?</div>
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I sure do – and it smells like fraud and class-action lawsuits to me.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
How do I know Amazon can’t count how many pages a reader reads?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Because, <strong>if Amazon had a way to count how many pages a reader actually reads</strong>, a link at the front of the book that took the reader to the very back would result in two pages read.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just <strong>two</strong>, not<strong> every single page in the book</strong>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But as Dave Koziel and company have proven, that’s not what’s happening. There’s a little loophole in Amazon’s system. When a reader clicks a link at the front of a book that takes them to the end of a 3000 page “book” – it gives that author 3000 “pages read.” <em>Not just two.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>If Amazon had a way to count how many pages a reader actually reads</strong>, placement of the TOC (table of contents) at the front or back of the document would be irrelevant.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But as <a href="http://www.walterjonwilliams.net/2016/03/amazon-may-they-choke-on-my-vomit/" target="_blank">this post proves</a> (and man, do I feel awful for author Walter Jon Williams– he’s out a hella lot of money because of Amazon’s knee-jerk reactions and lack of planning and forethought) Amazon has suddenly begun <strong>removing books with a TOC at the back of the book</strong> from sale. As usual, they decided to shoot first and ask questions later, and damaged legitimate authors in the process, as <a href="https://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/amazon-takes-aim-at-scammers-but-hits-authors/" target="_blank">David Gaughran first pointed out</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>If Amazon had a way to count how many pages a reader actually reads</strong>, placement of “bonus material” (an extra story or book along with the original source material, which many authors have started to do, including myself in the Kindle Unlimited program) would be irrelevant. You could put it at the front or back of the book, and it wouldn’t matter, because the table of contents tells the reader what’s where, right?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Except the truth is, Amazon is showing us through their actions – their cap on KENPC, their insistence that the TOC needs to be at the front of a book, and their recent email to me about “bonus” content not being allowed at the front of a book – that <strong>they have no idea how many pages are being read in any given book.</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>All they know is where a reader STOPS reading.</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>That’s all they can actually calculate.</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That’s why a TOC needs to be at the front (because TOC defaults as the “start” point of a book, and if it’s at the back and a reader goes to the TOC, an author has just been given credit for a full read even if the reader didn’t read the book) and why they are no longer allowing “bonus” content at the front of a book.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, there are legitimate, non-scammy reasons to put a TOC at the back or bonus material at the front. The TOC (especially if a book is long or a boxed set) takes up valuable real estate in the “Look Inside” feature or “Sample” on Amazon. Placing it at the back avoids that issue.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And the logic behind putting “bonus” material at the front?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well, this is how I explained it to Amazon in my letter to them:</div>
<hr />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>I had a very legitimate reason for putting the bonus book/content at the front of this title.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>The last time I put a bonus book at the end of the book, I had reviews complaining that the original title ended at "50%" - and they thought it was much longer, because the bonus book was taking up real estate at the back of the original text.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>In this case, I put the bonus book up front (and labeled it clearly on the title page and in the table of contents) so that when the reader finished the main book, it would be near 100% and they would understand they'd reached the end, and wouldn't feel "cheated” or “ripped off.”</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>It's easy to look at a Table of Contents (TOC) and navigate to the book they purchased.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>You see, I was under the assumption that, since Amazon is paying us by PAGES READ, that you, at Amazon, actually had a way of knowing HOW MANY PAGES A READER ACTUALLY READ.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>I assumed, since it would be fraudulent otherwise, per our contract in publishing with you, that since you were paying us by pages read, if a reader skipped over a book in the table of contents, we wouldn't actually be paid for those pages. So that putting bonus content at the beginning of a book would be no big deal, no harm, no foul.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Apparently, that isn't the case. And you never told us that. As a matter of fact, you, personally, (rep’s name redacted), lied to me and said that skipping to the end of a book would NOT result in a full-read. We emailed about this and talked about it on the phone when KU 1.0 was originally rolled out, and you assured me that yes, Amazon had a way of tracking the pages a reader actually read, with time spent on each page.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Turns out, Amazon hasn't been able to correctly count pages read since the very beginning, even though that's exactly how you're paying us. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>If you think this isn't fraud, and that there aren't authors out there already talking about a class action lawsuit, you'd be very, very wrong. There are a lot of wealthy authors out there who are beyond furious about this new information. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>I suggest you plug this leak as fast as you can and make some apologies and remuneration for it. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>And restore my book to published status immediately - and its rank as well, since you took it off-sale for a reason that shouldn't have been a problem or caused an issue if you hadn't lied to authors about your ability to actually count the pages you were oh-so-generously paying us less than half-a-penny for. </em></div>
<hr />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On my part, it was completely unintentional. <strong>I was directly told that skipping over content in a book would not result in pages read. But that was clearly a lie.</strong> I thought I was creating a <em>better</em> customer experience (kind of like Walter Jon Williams and his TOC placement) when in fact I was unknowingly using a tactic commonly utilized by scammers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Unfortunately, it’s not the only scammer tactic I unwittingly adopted.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You see, I have a link at the front of my books in my table of contents (I happen to place my TOC up front, so I dodged that particular bullet) that leads to the back and a link to sign up to my mailing list. I incentivize signing up to the list by offering readers five free reads. I’ve been doing this <em>for years.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The thing is, I had no idea that doing this resulted in a full read in Kindle Unlimited. Because Amazon specifically told me directly that “skipping pages” wouldn’t work – that they could count pages read – and linking to the back page would <em>not</em> result in a full read!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've been "cheating" and didn't even know it was cheating. I wasn't complicit in a scam but I'll sure be blamed for it if they shoot first and ask questions later. (And as we know, they usually do…) Especially since I write erotica and I’m Selena Kitt. I’m guilty already by default. :P</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The problem is, Amazon has been throwing the baby out with the bathwater by taking books off sale for having a TOC at the back of the book, or bonus content in the front. As David Gaughran first pointed out, <strong>real authors are being hurt by Amazon’s attempts to plug up a leak that shouldn’t have existed in the first place. </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>And I'm afraid it isn't going to end there, folks. </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Are links from the front of the book to the very back going to be next in Amazon’s line of fire? Could be.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The irony is, many people do what I do – put a link in the TOC to a mailing list with a free read to sign up. Many of those originally had their TOC at the back of their books – but now Amazon is forcing them to put their TOC at the front. In effect, forcing them to have a link now at the front of their book to their mailing list… which leads the back of their book, and would result in a “full read” if a reader clicks that link.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Doh.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I don’t know how Amazon will plug this particular loophole, but I know what I’m doing this week. *sigh* Time to reformat my Kindle Unlimited books and take out the link to free content at the back and put that content somewhere up front. It’s not “WIN A KINDLE FIRE” click-bait – it’s a legitimate offer – but I’m sure Amazon will see it differently.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It’s better to get out the way of a potential nuclear explosion if you know it’s coming than sit around and wait for it to happen – at least that’s my philosophy. And the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. So if Amazon’s reaction to this KU 2.0 problem so far is any indication, I’d suggest you follow my lead and clean up those “links to the back of the book” now before they nuke your stuff.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The thing is, all of this cleanup was preventable. There was no reason to implement such a flawed program like Kindle Unlimited in the first place. Amazon certainly could have predicted the original “loophole” in KU 1.0 that they attempted to close with KU 2.0.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Remember when short books were all the rage in KU 1.0? That was because every borrow that was read to 10% paid out around $1.30 each (well, at last count, the amount kept going down every month…) Erotica writers were hit hard when Amazon switched to the “paid per page read” scenario, because erotica authors have always written in short-form. What we were once being paid $2.09 (70% of $2.99) per sale for before Kindle Unlimited came along, then $1.30 per borrow for in KU 1.0, we were then being paid about $0.15 per read-through for in KU 2.0.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ouch.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But the real scammers in KU 1.0 weren’t erotica authors, who simply benefited from the per-borrow payout by doing what we’d always done (writing short stories) – the real scammers put gibberish inside a book and made them so short that by simply opening the book on your Kindle, that first page would count as 10% of the book and result in a paid borrow.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><strong><br /></strong></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><strong>Cha-ching!</strong></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Are you telling me Amazon couldn’t have foreseen that?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If so, I have some swampland in Florida to sell you.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then KU 2.0 came along to “fix” the issues/loopholes/leaks of the “scamphlets” in KU 1.0. Amazon went to a “pay per pages read” scenario. It’s ironic that their solution to the money they were bleeding in the first Kindle Unlimited version was increased exponentially in the next one.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In KU 2.0, they weren’t paying out $1.30 a borrow to scammers who created their little “scamplets” and borrowed them in their little circles anymore. (Or to those nasty erotica writers who’ve always written shorts stories for readers who want to buy them… they clearly deserved to be punished for their dirty minds and “selling sex” in the first place, right?)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That’s great, but… before the KENPC cap was very recently instituted, <strong>the pages you could get paid for per-read were unlimited.</strong> Which meant that anyone could release a “book” of unlimited length in KDP Select (these scammers are putting garbage in their books – foreign translations, articles from Wikipedia, just words for words’ sake) then put a link at the front of that book that jumped to the back – and voila. <strong>A $100 download in one click. </strong>I'm not kidding. I know authors who have told me they've seen these scammers bragging about getting that much per-read before the KENPC cap.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Even when they put the KENPC cap of 3000 on it, with the payout last month at $0.0041 per page read, that meant the maximum payout was $12.30 per download. Still not too shabby. Especially if you have lots of scammer friends to borrow your book and just click a link to read to the end - and push up your rank in the process.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>KU 2.0 is far worse, in terms of scamming and money lost, than KU 1.0 ever was.</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Guess you should have just continued paying out for those dirty erotica shorts, Amazon… :P</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Amazon’s continued “fix” to these problems are like putting a Band-Aid on a bleeding artery. Because guys like Dave Koziel aren’t just making money off Amazon. He’s making money off selling this method to other scammers and telling them how to make money scamming, too. And the more they scam, the more money they take out of the “pot."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://imgur.com/a/YwBA0" target="_blank">Check this link out</a>. Apparently a 15-year-old mentee of Dave Koziel made $64,000 in a month. That's not a typo.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Do I think this kid wrote all those words? Not if he's following Dave's advice, he's not.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm posting a screen shot here, just in case the link gets removed. (You never know...)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Quoted on those images, Dave Koziel says: "A screen shot I got earlier from my mentee and coaching student @justin8600 For those of you who don't know what this is it's a report from Amazon that shows you your actual royalty payments from the Kindle store. Take a close look at these numbers and you'll see how much money he is actually getting paid this month from Amazon. Did I mention he's only 15? A lot of you may look at this and think it's fake. How can a 15 year old possibly make $70,000+ in a month online from selling ebooks on Amazon? The world is changing and fast. Opportunities are out there to make money and a lot of it! It doesn't matter how old you are, where you came from, what your circumstances are etc."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<img alt="screenshotb" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2349" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/screenshotb.jpg" height="443" width="640" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Authors and readers – does this make you angry? It should. You’ve been lied to and cheated, not just by the scammers, but by Amazon. Primarily Amazon, really. Scammers suck, but we all know they’re exploiting a loophole that was created by Amazon's short-sightedness and could have been prevented by Amazon in the first place. The scammers are scammers - and they're providing a poor customer experience to be sure - but Amazon bears the brunt of the blame here, let's not lose sight of that.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If Amazon’s focus is “customer-centric” then their Kindle Unlimited program is a giant fail. KU 1.0 was called “Kink Unlimited” because authors (many who hadn’t started out writing erotica) jumped on the erotica shorts bandwagon and the market was flooded with them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But KU 2.0 is now being called “Krap Unlimited” because of all of these crappy scam-books that claim to have great content, but really only contain a bunch of garbage and a click-bait link up front to take readers to the end, so the “author” of the book can get paid for all of those pages.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And when readers find these word-salad books, do they think, “Oh geez, a scammer, what a jerk?” No. They think, “Welp, everything they say about self-publishing and indies is true – their books suck!”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thanks, Amazon, for perpetuating <i>that </i>myth.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And while the readers have to wade through crap (and boy, do they – I thought keyword stuffed titles weren’t allowed, Amazon?) authors are getting hit the hardest under KU 2.0. Not only are we getting paid less than half a cent per-word-read, these junk-books are forcing legitimate authors to split the “global fund”/pot with them. The rate we’re being paid per page just keeps dropping. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Gee, I wonder why?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let’s take a look, shall we:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>-6.32% = December rate decrease</li>
<li>-10.72% = January rate decrease</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We can thank the scammers for that.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And here are some more numbers for you.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Amazon claimed recently that pages read were up by 25%. But I know that <em>I </em>didn’t see a pages-read increase of 25%. Did you? I bet you didn’t. Want to know why?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Because those pages read were click-bait scammer reads, that’s why.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I can’t prove it – but other authors have speculated as much, and I believe they’re right.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Take a look at this graph. (Courtesy of my author friend, <a href="http://pathforgers.com/" target="_blank">Michelle Keep</a> - she's awesome BTW, smart as a whip, and writes great books - and provides amazing services to authors - check her out!)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://pathforgers.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="graph" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2351" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/graph.png" height="209" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Before November 2015, the pages-read increased steadily for months by about 100 million-ish a month.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then, in November 2015, there was a 350 million pages-read increase from the previous month. A pretty sharp increase but we’d seen increases similar to it before from December to January the year before.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then, between December and January, look at the huge rise. There were 700 million <em>more</em> pages read in that month. How do we explain that? Christmas rush? Hm. Maybe.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Historically speaking, though, the program increases pretty steadily on that graph – but it started spiking in November and continued to climb drastically—far more than it ever had before—in December and January.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let's look at the actual numbers.</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">From November 2015 to December 2015, the pages-read increased by 347,751,042. (about 350 million)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">From December 2015 to January 2016, the pages read increased by 716,220,032. (about 700 million)</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Can Kindlemas account for this gigantic rise? Can we just chalk it up to Christmas growth?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well, let’s look at the year before:</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">December 2014 shows 1,154,321,678 pages read. (1.1 billion)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">January 2015 shows 1,402,376,812 pages read. (1.4 billion)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Between December 2014 and January 2015, that’s an increase of only 248,055,134. (about 250 million)</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That’s about <strong>1/3 of the increase</strong> we saw between December 2015 and January of 2016 (which was an increase of 716,220,032 – about 700 million)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Historically speaking, this giant increase is suspect.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So let’s go back and look at this year’s dramatic jump.</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">December 2015: 2,929,051,855 pages read (2.9 billion)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">January 2016: 3,645,271,887 pages read (3.6 billion)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">If we add those two numbers we get: 6,574,323,742 (6.5 billion) pages read</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now, just for chucks and giggles, let's subtract the “average” historical Christmas/Kindlemas jump (which last year we saw was about 250 million…) from that total. Or, hell, let's go a little further, let's add to that historical average and say we should have historically seen about a 300 million pages-read increase from Dec 2015-Jan 2016…</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If we do that, we're left with a 763,971,074 difference.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>There's that shocking, inexplicable 750 million pages-read increase.</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For speculation’s sake, let’s say that huge page-read increase is actually the result of scammers. Just for argument's sake, let’s say they’re the ones who have caused this dramatic rise in pages read.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you translate those pages-read into dollars (multiplying it by the last known pages-read amount Amazon paid out, which was $0.0041 per page)… that comes to…</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>About 3.1 million dollars.</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That’s a lot of money. :o</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Okay, I get it, I hear you - that maybe it's an exaggeration. Maybe Amazon did have a big jump in program growth this year, because they were pushing Kindle Unlimited around Christmas time and offering discounts. Okay, that's possible.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So let's account for that. Even if natural growth increased enormously this year – <strong>what if scammers accounted for just 1/3 of that 750 million increase in pages-read?</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>That’s still a million dollars out of the pot.</strong></div>
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But that's not all, folks.</div>
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No, because not only are these scammers stealing money out of my pocket and every author’s pocket who participates in the KDP Select program, they are getting “All-Star” bonuses on top of it. Just to add a little insult to injury and rub some salt in those wounds.</div>
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<a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2X66QXB12WV2" target="_blank">Amazon awards All -Star Bonuses to its top-sellers in the KDP Select program</a>. Some of those bonuses are $25,000. Scammers most definitely got bonuses last month - and legitimate authors who have gotten them all along for being top-sellers discovered that their usual pages-read didn't qualify. The bar had been set suddenly higher, and not by real authors, but by scammers.</div>
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And Amazon could have prevented all of this. They could have anticipated all of these issues - just as they could have anticipated the problem of erotica surfacing on children's Kindles and done something proactive and preemptive about that. But Amazon works like the pharmaceutical companies. They make a lot more money ignoring root causes and treating symptoms.</div>
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The question now is - what are they going to do about it? And is it going to hurt?</div>
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I'm afraid the answer to the latter question is "yes." As to the former one? Well, they'll treat the symptoms again, I'm sure. They've already screwed over legitimate authors claiming they now have TOC and bonus content issues in their books, whether Amazon was aiming at the scammers or not. We're collateral damage, as usual.</div>
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And frankly, I'm beyond angry. I'm appalled. I've become an unwitting participant in this "scam," because Amazon lied to me. Amazon informed me in no uncertain terms that skipping over content in book would not result in pages-read, but they lied.</div>
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How can I ever trust them again? How can you?</div>
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Whatever trust I did have (ha) has been completely decimated. I don't even trust their royalty reports at this point.</div>
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And you know what really sucks? Thanks to Amazon's deception, I've been cheating other authors without realizing it. I suppose, if I were in the Hunger Games (which is exactly what this whole thing feels like) I'd just end up dead. I don't have the stomach for this sort of zero-sum competition they've set up in KDP Select between authors. But like Katniss, I don't have a lot of choice, if I want to feed my family.</div>
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In the end, the worst thing of all, at least for me, is Amazon's stranglehold on the market. They've forced me into this horrible, socialist program of theirs where it <em>is</em> a zero-sum game - and I have to fight or die.</div>
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If you want to make a living at this, Amazon has created an environment where we're all getting in the same bread line and fighting each other for crumbs. We're all hungry. And getting skinnier every day.</div>
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(And OMG if one person in the comments says, "You're not 'forced' into the program! You have a 'choice!'" I will delete you so fast it will make your head spin like Linda Blair. We'll talk about Amazon's algorithms and how they weigh the visibility of KDP Select and the decreasing ability to make a living on any other vendor some other time, okay?)</div>
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Authors - when we were actually <i>selling</i> books, did we feel we were "cheating" each other out of dollars? Nope. Because we knew there was (arguably) an unlimited amount of dollars to be had. Competition in the marketplace is great - that's good for the ecosystem. But competition for a "pot" of something?</div>
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That way lies... this madness.</div>
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And that's all on Amazon.</div>
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They created this KDP Select monster. And remember that their whole company is run at a loss. In effect,<strong> Amazon is being subsidized by their shareholders.</strong> Authors keep complaining about Nook and Apple and Kobo and want to know <i>why</i> no other retailer is challenging Amazon for marketshare?</div>
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The real answer is, because they can't afford to - <strong><i>they</i> aren't being subsidized.</strong></div>
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And we, as a culture, have created the monster that is Amazon.</div>
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That, unfortunately, is on us.</div>
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Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-60263293838194289182016-02-12T07:58:00.000-05:002016-02-13T20:00:56.222-05:00They're Making My Book into a Porn Movie: Green Light on Babysitting the Baumgartners!<div style="text-align: center;">
They're making my book, <a href="http://bit.ly/baumbabyKIN" target="_blank">Babysitting the Baumgartners</a>, into an adult film.</div>
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<img alt="shocked-will-smith" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1999" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/shocked-will-smith-1.gif" height="250" width="320" /></div>
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Yep, you heard me right! :D</div>
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<a href="http://bit.ly/baumbabyKIN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="babysittingthebaumgartnersNEWare" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1990" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/babysittingthebaumgartnersNEWare-200x300.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div>
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We got the official GREEN LIGHT from <a href="http://www.adamandeve.com/" target="_blank">Adam and Eve</a> this week. The amazingly talented <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kay.brandt.75" target="_blank">Kay Brandt</a> will be directing, and as for the cast... holy hell, scroll down, you won't even believe the hotness!</div>
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Am I the first indie author to have their book made into an adult film? Oh wait, no - Kay filmed her book, <a href="http://bit.ly/safeKIN" target="_blank">Safe Landings</a>, as an <a href="http://www.adameve.com/adult-dvds/story-based-features-m-z/sp-safe-landings-100923.aspx" target="_blank">adult film</a> last year, and she was <a href="http://avnawards.avn.com/nominees" target="_blank">nominated for an AVN award to boot for best director</a>. Adam and Eve is venturing into new, exciting territory, folks. I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship - perhaps even a marriage made in heaven!</div>
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We all know <a href="http://bit.ly/50shadesKIN" target="_blank">Fifty Shades of Grey</a> was made into a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2322441" target="_blank">mainstream, much-anticipated film</a>, but many fans were left a little... disappointed. Why? Well, let's be honest - because all the "juicy parts" of the book had to be left on the cutting room floor. And the juiciest parts never even got filmed!</div>
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I've been approached before about making my books into adult films, but I've never felt right about it until now. Why now? Because it's in the hands of Kay Brandt, who has won awards for directing adult films, and Adam and Eve, a long-standing brand I know and trust.</div>
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Like fans, I have been rather protective of Doc and Carrie, Ronnie and Gretchen--these characters are part of my psyche, and kind of part of my family. (Granted, a really naughty family that frolicks disease-and-chafe free in the fantasies that roll through my dirty mind... :D) I didn't want to do a disservice to them - or to the fans who loved them as much (maybe more!) that I do.</div>
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So when Kay pitched the idea of her vision for Babysitting the Baumgartners, I have to admit - I hesitated. But the more she talked, the more I realized she really understood the Baumgartners. She "got" the book. (A lot of people don't - they think it's "pure filth" - and hey, everyone's got a right to their opinion, eh?) This book is about sexual awakening. It's a coming-of-age story about a vivacious but naive college girl and an adventurous, caring couple who allow her to blossom under their tutelage.</div>
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That's not to say there's not a lot of damned hot sex in it. :D Because, trust me, there is! This book could never be made into a mainstream film - like all good erotica, if you take the sex out, the whole story falls apart. The sex in Babysitting the Baumgartners is integral - in all its wet, messy, juicy, yummy glory! But that isn't all Babysitting the Baumgartners is about. And that's the part that Kay Brandt understands, which is why I was willing to trust her with this family and these characters that so many fans have fallen in love with since I first published it back in 2008.</div>
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That's why I'm <em>so</em> excited to make this announcement, you guys! I will be posting here often, updating you on how things are going, letting you know about filming schedules and release dates, but the very first thing I'm going to reveal (aside from our very bright and awesome GREEN LIGHT on this project!) is that the roles of Doc, Carrie and Gretchen have been cast and are listed below. And I couldn't be more thrilled with them! There will be a casting call for the all-important role of Ronnie - and you guys will get to vote on which one you like best!</div>
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<strong>Carrie Baumgartner ("Mrs. B")</strong></h3>
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<a href="http://www.anikkaalbrite.com/" target="_blank">Anikka Albrite</a></h3>
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<img alt="" class="" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/annika4.jpg" height="452" width="301" /> </div>
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Hello Mrs. B!</div>
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Mrs. B in a bikini, of course!</div>
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Oh. My. Word.</div>
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<strong>Steven "Doc" Baumgartner</strong></h3>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3191051/" target="_blank">Ryan Driller</a></h3>
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<img alt="" class="" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/ryandriller2.jpg" height="435" width="300" /> </div>
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Hey, what's up, Doc?</div>
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<img alt="" class="" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/ryandriller3.jpg" height="267" width="401" /> </div>
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Doc on the beach...</div>
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<img alt="" class="" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/ryandriller4.jpg" height="404" width="300" /> </div>
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Can't you see him playing Doc?</div>
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<strong>Gretchen</strong></h3>
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<a href="http://teamapplegate.com/" target="_blank">A.J. Applegate</a></h3>
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<img alt="" class="" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/AJ1.jpg" height="341" width="300" /> </div>
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A.J. Applegate - the perfect Gretchen!</div>
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<img alt="" class="" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/AJ3.jpg" height="450" width="300" /> </div>
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Pretty without makeup!</div>
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<img alt="" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/AJ2.jpg" height="267" width="401" /> </div>
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All made up!</div>
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<img alt="" class="" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/AJ01.gif" height="144" width="256" /> </div>
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Dat lip bite tho!</div>
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*fanning self* Whew! Is it HOT in here?
Shooting starts in March - but I'll post lots of awesome stuff about the casting call for our girl, Ronnie, before then.
