U.S. Amazon content, Go/No Go? December 2022

[BDSoMmers]

As I was starting to write this, the trailer for a space movie was on tv and I heard the NASA "Go / No Go" checklist scene, hence the title, but it seems appropriate.

My question is what kind of story content IS NOT allowed on Amazon or will get you flagged/removed/banned/demonitized or whatever you kids call it these days? In other words, much like the FCCs "Seven Dirty Words", is there an equivalent list of bad sex topics for stories published on Amazon?

Let me get the ball rolling by asking about these two topics.

1. Fisting, Go / No Go? I know this has been an on again / off again self-imposed ban in the porn industry, but now it seems to be all over the place IF its just an online video versus something published via DVD, granted as little as that's done these days. I seem to remember reading somewhere that this is verboten on Amazon, but can't find it again.
   
   
2. Sex in High school, Go / No Go? Is this like the "under 18 rule" and there's the assumption that the characters are under age, OR, is it better to just hedge your bets and explicitly state that a character that might be recalling a sexual encounter in high school was indeed 18 when it happened?

Seemingly there is A LOT of fairly wild/shocking/appalling stuff that can be covered and offered for sale considering that the Marquis de Sade's works still seem to sell briskly... Marquis de Amazon. There are even actual printed books, not just Kindle-only versions, on the subject of Vore of all things.

Your thoughts?

-B

 

[KeithD]

I have fisting fetish works on Amazon. I don't have any under 18 material on Amazon. I also don't have any incest material on Amazon.

 

[thomas1965]

What Amazon do you mean?
Seems the one in the US has different rules than the ones in the UK and Germany

 

[BDSoMmers]

I have fisting fetish works on Amazon. I don't have any under 18 material on Amazon. I also don't have any incest material on Amazon.

OK, good info, thank you.

As for the age stuff, I was referring to using "high school" (what is considered 9th-12th grade in the U.S., the stage just before university) to describe a time frame and if that might be flagged or perceived as under age stuff if there's no explicit reference to the characters being 18+.

As for incest, that brings up a good point as well. If I did anything like that, it would be what I've heard referred to as "Faux-cest" meaning that its between step-relatives such as step-sister/brother, step-parents, etc.

 

[BDSoMmers]

What Amazon do you mean?
Seems the one in the US has different rules than the ones in the UK and Germany

Ah, my apology for being U.S.-centric, that's a fair question and a good one.

I am in the United States, but I am curious as to what the differences are for Amazon in different countries.

 

[KeithD]

As for the age stuff, I was referring to using "high school" (what is considered 9th-12th grade in the U.S., the stage just before university) to describe a time frame and if that might be flagged or perceived as under age stuff if there's no explicit reference to the characters being 18+.

"High school" will be taken as a keyword for underage in erotica publishing. That's what you're doing when you set it in high school. You are signaling to those wanting to read underage.

 

[Lifestyle66]

I'm guessing the rules here on LitE might be similar to those Amazon would use for underage.

When I posted my Chapter 1 about two Juniors in High School and alluded to their after-Prom sex, and the girl talked about her breast size in 8th grade, that was flagged. I was told by others here that you can't even reminisce about underage sex. Apparently, there's little difference between saying "We are 15 years old and fucking." versus "We were 15 years old and fucking."

So, I rewrote them to be explicitly over 18 in the spring of their Senior year (mentioning their birthdays in January and Feb) to go to Prom and left out any mention of breasts when she talked about an incident in 8th grade.

 

[KeithD]

One thing Amazon is not going to do is look very far into the content of anything before deciding it doesn't meet their rules. They are on a massive push-through schedule. They aren't going to spend a minute and half listening to dancing-on-the-heads-of pins arguments.

 

[BDSoMmers]

I'm guessing the rules here on LitE might be similar to those Amazon would use for underage.

When I posted my Chapter 1 about two Juniors in High School and alluded to their after-Prom sex, and the girl talked about her breast size in 8th grade, that was flagged. I was told by others here that you can't even reminisce about underage sex. Apparently, there's little difference between saying "We are 15 years old and fucking." versus "We were 15 years old and fucking."

So, I rewrote them to be explicitly over 18 in the spring of their Senior year (mentioning their birthdays in January and Feb) to go to Prom and left out any mention of breasts when she talked about an incident in 8th grade.

This is what I figured was the case, OK, point taken, explicitly 18+ it is.

 

[BDSoMmers]

One thing Amazon is not going to do is look very far into the content of anything before deciding it doesn't meet their rules. They are on a massive push-through schedule. They aren't going to spend a minute and half listening to dancing-on-the-heads-of pins arguments.

Excellent point, thank you!