Good new for erotica authors on Smashwords

[lovecraft68]

Since it was announced D2D purchased Smashwords there has been growing concern that once the merge is complete, they will clamp down on erotica and default to D2D's 'amazon' rules. No taboo, non con, beastie or even some of the more hardcore BDSM. A concern that's justified because after having their account blown up back in 2013 they have been obsessively paranoid with anything they distribute there.

So as the time grows near for the merge to be complete, I reached out to Mark Coker and voiced my concerns and asked what the plan was. Sales wise it makes sense that they keep this material in their storefront seeing they have the boxes that need to be checked if it contains certain material which is what keeps it from being distributed to the channels that don't allow it, but...B/N cost themselves tens of thousands in sales when they decided to go moral majority about three years ago, and were struggling then, so no guarantees

This is his response minus the trading of pleasantries and hey, how are you and the fam comments.


D2D’s new erotica policies are based now on SW policies, so the erotica community is in good hands. And these are the policies I created and will maintain. The erotica community is really important to the SW store, and the store is important to D2D (it was a big reason they acquired us.

I play three roles here - overall corporate strategy, managing the SW store, and board member. My plan is to do more for the erotica community, not less.

They have to be paranoid with Amazon because amzon won’t hesitate to ban D2D if even a single banned author gets on.

If you or anyone has had any prior issues with amazon, let me know, I’ve got your back. I’m sticking around and I report to the CEO.

Check out my EOY post on the blog when it hits on Dec 31. There’s a present in there for the erotica community which I trust will assuage any lingering concerns.

Thank you for your long term partnership. Let’s keep it going for many years to come, okay?

Please take care. Here’s wishing us all a healthy and prosperous year ahead!

So its looking like nothing is going to change for those of us who write more extreme content. Mark knows erotica makes bank, and he's not going to let the D2D people get gun shy about it, or take away what always made SW great, which was the 100% support of all indys in all genres.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

This country is fucking retarded, when it comes to anything porn based.

 

[alohadave]

The real takeaway here seems to be that erotica is safe as long as he is on-board in a position of control. As soon as that changes, expect the policy to change with it.

When one person has the power to sway policy like this, the policy only lasts as long as that person does.

 

[lovecraft68]

The real takeaway here seems to be that erotica is safe as long as he is on-board in a position of control. As soon as that changes, expect the policy to change with it.

When one person has the power to sway policy like this, the policy only lasts as long as that person does.

True, and I think that's why he's staying on. Mark knows how much $$$ erotica made on SW, especially the more extreme material like Taboo and Non con, he's not going to see D2D lose money they need. Apple, Amazon, their e-book stories are a fraction of their income, they don't care. Not the case here, if they cut this material they'd lose, authors, customers who go there for that material and a lot of money they can't afford to lose.

Initially my concern was he sold and would be there for a few months to help them transition. I feel much better knowing he still has a position and one of his duties is the store. I think he knew they would start going puritan and made sure they couldn't. Good for him, good for us.

 

[lovecraft68]

This country is fucking retarded, when it comes to anything porn based.

On the surface, yet what was the first thing to blow up when lockdowns started?
Porn Hub.

 

[SimonDoom]

This country is fucking retarded, when it comes to anything porn based.

This is a whole different subject matter, and it probably deserves its own thread, but I've sometimes wondered, if the country WASN'T so fucked up about sex and porn, would porn and erotica be as fun? Does the heavy layer of disapproval and taboo make it more fun? As an author of erotica, I think to some degree it does.

 

[lovecraft68]

This is a whole different subject matter, and it probably deserves its own thread, but I've sometimes wondered, if the country WASN'T so fucked up about sex and porn, would porn and erotica be as fun? Does the heavy layer of disapproval and taboo make it more fun? As an author of erotica, I think to some degree it does.

I agree.