This is going to be an amazing, exciting, and totally FUN journey! I can't wait to take all of you on it with me!
Here's to the Baumgartners - our favorite family! :D
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<strong>XOXO</strong></div>
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Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-83758402699468429102015-11-13T10:00:00.000-05:002015-11-13T10:00:02.184-05:00Erotica Readers & Writers Association: Changing of the Guard<div class="separator" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px;">
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The <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/">Erotica Readers and Writers Association</a> has been around since 1996. It pre-dates my foray into the erotica genre by ten years, and is coming up on its twentieth anniversary. Adrienne Benedicks has run it from the beginning, and I remember finding my very first publisher (Stardust, now defunct) on their <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm">Author Resources page</a>. Adrienne is now retiring - and moving to greener pastures and a warmer climate! She felt it was time to pass the baton, and I was honored that she thought of me.</div>
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In recent years, as Amazon (and other retailers) have pushed back against erotica authors, I have seriously considered giving up on the genre altogether. But in the end, I simply can't walk away from something I've invested nearly ten years of my own time and energy into. Besides, I love erotica as a genre. And I love erotica authors. I have never met a more fun-loving, open-minded, good-hearted crowd of people. Erotica authors are the first line in the defenders of the freedom of expression. They go places others are often afraid to venture, and tackle topics that far too many shy away from.</div>
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I have some great ideas about how to develop the Erotica Readers and Writers Association into an even stronger community and resource for both readers and authors that I'm sure I will be implementing in the future, but truthfully, what's in place right now is a gold mine that, I'm afraid, too many people don't know about!</div>
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For instance, did you know that the Erotic Readers and Writers Association has a <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html" target="_blank">lively discussion list</a>? In fact, they have several! <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/ERA-Parlor.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/ERA-Parlor.htm" target="_blank">The Parlor</a> is a place where everyone can discuss whatever's on their mind, <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/ERA-Storytime.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/ERA-Storytime.htm" target="_blank">Storytime</a> is where authors can offer their work for critique, and the <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/ERA-Writers.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/ERA-Writers.htm" target="_blank">Writers' List</a> is a place where authors can network and talk about all things writing related. I've been a part of those discussion lists for the past year, and it's been a great experience to connect with new erotica authors and erotica lovers.</div>
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For readers, there's a huge library of erotic fiction available for free in the <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/Treasure_Chest.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/Treasure_Chest.htm" target="_blank">Treasure Chest</a>! There's <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-EF/TC-EF-Main.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-EF/TC-EF-Main.htm" target="_blank">straight erotic fiction</a>, <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-QF/TC-QF-Main.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-QF/TC-QF-Main.htm" target="_blank">queer fiction</a>, <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-KE/TC-KE-Main.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-KE/TC-KE-Main.htm" target="_blank">kinky erotica</a>, <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-SS/TC-SS-Main.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-SS/TC-SS-Main.htm" target="_blank">the softer side</a>, <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-Q/TC-Q-Main.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-Q/TC-Q-Main.htm" target="_blank">quickies</a>, <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-F/TC-F-Main.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-F/TC-F-Main.htm" target="_blank">flashers</a>, and even <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-P/TC-P-Main.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/GD/TC-P/TC-P-Main.htm" target="_blank">poetry</a>. It's not just <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm" target="_blank">erotic books</a>, either. There are a wide array of articles in the <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/Archive12/Archive_2012.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/Archive12/Archive_2012.htm" target="_blank">archives</a>, plus <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm" target="_blank">adult movies</a>, <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm" target="_blank">sex toys</a>, even suggestions for <a data-mce-href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/EM/Erotic_Music.htm" href="http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/EM/Erotic_Music.htm" target="_blank">erotic music</a> to set the mood. It's an erotica lovers dream!</div>
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You can also <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/erwa_tweet" href="https://twitter.com/erwa_tweet" target="_blank">follow ERWA on Twitter</a>, we have a brand new <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/eroticareadersandwriters" href="https://www.facebook.com/eroticareadersandwriters" target="_blank">ERWA Facebook page</a>, and you can sign up for the <a data-mce-href="https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/s9x1i8" href="https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/s9x1i8" target="_blank">ERWA newsletter</a> to keep up on what we're doing next.</div>
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For those who are already a part of the ERWA, I want to assure you that I have no intention of dismantling the site or bringing a bunch of new changes in too quickly. The site has grown and changed organically over the past twenty years, and I imagine it will continue to do so over the next twenty years.</div>
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Self-publishing and the rise of ebooks have given erotica a newfound freedom of expression that was unheard of twenty years ago. If I look into my crystal ball to see what the next twenty-years holds for erotica, I have to admit, it's a bit cloudy. But I do know one thing - as a genre, erotica isn't going anywhere. As long as there are humans, the expression human sexuality in all its forms will be explored by the most daring and adventurous of writers, and read by the most curious and open-minded readers. That much I do know.</div>
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My hope is that erotica's future is so bright, we'll all have to wear shades.</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/Depositphotos_72718247_original.jpg" href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/Depositphotos_72718247_original.jpg"><img alt="Portrait of sensual brunette woman in red hot lingerie." class="wp-image-1927 size-thumbnail aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/Depositphotos_72718247_original-150x150.jpg" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/Depositphotos_72718247_original-150x150.jpg" height="150" style="display: block; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="150" /></a></div>
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But wherever the future of erotica as a genre may lead, I intend to be a part of that for a long time to come.</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/selenasigsmalltrans.gif" href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/selenasigsmalltrans.gif"><img alt="selenasigsmalltrans" class="size-full wp-image-1926 alignright" data-mce-src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/selenasigsmalltrans.gif" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/selenasigsmalltrans.gif" height="100" style="float: right; height: auto; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 1em; max-width: 100%;" width="167" /></a></div>
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Selena Kitt</div>
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<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/">www.selenakitt.com</a><br />
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Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-60571432339672999582015-10-21T10:00:00.000-04:002015-10-21T10:00:04.121-04:00Pornocalypse 2015 - Part Two (The Barnes and Noble Version)<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/psa.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="psa" class="size-medium wp-image-1906 alignleft" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/psa-300x291.jpg" height="291" width="300" /></a><strong>PSA: Barnes and Noble has made keywords and publisher names unsearchable on their site.</strong>
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I hate to be the bearer of bad news twice in a week, but here we go again. This time it's the folks over at Barnes and Noble. I've had reports (that I've now verified) that erotic keywords are being severely restricted. A search for "menage" comes up with a total of 3,661 titles. BDSM returns 6,988 titles, and incest comes back with just over 1,000 titles. Subkinks (like father-daughter or mother-son incest) are coming up at 20 to 40 total. Now, I haven't checked the erotica keyword search results on Barnes and Noble in over a year, I admit, but back then, menage returned somewhere around 175,000 results, BDSM 110,000, incest about 80,000. For menage to suddenly come back with less than 4,000 books - it's pretty clear that something's happened.</div>
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Another interesting search restriction that's been verified is that searching for a publisher on Barnes and Noble returns no results (unless the publisher's name is in an anthology or listed somewhere other than the "publisher" field - our Excessica anthologies come up, for example, but none of our books do, and yes, they used to!) From Excessica to MacMillan - no results. For small publishers, this is a disaster. Many small pubs have spent years building a brand, and have readers who search those publishers for new books on the larger distributors. This eliminates that as an option (unless you do a search from Google - the results clearly come up there - which serves to prove further that this is a Barnes and Noble restriction.)</div>
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The conclusion we can draw here is that publishers and keywords are now restricted from the general search on Barnes and Noble.</div>
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My guess is this - Barnes and Noble is using a nuclear "quick fix" option. (Like when they <a href="http://www.hughhowey.com/does-bn-manipulate-its-bestseller-list/" target="_blank">dropped ranks on books by 1000 a few years ago</a> - or <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/4244850-important-barnes-and-noble-is-censoring-its-best-seller-lists" target="_blank">anchored other books to keep them out of the Top 100</a>...) They wanted to make keywords unsearchable going into the holiday season and in doing so they had to turn off publishers as a search term. I think keywords and publisher search were linked in their system somehow. So when they shut off one, they shut off the other--like throwing off a breaker to turn off one light in the house.</div>
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<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/grinchxmas.gif"><img alt="grinchxmas" class="wp-image-1917 size-full" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/grinchxmas.gif" height="366" width="500" /></a><br />
Barnes and Noble has been known to panic like this in the past.<br />
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And now, we'll see - but I think they'll move on to individual books that have keyword-stuffed titles still coming up in searches. Because those are the books still showing when you search for things like "menage" and "BDSM." Most of them have long keyword-stuffed titles that Barnes and Noble's search engine is still finding. Suppressing publisher and keyword searches decimated the titles available that come up in a search - and made less work for them. Now instead of 200K titles they have to comb through, they have to go through only a fraction of that.</div>
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If you're an erotica author thinking, "Ohhh! I'll just keyword-stuff my titles then!" let me say one thing - I wouldn't if I were you.</div>
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Earlier this year, Barnes and Noble threatened to close Excessica's account if we didn't get rid of keywords in parenthesis after our titles. We had to go through and remove them all and clean things up or face being banned from publishing on Barnes and Noble. I didn't blog about it at the time because we seemed to be targeted as a publisher - I didn't hear anything through the erotica grapevine about it happening across the board. I'm sure a few others were targeted as well, but it didn't seem to be widespread.</div>
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This, however, is a sweeping change I think all erotica authors need to know about. I know, in the wake of KU 2.0, many erotica authors went wide with their books and were starting to gain some traction on Barnes and Noble. I have a feeling this is going to ruin Christmas for quite a few.</div>
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Thanks, Barnes and Noble. Amazon didn't give us any warning or use any lube, but just because you got sloppy seconds doesn't make it hurt any less.</div>
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Pass the eggnog, erotica authors. We're gonna need it. Because while the storefronts will be safe "for the children!" this holiday season, none of the grownups will be able to find your books. Again.</div>
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<img alt="" class="alignright" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" height="100" width="167" /><br />
<strong>Selena Kitt</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/">www.selenakitt.com</a><br />
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em><br />
LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://bit.ly/mwftpeterKIN" target="_blank">A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Peter and the Wolf</a>Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-64575314752625064582015-10-14T11:00:00.000-04:002015-10-14T11:00:02.152-04:00Pornocalypse 2015 is Upon Us!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/psa.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="psa" class="size-medium wp-image-1906 alignleft" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/psa-300x291.jpg" height="291" width="300" /></a><strong>PSA: For those authors who have yet to discover it - Amazon is currently going through and classifying a great deal of romance books as erotica. </strong></div>
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<strong>Pornocalypse 2015 has begun...</strong></div>
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How do I know this? Because they shunted nearly 3/4 of Excessica's catalog into erotica. All of a sudden my author rank rose to #2 in erotica - sounds great, doesn't it? What's the problem? I mean, doesn't erotica belong in erotica?</div>
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Yes. And no. It's a lot more complicated than that.</div>
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Anyone who publishes erotica and/or erotic romance knows that the line can be unclear between what is considered "erotica" and what is considered "erotic romance." Generally, longer books with a romance focus (i.e. two people falling in love, overcoming obstacle(s) and ending up with their happy ever after, or at least happy for now) even if they have explicit sex in them, are considered romance. Shorter works are a little more dicey, but even short stories can be erotic <em>romance</em> if they have all of those elements I listed above. So who determines what belongs in erotica and what belongs in romance?</div>
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Amazon. Their store, their rules, right? The problem is - we all know how inconsistent Amazon is when applying their "guidelines." Case in point, when they decided that most of our catalog belonged in erotica, they decided to place <a href="http://bit.ly/huntseasKIN" target="_blank">Hunting Season</a> in erotica. There's zero sex in that story. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. It's horror, not erotica, and that's where we placed it. But Amazon, in their infinite wisdom, decided to place it in erotica.</div>
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Does this look like erotica to you?</div>
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That alone tells me that Amazon clearly painted us with one brush, <em>without any regard to actual content.</em> If your catalog is primarily erotic romance and/or erotica - they may have done that with yours as well. If I were you, I'd check.</div>
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<strong>CHECKING YOUR BOOK'S CATEGORIES</strong></div>
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Unfortunately, I don't know an easier way to do this, except to check one book at a time. To check what categories your book is in, go to the Kindle book page, and scroll all the way to the <strong>bottom</strong> of the page. You will see a list of categories your book is in there. If you only see "erotica" listings, your book is in erotica.</div>
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So far books have been moved without much rhyme, reason, consistency or transparency. And definitely without any warning. Some authors have had their erotic romance sent into the erotica categories - <strong>along with their children's books and cookbooks!</strong></div>
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Oopsie.</div>
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Hello? Amazon? You in there?</div>
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<a href="http://www.excessica.com/" target="_blank">Excessica </a>is a small press - we have 450+ authors in house and about 1000 books. Amazon deciding to put 3/4 of our content into erotica without any warning, and then offering us little or no recourse, is just an unacceptable and unprofessional way to treat content providers. But we all know that while Amazon likes to be known as customer-centric, they <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/02/23/worse_than_wal_mart_amazons_sick_brutality_and_secret_history_of_ruthlessly_intimidating_workers/" target="_blank">don't treat their workers very well</a>. Or their <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-wrestling-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html?_r=0" target="_blank">white-collar employees</a> either, for that matter. Now that Amazon has decided to <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/the-new-kindle-unlimited-what-it-means-for-authors-readers/" target="_blank">pay their content providers half-a-cent a page</a>, I'm starting to feel like I'm working in some sort of digital sweatshop. They expect all sorts of exclusivity from us, and put all sorts of restrictions on us, and then pay us a half-penny per page read? Just how long do they thing indies are going to tolerate this kind of treatment?</div>
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<strong>HOW TO GET YOUR BOOKS OUT OF THE EROTICA CATEGORY</strong></div>
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In my conversation with the Amazon customer service representative about this situation, I was told, "We are improving our ability to identify erotic content, so you'll see more books put into erotica going forward."<br />
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<strong>Me:</strong> Just going forward?<br />
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<strong>CS:</strong> No, we'll also be identifying other content and moving it into the erotica categories.<br />
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<strong>Me:</strong> How will you be identifying this content?<br />
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<strong>CS:</strong> I can't tell you that.<br />
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<strong>Me:</strong> How can we get our books out of erotica?<br />
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<strong>CS:</strong> You can change the content and resubmit it.<br />
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<strong>Me:</strong> How would we know what to change?<br />
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<strong>CS:</strong> ....<br />
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<img alt="" class="" src="http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr03/2013/2/15/12/anigif_enhanced-buzz-8968-1360950952-2.gif" height="187" width="280" /> </div>
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What... the...?</div>
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<strong>PORNOCALYPSE 2015</strong></div>
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If you find your book(s) in the erotica category and you didn't place them there, and you believe your book(s) belongs in romance or another category, you can email title-submission@amazon.com to ask them to review the book(s).</div>
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Why don't you want your book to stay in erotica? Well, there are a few reasons. But the main one is <strong>VISIBILITY</strong>. If your book has a tame cover and blurb, it has a clear story, two characters who fall in love, overcome an obstacle, and end up together in the end? Put it in romance. Because by definition, it <strong>is</strong> romance. Erotic romance, to be sure - but Sylvia Day and E.L. James are in romance, and they write <strong>erotic</strong> romance. I don't see them being forced into erotica-only!</div>
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What's so bad about EROTICA as a category? First of all, if your book is put into erotica by Amazon (rather than you choosing the category on your own - and yes, there are some books that do belong there!) you will never be able to change it again without their permission. If your book gets <em>forced</em> into erotica, your KDP dashboard will show the categories you initially chose. But the book page will show "erotica" - and ONLY erotica.</div>
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The other problem is, if a book is in erotica, it can't be in any other secondary category outside of it. It can't, for example, be in both "romance" and "erotica." (Not to be confused with erotica>romance, which is still inside the erotica category). It can't be in both "erotica" and "sci-fi," for example. Erotica does finally have some sub-categories, but they are definitely located in a red-light district of Amazon's store. They aren't searchable from the main book page, until you drill all the way down (pun intended?) to the erotica category itself. So romance as a category has way more eyes on it - your book will be seen by far more readers in romance. And there is plenty of crossover between romance readers and "erotic romance" readers. I would venture to say, except for those who specifically seek out "sweet" (i.e. no-sex or fade-to-black sex) romances, most romance readers expect some sexual content in books in the romance category.</div>
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There's also another problem with Amazon shoving books into erotica, aside from visibility. One of the biggest trends this year has been stepbrother romances. Amazon allowed the <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/amazons-continued-double-standard-about-what-youd-expect/" target="_blank">first one in romance</a>, and erotica authors were shocked. Up until that moment, we'd been shown that using "familial" words (Daddy, Mom, Brother, Sister, Step-anything) was a blockable offense. Books would be blocked (even if step-father erotica was allowed - and it is) if authors used those words. So we came up with a whole lexicon of words, like "man of the house" for Daddy and "princess" or "brat" for daughter.</div>
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Once the stepbrother craze began, erotica authors began trying to put those words in titles again. <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/amazons-continued-double-standard-about-what-youd-expect/" target="_blank">Some stepbrother books were blocked in erotica - but they sailed through in romance just fine</a>. Clearly the message was "familial" words are fine in romance, but not in erotica. (And <a href="http://bit.ly/bbdaddyKIN" target="_blank">I'm calling the "Daddy" craze coming in romance</a> right now... here we go again...!) But check out the <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/corporate-censorship-keeping-your-erotic-books-off-retailer-hit-lists/" target="_blank">list of "bad words"</a> on Amazon in erotica and see if you don't see the issue here!</div>
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So I asked the customer service representative about these kinds of books. I told them that they'd just put books that would be considered blockable by their reviewers into erotica. What happened if I went to make changes on that book a couple weeks from now and new-reviewer Viper from India decided to block it based on the unwritten rules they refuse to tell us? Or if notoriously ham-fisted Carlos F happened to be reviewing and blocked it?</div>
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I was told they wouldn't block books they'd placed in a category.</div>
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I laughed.</div>
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How would they know??</div>
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<strong>CS:</strong> "Oh we keep records on changes to each book."</div>
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<strong>Me:</strong> Uh huh. But how do I know your reviewer is going to read and pay attention to them, given your incredible amount of employee turnover? I could be penalized for having that book in an erotica category when you're the one who put it there!</div>
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<strong>CS:</strong> Oh that wouldn't happen.</div>
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<strong>Me:</strong> Oh you mean like the last time I had to fight to get a book out of the erotica category, you told me personally none of our catalog would be forced there without notifying us as a publisher...?</div>
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<strong>CS:</strong> Oh. I didn't... Did I? I don't believe...</div>
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<strong>Me:</strong> Oh yes you did. So in other words "we wouldn't do that" until you decide to do that anyway and to hell with whatever you said at the time because technically you don't have any clear or consistent policies or guidelines, do you? So you can say whatever the hell you want. And you want me to believe you now?</div>
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I have been fighting with Amazon for the past week to get many of our books (which belong in romance) back into romance. For example, they put my top 50 bestseller with over 400 reviews, <strong><a href="http://bit.ly/stepbeastKIN" target="_blank">Step Beast</a></strong>, into erotica. Yes, it has sex in it. But it's not erotica. It's <em>romance.</em> It belongs (with all the rest of the stepbrother romance) back in the romance category.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They also put my gay romance, <a href="http://bit.ly/12ndchance">One Second Chance</a>, into erotica. It's most definitely a <em>romance</em> - with a plot. In fact, it was an Epic award winner.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And then this happened. As I was emailing ASINS (Amazon's book identifiers) back and forth with them, they sent me a list of books that weren't ours, saying they'd removed the "erotica" restrictions from them. This was their exact email (sic):</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>After further review, we have decided to remove the search restrictions so your book(s) will now be found in our general product search results. The change takes up to 24 hours to process. Bellow you will find the ASINs and the links showing the books in the Kindle Store with the correct categories.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That was followed by a large list of ASIN identifiers. I started going through the ASINs. None of them were published by Excessica. And they were all <em>extremely explicit!</em> I don't mean, they might or might not be romance. I mean, they have keyword stuffed titles with explicit descriptions and they are all clearly <em>erotica. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But Amazon decided to put <em>these</em> books back into romance? While refusing to put books like the ones I listed above back into romance?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here's one of the books Amazon decided should go back into romance (where it still is, as of this writing, although I don't expect it to stay there long) but my <a href="http://bit.ly/12ndchance" target="_blank">award-winning gay male romance</a>? Nope.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="aligncenter" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514jUsZWV0L._SX384_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="255" width="197" /> </div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0161W6NJ2/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20" target="_blank">HARD MEN - ALL OVER ME (GAY TABOO EROTIC COLLECTION) </a><br />
MEN ARE SO HARD - THEY'RE THROBBING! AND THEY'RE GOING DEEP INTO THEIR FORBIDDEN TWINK PARTNERS! THIS IS A HIGHLY EXPLICIT BOX SET - A HUGE VALUE WITH HUGE GUYS! DON'T MISS OUT!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>In ROMANCE</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="" src="http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/shocked-will-smith.gif" height="250" width="320" /> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
WHAAAAAAAT????</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then there's this one. It's in romance - Amazon put it back into romance, and it's there as of this writing. But they won't put my lesbian romance, <a href="http://bit.ly/gostayKIN" target="_blank">Stay</a>, which definitely has a plot and a relationship, back into romance.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015QA0NLO/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone aligncenter" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51N6KWItOwL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="260" width="260" /></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015QA0NLO/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20" target="_blank">LESBIAN TABOO: MY SEXY ROOMMATE (A LESBIAN EROTIC ROMANCE) </a> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
WE SHARED EVERYTHING... A ROOM, CLOTHES - AND EACH OTHER! MY ROOMMATE IS SO DAMN SEXY... AND I WANT HER! I WANT MY SOFT SKIN ON HERS, MY LIPS PRESSED AGAINST HER LIPS... MY MOUTH ON HER WETNESS. MY FIST INSIDE OF HER!
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>In ROMANCE</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.giphy.com/media/oSLxPXE38BTYA/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.giphy.com/media/oSLxPXE38BTYA/giphy.gif" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Wait... what??</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And one more example. My book, <a href="http://amzn.to/1vU9snu" target="_blank">Surrender of Persephone,</a> a Greek god romance - Amazon has shoved it into erotica. But this book? This book was put back into romance - even with its warning at the end! It's currently there as of this writing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://amzn.to/1X1LkNn" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rTMQfSO-L._SX349_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="274" width="193" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://amzn.to/1X1LkNn" target="_blank">LEAKING DIAPERS - A FOUR BOOK ABDL COLLECTION</a>
SO FULL... SO READY TO BE CHANGED! TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE - A FOURSOME OF DIAPER BOOKS THAT'LL SATISFY YOUR EVERY NEED! These girls are ready - ready to be changed! Once the diapers are off - anything can happen! THIS COLLECTION CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE!
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>In ROMANCE</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="aligncenter" src="http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n42/Greencheetahspot/HarryPotter-Shock.gif" height="256" width="379" /> </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And this is only a fraction of the list of titles I have that Amazon <em>put back into the romance categories</em>. I won't list all of them (and I was reluctant to list the ones I have already, given that I'm sure Amazon will target them now) but I thought it was necessary to list a few to prove a point.
