I recently made a few changes to the text of Ali’s Art. I uploaded these to Kindle and also to Smashwords last weekend so the updated version was available for the read an eBook week.
I have now just received an email from Smashwords saying the book cannot be included in the extended distribution channel because it needs changing. The change they require is:
Please obscure/cover over the woman’s nipple and areola in the photo inside the front of your book. When you’re finished correcting your book, go to Dashboard: ‘upload new version’ to upload the new version. Thanks.
Here’s the image.
It seems the move by PayPal and the Credit Card companies is spreading it’s wings even wider. Now I can’t have a drawing of a woman who displays her nipples inside my book. This isn’t on the cover, it’s an interior image!
Scary, scary times for writers of erotica.
Thank you so very much for sharing this news. I’ve grown quite frustrated with many non-erotic writers’ attitude that the Paypal/Smashwords issue is just an anti-pedophilia campaign, therefor, something that we should all embrace. I am too old, too cynical, and too experienced in the ways of political maneuvering to believe, even without personal experience, that there isn’t a deeper, more dangerous move afoot. My only challenge with your opinion is with your last statement. The times are scary not just for writers of erotica, but for all writers. Those among us who write political satire. Those who write “challenging” memoirs. Even non-fiction writers who cover topics that offend the edges of political belief (either left or right) should be afraid. As should all readers.
Tess, I’m reposting your blog wherever I can. I’m now extremely nervous about this issue. You can see what I’ve written about it in my blog. Hang in there! http://www.robertszeles.blogspot.com/ Cheers, Robert http://www.robertszeles.com
This whole thing is thoroughly obnoxious. Censorship by corporations of legal texts is an unhealthy development in a free society. This particular move is also extremely hypocritical. I did a search using the word “erotica” on the Ebay site and found pictures of women with nipples on the very first page. Ebay, of course, owns Paypal. Why isn’t Ebay receiving take-down notices? For that matter, why aren’t the credit card companies censoring Amazon?
My thoughts on this subject began to take shape at some point early this year. Certainly the SOPA campaign made me more aware of it but I think this has been gestating for quite some time. The internet has been an an unbridled experience that has grown faster than checks and balances could be imposed by the static elite. As writers we have been perhaps a little more sensitized to developments as the publishing industry has tried to reinvent itself in the wake of electronic competition. However we can now see a bit more clearly how control is being reasserted. Youtube & Facebook are two mediums that have started to crack down hard on free speech and I believe we are just beginning to see the tip of the iceberg. Today its a photo wait until they start to censor your printed word.