Thing is the internet and e-readers were game changers for porn/erotica. In the past you were worried someone would find your porn mags or VHS/DVDs and your raunchy paperbacks. Now its all your dirty little secret unless someone gets into your PC or kindle.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

This is a whole different subject matter, and it probably deserves its own thread, but I've sometimes wondered, if the country WASN'T so fucked up about sex and porn, would porn and erotica be as fun? Does the heavy layer of disapproval and taboo make it more fun? As an author of erotica, I think to some degree it does.

I think I more or less agree. I remember when I first got in the scene, and joined fetlife, bdsm was fun, then it just became the norm, so to speak.

 

[gordo12]

I don't know about Smash. When I first started with them, they outsold Amazon 7-1. After the takeover, the sales vaporized and now Amazon pretty much sells everything. I'm lucky if I see an email a month from Smash. I don't even bother to include their sales links anymore.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't know about Smash. When I first started with them, they outsold Amazon 7-1. After the takeover, the sales vaporized and now Amazon pretty much sells everything. I'm lucky if I see an email a month from Smash. I don't even bother to include their sales links anymore.

I had one bad month, I think it was May and its simply because that's when they began flooding the site with the D2D authors books. SW outsold amazon because amazon was over saturated and now there's some of that on SW other than that month I've been selling about the same. You just have to keep up a steady flow of new stuff.

Having said that. I have still yet to see any advantage for SW authors in this deal. this all benefits D2D/ I still would love to know how they got the money to buy out SW they are no where near the size or profit

 

[gordo12]

I had one bad month, I think it was May and its simply because that's when they began flooding the site with the D2D authors books. SW outsold amazon because amazon was over saturated and now there's some of that on SW other than that month I've been selling about the same. You just have to keep up a steady flow of new stuff.

Having said that. I have still yet to see any advantage for SW authors in this deal. this all benefits D2D/ I still would love to know how they got the money to buy out SW they are no where near the size or profit

As far as I remember it was a share trade, not that much cash.

 

[lovecraft68]

As far as I remember it was a share trade, not that much cash.

I can see it in that light. I'm sure Mark made out and he's staying on the board and he will be handling the store which is the only reason more extreme, and even some not so extreme, erotica is going to remain, because D2D I wouldn't trust

 

[MillieDynamite]

This country is fucking retarded, when it comes to anything porn based.

We don't write porn, porn is a visual medium, and if there is written porn, it is far more graphic and icky than what we do here. I, of course, am only speaking for myself, but don't consider what I read here, or write for here, as porn.

 

[TadOverdon]

"Pornography" has been used in English since the 19th century to refer to both literature and visual art (I do too know how to use Wikipedia!). That august source of all wisdom goes on to define it as "portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal" - or, as Erica Jong put it, "stories that exist as an aid to masturbation."

 

[gunhilltrain]

This is a whole different subject matter, and it probably deserves its own thread, but I've sometimes wondered, if the country WASN'T so fucked up about sex and porn, would porn and erotica be as fun? Does the heavy layer of disapproval and taboo make it more fun? As an author of erotica, I think to some degree it does.

I was going to start a thread about Carl Jung's theory of The Shadow Self and how it relates to erotica - seriously! But I need to think about it a bit. Maybe tomorrow or Friday.

It seems that societies that are less, well, prudish than the United States - Sweden and Denmark? - have plenty of porn.Thus it still seems "fun" or maybe I should say interesting, in those places.

 

[gunhilltrain]

"Pornography" has been used in English since the 19th century to refer to both literature and visual art (I do too know how to use Wikipedia!). That august source of all wisdom goes on to define it as "portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal" - or, as Erica Jong put it, "stories that exist as an aid to masturbation."

This is like that debate over what is "erotica" and what is "porn." Jong is technically correct (as Potter Stewart* said, "I know it when I see it") but some relatively trivial things can seem arousing in the right circumstances. I remember my own adolescence, but I'm not going to say more - I think we get the point. No, it wasn't the exclusive purpose, but it worked anyway.

On this forum we have advised writers to do whatever they want and have whatever degree of explicitness without worrying too much about how to define it.