Given Amazon's actions, I can only conclude that:
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
a) Since they have no real guidelines about erotica - they tell us "it's about what you would expect"</div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
and</div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
b) We have to read between the lines and figure out what Amazon allows, based on what is currently in the category, what they let through, and what they block, ban and adult filter...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It seems, given this list of titles and their descriptions? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Amazon apparently "expects" adult diapers, <span class="il">twinks</span> and fisting belong in romance. </b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="260" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/6159e3e4a2b3ab71c8ef76829818a816/tumblr_mqprgc5cBC1sd5i8po1_500.gif" width="480" /></div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Look, I have no problem with Amazon deciding what is or isn't "erotica" in their store - if they do so with some consistency and transparency. But as it stands, their slash-and-burn tactics (and I seem to have to write at least one of those pornocalypse posts a year) when it comes to erotica, instead of <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/no-parental-controls-its-not-about-parents-its-about-profit/" target="_blank">developing a real solution</a> to the "erotica problem," only creates more of a mess. Like Smashwords or other retailers, they could solve this problem by allowing customers to decide whether or not they wanted to see "adult" material. It's as simple as installing a button or toggle switch. <em>But that would mean Amazon would have to admit to selling erotica! *gasp*</em><br />
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The reality is, without clear guidelines, self-published authors and publishers can't really follow them - and how can Amazon expect dishonest content providers <em>not</em> to take advantage when they provide no structure whatsoever? But instead of being clear, consistent and transparent (why oh why isn't Amazon run by <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/amazon-cloudflare-monster-erotica-tough-lesson-in-censorship/" target="_blank">this guy</a>??) Amazon continues to stick their heads in the sand, pretending nothing is wrong - until they're forced (for example, when they <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2926272/amazoncom-may-be-working-on-etsy-competitor.html" target="_blank">launch a new Etsy competitor like Handmade</a> or maybe just because Kindlemas is coming!) to clean up the storefront. Then they run around like crazy, targeting the most visible books (like mine and Excessica's) like a 13-year-old shoving Playboy between his mattress.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I bet Jeff Bezos did that a lot when he was a kid.<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once again. Amazon FAIL.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="alignnone" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4321570696_e713cbcae1_o.jpg" height="144" width="487" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/"><strong></strong></a><strong><em>
</em></strong>
<img alt="" class="alignright" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" height="100" width="167" /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<strong>Selena Kitt</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
www.selenakitt.com </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://bit.ly/mwftpeterKIN">A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Peter and the Wolf</a></div>
<br />Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-48269032714522652652015-07-01T21:23:00.000-04:002015-07-01T21:27:50.109-04:00Erotica Authors Pull-Out on Amazon KU – Time to Come To The Dark Side!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/releasetherate.png"><img alt="releasetherate" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1770" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/releasetherate-300x157.png" height="157" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Erotica authors were <br />
<del>im</del>patiently waiting for July 1, for a look at the new dashboard and the opportunity for a glimpse into the Bezos crystal ball at what they might be paid for the month of July, <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/the-new-kindle-unlimited-what-it-means-for-authors-readers/">when the Kindle Unlimited changes took place</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Looks like the numbers are (kind of) in... and the outlook is rather dismal. Erotica shorts authors knew it was going to be bad. I just don't think most of them thought it was going to be quite *this* bad. Because it looks as if authors will be making about $0.0057 per page. That's slightly more than half a penny a page, folks.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This was every erotica shorts author's face when they heard this news:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/06.gif"><img alt="06" class="aligncenter wp-image-1768 size-full" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/06.gif" height="305" width="462" /></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But we're erotica authors. We are the most versatile, adaptive and scrappy bunch of people I have ever known. And if Amazon thought we were going to take this lying down?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bwahahahahahahahahahaha. Then they don't know us very well!</div>
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Introducing the #releasetherate campaign</strong></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The objective is twofold:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1. Get Amazon to tell us how many <strong>people</strong> are borrowing our books, without which our page counts are utterly useless</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
2. Get Amazon to tell us how much they mean to pay us - NOW. IN ADVANCE. No more of this, "Enroll your books, choose to go exclusively with Amazon, and we'll tell you later how much you'll make" crap!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<hr />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>1. Won't Bezos get mad at us? We might get in trouble!</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Look, if we don't stop this ride now, we may never be able to get off. And this particular ride ends at welfare-ville. So let's not go there. There are plenty of erotica authors who have made a nice living from writing. And we are satisfying a very voracious readership. Why shouldn't they have books they want to read, too? And why shouldn't we get paid for them?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>2. Why don't we just go wide?</strong></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
That's part of the message we need to send. <strong>If you haven't already sign up for an <a href="http://www.excitica.com/publisher" target="_blank">Excitica Publisher Account</a>, do that now.</strong></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>3. You sound mad, calm down.</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yeah, losing 50-70% of my erotica shorts income? I'm mad.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="bbc_size"><em><strong><br /></strong></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="bbc_size"><em><strong>What do I have to do?</strong>
</em></span>
<em>SIMPLE!</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A. <strong>PULL YOUR EROTICA BOOKS FROM KU.</strong> Every book you leave in is telling them YES, CONTINUE SCREWING ME OVER.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Wait, what about my romance? I need to eat!</em> Fine, leave it in, <strong>but if you have erotica get it OUT.</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
B. <strong>COMMENT, LIKE, SHARE THE FOLLOWING FACEBOOK POST & TWEET:</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/selenakitt/status/616366989477564420" target="_blank">TWEET</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/selena.kitt/posts/10205781519471410" target="_blank">FB POST</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
C. <strong>EMAIL <a class="bbc_email" href="mailto:jeff@amazon.com">jeff@amazon.com</a></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Be polite, cordial, and clear. Keep it short and sweet and include the following info:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
-We want to know how many individual people are actually borrowing our books</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
-We want to know how much you actually plan to pay us.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
-If you followed through on pulling all your short fiction (I know not everyone can do it, seriously. Don't do something you can't afford, but remember<em> you're getting paid like ten cents for a full read now anyway</em>) mention this in the email!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
D. <strong>ASK YOUR NEWSLETTER/FANS/FRIENDS/RELATIVES/PETS to email Bezos, too. The more emails they get the more likely they are to act.</strong></div>
<hr />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Here's a form email you can give to your readers:</div>
<hr />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hello, Mr. Bezos</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I am an avid reader, and I am contacting you today on behalf of my favorite authors who participate in your Kindle Unlimited book subscription program.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Under the new reporting system, authors have no idea how many individual people are borrowing their books through KU. This is vital information and authors NEED to have it. Please amend the KDP reporting system to share this information, which you are already collecting anyway and shared up until July 1, with authors.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Also, authors have no idea how much to expect to be paid. The email they received today suggests the payout could be as low as $.0057 per page. As a reader, I want as many authors to keep as many books in the KU program as possible, and it would help if Amazon would tell authors how much they're going to be paid. It's not fair that they have to guess and hope for the best when they sign up for KU and give up the fixed royalty rates they receive outside the program.</div>
<hr />
<div style="text-align: center;">
TEXT YOU CAN USE TO SHARE WITH YOUR READERS</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(and feel free to right-click and use the graphic at the top of this page).</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks go to <a href="http://nataliedeschain.com/site/" target="_blank">Natalie Deschain</a> and <a href="http://cassandrazara.com/" target="_blank">Cassandra Zara </a>for spearheading this campaign!</div>
<hr />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Help Authors Spread the Word – PLEASE SHARE!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Many of you know that I've been a HUGE proponent of the Kindle Unlimited program. It's allowed me to gain a broader readership and new fans who would have never discovered me without being able to borrow my books and take a chance on them through KU.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That said, you may not be aware that Amazon made massive, sweeping changes to the KU program starting today. Beginning today, they will only be paying based on pages read, rather than books borrowed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This change has left authors in the dark regarding royalties since Amazon isn't telling us how many readers are borrowing our books or how much we'll earn for each page read.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
How can authors make good business decisions without knowing how much money they are earning? The short answer is, we can’t. And that makes many of us question whether we should remain part of the Kindle Unlimited program at all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That’s why I’ve joined #releasetherate, an author-led initiative with a simple goal: getting Amazon to release more information to authors. We’re not asking for much. We're asking for two small pieces of data that Amazon can easily produce that will help self-published authors make informed business decisions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1.) Number of units borrowed per book -- Amazon has this data; they have been providing it to us since the Select program began. Why withhold that number now? The only reason is to confuse authors. Give us the total number of customers who have clicked the “Read for Free” button on our book’s sales page. Or, at the very least, give us the total number of customers who have read a minimum of one page of our book.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
2.) #releasetherate – Authors are aware that Amazon has a ballpark rate-per-page-read that they are expecting to pay for Select and KU pages read in July 2015. We hope it's not the .0057 cents per page based on the June 2015 Select Fund and pages read, a rate that would decimate the income of many authors and make it impossible for us to remain part of the Kindle Unlimited program.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you’re an author or reader who feels that Amazon should #releasetherate, please help us spread the word by sharing this post.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And if you’re as angry and frustrated about the lack of information being provided to authors, as I am, please let Amazon know by sending an email to <a href="mailto:jeff@amazon.com">jeff@amazon.com</a> and letting him know that withholding basic business information from authors is making many of your favorite authors wonder if Kindle Unlimited is really the right program for them after all.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<strong><em>
</em></strong>
<img alt="" class="alignright" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" height="100" width="167" /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<strong>Selena Kitt</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/">www.selenakitt.com </a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://bit.ly/hwp3KINUK" target="_blank">Highland Wolf Pact: Blood Reign</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/hwp3KINUK" target="_blank"><img alt="highlandwolfpactbloodreignMED" class=" size-medium wp-image-1715 alignleft" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/highlandwolfpactbloodreignMED-200x300.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div>
Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-770340669097153972015-06-17T15:51:00.000-04:002015-06-17T17:42:43.654-04:00The New Kindle Unlimited – What It Means for Authors & Readers<div style="text-align: justify;">
<img alt="" class="alignleft" src="http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/070/808/OHNOES.gif" height="142" width="171" />Well, authors and readers, the heyday of erotica shorts filling </div>
<del><div style="text-align: justify;">
Kink</div>
</del>Kindle Unlimited may be coming to an end. I hope you made hay while the sun was shining, authors. And readers, I hope you got your fill of the all-you-can-eat buffet that was
<br />
<del><div style="text-align: justify;">
Kink</div>
</del><div style="text-align: justify;">
Kindle Unlimited while it lasted, because many of the erotic shorts that glutted the program may be going back to sales-only and being distributed wide, if the rumblings of authors about <a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/community/ann.jspa?annID=786" target="_blank">this new "pay-per-page" system</a> is any indication. I know some (non-erotica) authors who think this is a great thing!
<br />
<br />
It's not.<br />
<br />
For erotic or non-erotic authors, this is a slide toward being paid by the word. And not words SOLD, like our old friend Charles Dickens, but words READ. If I go into a restaurant and order a steak, but I fill up on drinks and chips and salsa, do I get to send the steak back because I'm no longer hungry? No. If I buy a DVD but never open it (I have Keanu Reeves in "The Day the World Stood Still" AND "Pumpkinhead" on my shelf still in shrinkwrap... sad...) do people not get paid for it? Uhhh no. If I get sick in the middle of a movie and spend 3/4 of it in the bathroom, do I get my money for admission back? No. If I pay for concert tickets and my car breaks down on the way, do I get my money back? No.<br />
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So why in the world would an author not get paid for a sale/borrow, based on the initial interest of the consumer to buy/borrow it? Why are authors opting into Kindle Unlimited (the best place for a self-published author to make the most money with the vendor who happens to have the largest share of the ebook market) now going to be paid by "pages read?"<br />
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Because Amazon's been losing money on Kindle Unlimited. And this is a way to "spin" it to make it look as if Amazon is actually listening to authors, while screwing both short and long writers. Yay! Oh wait...<br />
<br />
Amazon said:
<em>One particular piece of feedback we've heard consistently from authors is that paying the same for all books regardless of length may not provide a strong enough alignment between the interests of authors and readers. We agree. With this in mind, we're pleased to announce that beginning on July 1, the KDP Select Global Fund will be paid out based on the number of pages KU and KOLL customers read.</em><br />
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So those of you who were complaining that "short erotic dino porn" was glutting up the </div>
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Kink</div>
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Kindle Unlimited program and eating up all your precious borrows in the global fund pot? Be careful what you wish for. You got it now. I guess we'll see how many people are actually reading to the end of your 500 page epic fantasy tome. ;)<br />
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I predict that many "shorts" authors will opt out. (Poor <a href="http://observer.com/2015/02/meet-dr-chuck-tingle-the-author-behind-amazons-most-absurd-gay-erotica/" target="_blank">Chuck Tingle</a> - from $1.30 a borrow to... probably less than a $0.99 buy would net. But I guess we'll see! Not that I'm dissing Chuck Tingle - if there's an audience for Sharknado, there's an audience for anything!) Not that you should, but many may, just out of fear. But shorts are, in our attention deficit world, not necessarily a bad thing. Erotica writers have always written short - and we've generally been paid more for it, too. (Much to the chagrin of authors in other genres!) But for those, like this guy, who say that <a href="http://www.onlinemoneyexplained.com/detailed-analysis-of-amazon-new-ku-payout-your-revenues-may-triple/" target="_blank">anything under 30 pages is a "scam?"</a> Dude, <a href="http://www.readbookonline.net/stories/henry/108/" target="_blank">go tell O'Henry that</a>, eh?<br />
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I know there are scammers out there who have been taking advantage of the </div>
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Kink</div>
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Kindle Unlimited program - writing (literally) 500 words, throwing it up there with provocative covers and blurbs to make people one-click, and boom! Just opening it is 10%, so they now collect $1.30ish per borrow. And that sucks. There are always a few bad apples, right? But let's not lump shorts writers in with scammers, okay? To each their own. If my readers want to read a hot little short about an illicit relationship between stepsiblings, why not? That's not a scam. Nor is it or should it be penalized, simply because it's short.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.stratospherehotel.com/Activities" target="_blank">The SkyJump in Vegas costs you $119 and lasts a few minutes</a>. I rest my case. :P<br />
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I predict that mystery, thriller/suspense and horror writers will make a killing. People read those books to the end to find what happens! I predict short chapters with "cliffhanger" endings. I know people have been complaining about serials and cliffhangers - but I think we'll see more of them. Because cliffhangers! I predict the sweet spot will be 25-35K. 50K at most. I predict pages of short, snappy, untagged dialogue! ;) Oh the places authors will go...<br />
<br />
As a publisher (and self-published author) I had some questions for Amazon about the new system. Below is a summary of what I was told. I'm providing it to you as information. Do with it what you will!
</div>
<ul class="bbc_list">
<li style="text-align: justify;">Borrows will be displayed as PAGES now instead of BORROWS. So TOTAL number of PAGES (not broken down by number of borrowers) will appear on the report where the "borrow" appears now. We'll be getting no other information besides this. We won't know the number of people who borrowed each book - will will JUST know the TOTAL number of pages read in each book.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Pages will display and count in the report as they're read by the reader. This will be when a user syncs up. Whether that's hourly or monthly. Pages will appear as they're read/synced, and you'll get paid for those during the next payment period.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The 10% rule applies no longer. Pages are pages. They click into it and back out? One page. Click in and swipe left? Two pages. Swipe all the way through the backmatter? You get paid for all the pages.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">There will be an SRL (Starting Read Location) determined by Amazon (start of Chapter 1). The ERL (end read location) defaults to the end of the Amazon book. If someone flips all the way to the end, you'll get paid for backmatter pages. However, linking from the TOC to the end of the book? That would be two pages, no matter how many there were in between.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">They do not have "average number of pages read" information up to this point (yeah, sure) and cannot provide that information currently.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Page averages will be done using the new "KENPC" system. The current page estimation system will change to the new (KENPC) one once the new KU rolls out in July.</li>
<li>You only get paid for pages once. If they read the page again, it doesn't count.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Rank - ghost borrows for rank will still have the same effect. A person borrows, rank goes up, but they may never open or read the book, meaning you may never get paid for it. But authors will still get the same rank boost for being in Select.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><strong>For the first 90 days, everyone enrolled in KU will be able to opt out AT ANY TIME. You are NOT TIED TO THE 90 DAY PERIOD.</strong> This is the best and most important news (which is why I saved it for last? heh) This will apply for at least the first 90 day period of the new system.</li>
</ul>
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So authors, if you're thinking of jumping ship, Amazon wants you to stay. They'll let you opt out as you wish for the first ninety days. Clearly, they're trying to prevent a mass exodus here. That, of course, will depend on how much a "page" ends up being worth. And we'll have to wait until mid-August to find that out...
Ooooo a cliffhanger! I see what you did there, Bezos...! Curses!<br />
<img alt="" src="http://www.startmag.it/wp-content/uploads/images_Amazon-chief-Jeff-Bezos-008.jpg" /></div>
<img alt="" class="alignright" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" height="100" width="167" /><a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Selena Kitt</strong></a>
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em>
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/" target="_blank">www.selenakitt.com</a>
LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://bit.ly/hwp2KIN" target="_blank">Highland Wolf Pact: Compromising Positions</a>Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-3762473778521969122015-03-12T01:38:00.000-04:002015-03-12T01:38:07.310-04:00STEPping Out: Amazon's Familiar Double Standard. Again. Still.<div style="text-align: justify;">
Five months ago, I did a <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/amazons-continued-double-standard-about-what-youd-expect/">blog post about Stepbrother Dearest</a> - the first stepbrother book that broke the pseudoincest barrier, pushing into romance. At the time, I lamented the fact that as an erotica author, Amazon wouldn't allow me to use the word "stepbrother." Not in my title, not in my blurb, not anywhere (except maybe inside the book, where it wasn't searchable) that might warn a reader that they were about to read something about "pseudoincest" (i.e. a relationship between non-biological family members). But Penelope Ward was allowed to use the word "STEPBROTHER" in her mainstream, new adult romance novel about (wait for it) pseudoincest. With that decision, Amazon took its double standard to a whole new level.</div>
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Since Ms. Ward's use of STEPBROTHER in her title, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=stepbrother&sprefix=stepbr%2Cdigital-text">Amazon has seen a huge influx of Stepbrother titles in romance</a>. Here's the interesting thing--Amazon still won't let erotica authors use any reference to relationships in their titles. We are still calling daughters "little brats" and fathers "the man of the house." Granted, they seem to have backed off a little on some terms. We can use the word babysitter now, although the word "virgin" can still get you in trouble. Erotica authors are using the "first time" euphemism instead.</div>
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If nothing else, Amazon has forced erotica authors to adapt.</div>
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Well, they've adapted again. There has been a large rash of STEPBROTHER titles appearing on Amazon written by erotica writers. But they're not appearing in erotica. They're showing up in romance. Some of them belong there--no reason an erotica author can't write a romance, right? Of course not. As long as it's a romance, I see no problem with it. It's a current loophole, and if Amazon's going to leave one, authors are going to walk through it until a wall is put up. That's been proven in this business over and over again.</div>
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The problem is, there have been a few cases where a "stepbrother" title has been banned/blocked. If an author misjudges the market and accidentally puts their book into the "erotica" category instead of romance, they risk getting the book blocked. In erotica, STEPBROTHER or ANY family reference is still taboo. (Ironically, the word "taboo" is just fine though!) But you can put it in ROMANCE with the words STEP, STEPBROTHER or STEPSISTER. So far, Daddies and Mommies or variations thereof, are still out. But, authors can get away with a <em>lot</em> more in romance in general. If an erotica author tried to publish a book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TGHETUK/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20">PRICK</a> it would get ADULT filtered faster than you could say "Put a condom on that!" But in Romance? It hit Amazon's top ten.</div>
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Isn't it ironic? The place where you'd expect all the dirty words, we're not allowed to use them. At least, on the outside. While the romance authors get to write about cocks in their blurbs and put half-naked people on their covers and write about pseudoincest all they like - as long as they give their characters a happy ever after, of course.</div>
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I realize a lot of authors are jumping through this loophole, hoping to cash in on the "pseudoincest-romance" craze, like they jumped on the motorcycle club bandwagon, the shifter bandwagon, the billionaire bandwagon, etc. And I don't blame them. Amazon opened the door and practically invited them in to this one.</div>
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The problem is, Amazon can slam that door too. So while I'm not above jumping through this loophole myself--I've just started a series of books called "Stepbrother Studs"--I want to caution writers. Especially erotica writers, who are jumping on this trend. Tread carefully. Watch your blurbs, watch your covers, watch your titles, and pay attention to the market. If you're putting books in romance, <em>please make sure they fit the genre.</em></div>
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Otherwise, you may find out just how hard Amazon can slam a door that was previously wide open. And how much that hurts. Right in the pocketbook. Ouch!</div>
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Believe me, I've been there and done that, and it's not fun. So make hay while the sun shines, why not? But let's not keep pushing the boundaries until Jeff Bozos decides to stop clowning around and pick up the whip again to force authors back in line. That's only gonna hurt everyone, in the long run.</div>
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So, to sum up, if you're writing step-romance:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1. Make sure it's a romance.</div>
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2. Put it in ROMANCE, not erotica, if it has a "Step" in title. (and see rule 1)</div>
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3. If it's not a romance - if your characters aren't falling in love (and no, adding 'and they lived happily ever after' at the end doesn't make it a romance) don't put it in romance. Readers are going to be pissed and you're going to risk your account when the book gets blocked. If you want to see what an stepsibling pseudoincest erotic romance reads like, there are three listed below that will be free for 24 hours (and available to be borrowed on Kindle Unlimited). Are they hot? Yep. Are they short? Relatively. Are they romances? I think so. Read them and judge for yoruself.</div>
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4. Watch your blurb, title and cover. Remember your audience. Romance readers like it dirty too, sometimes, and that's fine, but pushing the boundaries too far may end up coming back to bite you. So just be smart.</div>
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I've got the first three in my new series out now. Free. If you want to take a look at them for what to do, go ahead. Covers are sexy guys (fits the genre), titles have "stepbrother" but they're in romance. And while they're not novels, they're a good 8-10K in length, and they all have couples who are fighting their taboo attraction to one another, but ultimately give into it--and fall in love. In other words, they're romances.</div>
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Check them out. Judge for yourself.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://bit.ly/stepstudsaaronKIN"><img alt="stepbrotherstudsaaronLARGE" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-7431" src="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/stepbrotherstudsaaronLARGE-200x300.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>FREE through 3/12/2015</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><a href="http://bit.ly/stepstudsaaronKIN">STEPBROTHER STUDS: AARON</a></strong></div>
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Melinda loves winning, especially when it means trouncing her arrogant stepbrother, Aaron.</div>
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He thinks he's all that and a bag of chips, but the nineties called and it wants its catch phrase back, because as far as Melinda is concerned, he's more like all that and a bag of dicks--at least, he is lately..
All her friends think he's hot, but they don't have to deal with his smug smirk or his giant ego. All they can talk about is his rumored, giant... something else.<br />
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So on their long train ride home for winter break through the Canadian mountains to Upper State New York, she decides to make a wager with her big-headed stepbrother, one she hopes that will settle the score between them, once and for all.<br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/stepstudsbrianKIN"> <img alt="stepbrotherstudsbrianLARGE" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-7432" src="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/stepbrotherstudsbrianLARGE-200x300.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/stepstudsbrianKIN"><strong>STEPBROTHER STUDS: BRIAN</strong></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>FREE through 3/12/2015</strong></div>
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Jill’s parents aren’t home, it’s the middle of the hottest summer on record, and there’s a huge built-in swimming pool in the backyard.</div>
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Well, what would you do?
The only thing standing between her and the best party of the summer is her jerky older stepbrother, Brian. He says he's trying “protect” her but he never lets her do anything fun! It looks like he’s going to be a party-pooper this time too, until the perv decides to give her what she wants—with one caveat.<br />
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Everyone who comes to the party, has to come naked.<br />
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Now the hottest party of the summer just got hotter, and Jill’s about to find out that she’s not too keen on the way all the other girls look at her sexy stepbrother. In fact, she’s starting to look at him in an entirely different light herself…
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<a href="http://bit.ly/stepstudscameronKIN"><img alt="stepbrotherstudscameronLARGE" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-7430" src="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/stepbrotherstudscameronLARGE-200x300.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div>
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<strong><a href="http://bit.ly/stepstudscameronKIN">STEPBROTHER STUDS: CAMERON</a></strong></div>
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<strong>FREE through 3/12/2015</strong></div>
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Virginia hates him. Her stepbrother, Cameron is older, annoying, listens to crap music, borrows her stuff without asking, and teases the ever-loving life out of her.</div>
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She hates him when she finds out he's taken her iPod again.<br />
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She hates him even more when she finds out he's been spying on her, and not only that, he's been "sharing" his sexy discovery. And charging his friends admission!<br />
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She hates him while she's plotting her revenge.
