A couple people actually asked why it was banned, since it was a pretty tame story. The answer? At the beginning of the story the heroine, who was a chubby little girl, flashes back to time when she was five or six and her snobby aunt had a party where her daughters passed on their unwanted school clothes to the other members of the family. It include a scene, which was innocent and cute (IMO) where the young girls were in their undies trying on the clothes.
But, they said they couldn't publish it because it involved little girls in their undies. Understandable and it sort of made me a little queasy to think that what I had envisioned in my brain as a sweet sort of scene could be construed as highly icky.
More recently, one of my dear books, The Birthday Wish/Wishing For A Spanking has found itself banished to the dungeons of Amazon (as one blogger put it) with an Adult Tag. I must admit that I have been stymied over why this book never sold better and now I think I know why. The covers were too naughty. First there was this one, made by me:
I suppose the fact that you can see butt crack might make it offensive. Ooops.
So I hired The Cover Artisan (see their jazzy pink button over there---->) to create a new one.
Lovely, isn't it?
Apparently the book is still in the dungeon, either because it was marked that way before or because this cover is also too naughty.
What is particularly amusing/annoying about this is that for those of you who have read this story, it's sooo tame. It's sexy, I think. And funny. But hardly the stuff that people need to be warned about or protected from.
Sigh.
So I am going to have to take the book down, give it a new cover and new title and start all over again.
Until then, if you dare go into the Amazon dungeon, you can buy this book for 99 cents. Just click here.
I wonder if indie books end up in the dungeon more often than books released by publishers? Some of my covers (and I'm thinking of one in particular) that Loose Id has done are just as "racy," if not more, than Wishing for Spanking.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear Wishing for Spanking was sent to the dungeon. I thought it was kind of sweet story. Sweetly hot. Not G rated, but not X either.
That's a good possibility, Cara, though I know one of Renee Rose's books and I think one of Maddie Taylor's books had the same thing happen.
DeleteI think I am most annoyed by two things. 1. That I didn't figure this out sooner and 2. If your book is adult tagged, shouldn't Amazon at least tell you? I didn't even figure it out, Sue Lyndon sent me an email and said she thought it had been adult tagged. I just thought people didn't like the blurb or cover.
Lesson learned.
I just do not get it! I have read stories by authors that are way more risque! It makes me mad! What The heck!
ReplyDeleteBTW I never understood why the other story was banned since there are others that seemed much more edgy than an innocent scene of girls in undies- with NO innuendo!
I think, though I am not sure, that D&D was extra careful about some things because the credit card companies they used for sales on their site had strict rules.
DeleteI just wish there was an actual set of rules somewhere so I'd know. Because I'm a rule follower.
I hope you are able to get out of the dungeon, Celeste. Boo to Amazon for making it more difficult for readers to find the GOOD stories.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue. It just seems so arbitrary. Someone could put rainbows and unicorns on their cover and have all sorts of bad stuff inside, and that doesn't seem to be an issue.
DeleteYep, the 'ol dungeon. I've been slowly redoing all my covers. The trick is to make them suggestive of the content without using bare body parts. I'm convinced that bare buns will do you in every time so I'm eliminating that feature. No more Paula Russell drawings, unfortunately (they are so hot). So I'm constantly on the lookout for art or photos that seem useful and where I'm reasonably sure of the provenance--either public domain, orphan copyright, or I get permission. But it's a chore and a headache I could do without.
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame, Rollin. I thought your covers were lovely. Even a sketch of buns will do you in? What's this world coming to?
DeleteMostly, yes. Drawings, photos, it doesn't matter. In the google+ group BDSM Erotica Authors there is a long thread on the subject. Someone even offered that the traditional romance crowd is being hit for having---get this---hunky guys with no shirt on.
DeleteI'm not business whiz, but wouldn't it make more sense for Amazon to make it easier for us to sell books than to make it harder?
DeleteNo hunky shirtless guys? Say it ain't so!
I know how you feel Celeste. My first release is still in the dungeon too. I hold hope it will be re-released soon.
ReplyDeleteOh, that stinks. At least w/my self-pubbed book I have no one to blame but me (and Amazon) and I am hoping to get it resolved soon. If you are waiting for a publisher to re-release it, that could be frustrating. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
DeleteWow that's awful! This was a very tame story, super cute and funny. Amazon's dumb if you ask me. And I thought your new cover was soo cute!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Casey. I agree, it's such a tame story, the adult tag is totally crazy.
DeleteMy last book was sent to the dungeon and I ended up changing the cover three times before the adult tag was removed. I agree completely that the least Amazon should do is let you know so you can change it. It's very frustrating, especially when there are plenty of other books with far racier covers.
ReplyDeleteHolla
Hi Holla! Thanks for stopping by. I agree that Amazon should let you know or when you upload your cover they should have something that pops up to tell you your cover is too sexy. I'm sort of embarrassed that it took me so long to figure it out and I still didn't really figure it out, someone had to tell me.
Delete