* https://cbldf.org/about-us/case-fil...es-jacobellis-v-ohio-i-know-it-when-i-see-it/

 

[MillieDynamite]

"Pornography" has been used in English since the 19th century to refer to both literature and visual art (I do too know how to use Wikipedia!). That august source of all wisdom goes on to define it as "portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal" - or, as Erica Jong put it, "stories that exist as an aid to masturbation."

Perhaps it is my desire not to be labeled as a pornographer, or even more likely I'm worried my mum might see me labeled as such, which causes me to resist my work being called pornography.

 

[TadOverdon]

This is probably why I use a pen name. Although I never used my real name on fanfic, either. By literotica standards it could barely have been called racy.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Well, Tad, Millie Dynamite is a pen name. A careful construct of my legal first name, middle initial ynamite added after. And Dynamite was the nickname my dad called me. But my mum read my stuff! She doesn't like all of it!

 

[TadOverdon]

So, necro-ing this one, sorry.

I had my "invitation to migrate" from Smashwords to Draft2Digital pop up on the Smashwords dashboard today.

Has anyone done this, yet? I'm cautious enough by temperament to read "early adopter" as "guinea pig," so I'd sure like to get feedback on this where I can.

 

[MillieDynamite]

It's supposed to be seamless. They haven't taken new writers for over a year, so surely they've worked out whatever the kinks are. Thank God, I'm not the one that has to fool with it, the publisher will be the brave soul. Good luck and let us know how easy it is or isn't.

So, necro-ing this one, sorry.

I had my "invitation to migrate" from Smashwords to Draft2Digital pop up on the Smashwords dashboard today.

Has anyone done this, yet? I'm cautious enough by temperament to read "early adopter" as "guinea pig," so I'd sure like to get feedback on this where I can.

 

[lovecraft68]

So, necro-ing this one, sorry.

I had my "invitation to migrate" from Smashwords to Draft2Digital pop up on the Smashwords dashboard today.

Has anyone done this, yet? I'm cautious enough by temperament to read "early adopter" as "guinea pig," so I'd sure like to get feedback on this where I can.

I'm going to hold on as long as I can and make them "migrate me"

I haven't been looking forward to this merger being 100% complete. I trust Mark Coker, but not D2D when it comes to erotica and censorship

 

[MillieDynamite]

Well, Mark has gotten a wee bit strange about what is and isn't acceptable since the merger. Claiming my vampire burning up in the sunlight after making love was snuff. I pulled the story from Smashwords because of it.

I'm going to hold on as long as I can and make them "migrate me"

I haven't been looking forward to this merger being 100% complete. I trust Mark Coker, but not D2D when it comes to erotica and censorship

 

[lovecraft68]

Well, Mark has gotten a wee bit strange about what is and isn't acceptable since the merger. Claiming my vampire burning up in the sunlight after making love was snuff. I pulled the story from Smashwords because of it.

Yeah, I'm not surprised. I think D2D is going to take over the screening and we're going to see more weird stuff.

Mark knows how much money taboo and non con and even Beastie makes SW, and he knows if they lose that, he'll be looking at a massive site flooded with vanilla as fuck erotica.

Over the last year I've seen several signs the erotica e-book market is crumbling like the house of cards its always been. It was a great ride for ten years, but everything comes to an end. Fortunately I have the day job and my comic book side hustle.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Well, he's been more restrictive than Amazon for 13 or 14 months. Stories that he wants to be changed go through at Amazon with no issues. So, I'm not all that impressed with his interpretations. Though, he just doesn't generally alow wide distribution rather than not allowing it. Still, I'm not happy with him. If it goes through at amazon, how can he turn it down?

Yeah, I'm not surprised. I think D2D is going to take over the screening and we're going to see more weird stuff.

Mark knows how much money taboo and non con and even Beastie makes SW, and he knows if they lose that, he'll be looking at a massive site flooded with vanilla as fuck erotica.

Over the last year I've seen several signs the erotica e-book market is crumbling like the house of cards its always been. It was a great ride for ten years, but everything comes to an end. Fortunately I have the day job and my comic book side hustle.