She hates him all the way up to the point that she can't anymore.<br />
Because now, she's falling for him--the one guy she knows she can't have.<br />
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<br /></div>
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<img alt="" class="alignright" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" height="100" width="167" /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<strong>Selena Kitt</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/">www.selenakitt.com</a></div>
Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-10015949101241533912014-11-19T18:18:00.000-05:002014-11-19T18:20:14.442-05:00Excitica - New Erotica/Romance Storefront - Selena Kitt<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<strong>EXCITICA</strong></h2>
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<a href="https://draft.blogger.com/www.excitica.com"><img alt="exciticalogo" class=" wp-image-6085 aligncenter" src="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/exciticalogo.jpg" height="50" width="268" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.excitica.com/"><strong>www.excitica.com</strong></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.excitica.com/"><img alt="exciticascreenshotNOV2014" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-7276" src="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/exciticascreenshotNOV2014-300x151.png" height="151" width="300" /></a></div>
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<strong>After a rocky start in March of 2014, we've now opened our doors again with a fully functioning web site that will become THE home for erotica and erotic romance!</strong></h2>
<strong>EXCITICA</strong> is run by Selena Kitt (that's me!) New York Times bestselling and award winning author of erotica and erotic romance fiction with over one million authored books sold. She has run her own publishing company at eXcessica for six years and has been one of the most vocal authors against the corporate censorship of erotica. She has developed eXcitica to create a home for erotic works of all flavors.</div>
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<strong>EXCITICA </strong>like the rest of the distributors, still doesn't allow underage sex, bestiality (although shifters are fine, even sex in shifter form!) or necrophilia (vampires excepted!) but we do allow many of the things the other distributors don't, like incest, pseudoincest and nonconsent.</div>
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<strong>What does EXCITICA do for erotica and erotic romance authors?</strong></div>
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First and foremost, we give you 60% of your profits! W00T! Cha-Ching! Secondly, with Selena Kitt's brand and name behind it, <strong>EXCITICA</strong> will soon be known far and wide as the place to go for HOT reading!</div>
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<strong>Small Publishers</strong>: You are welcome! We have room for your entire catalog and the uploading interface is simple!</div>
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<strong>Taboo writers</strong>: <strong>EXCITICA</strong> is home for you! <strong>EXCITICA</strong> will be known among readers as the place to go for the books they can't find anywhere else. Like yours!</div>
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<strong>Erotica writers</strong>: Even if you publish "just vanilla" erotica (and we all know that's still HOT!) <strong>EXCITICA</strong> will be your home too! Readers who read taboo don't JUST read taboo erotica and your books will be there to discover when they want something a little bit different!</div>
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<strong>Erotic/Romance writers</strong>: No one can live on taboo alone - and if you are an author paying attention to the market, you know that dark erotica readers don't just read taboo and dark erotica - they read romance too. A lot of it! And they're going to like yours! And if you write dark erotic romance? (And we all know how hot that genre is right now!) You've found your <em>real</em> home with <strong>EXCITICA</strong>!</div>
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<strong>What does EXCITICA do for readers?</strong></div>
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One of the biggest problems with erotica at the big distributors is categorization. Some have none at all. Amazon, the largest distributor of ebooks, added a few token categories to erotica - <em>two years</em> after Fifty Shades of Grey was first published! It's hard to find the erotica you want on the big distributors (especially since places like Amazon often go out of their way to actually hide it from you, using the ADULT filter on certain titles!) and it's even harder if you're looking for anything out of the ordinary or taboo.</div>
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That's one of the things <strong>EXCITICA</strong> has strived to do - categorize things for readers (and writers) so that every fetish, every niche, has a place and can be found. The better a writer categorizes their work, the easier time a reader will have of finding it. From incest to pseudo incest, to cuckold to dubcon, to gangbang, pregnant, or creatures, <strong>EXCITICA</strong> has categorized it ALL! And if you write it or read it and you don't see it? Contact us, we'll add it!</div>
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<strong>Am I worried about EXCITICA being censored or shut down?</strong></div>
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Only mildly. Of course, writing in the genre has its risks. I think we all know that, and it's been proven over and over as the corporate jackboot of censorship has come down harder and harder on our necks.</div>
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But my goal in creating <strong>EXCITICA</strong> was to give all erotica, in all its different flavors, a real home. A SAFE home. A place where almost everything was welcome, and readers nor writers would feel ashamed about it. To do that, I had to be sure that we wouldn't go through any more drama like we did <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/02/slippery-slope-part-2-why-frogs-boil.html">during the Paypal fiasco</a>.</div>
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But the good news is that, since Visa clarified its position about paying for the WRITTEN WORD when it comes to erotica (and <a href="http://blog.smashwords.com/2012/03/paypal-revises-policies-to-allow-legal.html">Paypal reversed its decision</a> not to pay for "certain" type of fiction) Paypal has nothing to fear, and neither do we. <strong>EXCITICA</strong> will accept Paypal - and Paypal has publicly stated they are fine paying for any and all erotica that doesn't have nudity <em>inside the ebook</em>.</div>
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That means <strong>EXCITICA</strong> does have a few tiny rules:</div>
<ul>
<li>We do not publish picture books of erotica. Graphic novels and comics are welcome, but photographic stories inside ebooks are not.</li>
<li>We do not publish bestiality (shapeshifters are fine) necrophilia (unless you count vampires) or underage sex.</li>
<li>No sexually active characters under the age of 18. References to past relationships and sex before the age of 18 is fine, but no detailed sexual content with characters under the age of consent in the U.S, is allowed. <strong>We require that your work have an legal age disclaimer stating that all characters are above the age of 18.</strong></li>
</ul>
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<strong>What do I need to do to get my book on EXCITICA?</strong></div>
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<a href="http://www.excitica.com/publisher">Sign up HERE for a SELLER ACCOUNT!</a></div>
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<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em> </div>
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Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-79391180318308364882014-10-22T23:19:00.000-04:002014-10-22T23:19:05.901-04:00Hachette Authors Cry Censorship - Welcome to My World!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/92583.jpg"><img alt="92583" class="size-medium wp-image-1376 alignleft" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/92583-300x199.jpg" height="199" width="300" /></a>Hachette authors are crying "censorship!" </div>
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<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Amazon-and-its-missing-books-from-Hachette-and-5830297.php">Ursula K. Le Guin has been quoted as saying</a>, "We’re talking about censorship: deliberately making a book hard or impossible to get, 'disappearing’ an author." </div>
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Welcome to my world, Ms. Le Guin. Were you among the authors who, years ago when Amazon started banning erotica, slapping on the adult filter, making it generally difficult to find, who said, "Hey, listen, you whiners! Amazon is a corporation! Amazon can do what they want! It's THEIR store! If they don't want this filth on their site, then more power to them!" I hope you weren't. Because that would make you an awful hypocrite right now. </div>
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And honestly, Ms. Le Guin, you haven't seen anything yet. You have NO idea what Amazon can do to you and your book(s) to kill your sales. You're only getting a tiny little taste of what's possible. You should see what it's like from over here, in the erotica red light district, where we're stomped on daily, for no reason whatsoever. Our books our disappeared, our accounts are blocked and banned. Have you ever been making $30,000 a month on Amazon, only to see that dry up practically overnight? I know erotica authors this has happened to. Have you ever released a book, had it hit Amazon's top 10, only to have it blocked, with no reason given other than it violates some vague Amazon guideline? I know erotica authors who have had to deal with that too. </div>
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Honestly, Ms. Le Guin, and all the rest of the Hachette authors, I get it. It royally sucks when Amazon decides to bring its jackboot down on your neck. I've been there, done that - have been doing it for the past five years, thank you very much. This is why I cried "censorship!" back then. This is why I tried to get other authors to rally around erotica authors and their books. But do you know what I got? Crickets. Either that, or I heard, "Stop whining, Amazon is a corporation and can do what they want! It isn't censorship unless the government is doing it, so shut up!" </div>
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Well guess what? Here it is, five years later, and Amazon is now turning the tables on traditionally published authors. They're taking away all the fancy bells and whistles you're used to getting because you publish with legacy. Trust me when I tell you that I'm tempted to just laugh in your face. Or to say, "I told you so!" But I know what that's like. I know what it's like to be beaten down time and again, with no recourse, no way to fight back. You can make all the petitions you like. You can even get Stephen King and James Patterson to appeal to the mass media. But you aren't going to win. </div>
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How do I know? Because I've lived under Amazon's regime and have been subject to their thug tactics a lot longer than you have. </div>
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The reality of this fight is that Hachette is going to have to adapt or die. And I'm afraid they're heading for the latter. Instead of screaming at Amazon - which isn't going to do you any good and is only going to make you hoarse - I am going to tell you, from a very long, arduous experience with Amazon's stronghold on the market, that you'd better do the same, authors. Adapt or die. </div>
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Erotic writers have had to do a LOT of adapting in the past five years, and I imagine we'll have to do a lot more in the future. But that's part of the business. We're used to it. We know that Amazon is a retailer, they're out to make money, and we're simply a means to their end. And the fact is, we're replaceable. And, Ms. Le Guin (and all the other Hachette authors) SO. ARE. YOU. </div>
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Don't think for a minute that because you've sold X amount of books, Amazon cares about you. In the end, you're expendable, and if you (or your publishing company) don't want to sell books to Amazon on Amazon's terms, well - there are plenty of authors lined up behind you who will. Books aren't "special" simply because they're books. And you aren't special simply because you write them. </div>
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Trust me when I tell you that there are plenty of talented people in the world who can write books. And many of them are leaner, hungrier and smarter than you are. Many of them have already begun self-publishing and making a name for themselves as the higher echeleon of legacy publishing crumbles. </div>
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So my advice to you, Hachette authors, coming from someone who has had Amazon's hand around my throat more than once -- is adapt or die. You can cry censorship all you like - I have, and will continue to do so. You can stomp your foot and say, "It's not fair!" And you're right, it isn't. But life isn't fair. That's one of the first things we learn, right? Complaining about Amazon's tactics, signing petitions, it's all well and good, but it's not going to change anything. </div>
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The fact remains that the face of publishing is changing. The writing is on the wall - and it's about time you started reading it and paying attention to it, instead of trying to run from it.
Adapt or die, authors. Your </div>
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publisher isn't going to do it for you.
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</em></strong>
<img alt="" class="alignright" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" height="100" width="167" /><br />
<strong>Selena Kitt</strong><br />
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em><br />
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/">www.selenakitt.com</a><br />
LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://bit.ly/hwpact1bk">Highland Wolf Pact</a><br />
180+ Amazon Reviews - 4.8 Stars!<br />
<a href="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/highlandwolfpactMED.jpg"><img alt="highlandwolfpactMED" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-7205" src="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/highlandwolfpactMED-150x150.jpg" height="150" width="150" /></a>Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-66543953358245574602014-10-09T17:06:00.000-04:002014-10-09T17:06:38.926-04:00Amazon's Continued Double Standard - About What You'd Expect<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you're an erotica writer, you know that Amazon has a double standard. If you publish a title and put it into the "erotica" category, there are certain things that aren't allowed in the title or on blurb. But if you put that same title and blurb into the "romance" category, it's fine. Half-naked couples in a hot, torrid embrace are just fine in romance, but strangely, in the erotica category, they're often filtered and sometimes even blocked. Earlier this year, <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/revisiting-the-censorship-of-erotica/">I posted the double standard about covers</a>, comparing my cover with Mia Sheridan's, both with what we call "Hand-Bras" (i.e. hands covering breasts). Mia's cover was allowed in the romance category, but mine wasn't allowed in the erotica category.</div>
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It seems strange that the "dirtier" covers, blurbs and titles are allowed in romance, but not in erotica. You'd think erotica is where those types of things would be located. I mean, isn't that where the adults are looking for more adult reading fare? It seems a little backwards to me to allow <a href="http://amzn.to/1vPBCR4">STEPBROTHER DEAREST</a> in the New Adult/College Romance category, but Amazon banned, blocked and <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> filtered every title I had with the mention of a family relation. They absolutely killed my sales of these books, forced me to change not only titles, but blurbs, take out ANY reference to a family name (we had to resort to phrasing like "man of the house" and "mother's new husband" when referring to a stepfather, for example) and even pay to have covers changed to match the newly stripped titles.</div>
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After all that drama and work, after bending over backwards to comply with Amazon's crazy, ever-changing rules in self-publishing erotica on their site, now a title like "<a href="http://amzn.to/1vPBCR4">STEPBROTHER DEAREST</a>" appears and hits #2 on the Amazon charts.</div>
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The irony is, if Amazon wasn't gaming the system, I'd have books hitting #2 too. Easily. If readers were actually able to find our books, if they weren't pushed down the ranks, hidden with filters, constantly beaten down by Amazon's efforts, erotica writers would be able to have that same success. When Amazon's top lists started filling with erotic titles and books, they started making new "rules" about what they would and wouldn't allow. Of course, as you know, Amazon never tells us those rules. They continue to simply say, "We don't allow pornography or obscene material" (they clearly do) and they define that as, "About what you'd expect." Right. So helpful.</div>
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I don't begrudge Ms. Ward her success. I'm glad her book is doing well - I hope she makes a million dollars. Honestly. Go buy her book - I did. I read it, I enjoyed it. It's a romance between a girl and her estranged stepbrother. But let's call a spade a spade. This book is, in effect, what we in the erotica industry have labeled, "pseudoincest." It is a relationship not unlike anything I've written about myself when exploring "pseudoincest." It's a taboo relationship, on the fringes of what is acceptable in polite society. Woody Allen had a relationship with his stepdaughter. He wasn't charged or arrested for that, but it was certainly taboo.</div>
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People like taboo subjects. They're fascinating and intriguing, and when relationships push the boundaries between "right" and "wrong," we're interested. That's one of the reasons Ms. Ward's book is selling so well. With a title like, "<a href="http://amzn.to/1vPBCR4">STEPBROTHER DEAREST</a>," she knew she was pushing some hot buttons. And good for her! She found a niche and capitalized on it.</div>
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But what about all the other pseudoincest books? We can't even SAY the word "stepbrother." Not in our descriptions, and certainly not in our titles! We have been slammed again and again by Amazon for using family-relation words and have learned to be good little writers, if we want to continue to play in Amazon's pool.</div>
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But then a book like this comes out and it rankles me. Not the book itself--what I'm angry about is Amazon's double standard. Penelope Ward can write pseudoincest, put it in romance, call it "<a href="http://amzn.to/1vPBCR4">STEPBROTHER DEAREST</a>," and make it to #2 in the store. But I can't do that, at least not in erotica. In fact, if *I* published that book - same story, same title, same cover - and I put it in romance, Amazon wouldn't just <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> filter it, they'd block it. A book by Selena Kitt (even if it contained the exact same material) is already marked. I've been labeled. I would have to create a whole new pen name (and likely a new account) to get away with what Penelope Ward is getting away with right now.</div>
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Of course, that's like starting from zero, and Amazon knows it. I can no longer capitalize on my own brand. Amazon has tied my hands, bound and gagged me, and thrown nipple clamps on for good measure.</div>
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Ouch. The hypocrisy is stunning. And their stranglehold on the market gives us all no choice except to comply. Theirs is slowly, inevitably becoming the only game in town.</div>
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I've been in this business since 2006 and I suppose Amazon's continuing double standard shouldn't be surprising. It's about what you'd expect.</div>
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As erotica writers, we continue to change and adapt. We've all self-censored to the point of insanity. We now have all sorts of different phrases for things that are no longer allowed on Amazon. We can't say daughter anyore (or even stepdaughter) so we say, "Brat" or "Princess." We can't say stepfather, so we say "Man of the House." We can't say incest, or even psuedoincest, so we say "Taboo." We can't say cheerleader (really, we can't say cheerleader? yep...) so we say "Spirit Squad." Penelope Ward has no such restrictions. She can publish a title like <a href="http://amzn.to/1vPBCR4">STEPBROTHER DEAREST</a> without the fear of Amazon's backlash.</div>
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I'd love to live in a world where I could do that too. But I don't. I live in a world where I get "just about what you'd expect..." Thanks, Amazon.</div>
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Let's take a best guess at what Amazon is attempting to do. I'm going to say, on the high road, what they're trying to do is "protect the children" from sensitive topic. On the low road, they're trying to protect the sales of their upstanding, vocal, moral minority by keeping the smut from their innocent, adult eyes. The irony is, Amazon's policies are pushing taboo topics OUT of erotica, into the mainstream! Instead of finding those topics only in erotica, people can now find them all over in romance. Subjects previously only tackled by erotica writers - taboo, pseudoincest, dubious/nonconsent/rape, monster sex - it's all finding its way into Romance instead of saying in Erotica. Way to go, Amazon! You've accomplished the exact opposite effect you were looking for.</div>
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So instead of "Daddy's Favorites: Anna," I have to title my work, "Little Brats: Anna." Instead of telling you it's a story about adult girl and her stepfather, I have to tiptoe around that and tell you the "new man in her mother's life" has a thing for her. It's taboo - it's pseudoincest. It's no different than <a href="http://amzn.to/1vPBCR4">STEPBROTHER DEAREST</a>. None of these are. They're stories about taboo relationships that intrigue and titilate us. I hope you enjoy Penelope Ward's book. I hope you enjoy mine too - if you can find them. If you're looking for taboo subjects and type in "stepbrother," you'll find Ms. Ward's book. But you won't find any of mine, because I'm not allowed to use that word.</div>
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So here are my books - just $0.99 for a limited time and free if you have Kindle Unlimited. Enjoy them while you can, before Amazon changes the rules again! (Don't blink!)</div>
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<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/littlebratstinaLARGE.jpg"><img alt="littlebratstinaLARGE" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1343" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/littlebratstinaLARGE-200x300.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div>
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<strong><a href="http://amzn.to/1CVG4Rq">LITTLE BRATS: TINA</a></strong></div>
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Chubby Tina thinks she couldn't hate herself any more than she already does, when she overhears the women who raised her telling a friend, "We're going to be stuck with Tina forever. No guy is ever going to want her." Even though it's her freshman year in college, she vows to quit school and run away. That is, until the new man in her mum's life catches her with going out the door in the middle of the night with a suitcase. Tina finally, tearfully, confesses, and is surprised by the man's insight and perspective--and how willing he is to show her just how beautiful and loveable he thinks she really is..</div>
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<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/littlebratsannaLARGE.jpg"><img alt="littlebratsannaLARGE" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1344" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/littlebratsannaLARGE-200x300.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div>
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<strong><a href="http://amzn.to/1vNoDPE">LITTLE BRATS: ANNA</a></strong></div>
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Bookworm Anna is always reading something, but never what she should be! When someone close to her comes up with an ingenious incentive plan to motivate her--Anna tells him she wants something far more dirty than money.</div>
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<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/littlebratsbeccaLARGE.jpg"><img alt="littlebratsbeccaLARGE" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1345" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/littlebratsbeccaLARGE-200x300.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1vNovjg"><strong>LITTLE BRATS: BECCA</strong></a></div>
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Tomboy Becca has always been the girl who caught frogs, made mud pies and climbed trees. She's never cared for or even paid attention to boys much, unless they were tossing a ball in her direction, but when a new girl shows in up at her school during her senior year, all that changes. How does the new girl get so much attention just for wearing skimpy clothes? Becca discovers she does want the boys to notice her after all, and decides to find out how to make that happen. And what better place to start her experiment than at home?</div>
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<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/littlebratschristaLARGE.jpg"><img alt="littlebratschristaLARGE" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1346" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/littlebratschristaLARGE-200x300.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/10QQ94q"><strong>LITTLE BRATS: CHRISTA</strong></a></div>
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Spoiled Christa has never wanted for anything in her life. All the boys want to date her and every girl wants to be her--but Christa wants someone she can't have. Someone very, very wrong for her. But spoiled Christa is used to getting what she wants--and she's determined to get her way this time too!</div>
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<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/littlebratsclaraLARGE.jpg"><img alt="littlebratsclaraLARGE" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1347" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/littlebratsclaraLARGE-200x300.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1vOPXfv"><strong>LITTLE BRATS: CLARA</strong></a></div>
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Clara lives a typical farmer's life, getting up in the morning to gather eggs and milk the cows. She knows the man who raised her can use all the help he can get, now that the woman who should have helped him raise her and take care of the farm left them both for a richer life in California with a younger man. The two of them have picked up the pieces and developed their own routine, but when Clara approaches him with a question about boys, both discover that they are far lonelier than either of them ever realized.</div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1rhtH9G"><strong>LITTLE BRATS: DARLA</strong></a></div>
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Sheltered Darla knows the the man who raised her has a whole new life, but she still wants to be part of it. When she takes an opportunity to ask him to prove his love for her, it surprises them both.</div>
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Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-49302335451457160192014-09-25T00:33:00.001-04:002014-09-25T00:33:07.468-04:00Banned (Erotic) Books Week 2014<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/17352184_s.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="17352184_s" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1310" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/17352184_s-300x248.jpg" height="248" width="300" /></a>It's "<a href="http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/">banned books week</a>" so of course I'm going to talk about banned books. Specifically, banned erotic books, since, that genre happens to be my bread and butter. Recently, <a href="http://onehandedwriters.com/2014/09/07/amazon-urges-read-banned-books-banning-books/">Michelle Keep wrote a scathing (and oh-so-accurate) commentary</a> about Amazon's hypocritical stance on erotica. They advertised "banned books" in a public email, but behind the scenes, they continue to suppress erotica to a great degree, and most customers aren't even aware.</div>
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And for those of you who are rolling your eyes and think that the whole "erotica censorship thing" is over, I can tell you that in the past few months, I have heard from authors about:</div>
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<li>Audiobooks being filtered. Not from Audible/ACX but on Amazon itself. Check <a href="http://www.salesrankexpress.com/">salesrankexpress.com</a> for your audio books and see if they're filtered. I've also heard from authors who have received notice of "unacceptable content" from Amazon about audio books that have been filtered - which have corresponding ebook versions. The ebook versions have not been removed in these cases. The notices seem to be strangely impotent, as Amazon and Audible, while owned by the same company, seem to be operating separately under different rules (or guidelines, as it were.) But that Amazon is going through titles and sending out notices about audiobooks is disturbing.</li>
<li>Account blocks. Not BOOK blocks. ACCOUNT blocks. This happened to the aforementioned Michelle Keep, who submitted a book, after making significant changes, after it had been blocked. Amazon has taken a hard line when it comes to resubmitting blocked books. No longer will they "draft" a book and allow you to make changes and resubmit. Now, a book is blocked outright if it is in violation of "content guidelines" - and if you resubmit that book, you may actually have your whole account frozen. Amazon let the Keeps have their account back, after they promised to be good, but I've heard of at least one other author who had their account completely removed. Banned from Amazon KDP entirely.</li>
<li>More blocked books, specifically dark romance, dubcon and rape fantasies. These are still the focus of the latest purge. Much of what is being reported as blocked involves those topics.</li>
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Now that the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1002872331">Kindle Unlimited</a> program has given short erotica new life, we're seeing a surge of it again in the Amazon store. I imagine the Amazon <del>cockblockers</del> KDP reviewers are being inundated with the stuff, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st_date-desc-rank?keywords=OMG+so+taboo&qid=1411572709&rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3AOMG+so+taboo&sort=date-desc-rank">much of it</a> is being clearly either stolen or outsourced, slapped with copyright-questionable covers, and put up quickly in order to cash in on "borrows." I'm sure some of them are gunning for those <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/64033-amazon-gives-ku-authors-2-7m-bonus.html">"Kindle Unlimited" bonuses</a>, but I can assure you, no pure erotica author (who isn't a romance crossover) will be allowed to wear the Kindle Unlimited bonus badge of honor. Amazon will make sure of that. But this is going to cause a backlash for erotica authors, I have no doubt. I predict the noose is going to get even tighter, and punishments are going to be handed out more quickly and with even more force.</div>
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Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much recourse anymore, and the lines of communication -- informing authors whether the problem with a book was in the title, cover or blurb, for example -- have been closed. Amazon has no interest in telling erotica authors what the rules are, how they may have violated them, or giving them a chance to fix any problems. If you violate the vague, inconsistent, untransparent rules, your book is out. And there's no three strikes. Two at the most, it seems. If you're lucky.</div>
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I'm sure this is in response to KDP users like the above, who abuse the system to such a degree that jackboot tactics are necessary. Does it annoy me that there are people peeing in the KDP pool? Yes. But Amazon annoys me more. They apply the same punishments to people like the Keeps - who write some pretty amazing erotic fiction - that they do to the blackhat internet marketers outsourcing their stuff and stealing covers for it. Amazon has plenty of money - I think it's time they invested in more than a few (also outsourced - to places like India) KDP reviewers to handle these issues. They're a publisher now - it's time for them to take responsibility for that fact and stop trying to sweep it under the rug.</div>
