The shit has basically hit the proverbial fan in the Indie Author World over the past few days!
Online retailers have started pulling Indie Author Books, people are losing books on their devices, authors are panicking, readers are furious…
It’s a big old mess and it’s utter chaos.
Yesterday it became very public on social media that the online ebook site KOBO was pulling all independent authors. My book was on KOBO, so it distressed me a bit. Then Barnes and Noble and Amazon release that they too are pulling “some” work from their site and off of people’s devices.
Wait, what? I’m an indie author, so that means that my channels for distribution are pulling books? Could this happen to me?
I did a little research.
What I’ve gathered so far and I am by no means a professional and I don’t have an “in” with either B&N OR Amazon, so don’t take this as 100% fact… what I’ve gathered is that some questionable titles and content (ok, not questionable, disgusting and downright criminal in my opinion) were found to be on the sites. These are not “erotica” books. They are vile disgusting books that depict rape, incest, bestiality, and criminal acts towards people and most importantly children for pleasure! (READ ABOUT IT HERE)
These books have no business being on any site and especially not a site like B&N or Amazon!
The people writing these books, though they put a tiny clause in there that it’s a work of fiction, these are the people that need to be censored and in my opinion investigated. What kind of mind does a story like that live in?! And some of these writers have children… it horrifies me.
BUT… some authors are being censored now who do not write “criminal” sex books. They simply write Erotica. Erotica is a whole other platform. It’s raw, dirty, explicit sex but between legal aged, CONSENTING adults. And it’s widely popular.
Hell most people I know read erotica in some form or another. My books are not Erotica, but DO have explicit sex scenes. I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors with most people as that’s not my business, but I can guarantee you 95% of adults who have sex engage in something other than the missionary position. Therefore… most people do the things that are depicted in erotica books. Erotica doesn’t have to be a threesome, or orgy, or public sex, etc… It can be just wild, unrestrained, no holds barred, passionate sex and people love it! It’s called Smut. I love Smut!
Some titles are being pulled that should not be in my opinion. Some authors are being penalized that should not be in my opinion. I think the retailers are wanting so badly to “do the right thing” that they are doing it too fast and going about it in the wrong way.
Yes, the books in the original report need to be taken down as so other books of the same nature, BUT regular erotica books and books with disclaimers should not be removed. I have no doubt that this will all be sorted out, but it’s a clusterfuck in the meantime.
After doing some research yesterday and talking to multiple people, I made the decision (for this and other personal reasons) to pull my books from all online retailers except Amazon. I am now an Amazon Exclusive Author. It’s less sites to keep track of. It’s more time dedicated to writing and promoting my books. And the benefits for me financially are better too.
This morning, I have seen ALL over Social Media that people are asking you to “Boycott Amazon and other retailers”. I am going to ask you not to do this. And here’s why:
Authors publish their work. We need people to buy our work so we can produce more work. By boycotting these sites, you are harming not just those authors who have been censored and are fighting to get their books back up, you are also harming authors who are still fighting and standing beside these people, our associates and friends, by stopping their cashflow, their lifeline. You’re taking away our platform and in doing so, taking away our voice. Indie authors are at the mercy of these retailers. We have no other platform to sell on. We are tiny fish in a very big pond and by boycotting these sites, what will happen is, we’ll be swallowed up whole.
What you CAN do is… contact these sites. Call them. Send e-mails. Express your concerns. Contact the authors and let them know you support them and love them. BUY their books if they are still up. SIGN THE PETITION. Use your Social Media to get your voice heard, but don’t stop buying… this harms no one but the people you are fighting for and the people I am fighting with.
Thank you all and remember… support your authors, the one’s you love. The one’s fighting for their right to sell their books. The one’s who simply write what we want to read and are not depicting crimes against people and animals.
Don’t let a few bad apples ruin the whole crop, because the orchard is FULL of really talented people, people who deserve to be able to sell their books.
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