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Instead, they continue to ignore the problem and place the responsibility (and the blame!) for what appears in the Kindle store on erotica writers. How is it our fault one of their <del>cockblockers</del> KDP reviewers approved something that was "in violation of content guidelines?" The fact is, it isn't. We aren't the ones responsible for what is or isn't allowed to be published on Amazon.</div>
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But we are the ones who are going to pay the ultimate price.</div>
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I've been in this business for the past eight years, and that, I'm afraid, is just about what you'd expect from Amazon.</div>
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As always, support erotica writers by liking and following "<a href="http://bannederoticbooks.com/">Banned Erotic Books</a>" on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bannederoticbooks">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/BannedEroticBks">Twitter</a>.</div>
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And read a few banned erotica books this week. We have lots of them on <a href="http://excessica.com/eden/">Excessica Eden</a>. Enjoy!</div>
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<strong><em>
</em></strong>
<img alt="" class="alignright" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" height="100" width="167" /><strong>Selena Kitt</strong>
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em>
www.selenakitt.com
LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://amzn.to/1BK2Ivv">HIGHLAND SHIFTERS</a>Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-14561256772433462342014-08-27T09:00:00.000-04:002014-09-02T17:47:21.921-04:00Dear Plagiarizer: Breaking Bad - A Bad Idea<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/19843099_s.jpg"><img alt="19843099_s" class="aligncenter wp-image-1263 size-medium" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/19843099_s-300x202.jpg" height="202" width="300" /></a></div>
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Dear Plagiarizer:</div>
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You are <a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/community/thread.jspa?threadID=203622&tstart=0" target="_blank">obviously confused about what plagiarism is and how copyright works</a>. Since plagiarism and copyright are important to me, being a writer who spends hours creating the original material I publish and all, I thought I would educate you about the topic. The first place I would have thought you might look, plagiarizer, is to the internet standard, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>:</div>
<blockquote>
<b style="color: #252525;">Plagiarism</b><span style="color: #252525;"> is the "wrongful appropriation" and "stealing and publication" of another author'</span><span style="color: #252525;">'s "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions" and the representation of them as one's own original work.</span></blockquote>
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I can see where you might have become confused, plagiarizer. When the subject of plagiarism came up in school, I remember teachers saying, "Put it in your own words." And that was the extent of their lesson. But there's a problem with that phrase--<em>put it in your own words</em>--oft repeated by teachers and professors everywhere. It gives students, writers, and possibly future authors, the idea that putting something "in your own words" makes it yours. It doesn't. Putting something in your own words allows you to express the idea without directly quoting the person who said it--but that doesn't mean you don't have to cite the work the idea came from. That's the basis of research.</div>
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Plagiarizing fiction is a little different from plagiarizing an article or an essay. Two authors can take the same idea and write a completely different story. Let's take the example one of the forum posters used in their response--that two authors are both writing about a small town girl who falls in love with a vampire. One is <a href="http://amzn.to/1ojXNIo" target="_blank">Twilight</a>, the other is <a href="http://amzn.to/YRTSh5" target="_blank">Vampire Diaries</a>. They both have similar ideas--tropes--but they are very different in their expression, their characters, their happenings, even if they share some of the same vampire lore. Vampire Diaries didn't plagiarism Twilight, or vice versa, no matter which came first. The authors simply used the same trope (girl in love with vampire, love triangles, etc) on which to base their fiction.</div>
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There is never, ever a time, when writing or publishing fiction, that it's okay to use someone else's work and "put it in your own words." Let's be clear about that. <strong>It is wrong to ever rewrite fiction and call it your own.</strong></div>
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Apparently, plagiarizer, you didn't get the memo or you took your teacher's word for it that "putting it in your own words" made it all okay. <a href="http://aubreyrosewrites.com/ive-been-plagiarized/" target="_blank">Aubrey Rose</a> has come forward about this issue, but I personally know <a href="http://indiereader.com/2014/06/26409/" target="_blank">several other authors this has happened to</a> who are afraid to come forward in fear of retaliation from the plagiarising author. And if the forum post above is any indication, it's clear you believe you did nothing wrong. After all you said:</div>
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<em>"<span style="color: black;">I looked at a selling genre and wrote a book around them. I didn't think it was going to be this severe. I didn't copy anything. The story stayed in my memory and I had significantly altered it."</span></em></div>
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<strong>Altering a work does not make it yours</strong>. You probably weren't around back in 2008 when the <a href="http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/blog/cassie_edwards_extravaganza/" target="_blank">Cassie Edwards extravaganza</a> happened. She was a traditionally published author whose publisher dropped her because she plagiarised. And being banned from Amazon KDP or dropped from a publisher are the least of your worries when you plagiarize something, plagiarizer.</div>
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As to how severe the consequences may be, let me enlighten you, plagiarising author, about just how serious it is. While plagiarism isn't technically illegal - you can turn in a completely plagiarised school assignment and not get arrested, although you're likely to fail the course if you get caught, and maybe even kicked out of school, especially at the college level - plagiarism can also be a copyright violation. That's where you can get yourself into trouble and pretty big trouble at that. And I'm not just talking about your book being removed from Amazon, or your account at Amazon being closed, and your IP and ISP address being blocked by Amazon. Obviously that's bad enough--it really hits you where you live, when: <em>"<span style="color: black;">This is my only income-stream ATM!" </span></em></div>
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(Just an aside - I find it ironic you used the acronym ATM, which I assume you meant to indicate "at the moment," because you are currently using other author's hard work as your own personal ATM--automatic teller machine. Well, plagiarizer, your bank account has now been closed. And that's not all that may happen to you. I'll get more into that later.)</div>
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If you are taking someone else's work and simply rephrasing it, as was the case with Aubrey Rose's book (and quite a few others I've seen as well) - you are violating copoyright. There is a concept in intellectual property rights that you may not have been aware of, naive plagiarizer, called "substantial similarity." Check <a href="http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/publication/2008/04/20080429233718eaifas0.3043067.html#axzz3BLKnC6hy" target="_blank">this glossary</a> of intellectual property terms for its definition. I'll repeat it for you here. (Note I've cited the source... that's how not to plagiarize, plagiarizer. I've bolded the most important phrase in the quote.)</div>
<blockquote>
<strong style="color: black;">SUBSTANTIAL SIMILARITY</strong><span style="color: black;"> [copyright]. The degree of resemblance between a copyrighted work and a second work that is sufficient to constitute copyright infringement by the second work. <strong>Exact word-for-word or line-for-line identity does not define the limits of copyright infringement.</strong> U.S. courts have chosen the flexible phrase "substantial similarity" to define that level of similarity that will, together with proof of validity and copying, constitute copyright infringement.</span><span style="color: black;">
</span></blockquote>
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I'm pretty sure, plagiarizer, even if you have not read this particular term, Amazon's copyright lawyers have. And banning your account is the least of the actions that could be taken against you. Perhaps, plagiarizer, you aren't as naive as you claim. Maybe you thought you would pick authors you assumed couldn't pursue you with a lawsuit and decided to rewrite their popular works as your own in order to cash in on the gold rush of KDP self-publishing?</div>
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Did you think you wouldn't get caught? That avid readers wouldn't notice the similarities between your book and hers? Or did you just not care? You figured, if you got caught, you'd take the money and run?</div>
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Here's the problem with your theory: a) you did get caught, and eventually, anyone who does this, will get caught--someone will find out and you will be exposed and b) you can still be sued. I don't care what country you live in, how protected you feel you are, or how "innocent" this crime feels in your head.</div>
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You think the author you're plagiarising has no recourse? But how do you know who that author is? I have more than one pen name, plagiarizer, and you could have chosen one of mine and not even know it. I have more than enough resources to come after you. And I would -- on principle alone. As self-publishing becomes more lucrative, as more and more authors make money from their creative endeavors, they are branching out into other genres. <a href="http://amzn.to/YRUsLF" target="_blank">Hugh Howey</a> is currently writing a romance novel. He has more than enough money - and integrity - to come after you, plagiarizer. What if you plagiarise his pen name "by accident?" What if you plagiarise a traditional author who has branched out and self-published erotica or erotic romance? Anne Rice wrote her erotica under the name <a href="http://amzn.to/VJUxiG" target="_blank">A.N. Roquelaure</a>. What do you think would happen to you if you chose to plagiarize her, before anyone knew A.N. Roquelaure was Anne Rice?</div>
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Don't think you're protected, plagiarizer, that even if you're found out, the author won't come after you, because you could be wrong, and being wrong can be costly. Do you know what happens, plagiarizer, if you are sued and you lose?</div>
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You give up all profits from the plagiarised work. You pay back the profits, plus damages. The law says you have to pay up to $150,000 for each work infringed. You will also have to pay the author's attorney fees and court costs. That's right, plagiarizer--the author won't have to pay to sue you, in the end. You will pay to be sued. The court can also issue an injunction against you or even send you to jail.</div>
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Was it worth it, plagiarizer?</div>
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And for anyone out there still doing this, or considering it, because all your black hat internet marketing friends are doing it too, ask yourself this: is it worth the risk? Are you ready to pay the consequences for breaking bad in this instance? Because you never know who you're plagiarising, especially in erotica and erotic romance. The names you see on the covers? 80% of those are pen names. And they might be pen names of authors who have a lot more money, resources and integrity than you do.</div>
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--------</div>
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<em>Authors if this has happened to you, check out this resource: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Authors-United-Against-Plagiarism-and-Cyberbullying/273489969522688" target="_blank">Authors United Against Plagiarism</a>. The more authors united against this - and the more authors reporting it - the worse it will get for plagiarizers who believe they can continue to do this and get away with it. </em><br />
<em><br /></em></div>
<em><strong>EDITED TO ADD: Plagiarists, <a href="http://johndopp.com/plagiarism-sam-taylor-mullens-busted/" target="_blank">THERE ARE AND WILL BE CONSEQUENCES </a>for your actions. </strong></em><br />
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<em><strong>If you are plagiarizing someone else's work, I would suggest you re-think your "publishing strategy!"</strong></em>
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<strong><em>
</em></strong>
<img alt="" class="alignright" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" height="100" width="167" /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<strong>Selena Kitt</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/" target="_blank">www.selenakitt.com</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://amzn.to/1wc4gK2" target="_blank">Crazy About the Baumgartners</a></div>
Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-66335457494417652332014-08-09T18:48:00.000-04:002014-08-09T19:13:53.829-04:00Amazon's Midnight Booty Call to KDP Authors - Are You Amazon's Bitch?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglH9ybabtuzjS72_bTvNyyf8uygucb5qJn0ltn3Xl10_032mVhQNeOBD5OJf3AbjrN_-cBHkAoABvGSPHSLdUMsgplZDxmezkEK2f7WzgxGWG_8x8ccS-yVpRrSeaUpWPr4zP748cIOYZF/s1600/bezos+o+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglH9ybabtuzjS72_bTvNyyf8uygucb5qJn0ltn3Xl10_032mVhQNeOBD5OJf3AbjrN_-cBHkAoABvGSPHSLdUMsgplZDxmezkEK2f7WzgxGWG_8x8ccS-yVpRrSeaUpWPr4zP748cIOYZF/s1600/bezos+o+face.jpg" height="270" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff Bezos' O-Face?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As an erotica author, every time I get a letter from Amazon's KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) in my inbox, I have a brief moment of panic. If you're a self-published erotica writer, I'm sure you know the feeling. When erotica authors get notices from KDP, it's usually the Amazon Book Team writing to tell you to bend over, because they're about to screw you in one fashion or another. Today, however, I received a very strange email from KDP - although I suppose it's no surprise, they're still asking me to bend over and be their bitch.</div>
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By now you've all read <a href="http://readersunited.com/">Amazon's latest PR move</a> in the Hachette feud. I've kept my opinion to myself in this matter, for the most part - at least in terms of my blog - because I don't have a dog in this fight, a pony in this race, a chicken in this... well, you get the idea, let's not beat a dead metaphor. I'm not a Hachette author and I've never been legacy published, nor will I ever likely be, nor am I (technically) published by Amazon or any of their imprints. Taking sides in this fight, to me, is like being the grass rooting for one of two elephants fighting overhead. Either way, I'm about to be trampled. But I'm an erotica writer in the self-publishing world, so I'm used to it by now.</div>
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Apparently, Amazon wants me to take up arms and protest against the horrible injustice being carried out by legacy publisher, Hachette. Amazon (seriously MIS)quotes George Orwell, they claim Hachette hasn't played fair, and essentially come across as a whiny girlfriend who thinks we should all get together and beat up some guy she doesn't like - a guy she's actually been cheating on us with all along behind our backs.</div>
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So Amazon is asking me to take sides - to specifically choose their side. Why should I do that?</div>
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Most self-published authors would jump if Amazon said how-high - and many of them will, in this case. I won't. I've heard the arguments of the Zonists. Yes, Amazon has given self-published authors a platform they never had before. Yes, Amazon has offered up their store/traffic to self-published authors, which is far greater than we could have generated on our own. Yes, Amazon markets self-published books, their algorithms/also-boughts drive more sales, and they process secure payments and hand us money every month. But they haven't done so out of the goodness of their hearts. They haven't done so because they truly value authors as content creators and want to invest in our collective futures.</div>
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I know, because I've been spending my own time actually helping authors, for years, before Kindle even came to the forefront - I started <a href="http://excessica.com/">Excessica</a> to help not only myself but other authors like me, who wanted a chance to run with the big(ger) boys. (At the time, it was a little outfit called Fictionwise - but they were the biggest dog in town!) I spent a lot of my own time and effort and money (when I could have selfishly been creating more of my own content, mind you, which would have made me far more cash in the long run) editing, doing cover art, formatting, uploading, marketing for other authors. I did it because I DO value authors as content creators and I DO want them to make as much as they possibly can from their own work (which is why Excessica only takes 10% - and we didn't take anything at all in the beginning.)</div>
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Does Amazon put its money where its mouth is when it comes to truly valuing authors as content creators?</div>
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No, I'm afraid they don't.</div>
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Amazon likes to say they support self-published authors, but what they support is their own bottom line. They use us when it's in their best interest (like when Amazon came knocking on my door, desperate to increase their numbers, asking Excessica's 100+ authors and 500+ titles to go all-in with Amazon KDP Select before it was first announced) and discard or discount us when it's not (who found out about Kindle Unlimited before it was unveiled? Anyone? Were you asked if your KDP Select book could be included? Of course not--they already had you <br />
<del>by the balls</del>under contract in KDP Select for at least 90 days...)</div>
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Of course, that doesn't let Hachette off the hook. They don't support authors either (and, to be fair, treat them even more poorly than Amazon currently treats self-published authors). These are two giant corporations in the middle of a feud, and like all "feudalists," (ha) they believe we peasants/authors are around for their profit and amusement, to be used at will and tossed aside when we're no longer of interest. Ask any midlister whose contract has been cancelled how sympathetic Hachette is. Ask any erotica author whose account has been cancelled by Amazon how sympathetic they are to "their" authors.</div>
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Hachette has already pulled out their big guns, asking their authors to name-drop and get involved in this fight, and like trained monkeys, they've danced to Hachette's tune. Now Amazon is attempting the same trick--see, Hachette, we have trained monkeys too, says Bezos! In fact, our trained monkeys are even better than your trained monkeys - look how many of them we got to sign a petition! (And we didn't even have to take out a full page NYTimes ad to do it!) Amazon asked authors to CC them in their emails, I'm sure in part so they could tally up the number of responses and rub it in Hachette's face.</div>
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The fact is, Amazon is using me again. They want something from me that will pad their bottom line--and they're taking money out of the pockets of the very authors they're asking to support them! They tell self-published authors to ask Hachette to "stop using their authors as leverage" - while Amazon decides to use "their" KDP authors to try to leverage their own position in their little feud! This is Amazon-logic. It's the logic of elitists, of a 1% who think the 99% consists of stupid sheeple who simply do whatever they're told. Because if you follow this action to its logical conclusion, self-published authors are being asked to slit their own throats. I'm being asked by Amazon to tell a legacy publisher to capitulate, stop colluding, and lower ebook prices to reasonable levels. Why would I do that? If legacy publishing keeps their prices high, self-publishers benefit. We can easily, consistently undercut agency pricing, every time. That's a huge advantage. Amazon wants me to tell Hachette to lower prices so they can sell more books - so that Amazon can sell more books - and in the end, decrease my own piece of the pie?</div>
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Gee, Mr. Bezos, if you wanted me to bend over and take it, you could have at least offered me some flowers and candy! Maybe if Amazon had started by offering me a higher royalty, it might have softened me up a little? I mean, there are a lot of things, and I mean A LOT, that Amazon could do to sweeten things up for self-published authors. They could do them out of the goodness of their hearts. Of course, they won't. They could do them because they value self-published authors as content creators and believe they should receive a fair wage for fair work. Of course, they won't. They could do them because they want us to say "how high" when they say "jump." But, apparently, they feel they don't have to. Apparently they think they can yank up our skirts and give it to us whenever they feel like it. Amazon = alphahole? Not a bad analogy...</div>
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If you want me to put out, Amazon, perhaps you could, oh, I don't know...</div>
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1. Give self-published authors an Amazon representative. <em>Every</em> self-published author should have one - that's only fair.</div>
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2. Give self-published authors back the pre-order button. You took it away when you deactivated Mobi as a publishing platform and never gave it back. Now you dole it out to authors you feel are "worthy" of the pre-order button.</div>
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3. Allow self-published authors to join Kindle Unlimited WITHOUT exclusivity.</div>
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4. Give self-published authors something reasonable - say 60% of list price for borrows - in Kindle Unlimited.</div>
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5. Hachette got to pay for coop on Amazon to get their books out in front of the reader - offer the same thing to self-published authors. Why can't we pay to get our books out in front of readers too?</div>
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6. Hachette gets full control over their books - including choosing more that two measley categories for each book. (Or, in the case of erotica, just one!) Give self-published authors the same treatment.</div>
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7. Stop serial book returns. You give readers carte blanche, let them return dozens of books, and take money out of self-published authors' pockets.</div>
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8. Define your terms of service more clearly and make your policies and guidelines transparent.</div>
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9. Actually TELL us when you're going to start a program like Kindle Unlimited and ASK if we'd like to be included, rather than opting us in and telling us we can opt-out if we like.</div>
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10. Let us make books free at will. Let us price at whatever level we like. In fact, let HACHETTE price their books whatever way they like too. Let the free market be... you know, FREE.</div>
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Those are just ten easy things Amazon could do to sweeten up their relationship with self-published authors, to show us that they take us seriously as content creators. Just as seriously as they take Hachette and the other legacy publishers. Will they do them? Oh, maybe. Eventually. In their own time. But not because they value self-published authors. That, I'm afraid, is a delusion. Self-published authors talk about being afraid of biting the hand that feeds them, but what they really need to be worried about is being trampled underfoot of the giants fighting over their heads.</div>
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To me, Amazon's letter smacks of desperation. This is a midnight booty call, folks. Do we answer midnight booty calls? No - we have more self-respect than that. Don't we? I sure hope so.</div>
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Amazon's calling self-published authors to unite and that's all well and good, but in the end, we have to have a reason. Indies are independent. It's right in the name. Simply providing a platform for us to sell on doesn't cut it, I'm afraid. That's not enough incentive for self-published authors to rally around a retail giant asking us to cut our own throats in order to keep ebook prices down for consumers, while they pay their own warehouse workers minimum wage, cut off affiliates in states where they might have to pay sales tax, and an overall 6% effective tax rate.</div>
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Not that I think self-published authors shouldn't unite. I believe they should. And some day, there may actually be a good enough reason to compel most of them to do so. I doubt that reason lies in supporting Amazon's fight with Hachette. But if I were Amazon, I'd pay closer attention to the self-publishing community, because we're not playing peasant to their feudal lord and we only look like sheep. We're really wolves in sheep's clothing, every one of us, and we have quite a bit of bite, especially as a group. Amazon knows this to some degree - they're trying to activate that rabid capability to their own defense.</div>
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What Amazon doesn't want you to know, what they don't want self-published authors to wake up and realize, is that we have far more in common with Hachette and legacy publishers in this matter than we do with Amazon. I know this because I've been a small co-op publisher since 2008, and have been using Amazon as a distributor since then. In fact, through Excessica, I have more power than most self-published authors in fighting against Amazon's strong-arm tactics. Most self-published authors, even though they are, essentially, publishers in their own right (they simply have an author stable of one), have little to no power in negotiations with Amazon. Right now Amazon is dictating terms to Hachette. They can choose to play ball, or they can take their bat and mitt and go home. What are you going to do, when Amazon decides to change your publishing terms? When they want to tell you that you can no longer sell your book at $0.99? When they tell you your royalty rate is now 50% instead of 70%? Or 35%?<br />
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I know some self-published authors will rally around Amazon, afraid of biting the hand that feeds them, but I also know that many will not. Many authors will find Amazon's midnight booty call just as offensive and appalling as I did. And in the end, if we don't unite for Amazon, we may still combine our forces and use our powers for good. Amazon should watch their backs, because self-published authors may unite all on our own - <a href="http://eroticauthorsguild.org/">some of us have already begun</a>. The numbers Amazon is trying to leverage surely do exist - but I'm afraid they may not always come down on the side Amazon wants them to. Marie Antoinette threw bread to the peasants and told them to eat cake - before those peasants all grabbed their torches and pitchforks and decided to storm the castle. She ended up headless. In the end, I'm pretty sure the full force of united self-published authors is not an opposition Amazon ultimately wants to deal with.<br />
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<b>~Selena Kitt~</b><br />
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/"><b>www.selenakitt.com</b></a><br />
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Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-32873098277255595182014-06-04T10:00:00.000-04:002014-06-04T10:00:08.177-04:00Corporate Censorship: Amazon Targets Dark Erotic Romance and BDSM<a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/4630218_m.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4630218_m" class="size-medium wp-image-1061 alignleft" src="http://selenakitt.com/blog/wp-content/files/4630218_m-199x300.jpg" height="300" width="199" /></a><span style="color: #333333;"></span>
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Heads up authors: Amazon is targeting erotica again. This time, it's "Dark Erotic Romance" (read: DubCon and NonCon) and BDSM. I hate to say I told you so - but I told you so. I said, back when Amazon caved and <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/11/self-pubbed-authors-banned-from-kindle.html">stopped carrying the ped0phile's guide</a>, that we were heading down a slippery slope. I said it again when my own work was first <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/12/amazon-in-book-banning-business.html">banned from Amazon</a>. I've been <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/02/slippery-slope-erotica-censorship.html">saying it</a> and <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2013/04/survival-tips-for-pornocalypse-erotica.html">saying it</a>, and the slope just keeps <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2013/09/amazon-at-it-again-blocking.html">getting slipperier</a>. And not in a good way.</div>
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Now Amazon has started filtering and banning BDSM simply for being BDSM. For some books, it's all about perception. Titles with obvious references to abduction, kidnapping and reluctance are being culled. Descriptions with those identifiers are also being removed. And of course, covers are being targeted, now including things specific to domination and submission--chains, ropes, handcuffs, all the markers of the genre, may get a book banned.</div>
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When my <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/12/amazon-in-book-banning-business.html">original incest books were banned</a> and many romance writers said, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/forum/romance?cdForum=FxM42D5QN2YZ1D&cdSort=oldest&cdThread=TxJ0AWED9GHG7S">Oh it's just taboo stuff</a>? Well that's okay, then, I don't write that..." I warned the erotic romance community that it could be their niche next. Dark Romance as a genre has started to heat up Amazon's bestselling charts from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IJPO9R8/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20">Deviant</a> to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EV9LSJI/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20">Tears of Tess</a>, featuring heroes who have a dark edge, but some books have apparently gone too far, according to Amazon's ever-changing guidelines. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorlilywhite">Lily White's</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Her-Masters-Courtesan-Lily-White/dp/0991566661">Her Master's Courtesan</a> was outright banned on Amazon. Recently, the dark romance boxed set, <a href="http://tattooedbooknerd.tumblr.com/post/84794628177/new-release-only-0-99-must-read-erotica-boxed-set">Bend</a>, was banned as well. Why? In these cases, it was likely enough customer complaint to warrant Amazon checking out the book and deciding that the line between consent and "dubious consent" was just too close for their comfort. Of course, this is conjecture, because Amazon won't ever tell us what is and isn't acceptable.</div>
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But this isn't good news for erotica or erotic romance writers, that's for sure. We're all standing on very shaky ground with Amazon and the line just keeps moving. It isn't easy to negotiate or find your way through the morass that has become self-publishing erotica on Amazon. Unfortunately, they still have the largest market share, so it makes the most financial sense to figure out a way to keep your books visible. To do this, you have to keep your fingers on the pulse of Amazon's ever-changing, unwritten "policy" and respond accordingly.</div>
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This will, of course, lead to a lot of self-censorship over time, which I'm sure is the point on Amazon's part, because erotica writers won't want to pay cover artists to re-do "inappropriate" covers and they won't want to write books that readers just can't find on the behemoth retailer. And dark erotica and dark erotic romance just seems to be upping the ante with every book, with heroes who are complete mysogynists, from drug dealers to human traffickers to violent criminals. Granted, the hero (usually) turns things around, driven by his love for the heroine, but the stakes are getting higher, the drama is getting stickier, and the darkness in these books is getting, well, darker. In the end, dark erotica/romance may have to go back underground, or at least be a little more careful in its presentation, if Amazon has anything to say about it. And, as usual, if a customer complains, Amazon will likely shoot first (by banning a book) and ask questions later (or not at all).</div>
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So what is a BDSM/dark erotica/erotic romance author to do?</div>
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<strong>What May Now Get Your Book Adult Filtered</strong></div>
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<a href="http://onehandedwriters.com/2014/04/09/corporate-censorship-keeping-your-erotic-books-off-retailer-hit-lists/">Besides the list I updated recently</a>, we can now add:
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Words like reluctance, kidnapping, abducted, captured, master, slave and any other variation in the title or description MAY subject you to the ADULT filter. This is, of course, subject to Amazon's arbitrary enforcement.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Covers that contain elements of bondage, including whips, crops, handcuffs, chains etc., as well as heroines who look as if they are scared or in pain, may kick on the ADULT filter.</li>
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<strong>What May Now Get Your Book Blocked/Banned</strong></div>
In addition to the <a href="http://onehandedwriters.com/2014/04/09/corporate-censorship-keeping-your-erotic-books-off-retailer-hit-lists/">original list</a>:
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Content that involves rape for titillation, as well as nonconsent (even if the heroine ends up in love with the rapist at the end), dubious consent (where the heroine is being forced but clearly is physically enjoying it) MAY be subject to banning/blocking. Content that involves snuff (a character being killed during/after sex) will almost surely elicit a ban. (The bad news about this is that Amazon no longer will put a book back to "draft" status and allow you to change it. If a book is blocked, and you want to change it, you have to resubmit as a new book with a new ASIN. Unfortunately, this is disastrous for books that are doing very well in rankings.)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Covers that contain elements of bondage, including whips, crops, handcuffs, chains etc., as well as heroines who look as if they are scared or in pain, may ALSO get your book blocked or banned, depending on the Amazon reviewers' mood.</li>
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<strong>Enhanced Adult Filter</strong></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Authors have noticed a new feature on the KDP dashboard asking for appropriate reading ages for your book. Great news for authors of kids and YA books. The hope, of course, is that Amazon is creating a "safe zone" for kids, right? But there's another feature that's popped up in the past few weeks that is a little alarming for erotica authors under the ADULT filter. Now, when your book is filtered, not only does it not appear under an "All Department Search," as well as showing up very last in any search results in the Kindle store, regardless of title or keywords - it now doesn't even show up in the Kindle Store</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> initial</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> search results. Now a reader has to click the "excluding adult items" linkin order to see an ADULT filtered book. (see </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">screenshot</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> below)</span></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/excluding-adult-items.png" data-mce-style="color: #006bff;" href="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/excluding-adult-items.png" style="color: #006bff;"><img alt="excluding adult items" class="wp-image-6592 aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/excluding-adult-items-300x148.png" data-mce-style="color: #111111;" src="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/excluding-adult-items-300x148.png" height="253" style="color: #111111; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="513" /></a></div>
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In lieu of this new development, it's becoming more and more important to keep your erotica and erotic romance books "clean" on the outside, even if they're dirty as can be on the inside, in order to avoid the ADULT filter. Hopefully (I'm crossing my fingers) this new age requirement will be a boon for erotica writers, creating a "safe zone" for the kiddies, while allowing adult readers to still find what they want. Your book(s) should be fine as long as you can keep them out of the erotica Red Light District!</div>
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And if you're a BDSM or dark romance author afraid your book(s) will be filtered, blocked or banned, all is not lost. You can navigate the choppy Amazon waters and hopefully allow readers to find your book. Unfortunately, I still predict storms ahead on the horizon, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for all of us. I know we can ride them out together!</div>
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<strong>Selena Kitt</strong> </div>
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<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em> </div>
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<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/">www.selenakitt.com</a> </div>
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LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://amzn.to/1kmk1qU">Girls Only - First Time</a></div>
Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-89898913814912769662014-05-07T22:38:00.003-04:002014-05-08T10:05:05.203-04:00Multi Author Boxed Sets as Short Term Marketing Tools & Money Makers!<div style="color: #333333; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K5I6RWC/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dark Passions fixed" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6440" src="http://onehandedwriters.com/wp-content/uploads/Dark-Passions-fixed-251x300.jpg" height="300" width="251" /></a></div>
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Single and multi-author ebook boxed sets have become all the rage in the self-publishing world. Bargain hunter readers love them. What frugal reader wouldn't love twelve books for a dollar? (Or even two or three dollars?) Authors by the hundreds have jumped on the boxed set bandwagon, offering readers boxed set bargains galore. Some authors have complained about $0.99 boxed sets, claiming they "devalue" books (usually fully novels) by selling them at an incredible loss (sometimes $0.12 each!) What these authors don't realize is that there is room for boxed sets as a short-term marketing tool in the self-publishing repertoire. If they're done correctly (and there is a right way and a wrong way to do a boxed set) they can be big money makers <em>and</em> boost your readership.</div>
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An ebook boxed set is far more simple than a print one--ebook boxed sets are just one large file consisting of several ebooks. Single author boxed sets can combine serial novels so readers can read them all at once. Multiple author boxed sets usually publish novels along the same theme or in the same genre. Either way, both authors and readers can benefit from boxed sets!</div>
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<strong>BENEFITS FOR READERS</strong></div>
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<li>For single-author bundles, the discount over buying all of the books in a series separately is a great selling point - readers save money and the author makes a sale! Readers also don't have to worry about cliffhangers or series that don't have an ending yet.</li>
<li>For multi-author bundles, the discount for 6-12 books is enormous! Sometimes the bargain is just too good to pass up, even if there's just one book in the bundle they really want!</li>
<li>Readers can use these bundles to "try out" new-to-them authors.</li>
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<strong>BENEFITS FOR AUTHORS</strong></div>
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<li>Authors can gain new readers and obtain visibility, which is hard to come by in the self-publishing world right now, in a way they might not be able to do on their own. Some boxed sets make it to Amazon's top 100, some even to the top 10. This creates huge visibility for authors and improves Amazon author rank at the same time!</li>
<li>You make money! While it may seem counterintuitive to price 12 books at $0.99, you have to understand how well these boxed sets sell (when they're distributed and marketed correctly!) When done right, boxed sets can often make an author more (even split twelve ways) than they make on individual books. Depending on the author, sometimes all of their individual books combined! In some cases authors have made thousands of dollars each. Boxed sets can be quite lucrative. The whole can be greater than the sum of its parts!</li>
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<li>If a boxed set sells well enough, it can also hit the USA Today bestseller list, or even the New York Times bestseller list. As an writer, you can then forever claim to be a "USA Today" or "New York Times" bestselling author!</li>
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<strong>AUTHOR CONCERNS</strong></div>
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I've heard authors say boxed sets devalue ebooks but it's just not true. Boxed sets are simply another marketing technique, one that self-published authors can take much better advantage of than legacy publishers can. We can afford to set a 12-book boxed set to $0.99 for a few weeks, raise the price to $2.99, and then sit back and let the money roll in. We have enough control over our pricing and pay close enough attention to our ranks that we can adjust our price to maximize both our exposure and our profit. Authors who haven't done a box set seem to be under the impression that they don't make any money, but that couldn't be further from the truth.</div>
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I've also heard other authors expressing concerns about creating their own single-author boxed set, too afraid the boxed set will cannibalize sales of their individual titles. In my experience, the profit at the higher price point more than makes up for any sales you lose of individual titles.</div>
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<strong>WHY CAN’T WE DO THIS ON OUR OWN?</strong></div>
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Anyone can do a boxed set on their own, but it involves a lot of know-how and experience to do a boxed set<em> well.</em> We've done so many of our own boxed sets at Excessica that I've actually started a service for boxed sets alone. If you are an author who is interested in boxed sets, you can join our <a href="http://excessica.com/forum/">Excessica author forum</a>. We put out calls for submissions for boxed sets there. If you already have a bunch of authors together and aren't quite sure how to proceed, you can check out our <a href="http://excessica.com/boxed-sets">Excessica Boxed Sets page</a>.</div>
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<strong>Goals</strong>: Are you looking to make the most money possible? Do you want to make the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists? Excessica can help you clarify your goals and attain them!</div>
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<strong>Planning & Production</strong>: Working with up to a dozen authors can be like herding cats. There’s a lot of work involved in planning and producing a boxed set, from commissioning a cover, to formatting and uploading, to contracts, to working out all the financial details! It can be a great big headache. Excessica can help you with all of that!</div>
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<strong>Marketing</strong>: Marketing is KEY for these boxed sets. I've seen some boxed sets that should have easily hit Amazon's top 100, struggle to get into the 1000's and then drop off a cliff. You have to know where to market, how to market, and when to market. At Excessica, we have a very clear, specific marketing plan to help launch boxed sets as high as they can go!</div>
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<strong>Pricing</strong>: Most multi-author boxed sets aren't going to get much traction unless they start out at $0.99 but you won't keep your boxed set at this price forever. So how do you know when to change your price? At Excessica, we have very specific things we do with prices to maximize our bundle profits!</div>
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<strong>Limited Time Only</strong>: Multi-author boxed sets are usually limited time only. Think of them like concerts for books. They're a one-time experience. The reason for this is obvious - boxed sets are short-term marketing tools that work very well when utilized correctly. But long-term, they <em>can </em>cannibalize sales and start to be a detriment to authors. At Excessica, we can advise you, as a group, when it’s the best time for the ride to be over.</div>
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Boxed sets are simply another short-term marketing tool self-published authors can utilize to maximize both their exposure and their profits. Granted, there are no guarantees. I've had experiences where we've done everything right and a boxed set didn't perform as well as we expected. Sometimes genre is a limiting factor--boxed sets don't get home runs in every genre--but overall, especially in romance and erotic romance, boxed sets can do very well. In the end, they can be a win-win for both readers and authors!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 19px;">Check out our </span><a data-mce-href="http://excessica.com/boxed-sets" href="http://excessica.com/boxed-sets" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 19px;">BOXED SET service</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 19px;">!</span></div>
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<img alt="" class="alignright" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" height="100" width="167" /></div>
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<strong>Selena Kitt</strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em> </div>
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<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/">www.selenakitt.com</a> </div>
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LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K2GMBB8/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20">A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Pinocchio</a></div>
Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-30230458375560159502014-04-09T21:03:00.000-04:002014-04-09T21:05:44.832-04:00Corporate Censorship: Keeping Your Erotic Books Off Retailer Hit Lists<br />
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<img alt="" class="alignleft" src="http://emilylevenson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/censorship.jpg" height="200" width="173" />Not surprisingly, <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/index.php/2013/04/30/survival-tips-for-the-pornocalypse-erotica-writers-get-armed-and-ready/">this is a topic I've talked about before</a>, but I just wrote up a new guideline for my Excessica authors (<a href="http://excessica.com/submissions">now that we're taking new submissions</a> and starting to <a href="http://excessica.com/boxed-sets">distribute boxed sets</a>) and realized--the rules have changed again.</div>
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So I thought I would create another post letting you all know what (unofficial) rules still seem in place and others that have been added, so you can keep your erotic book off retailer hit lists! You may have heard some of this before but it bears repeating--and some of it (everything in <span style="color: #993366;"><strong>PURPLE</strong> </span>below) has changed.</div>
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Erotica has been under attack and subject to corporate censorship since I started in this business and it will likely continue—and the rules will continue to change. Without warning. And without any advanced notice (or really any notice at all!) So what follows is what currently applies as of this writing. If your goal is to get your book in front of the largest number of readers, then in order to do that, it’s best to play the game, within the (arbitrary, nontransparent and constantly changing) rules.</div>
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If it sounds maddening--it is. And while I'm working on an <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/index.php/2014/03/12/excitica-new-erotica-and-erotic-romance-distributor/">alternative solution</a>, I've had some setbacks (that's a whole other post--suffice to say I'm as anxious as you all are to get it back up and running and I'll shout it from the rooftops when its ready to go!) so for the moment, our best offense is a good defense.</div>
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If you want the rules in a nutshell: If you dress up pretty on the outside, you can be as much of a whore on the inside as you like.*</div>
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(*with a few exceptions...)</div>
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<b>AMAZON “RULES”</b></div>
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Amazon has an 80% market share on ebooks and is (and will likely remain) the biggest distributor and biggest money maker for most erotica authors. That means we have to pay close attention to their "policy changes" and adjust accordingly. Unfortunately, Amazon is completely nontransparent about their "rules" so we have to kind of figure things out as we go. This is what we've figure out so far:</div>
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<li><strong>CATEGORIES</strong>: When selecting categories—if your book has two characters who fall in love and have a happy ever after, <i>put it in romance</i>. I don’t care if they’re men, women, or giant mutant chipmunks. Put that book in <i>romance</i>. The reason is, once you choose “erotica,” you have essentially chosen to ostracize yourself from all the other categories. Amazon won’t let you choose anything outside of the erotica category—you can’t be in erotica and horror at the same time. Or erotica and sci-fi. If you categorize your book as erotica, you are stuck in the erotica red-light district. In some cases (if your book is really NOT a romance) this is fine. But if your book/story has a romance theme and would benefit from being in other categories, <em>pick romance.</em></li>
<li><strong>AMAZON'S <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> FILTER</strong>: You do NOT want your book/story on Amazon to get <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> filtered. They do this without warning or notice, but once your book has been filtered, recovering can be very difficult. I have some advice down below about how to avoid the <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> filter. But sometimes you can do everything right and still get the filter slapped on your title. What do you do then? Check OFTEN to see if your book has been <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> filtered! Go to Amazon, make sure you are in the “ALL DEPARTMENT” search, and type in the title. If you can’t find your book, you have been <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> filtered. Another way to check (especially if you are checking a great many titles) is to go to <a href="http://salesrankexpress.com/">Sales Rank Express</a>. Type in your titles there. If you are filtered, a large red <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> will show next to your book. Remember - you can’t fight an enemy you can’t see, so you need to know how to avoid the <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> filter. If Amazon isn’t going to be fair about applying it to ALL books (including Fifty Shades of Grey) that contain erotic content, then we don’t have to be fair about playing by their inconsistent and non-transparent “rules” and “guidelines.”</li>
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<b>How do you avoid being <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> filtered?</b></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Keep nudity off your cover. Also keep it out of the inside of your book. You can push the boundaries here, but you risk getting <span style="color: red;">ADULT</span> filtered, so be careful. <strong><span style="color: #993366;">You don’t want to have to change your cover—that gets expensive. For example, thongs and “hand bras” (i.e. a nude woman with her or someone else’s hands covering her breasts) used to be okay but now they’re not. I can’t count how many covers I had to get changed due to this new “policy.” Tasteful nudity that doesn’t show any “bits” and doesn’t imply sexual action usually doesn’t get filtered. See my <a href="http://amzn.to/1qdabxm"><span style="color: #993366;">A Twisted Bard’s Tale</span></a> for an example of a title that has nudity but doesn’t imply sexual action. But that rule could change at any moment.</span></strong></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Keep your titles and descriptions free of the “Amazon Bad Words List” below.<b>
</b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #993366;">Do not add explicit excerpts in your description or you risk being filtered.</span></strong></li>
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<b>The “Amazon Bad Word List”</b></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Nudity on covers <span style="color: #993366;"><strong>(this rule changes a lot – it’s better to be safe than sorry in this instance--changing covers can get expensive).</strong></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Incest is banned altogether. But pseudoincest (sex between non-biological relations, like stepfather and stepdaughter) may get you filtered. <strong><span style="color: #993366;">Anything with obvious titles, especially “Daddy” and “Mommy,” but also sister, brother, siblings, uncle, family, etc. are no longer allowed in title OR description. Taboo, forbidden, kin, those words are still allowed as of this writing.</span></strong></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">These words may get you filtered or blocked: gangbang, rape, reluctant, reluctance, nonconsent, dubious consent (dubcon), forced, or “rough” sex, strap-on.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Breeding, bred or impregnation stories may get you filtered or blocked.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Any profanity or obscene language: pussy, cock, cum, tits, fuck, sex, clit, etc. are not allowed in either title or description.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Lactation, breastfeeding, lactating, milky are all topics and words that may get you filtered.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Tentacles and other mythological creatures (minotaurs, centaurs, bigfoot, dinosaurs etc.) may be filtered <strong><span style="color: #993366;">or even blocked.</span></strong></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #993366;">Excerpts are no longer allowed in descriptions if they are explicit.</span></strong></li>
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<b>How do you get UNFILTERED on Amazon?</b></div>
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Make the above changes as they apply to your book. </div>
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Then email Amazon at this email:
title-submission@amazon.com
This is the letter I send. Feel free to cut and paste!
Please reevaluate the title ___________ by _____________. The title has been changed and resubmitted to comply with your current terms of service and should no longer have an adult filter placed upon it or be excluded from the all-department search.
Please mark this title NOT ADULT.
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ASIN: __________ </div>
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Thank you.
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<b>But my book has a taboo subject matter—now what?</b></div>
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There are different rules for different vendors. Currently—
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/"><b>Amazon</b> </a>bans incest, bestiality and rape for titillation. They allow pseudoincest <strong>(<span style="color: #993366;">but without any reference to family relations on the cover or in the description). Rape for titillation they seem to allow—unless a customer complains. Then they are likely to block the book rather than ADULT filter it. (This has happened several times, for example, to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0991566661/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20"><span style="color: #993366;">Her Master's Courtesan</span></a>, which currently is still banned at Amazon, in spite of the book's incredible popularity!)</span></strong></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.kobobooks.com/">Kobo</a> <span style="color: #993366;">doesn’t allow bestiality, rape for titillation, incest OR pseudoincest. <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/index.php/2013/10/15/porn-hunt-2013-gossip-boys-researching-porn-real-hard/">Everyone remembers why, right?</a></span></strong></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apple/iTunes/iBooks</b> doesn’t allow bestiality, rape for titillation, incest OR pseudoincest. They also don’t allow any nudity on covers or explicit descriptions/excerpts.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://play.google.com/store/books">Google</a> </b><strong><span style="color: #993366;">is late to the party and have just started banning </span><span style="color: #993366;">bestiality, rape for titillation, incest OR pseudoincest. All erotica books must be in the erotica category and should be at least $1.00.</span>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/"><b>Bookstrand</b></a> and <a href="http://www.allromanceebooks.com/"><b>All Romance Ebooks</b></a> don’t allow bestiality, rape for titillation, incest OR pseudoincest. They also don’t allow “barely legal” or any risqué titles (i.e. “The Cum Slut Gangbang.”)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/"><b>Barnes and Noble</b></a> puts no restraints on their erotica. <strong><span style="color: #993366;">Although they have been known, on occasion, to “anchor” a book to keep it out of their Top 100 if they deem it too risqué.</span></strong></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/"><b>Smashwords </b></a>and<b><a href="https://www.draft2digital.com/"> Draft 2 Digital</a> </b>follow the same guidelines as their strictest distributor (currently – iTunes/Apple).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.a1adultebooks.com/"><strong>A1 Adult Ebooks/Fiction 4 All</strong></a> - They allow most anything, however, anything extreme (incest, pseudoincest, rape) must not be obvious due to merchant account issues. (Mastercard)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.lots-cave.com/"><strong>Lot's Cave</strong></a> - They allow incest, if you write taboo topics. They are currently a publisher but are planning soon to become a distributor.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://excessica.com/submissions"><strong>Excessica</strong></a> - We publish everything except bestiality (actual animals, creatures are fine), underage sex (18+ only) and necrophilia (vampires and the undead are fine!)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.excitica.com/"><strong>Excitica</strong></a> - We will distribute everything except bestiality, underage sex and necrophilia. Bookmark it and stay tuned!</li>
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If you write taboo subjects, you have to be more careful than most. Use innuendo and insinuation. The thesaurus is your friend. Find alternative words and phrases. Taboo, forbidden, illicit. Many authors have started saying, "So hot Amazon won't let me put an excerpt, use the 'LOOK INSIDE' feature to see just how dirty it is." I've put a notice in the "review" section on all my taboo books letting readers know that Amazon won't let me describe the content, hinting that it's too taboo for them. Get creative. You're a writer, right? You can let the reader know what's inside the book without making it obvious--and if you want to publish on the big retailers, I'm afraid that's what you're going to have to do. </div>
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I know many authors who have self-censored because of Amazon's ever-changing policies and that's unfortunate. There's a big market for taboo topics and it hasn't disappeared--Amazon has just made it harder for you to find them. But not impossible. Readers will still find you. And there are still alternative outlets provided to you by stalwarts like <a href="http://www.a1adultebooks.com/">Stuart at A1 Ebooks</a>, <a href="http://www.lots-cave.com/">Phaedrus at Lot's Cave</a> and me at <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/Excessica">Excessica</a>--and <a href="http://www.excitica.com/">Excitica</a> too, as soon as I can get someone to shut up and take my money and make it like I want! :P (If you know anyone, <a href="http://selenakitt.com/index.php/contact/">contact me</a>!)</div>
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Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-56609856899017175682014-03-03T17:24:00.001-05:002014-03-03T17:24:48.419-05:00Software That Does What Publishers Can't<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1TBk0yirOTqMLcamAk_7CRvz3yiCjQcbsS_B0V8YKZz_XcXgPAgR2i1oPqPoJelKWBtRiC_yq6hOUCL0IZCYVHxYsoKgGq8JiyizsabMmHG8ULhccecIc8iWsbymK02-4lcgqGJTdM53/s1600/mypublishingassistant.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1TBk0yirOTqMLcamAk_7CRvz3yiCjQcbsS_B0V8YKZz_XcXgPAgR2i1oPqPoJelKWBtRiC_yq6hOUCL0IZCYVHxYsoKgGq8JiyizsabMmHG8ULhccecIc8iWsbymK02-4lcgqGJTdM53/s1600/mypublishingassistant.png" /></a></div>
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There are three things that self-publishers can do that traditional publishers will never be able to. Do you know what those three things are? I’ll give you a hint, they’re things that will revolutionize the publishing industry.</div>
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Before I discuss those three things, however, let’s first discuss traditional publishers and the publishing landscape. </div>
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A lot is said in the self-publishing community about the evils of the traditional publisher. They reject great books and then take all of the revenue from the books they accept. And this might be the case, but let’s take a second to understand why they act this way. </div>
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Traditional publishers are in a very difficult position. In order for them to remain relevant, they have to do what they do better than their competitors. In order to be the best, they must hire the best editors, cover designers and publicity folks. In order to hire the best people, you have to pay competitive wages which allow their employees a standard of living that is at least on par with the best of their field. </div>
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What that means is that publishers can’t just acquire any great book that crosses their desk. They can only acquire the books whose revenue is enough to make sure that their publishers and editors can continue to make the lease payments on their 2012 Audi A6’s. And I don’t say this in jest, this is a real thing. The best editors and publishers in the United States should be able to drive Audis. They work hard and do a great job, so why shouldn’t they? </div>
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But what this means is that traditional publishers need to increase their odds selling a lot of books. Were you involved in a national scandal? Were you on a reality show? Then move to the front of the line. After all, publishers and editors have lease payments to make.</div>
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Where does this focus on profit leave the self-publisher? Actually, in a really great position. Why? Because there are advantages and disadvantages to employing a large team of egos. The disadvantage is that large companies move slowly. We have all seen this point in action when it comes to the book-to-shelf times of large publishing houses. But we can see another example of it when we bring up the topic of innovation. </div>
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How much innovation have you seen from the traditional publishers during the last 10 years? Did anyone notice the new font they introduced in Bill O’Reilly’s last book? No? Well neither did I. That’s because there has been no innovation. We’re 7 years into the digital revolution and the great minds at the helm of the most successful publishing companies in the world haven’t introduced an innovation since glued binding. </div>
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Well, my SnapChatting nephew probably doesn’t even know what a box bookstore is. And, while traditional publishers have been chasing after the next sure thing, self-publishers have been busy inventing things that traditional publishers could never think of.</div>
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<b>Self-Publishing Innovation #1</b></div>
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Did you know that studies have identified the people who are most-likely to purchase your book? Did you know that traditional publishers already know who these people are and use it to their benefit?</div>
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Studies have shown that the person most likely to purchase your book is a person who has purchased one of your previous books. Traditional publishers know this. The reason why they place ads in the back of your books is because the person reading your book is a proven customer. And the reason why the ads in the back of your book are to books written by other authors is because publishers need to make their Audi’s lease payments. </div>
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Traditional publishers need to redirect proven customers to the books that are most likely to increase their revenue. They might sell more of your book if they showed only your books, but they will make more money if they show someone else’s books. And because they show someone else’s book in the back of yours, does not mean that they will show your book in the back of someone else’s.</div>
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‘<a href="http://www.mypublishingassistant.com/">My Publishing Assistan</a>t’ is a suite of software that is designed to make self-publishing easy. ‘My Publishing Assistant’s Book Management’ plugin works with WordPress and allows you to automatically place links to your back catalog in the back of your books. This allows those who are most likely to buy your books to find your books. </div>
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But advertising your book in the back of your other books is something that traditional publishers can do. They just don’t. Let’s discuss something that publishers can’t do. </div>
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We all have our favorite digital bookstores. And if we could, we would probably buy all of our books from there. Readers are the same way. So when we add our back catalog to the back of our books, why not add links to the book at the reader’s favorite bookstore? If a reader bought your book on iTunes, why not have links in your book to all of your other books on iTunes?</div>
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Traditional publishers can’t do this because it takes too much time and they aren’t motivated to chase after every sale like you are. Digital publishers like Smashwords and D2D can’t do this because the one book you upload to them has to be generic enough to be distributed to all publishers. As a self-publisher, however, you can do this. And with software like ‘My publishing Assistant’s Book Management’ plug-in, you can do it quickly and easily. </div>
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When your reader purchases your book on Barnes & Noble, the links in the back of your book will go to Barnes and Noble. When your reader purchases your book from Google Bookstore, they are just one click away from purchasing your other books from the Google Bookstore as well. And when you add in the Book Management plug-in’s ability to output books in ePub, Doc, Mobi, Pdf and html, you get an innovation in self-publishing that traditional publishers can’t match.</div>
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<b>Self-Publishing Innovation #2</b></div>
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Do you know what one of the hottest trends in children’s book publishing is? It’s customized books. Kids get a kick out of seeing their name in print as the protagonist of a wonderful story. And why shouldn’t they. We read to be swept away on an adventure. And one of the fun things about reading is imagining yourself in whatever adventure or romance the protagonist is experiencing.</div>
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What if book customization wasn’t limited to stories under 1000 words? What if readers could customize full novels replacing the names of the characters with ones they know? What if your reader could put themselves and their favorite crush in the romances you’ve written? And what if they could change the novel’s locations to their city and the places they visit every day. How much would your readers be willing to pay you to customize your stories?</div>
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Could you imagine a traditional publisher every being able to offer this? Why not? The technology has been there for years. So why haven’t they at least tried? It’s because large companies move slowly. You, as a self-publisher, don’t have the same limitations. </div>
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Soon, by using My Publishing Assistant’s website themes, you will be able to easily turn your catalog into a bookstore. And adding on the Customize Book plug-in, you will be able to take advantage of the fact that your books are digital. You will be able to quickly and easily turn your books into customizable books that your readers can buy. And you will be doing this while traditional publishers wait for the latest Bachelorette to deliver her non-fiction book on how to win friends and influence people.</div>
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<b>Self-Publishing Innovation #3</b></div>
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I’ve already mentioned how valuable the space in the back of your book is. It is direct access to the attention of proven customers. And when you publish your book with a traditional publisher, they own that space. They could use it to advertise your books or the books of their favorite cash cow. But whoever it is, they will certainly be the ones to benefit.</div>
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Do you think that, on your own, you could ever get access to the ad space at the back of a bestselling book? No, you couldn’t. Why? Because it is a monopoly. </div>
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If you published traditionally, could you ever be the one to reap the financial reward from the space in the back of a book you’ve written? Never. Traditional publishers employ a lot of people and that extra revenue is what helps to keep the juggernaut alive.</div>
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What if you could, though? What if you could sell the space in the back of your book? What if you could purchase space in the back of bestsellers within your genre? How valuable would that be to you?</div>
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Soon, by using ‘My Publishing Assistant’s Ad Marketplace’, you will be able to purchase ad space on the back of other books, while selling the space at the back of your own. You will be able to choose who gets access to your book and you will be able to ask for a flat fee or sell it to the highest approved bidder. And this will be a feature created by a self-publisher for self-publishers.</div>
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Could traditional publishers ever give you such access? Do you think that they would even if they could? And as self-publishers gain access to more and more innovative and effective forums of advertising, what do you think will happen to traditional publishers?</div>
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This article has only highlighted the innovations of one company focused on the arena of self-publishing. What happens when more self-publishers turn their creative minds on innovation? The possibilities are endless.</div>
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So, as traditional publishers chase after Kim Kardashian for her next literary tome, self-publishers will be changing the landscape around them. And for me, it isn’t a matter of which group will win the publishing game, because self-publishers have already won it. It might not look like it to them as they peer down from their New York offices, but it’s only because they can’t see here from there. </div>
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Alex Anders,</div>
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International bestselling self-publishing author</div>
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Software developer at <a href="http://mypublishingassistant.com/">MyPublishingAssistant.com</a></div>
<br />Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-7962857734980273752013-10-15T11:00:00.000-04:002013-10-15T11:00:05.298-04:00Porn Hunt 2013: Gossip Boys "Researching" Porn Real Hard<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of my all-time favorite movie scenes is from Doubt.</div>
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<em>A woman was gossiping with a friend about a man she hardly knew— I know none of you have ever done this—that night she had a dream. A great hand appeared over her and pointed down at her. She was immediately seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt. The next day she went to confession.</em> <em></em><em>She got the old parish priest, Father O’Rourke, and she told him the whole thing.</em></div>
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<em></em><em>“Is gossiping a sin?” she asked the old man. “Was that the hand of God Almighty pointing a finger at me? Should I be asking your absolution? Father, tell me, have I done something wrong?”</em></div>
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<em></em><em>“Yes!” Father O’Rourke answered her. “Yes, you ignorant, badly brought-up female! You have borne false witness against your neighbor, you have played fast and loose with his reputation, and you should be heartily ashamed!”</em></div>
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<em></em><em>So the woman said she was sorry and asked for forgiveness.</em></div>
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<em></em><em>“Not so fast!” says O’Rourke. “I want you to go home, take a pillow up on your roof, cut it open with a knife, and return here to me!”</em></div>
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<em></em><em>S</em><em>o the woman went home, took a pillow off her bed, a knife from the drawer, went up the fire escape to the roof, and stabbed the pillow. Then she went back to the old parish priest as instructed.</em></div>
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<em></em><em>“Did you gut the pillow with the knife?” he says.</em></div>
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<em><em>“</em>Yes, Father.”</em></div>
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<em></em><em>“And what was the result?”</em></div>
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<em></em><em>“Feathers,” she said. “A world of feathers.”</em></div>
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<em></em><em>“Feathers?” he repeated.</em></div>
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<em></em><em>“Feathers everywhere, Father!”</em></div>
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<em></em><em>“Now I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out on the wind!”</em></div>
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<em></em><em>“Well,” she said, “it can’t be done. I don’t know where they went. The wind took them all over.”</em><em></em></div>
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<em>“</em><em>And that,” said Father O’Rourke, “is gossip!”</em></div>
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It seems a little bit of gossip has gone a long way this week toward creating a lot of trouble in the ebook world. Jeremy Duns likes to gossip. That much is apparent from his voluminous Twitter feed. (How he managed to get any books written is beyond me!) He also <a href="http://voices.yahoo.com/british-author-jeremy-duns-receives-taste-his-own-12051241.html?cat=38">has a history of attacking other writers</a>. He and Kernel magazine owner Milo Yiannopoulos (self proclaimed gossip who even refers to his ezine as "technology gossip") got into it with someone in the Twitterverse about erotica and all of a sudden, <a href="http://www.kernelmag.com/features/report/exclusive/5961/how-amazon-cashes-in-on-kindle-filth/">this... "article</a>" (and I use that term loosely) was born. It lambasted Amazon for not doing anything about titles he deemed unacceptable (i.e. those of a sexual nature) on Kindle. But that wasn't enough. He then had to make a <a href="http://www.kernelmag.com/features/report/5966/the-smut-list/">list of smutty titles</a>. <a href="http://www.kernelmag.com/editors-blog/6010/do-we-need-to-show-amazon-where-the-rape-porn-is/">And then another one</a>. Then he dug a little deeper and <a href="http://www.kernelmag.com/editors-pick/6016/an-epidemic-of-filth/">started accusing all the major retailers</a> of allowing "filth" on their virtual shelves. (Never mind that <a href="http://www.kernelmag.com/comment/column/6000/in-defence-of-revenge-porn/">he defends sending naked pictures of your ex to other people</a>--but that completely fictional erotic story? That's just wrong!)</div>
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Now, I have no idea if Jeremy Duns and Jeremy Wilson are the same person. The byline on the "articles" is Jeremy Wilson - but it was Jeremy Duns who was tweeting his prudish, pedantic heart out on Twitter before the articles appeared. I really don't care if they are the same person, different people or conjoined twins. The result was the same. A little bit of Twitter gossip ballooned into three gossipy (and poorly researched) "articles" in a magazine that boldly claims it is all about gossip. I'm sure these gossip boys got off "researching" their topic--researching it real hard! I think they got so excited about doing it they forgot to include a lot of actual facts.</div>
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The Kernel has a history of presenting things in the worst light, twisting facts to suit their sensationalist needs. Want <a href="http://lukebozier.co.uk/in-a-nutshell-milo-yiannopoulos-falsifies-information-to-create-sensationalist-stories-for-his-kernel/#.UlxOhlDBO9V">proof</a>? The guy who runs it, Milo Yiannopoulos, doesn't exactly seem to be the most ethical fellow, as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/mar/01/the-kernel">this article</a> proves. He even <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jul/08/milo-yiannopoulos-kernel-technology-interview">calls himself a gossip</a> and identifies his blog as "technology gossip." If you want some examples of the controversy Mr. Yiannopoulos has invented or stirred up, just <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Yiannopoulos#Controversy">check out this wiki page</a>.</div>
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When Jeremy <br />
<del>Duns</del>Wilson pointed out the most shock-and-awe titles in his "article" (and I use that term loosely) in The Kernel, that's when the notoriously extremely conservative UK rag, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2452731/Amazon-Kindle-Cashing-depraved-literature-glorifies-rape-incest-child-abuse-bestiality.html">the Daily Mail, picked up the story</a>. I guess that makes sense - they're all about gossip too right? In a stellar act of journalism (not), they posted titles on their site they clearly did no research on. One of Excessica's titles was listed. It's a little romance story called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004M8SBTS">Dog Gone It by Chelsea Fox</a>. Ms. Fox is a romance writer. She even said herself, "There's hardly any sex in it at all! This is crazy!" Apparently, the Daily Mail posted it simply because it had a dog on the cover, professing to all the world that it was "BESTIALITY!" I can assure you, as the publisher of this book, at no time do any humans have sex with any dogs and portraying this book and the author this was was a serious act of libel.</div>
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Then the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24491723">BBC picked up the story</a> and ran with it. You would think a mainstream news organization wouldn't lower themselves to culling articles from gossip rags. And twenty years ago, that would be true. But today, gossip IS news, unfortunately. So the BBC spread the gossip further.</div>
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Once it hit a mainstream news source and they accused the largest bookstore in the UK of carrying erotica titles that they deemed "unacceptable," that's when it got real. (Never mind that most of these titles had been available for a very long time. Years, I would venture to say. At least since WH Smith launched the Kobo reader in their stores back in 2011 and started using the Kobo feed for their ebooks. I know my books have been on Kobo for years.)</div>
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What did WH Smith do. They acted like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. “What? Who me? I had NO idea! You mean there are COOKIES in this jar? What!? I’m appalled and disgusted! Get that offensive cookie jar away from me! That’s it, we’re banning all cookies from now on! No cookies for anyone!”</div>
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Brilliant. Bloody good show, ol chap!</div>
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So WH Smith <a href="http://www.whsmith.co.uk/">took their bookstore offline</a>. That's right, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/13/whsmith-shuts-website-hardcore-pornography-ebooks">completely offline</a>. As of this writing, they are <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/whsmith-website-offline-after-book-2367140">still offline</a>. Even <em>I</em> could have told them that wasn't a good idea, and the <a href="http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/63575-whsmith-s-drastic-decision-to-take-its-site-offline-shows-little-understanding-of-digital">experts apparently agree with me</a>. But that's what they did. They shut down the presses and put up a statement saying they would be unpublishing ALL self-published books. Not just erotica, folks.<br />
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<em>All of them.</em></div>
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I wrote a blog post a long time ago called, "<a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/11/self-pubbed-authors-banned-from-kindle.html">Self Published Authors Banned From Kindle</a>," talking about the possibilities of a backlash against self-published authors due to Amazon's (and other distributor's) perceived liabilities in publishing. Most authors said I was being too "Chicken Little" about it. Self-publishing wasn't going anywhere, they said. They were safe, they said.</div>
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Hm. Not so much. When <a href="http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/">David Gaughan</a>'s entire Kobo account gets hit, now authors start to listen and perhaps realize that they, too, aren't as safe as they once believed.</div>
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Unfortunately, many self-published authors not only thought they were untouchable, but they have acted holier-than-thou whenever the subject of erotica comes up. "Well, it's good that they're taking <em>those</em> books down!" But when suddenly their own books are being threatened? Now, all of a sudden, it's a problem - <em>it's not fair, it's censorship, it's overreacting.</em></div>
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WH Smith obviously confronted Kobo about the material in question, and since Kobo is the one who feeds them their content, the buck now stopped with Kobo. They started by taking <em>all self-published books</em> down from their store. I could almost hear Kobo president, Mark Lefebvre, yelling, "Shut it down! Shut it ALL down!" Do you think they knew these books existed on their site? I know they did--they even <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Category/taboo/-WpXoMyQHEG9HS-TPaf3gg">created a "taboo" category for it</a>. Kobo knew. So did WH Smith. What's going on now is a bunch of damage control and whitewashing.</div>
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The only books of mine that currently appear on Kobo are the ones we uploaded via FTP years ago, before Kobo developed its self-publishing platform, Kobo Writing Life. Then books started re-appearing, slowly, one by one. Obviously, they were doing all of this to appease WH Smith. One vendor, who was up in arms about titles they a) knew perfectly well existed in their online store and b) who only professed to not know now simply because it was convenient and c) only paid attention to them now because someone (The Kernel) had started gossiping, a little doggie with a bone it just couldn't let go. (They got bored and have moved on from erotica now, although they're still targeting Amazon. <a href="http://www.kernelmag.com/features/report/exclusive/6086/new-amazon-shame-holocaust-denial/">This time it's holocaust denial books</a>.)</div>
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Amazon and Barnes and Noble, not to be outdone and having caught whiff of the stench coming from the other side of the pond, started working on their catalogs too. Barnes and Noble claimed to be working on ridding their virtual shelves of offensive titles. So far I haven't experienced that firsthand, but perhaps they don't have the manpower to put into doing it quickly. Amazon, on the other hand, came down like Thor's hammer and started removing books from their store with lightning speed using all the keywords used in the articles like virgin, teen and yes, babysitter.</div>
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That's right, fans--my Amazon Top 100 Bestseller, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sitting-Baumgartners-threesome-erotica-ebook/dp/B003G2ZVF8">Babysitting the Baumgartners</a>, was taken down. They couldn't remove the audio version, since Audible is far less reactionary and, in my experience, much more protective of intellectual freedom, so that one is still there. But they removed the CreateSpace paperback version. As of this writing, I have changed the title to "Sitting For The Baumgartners" (Really, Amazon? <em>Really?</em>) and they have restored the Kindle version. But not the print one. If you've read it, you know that there is no underage sex in it - the babysitter in question is nineteen, going on twenty. And while it does explore an alternative lifestyle, there is definitely a story being told, as there is in all my fiction. It's not "porn." It's erotica.</div>
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Perhaps, if someone along the way had said, "Whoa, wait a minute - what's really going on here?" instead of jumping to conclusions, shutting down big online book retailers, banning titles left and right or simply hiding entire accounts of books from view, this little witch hunt could have been focused on the "real" problem. Considering how out of hand it has gotten now, I'm surprised they haven't started burning the books (digital or not) and hunting down the authors to burn them too--as witches, of course. When we look back on it, we'll think of the Porn Hunt of 2013.</div>
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Most of the titles they referenced in their article aren't even written by real authors.</div>
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What? How can that be, you ask? Well, let me explain.</div>
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Having heard there was "gold" in them thar hills, many black-hat internet marketers have entered the erotica field. That's right--they go on Fiverr or other sites looking for ghostwriters, have them "write" a story (some of them just pull stories from Literotica or other free story sites instead and hope they don't get caught) slap a girl with big breasts on the cover, title it for SEO keyword search (which is why they have such long, "porny" titles, in case you were wondering) and then "publish" them via Amazon's KDP platform. Or Kobo's Writing Life platform. Do they make money? A ton of it. Why doesn't Amazon or Kobo stop them? Good question. I think they try. When they discover one, they delete the account. But black-hat internet marketers are just above the level of "criminal." What they do isn't technically illegal, but it's ethically wrong. So they have no qualms about creating another account and publishing the same material again.</div>
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The Kernel references Shannon Leigh (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shannon-Leigh/e/B00BVSJ87G/">whose once extensive catalog</a>, you'll note, has been decimated--she has one book left, and the term babysitting has been switched out for a ridiculous, clunky replacement, "teen worker") who is clearly recognizable as a black-hat internet marketer. I knew it at first glance. She'll lay low until this all blows over, and then she'll upload those titles again, trying to get around Amazon's "adult filter" by using phrases like "teen worker" instead of "babysitter." Most of the 'real authors' of erotica and erotic romance don't do what Ms. Leigh did. Most erotica writers have begun <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/06/erotica-sustainability.html">heeding my earlier warnings</a>, toning down their titles, covers and blurbs. We all went through the <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2013/04/survival-tips-for-pornocalypse-erotica.html">Pornocalypse</a>. We're not stupid and most erotica authors want to play by the rules. We have conformed to Amazon's rule changes over and over and over again.</div>
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But none of that mattered to the "journalists" (Bwahahaha! Ahem. Sorry.) at The Kernel. They found a little sensationalist bit of gossip and spread it like wildfire! Did they care who they hurt? No. They just wanted to cause some drama. And they succeeded.</div>
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So instead of going after who they should have all along, the retailers overreacted (to say the least) and started going after EVERYONE. Erotica writers who don't have "porny" titles are being lumped in with black-hat internet marketers whose main goal is to game the system by trying to garner the most visibility by using shock and awe tactics. The Kernel was clearly taken in by their efforts. So are many readers, unfortunately. What Mr. Duns and Mr. Yiannopoulos did on Twitter and spread to their "ezine" was nothing but a bit of fear-mongering. Gossip. They didn't check their sources, and neither did The Daily Mail. And the response to the original article was a huge overreaction.</div>
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The question now is--how far are they going to go?</div>
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They won't touch legacy publishing's books, of course. But I can tell you, a lot of my stuff is tame in comparison to what's being offered (and protected by legacy publishing) out there right now. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AXY3GQS">Tampa by Alissa Nutting</a> is nothing but kiddie porn. It touts itself as a modern day Lolita, but Nutting is no Nabakov, and it comes off as blatant child pornography. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004A90A9I">Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma</a> contains incest between underage siblings. (Not step siblings, mind you - actual biological siblings). That one's protected by legacy. Self-published erotica writers write things no worse than any of the above, or worse than any of the numerous romance, erotic romance and new adult/college romance titles out there, for that matter, but they are being singled out, simply because they CAN be. Kobo and Amazon aren't removing Fifty Shades or any other erotic books protected by big publishing logos. But their content is quite similar to what's being removed.</div>
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I've been through this enough times to know, this too shall pass. Perhaps the black-hat internet marketing folks will finally take the hint and disappear. It was those "authors" (using that term lightly too!) who started the ramped-up title and cover competition. Erotica authors (those who actually took the time to write a good story) who didn't title this way saw themselves slipping in rank and felt forced to complete with "Daddy's Anal Whore." So they started titling using keywords and put out covers showing more and more skin. <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/index.php/2012/06/05/erotica-sustainability/">I warned authors this was going to happen</a>. And so it has.</div>
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I've also called Amazon out again and again on how they <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2013/07/no-parental-controls-its-not-about.html">lack any parental controls</a>. The same goes for all of the other retailers. It isn't there and it should be. That's the only thing the gossip-mongers didn't get wrong, and may be the only good thing to come out of this mess. I won't let my children search anything on Amazon. I know what's out there--and I know Amazon won't protect them from seeing it. The only retailer who does this right is <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/">Smashwords</a>. They have a simple parental control switch which is defaulted to "OFF." Those who are offended or who have children using the search can simply switch it to "ON" and keep those titles from appearing.</div>
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Would some authors try to get around the parental control by labeling their book as "not adult?" Yes. The black-hat internet marketing folks sure would. But it's certainly better than nothing, like Barnes and Noble and Kobo have done (until now). It's also far better than Amazon's <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2013/05/survival-tips-for-pornocalypse-2.html">"Adult filter" solution</a>. And it would definitely be more useful. Amazon's current solution simply puts a Band-Aid on the problem. It's like trying to plug the Hoover Dam one tiny hole at a time. They "fixed" my book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003G2ZVF8">Babysitting the Baumgartners</a>, by simply having me remove the "offensive" word from the title. It's still on the cover, but that's okay with them. And it's still the same book inside--titled as <em>Babysitting the Baumgarters</em> at every other retailer.</div>
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I think the message here is loud and clear--no one cares what's inside the book. It can be the most raunchy tale of sex and debauchery since the Marquis DeSade started writing, as long as the title, cover and description don't reflect that. Of course, you see the problem. Erotica writers are being asked to deceive readers. We have to pretend our books aren't about sex. If they involve sensitive subject matter that could trigger some readers (pseudoincest, nonconsent etc) we aren't allowed to label them as such. Of course, if one of my books gets into the hands of someone like that, they're going to complain to the retailer--and the retailer is going to simply remove the book, because the customer is always right.</div>
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This puts erotica writers in a very bad position. And yes, it's quite unfair. The retailers have put the burden on us, as authors, rather than assuming it themselves. Frankly, they should have anticipated this problem before the first Kindle was ever released. Everyone knows <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-porn-drives-innovation-in-tech-2013-7">new technology is driven by porn</a>. And it's widely known that <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500395_162-57593265/lust-and-elves-how-low-brow-lit-made-e-books/?tag=socsh%20via">erotica pretty much made the Kindle</a>. And even if they didn't anticipate it, they have had more than enough time to come up with a real, workable solution. Unfortunately, until they do, many self-published authors are going to suffer--or live in fear of something like this happening again. So don't shoot the messenger--in this case, erotica writers--put the blame where it should be, on the shoulders of all of the distributors who have done nothing, or next to nothing, up until now.</div>
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So what can you do? As a reader, you can:</div>
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<a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/amazon-barnes-and-noble-kobo-drop-the-clause-of-removing-erotica-and-self-published-indie-authors">Sign this Petition</a></div>
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Write to <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/ecr@amazon.com">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.kobo.com/help/customer-care-phones/#NA">Kobo</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/misc/contact_us.html">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="http://www.apple.com/contact/">Apple</a> and all the other book retailers, telling them you support intellectual freedom and do not support corporate censorship</div>
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"Like" the Facebook page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bannederoticbooks">Banned Erotic Books</a> - we are working hard to keep authors and readers updated when something like this happens</div>
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Buy your books at <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/">Smashwords</a>, or direct from your favorite erotica author's web site--<a href="http://excessica.com/books/">Excessica</a> has its own and there are many good writers to be found there</div>
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I'd just like to point out that erotica writers aren't perverts--at least the ones I know. We write for a living, and what we are writing is fantasy. Words, not actions. This is fiction, folks. It doesn't hurt anyone. And the "but it might make someone DO those horrible things!" argument has been debunked again and again. Books about serial killers don't make people become serial killers. Books about rapists don't make people become rapists. Books about incest (or pseudoincest) don't make people go have sex with family members. In fact, research shows that most people who do read incest erotica don't, in fact, fantasize about actual family members. As for rape--it's also well documented that rape fantasies are common for women (the BDSM community flirts with this and there is a cross-over) and psychologists say that it's completely normal. And, in the end, what we are talking about here is just words. Words, not actions. If you don't like it, don't read it. But telling other people they can't write or read it crosses the line of personal and intellectual freedom.</div>
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That's not okay.</div>
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And one last thing. There is a reason we look back at the witch hunts in Salem and cluck and shake our heads and wonder how people could have overreacted like that. Gossip is powerful. It's insidious, it's heinous, and the people who participate in it suffer from the need to feel superior to others, to compensate for their overwhelming feelings of inferiority. Gossip is a form of passive-aggressive violence and the people who run or write for rags like the self-proclaimed "tech-gossip" site The Kernel are far more offensive and damaging to humankind than even Ms. Shannon Leigh's over-the-top erotica titles could ever be.<br />
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Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-52758528524623149932013-09-17T16:50:00.000-04:002013-09-17T16:50:44.887-04:00Amazon at it Again - Blocking Pseudoincest and Monster Sex!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://onehandedwriters.com/?attachment_id=5040" rel="attachment wp-att-5040"><img alt="calvinball1" class="size-full wp-image-5040 aligncenter" height="256" src="http://onehandedwriters.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/calvinball1.jpg" width="529" /></a></div>
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Amazon is at it again. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised anymore when Amazon decides to change the rules of publishing erotica on their site, but there are days when I feel like my career in this genre is a little bit like playing Calvinball. (Anyone else remember Calvin and Hobbes?) The only rules are the ones Amazon makes up – and they constantly change. And to make it even more “fun,” they don’t tell you what that rules are, or when or how they are going to change.</div>
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Can you tell transparency isn’t exactly this company’s strong suit?</div>
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So what’s new? Amazon is cleaning house. The message I got (and I actually talked to an Amazon customer service representative, in fits and starts, a bit like trying to crack a code or talk to someone speaking backwards Pig Latin) is that Amazon doesn’t mind selling or profiting from erotica, and it isn’t going to ban it or stop selling it—they just don’t want it to actually look like erotica is about… you know… <span style="color: silver;"><em>(sex!)</em></span></div>
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They are specifically targeting pseudoincest (i.e. those stories where sexual relations take place between perfectly legal of-age step-siblings, or between 18+ stepdaughter and stepfather, stepmother and 18+ stepson, etc.) and monster sex (tentacles, bigfoot, etc). As far as I can tell, right now they are reviewing any new work or anything that shows up as new (i.e. if you tweak your title, change the price, upload a new cover, and republish). If they find a title too risqué, they are blocking it (not just slapping the <strong><span style="color: red;">ADULT</span><span style="color: red;"> </span></strong>filter on it or kicking it back into draft, mind you, but actually blocking/suppressing it) and sending an email out to the author letting them know where the problem lies (title, cover or blurb) if not exactly what the problem is.</div>
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They are currently only looking at NEW or REPUBLISHED titles, but be forewarned—you are going to want to clean up your catalog, because down the line, I got the feeling they intend to start going through already-published titles. So what, exactly, is the new policy? What’s ok, what isn’t?</div>
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Welcome to <del>Calvinball</del> Amazonball, where the rules constantly change and your opinion doesn’t matter!</div>
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<a href="http://qkme.me/3vrtt7" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignleft" height="216" src="http://t.qkme.me/3vrtt7.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
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It’s all hit and miss with Amazon, as usual, and there’s no telling what will or won’t be approved, to tell you the honest truth. I’m so tired of playing this game, I’m about ready to quit. Just when you think you know the rules, they change. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on it, Amazon throws another ball at your head. And of course, there’s no transparency.</div>
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The <span style="color: red;"><strong>ADULT</strong></span> filter is still being used—completely arbitrarily and without warning to authors or publishers. I recently had a freebie of mine, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006WW9FZG/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20">Connections</a>, <span style="color: red;"><strong>ADULT</strong></span> filtered. But back in May, I put ujnderwear on the girl and they unfiltered it, no problem. Some time between May and a few days ago, when I noticed it was filtered, Amazon changed their mind. Of course, they didn’t tell ME about it. No notice. Months of lost downloads and exposure. Thanks, Amazon!</div>
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Why am I doing business with this capricious, duplicitous, unreliable company again? Oh yeah, because they’re the biggest distributor in town and provide me with the most exposure for my work. That’s really unfortunate, because I feel quite stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I want to sell (and this is my business, my livelihood, of course I do—there’s a real person here, raising a family, and I have braces and wrestling shoes and a mortgage to pay!) I have to deal with Amazon.</div>
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But they sure don’t make it easy.</div>
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Amazon’s so vague-as-to-be-useless “guidelines” they point erotica writers to when they reject a title don’t give me any idea what the rules actually are. When I talk to Amazon customer service, they speak in code. Their lack of transparency is truly appalling. They don’t tell authors or publishers when they <span style="color: red;"><strong>ADULT</strong></span> filter a title. And until recently, when an author noticed and appealed, they simply pointed them to their vague (useless) guidelines. Thanks to a conversation I had with Amazon a few months ago, at least now they are giving us some direction (title, cover, description or content) even if they still won’t tell us specifically what the issue/problem is.</div>
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So in trying to interpret the new rules of <del>Calvinball</del> Amazonball, I’ve come to the following conclusions. Of course, your mileage may vary, and the rules may change tomorrow.</div>
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<strong>COVERS</strong></div>
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Anything containing nudity is now completely out (unless you want to be <span style="color: red;"><strong>ADULT</strong></span> filtered). No breasts, no hand-bras, no bare bottoms. Thongs aren’t okay anymore. Even some lingerie is being rejected. You can have the hottest, smuttiest prose you want on the pages of your book, as long as the cover doesn’t reflect your content.</div>
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Also, couples are okay on covers, however, if they are touching each other in any way, and they look like they are actually <i>enjoying</i> it, it may be rejected. If the models are passive, you may get it through. However, if they have that “oh yes!” look, or happen to be groping each other? Nope. That’s right, Amazon has now pushed our sexuality back to the Puritan age. We can embrace, but we can’t look like we’re actually <em>enjoying</em> the sex! Anyone have a sheet with a hole cut into it we can put between our characters? *sigh*</div>
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<strong>TITLES</strong></div>
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Most of the same rules <a href="http://selenakitt.com/blog/index.php/2013/04/30/survival-tips-for-the-pornocalypse-erotica-writers-get-armed-and-ready/">I gave you before</a> still apply here. Keep the “bad” words out of your titles and descriptions. You’re a writer—you’re going to do some creative writing here. Mommy, Daddy, Sister, Brother, Siblings, etc, may get you blocked (not just filtered—<i>blocked</i>) if it’s in the title. The same goes for monster sex—tentacles, bigfoot, centaur, etc. in the title may now get your book blocked. Again, it seems arbitrary right now—some titles are getting through—but it’s better safe than sorry. I know, it’s frustrating. How is anyone going to find your story without a keyword in the title? But if you put it in the title, <i>no one</i> is going to see it, because Amazon is going to block it. How’s that for a nice Catch-22? Thanks, Amazon!</div>
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<strong>DESCRIPTIONS</strong></div>
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Again, you’re going to have to get creative. References to relations (i.e. Mommy, Daddy, Sister, Brother, etc) won’t necessarily get you blocked here (although they might get you filtered) but it depends on how explicit you are. The more tame you are in your description, the better. Amazon doesn’t want someone who accidentally stumbles onto your title to be “shocked” by what they find.</div>
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And that’s really what it comes down to. A year ago, Amazon’s erotica bestseller list was full of shock-and-awe titles. It was like erotica authors thought they had to outdo each other in order to gain any visibility on the charts. Well, that’s changed. Go look at the erotica titles on top now—they have titles, covers and descriptions more in line with Fifty Shades of Grey. They’re tame, soft, romantic. This is clearly the erotica image Amazon wants to present, and that’s what these “policy changes” seem to indicate.</div>
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I predict that a year from now, erotica on Amazon is going to look very different—even the hardcore stuff. Amazon isn’t just hiding it behind the <span style="color: red;"><strong>ADULT</strong></span> filter anymore, they’re outright blocking and suppressing titles they don’t want their customers to see. Is it corporate censorship? Yep. Is it unfair? Yep. But Amazon can do what they like and life is unfair.</div>
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In this business you either change and adapt, or you… well, you don’t die. You just lose visibility and fall into obscurity. Which, for an author, is pretty much the same thing.</div>
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So erotica writers, now you have the new “rules,” such as they are. You need to decide for yourself what you’re going to do.</div>
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I do have some predictions. I imagine a lot of authors who jumped on the gravy train a year or two ago (writers who had scoffed at erotica with disdain who suddenly started writing in the genre looking for a big payout) will fall off. It won’t be worth it anymore, because it won’t be so easy for readers to find them and the money will dry up.</div>
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Some will switch genres and find success there. Some will go back to their day jobs. But the pool of authors writing erotica is inevitably going to shrink because of this change. I don’t like the corporate censorship and self-censoring that’s happening because of Amazon’s policy changes and I don’t like any company big enough to force such a change on the face of literature. But the bright side, if you want to find one, is that the authors who remain will be the ones who truly love writing it, who care about their craft and their readers.</div>
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Those authors, I believe, will adapt—their covers and blurbs and descriptions will become less shocking and titillating, but I think the quality of the work will rise. I think erotica itself as a genre will become better. The writers who love it will stay, and the readers who love it will find those authors and stick with them.</div>
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At least, that’s what I hope.</div>
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For those authors who aren’t willing to give up—this is a time when building a name for yourself in the genre, creating a brand, cultivating a relationship with fans and building a mailing list is going to be crucial. It’s once again going to get harder to find what you want in the erotica category on Amazon, so you as an author need to find a way to directly connect with your readers.</div>
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I truly wish you the best of luck in your game of <del>Calvinball</del> Amazonball!</div>
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</em></strong>
<img alt="" class="alignright" height="100" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" width="167" /><br />
<strong>Selena Kitt</strong><br />
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em><br />
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/">www.selenakitt.com </a><br />
LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EVD3ZPE?/tag=wwwexcessicac-20">HUSSY</a><br />
LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EVB9HEY/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20">FORBIDDEN FRUIT</a><br />
LATEST RELEASE: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EVBYYC4/?tag=wwwexcessicac-20">YANK</a>Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-60792081315420731522013-07-23T08:00:00.000-04:002013-07-23T08:00:05.493-04:00Nanny State Gone Wild in the UK<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://onehandedwriters.com/?attachment_id=4451" rel="attachment wp-att-4451" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="9742995_s" class="alignleft wp-image-4451" height="240" src="http://onehandedwriters.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/9742995_s.jpg" width="240" /></a>Well it's happened to our friends across the pond. The Prime Minister has made it official - <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23401076">pornography will be blocked by default on the Internet</a> in the UK unless you choose to "opt in" to receive it. (And of course, if you do "opt in," your name will be forwarded to a UK government agency in charge of overseeing citizens who are seeking out banned material. Isn't that special?)</div>
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I'm absolutely horrified by this development and the attitude of a government who believes it needs to step in and regulate adults and adult behavior. The prime minister claims this is about children having access to pornography on the internet - but it isn't the role of any government to step in and regulate what goes on in people's homes. Pornography isn't illegal (yet) so why is it being denied to adults by default? I understand having a filter that can be turned on and off, although it is a bit of a slippery slope to have government supplying that filter. However, having that filter set to "OFF" by default makes it a much slipperier one.</div>
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When you have a child, do you expect the government to raise it? Do you expect them to feed it, care for it, change its diapers, keep it safe? I certainly hope not. It's not the government's responsibility, it's the parents' responsibility. As a parent, you're in charge of keeping that child safe until it's old enough to do so. If you have bleach, you keep it in a locked cupboard under the sink. If you own a gun, you keep it unloaded in a locked cabinet. If you possess pornography, you keep it locked away and out of a child's sight. That's a parent's responsibility. Not the government's.</div>
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A computer and the internet are no different. I'm a parent--I don't let my children have access to the internet without my direct supervision. But as an adult, I don't want my government making those choices for ME. I'm <em>not</em> a child and I <em>don't</em> need a nanny. A government that steps in and makes those kinds of decisions for parents by default is effectively saying to adults, "You can't parent. I must do it for you."</div>
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Is this the level the UK has sunk to?</div>
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And how long will it be before politicians on this side of the pond start making these kinds of decisions for us?</div>
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We've gone down this road already in the realm of erotic ebooks with corporate censorship. <a href="http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2013/05/corporate-fail.html">Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Paypal</a>--the list of companies who have attempted to or continue to deny adults access to adult materials while claiming they're doing so to "protect the children" (never mind that they're still selling sex toys, porn DVDs, torture-porn movies like "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hostel-Unrated/dp/B007HOD2WA">Hostel</a>" and books like Jack Ketchum's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Woman-ebook/dp/B004MPRXKE"><em>The Woman</em></a>)--have all participated in some form of corporate censorship. Right now, the American government can get away with using corporations to do their dirty work--mostly because America itself is in the pocket of corporations, and government motivations are in line with the corporate bottom line.</div>
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But whistleblower Eric Snowden has <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/snowden-nsa-leak-whistleblower-cia-204241311.html">given us a glimpse</a> into just how much information the NSA is gathering about average American citizens while at the same time using the media to whip people into a frenzy with fear-mongering about vague threat of terrorists. What's happening in the UK just may be a portent, a keyhole peek into the future of government control and the ever-growing nanny state in our own country.</div>
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For example, Tumblr has always had anti-censorship beliefs and policies in the past, so well known for their stance they inspired articles <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/05/26/the_best_of_tumblr_porn/">like this one in Salon</a> about the best adult porn Tumblr blogs. But recently, Yahoo purchased Tumblr. Soon after that purchase was announced, <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/yahoo-censors-tumblr-porn-new-policy-makes-10-percent-tumblr-users-invisible-1353471">users started to return "no search results"</a> for certain terms relating to sex and pornography. Yahoo effectively made adult blogs invisible, in the same way Amazon's <span style="color: red;"><strong>ADULT</strong></span> filter makes adult ebooks invisible. Another example of corporate censorship? Yep.</div>
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Where does it end?</div>
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Right now, Americans are being offered a censored version of the world, and many don't even know it. I'm not sure if that's better or worse than the UK government stepping in and forcing ISPs to block pornography by default. The former is an insidious form of censorship, a creeping, crawling, sprawling sort of censorship that most won't even acknowledge IS a form of censorship. At least the latter is more direct. As we've learned with the "war on terror," or the "war on drugs," the enemies you can't see, the ones that come at you from behind or underneath, the ephemeral sort, are a lot harder to fight then those who attack directly.</div>
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This is a direct attack on personal freedom and liberty. It's shocking and appalling, and if you're not shocked and appalled, you should be. This is government censorship being wrapped up in a nice "protect the children" wrapping paper with a big fat bow on it. It's a slippery slope that should not only horrify and frighten you, it should motivate you to act. At least I hope so. You can protest. You can <a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/159/847/554/uk-government-stop-preying-on-parents-fears-to-push-through-internet-censorship-in-the-uk/">sign this petition</a>. If you're in the US, you can write to your congressmen protesting legislation like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act">proposed SOPA</a>. You can support the <a href="http://www.ala.org/offices/oif">Office for Intellectual Freedom</a>, <a href="http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek">Banned Book Week</a>, the <a href="http://www.opennetinitiative.net/">Open Net Initiative</a> and the <a href="http://www.ifex.org/download/en/IFEXCampaignHandbook.pdf">International Freedom of Expression Exchange</a> or even just go and like our Facebook page - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bannederoticbooks">Banned Erotic Books</a>, where I will post everything I hear about banned books or censorship - in all forms.</div>
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And if you're thinking, "Well isn't this a good thing? Aren't they protecting the children?"--think again. This isn't about protecting children, it's about control. Control of consenting adults that should be free to watch what they like. Maybe you think I'm alarmist, just being a Chicken Little, and you don't believe in slippery slopes. If that's the case, consider this - Scotland and Wales banned "pornography depicting rape" back in 2008. Now the UK has followed suit. This law now also makes it illegal to possess any sort of pornography depicting rape. So what does that mean? Is BDSM pornography illegal now? Even if it's between consenting adults? Even if there's a "safe word?" Who makes the decision about what is or isn't rape, exactly?</div>
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By effectively "banning" pornography by forcing ISPs to filter it by default, politicians aren't really solving any problems. It's an easy fix. They haven't done anything to keep actual children from being harmed in the making of pornography. They haven't helped any actual rape victims by making stricter rape laws. They haven't done anything to teach real children about real sex--its dangers and pitfalls, as well as its true nature, meaning, and significance in life. They haven't done anything to help actual sex workers who endanger their lives in order to make more money than they could working at the local Wal-Mart. They haven't helped the actual harmful practice of women being sold as slaves in human trafficking. They haven't done anything about curbing the mainstream media's portrayal of women as sexual objects. Pornography has nothing on Cosmo, folks. They've gone after pornography, but they haven't gone after the "torture porn" in movies. It's okay to watch someone's head severed, to see a woman's nipples cut off, her labia flayed in a horror film, but it's not okay to watch two consenting adults with nipple clamps and hot wax?</div>
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They have gone after what they see as an easy target, something that can be perceived as "action," but is, in fact, <em>a non-action</em>. It's not a step forward, it's a step backward. This law creates a false sense of security for parents. Worse than that, it encourages parents to take <em>less</em> parental responsibility when they should be taking more, and it sets up both parents and children (who will, in another generation, become parents themselves) to rely on the government to control them. If that isn't the scariest slippery slope of them all, I don't know what is.</div>
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So before you start cheering because you feel children are being "protected" by the law just passed in the UK, imagine a world where everything you read, watch or do is restricted by government control. Imagine China. Imagine 1984. It's really not as far away as it seems. As Chicken Little as it sounds... sometimes the sky really is falling. Sometimes a slippery slope turns out to be far slipperier than you imagined.</div>
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Sometimes you wake up in a world you don't recognize, and wonder how in the hell you got there.</div>
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But by then, it will be far too late. The time is now. The choice is yours.</div>
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<img alt="" class="alignright" height="100" src="http://www.selenakitt.com/pictures/SelenasignTRANSsmall.jpg" width="167" /><br />
<strong>Selena Kitt</strong><br />
<em>Erotic Fiction You Won't Forget</em><br />
<a href="http://www.selenakitt.com/">www.selenakitt.com</a>Selena Kitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8870053894560940230.post-16279607704194037972013-07-19T19:22:00.000-04:002013-07-19T19:32:41.632-04:00The Breakthrough - I am JK Rowling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I had kind of a breakthrough. I'm not sure I should jinx it though. I started all these different things and they had similar scenarios. I'd get the first scene written and think of something else. In fact, when I re-read them, I had used some of the same names. I decided that they were all pieces of one story, which means some names will be changed. I put them all in one document and started writing the beginning. Now I have 22,000 words. <br />
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Today I thought about what was working and what wasn't, and I'm ready to make changes and add more. I try to write a whole scene - dialogue first then I go back and add stage directions and stuff. The next day I read it all and if it sounds stupid or repetitive, or doesn't make sense, I do rewrites. It takes a while. I stop when I don't quite know how to make the transition to the next bit of information. That next bit will come to me the next day when I'm working out. I don't know how it does that. I think my mind relaxes or something. I almost see it in a waking dream. It tells me what to say and do, and what it all looks like visually. <br />
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I almost feel like the story was there all along. I did what made sense - I couldn't build another non-consent BDSM world without referencing <em><strong>Cinderella Club</strong></em> a little. I am looking at one character in particular who had a spot on the periphery of CC, and now I have her story - sort of, and a number of others that can take place in the same location.<br />
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I don't want to share any of it yet because every time I share in real life, someone either copies me or tries to change the idea somehow - they want to be part of my process, which I thoroughly hate. This story feels like I had written it before, in another dimension, if there is such a thing. I would like that to be true because I would like to believe that somewhere else there is a Mia Natasha with a slightly different story. Maybe a better one.<br />
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I also hate when people say "Life's too short" and "You only live once". Life is not that short. Sometimes it feels like an eternity. An animal's life is short. I look at my cat and I wonder what it will be like when we have to cross that bridge. My cat represents a specific chunk of my life, like the Mayan Calendar. When my cat is gone it will be an ending. I will reflect on the time we had together as our dynasty or whatever, and assess my success during that period. Have I made any leaps in this time? What the fuck <em>am</em> I doing? I don't really want to think about that.<br />
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When I'm writing, I am so into it - as though it's the greatest thing ever written - unique, original, refreshing.... I get high from it. Not manic, just - happy. Content that I am creating and I have the confidence to do it.<br />
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JK Rowling had good reviews on her pen named book but sold only a few copies. So what did they do? They totally told. I don't buy that it was uncovered by other sources. I think it was leaked to the media. What if I said that I am really Jo? Of course, no one would believe that, because we sound nothing alike. Too bad. Because I have good reviews too. It's never enough. You can fool yourself that it is, but it isn't.<br />
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I sent paperbacks to specific people hoping for the kind of media attention that is bigger than a random blog. But nothing yet. No responses. Does anyone read blogs? I know there are a few of you who read this even though you don't comment (Hi, Kelly). I know I'm not talking to myself because if I were, well, that's a sad face emoticon, which I would post if I knew how.<br />
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When I re-read old diaries, I feel like it's a different person but I love that person. That sounds about as narcissistic as they come, but I do. I do love myself. I am strong and courageous, organized and focused, (and I have a pretty fucking great ass). I love the idea of finding my younger self (in a time-travel) and sitting her down to tell her that she won't change very much. And that is perfectly okay. (But oh my god, she's going to love my hair!) I'm trying to think of a specific point in time that I would change that could change the trajectory of my life. But I'm not sure I would change anything. I keep wanting to go back to the night I first slept with The One so I can keep my clothes on and leave. Would he have pursued me? I doubt it. Actually, I know he wouldn't. I was always going to be just sex. <br />
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Would I go back to high school and go slutty? Fuck someone? No. Because I always wanted the relationship to be adult. I never thought and still don't, that kids who live under their parents roof should be having sex. I hate it because they are living children's lives but playing adult games and they are just not emotionally ready. College students are the same way, let's be honest. Dorm fucking seems to lead to marriage without even actually having dates, which is so fucked up. I know women who had never even purchased sexy lingerie or stillettos because their relationships happened in sweatshirts and sweatpants, and one ratty bra that they washed on Sundays!<br />
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Which reminds me of the bondage pictures I see that people post on Twitter - the homemade ones where the girl is roped up and in the background you see dirty laundry in baskets littering the floor, photographs of family on the wall instead of art (not placed there aesthetically either), and cheezy matchy-matchy furniture sets that would make the Architectural Digest editor's head spin while puking pea soup, and it's supposed to be sexy. Is that sexy to you?<br />
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These days there are a gazillion twenty somethings living with their boyfriends on their parents' dime. Apartments in big cities and jobs that can't pay for them. And they are playing house. To me that's not sexy either.<br />
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The men in my new book all own their own places except for one. It's preferable for them to be in some way independently wealthy so they don't have to work in order for their Dom/sub relationship to be 24/7. One will work from home... I have it all planned. It's actually much easier to make them all have dead parents so you don't have to deal with them but I won't do that. I think having the parents in there in small doses grounds the story because you see how the parents see the person and it's always different than the way they see themselves. Like some people are complete fuck ups at work but their parents praise them galore! Others work their asses off and their parents think they don't work hard enough. I may have said this before in another post, but I love when each character in a show has their "problem". In <em>Star Trek the Next Generation</em>, no one has the kid they want. Warf's kid is like a Ghandi instead of a this-is-a-good-day-to-die warrior. Wesley Crusher makes all sorts of stupid mistakes and gets emotional while his mother the doctor is calm under pressure, Jon-Luc had a son in one episode- not sure if he really was or he thought he was, but the guy did not want to follow rules. In <em>Beverly Hills 90210</em>, every single character had a substance abuse problem or some other "issue". Donna got drunk at prom, Kelly did coke, David was taking pills to stay up late to do that radio show....<br />
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Anyhow, there will be a huge cast of players in my new story. I will challenge myself to write scenes with lots of people in them to balance the one-on-one scenes that can get repetitive. Even so, people want the one-on-one relationships.<br />
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The other thing about that book from my previous post (On my own blog - <a href="http://mianatasha-erotica.blogspot.com/2013/07/thickening-plot.html">http://mianatasha-erotica.blogspot.com/2013/07/thickening-plot.html</a>) that I'd read for "research" : the guy basically had no friends. In the next book, which is so short because there is no plot, they go out with her friends and all he wants to do is take her home to fuck her. The point of going out is to dress up, to be alluring while you are out in public showing off how much your man likes you, showing him to anyone - look at this sexy fucker, everyone - he's going home w/ me. Then you think about it, anticipate it and when the fucking commences, the hot liquid magma becomes full blown lava.<br />
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In real life, guys have tons of friends because they just hang out without the deep emotional stuff. They like each other. And that's the final piece to my puzzle today. The men in my story will bond. I'm aiming for epic - but if it is that in my mind only...then I really <em>am</em> JK Rowling. And you <em>will</em> buy the book. Should I have put that in caps?</div>
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