If you're planning on writing an erotic novel, you may have done some research online to see who else is doing something in your chosen genre. You may realize that there's a lot of competition and you may be surprised to see how many different subgenres of Erotic Literature there are. You may also stumble upon the fact that many authors choose to publish their written content online for free rather than trying to publish it online through one of the major distributors – and get paid for it.
Many authors post their content online because they want to get some feedback on their writing.
They want to make sure that the audience they are trying to capture likes their content and appreciates it after they've read it. However, there's another reason why some authors are choosing to post their erotic stories online and it has to do with the distributors themselves.
Erotica is a troubled category
It is no secret that erotic literature is about sex. And sex can come in many forms, as some people will see sex as being something wonderful between two people, while others have experienced a sexual act in ways that are illegal or in ways that are forceful. Some major book distributors, such as Apple's iBooks, have strict regulations when it comes to publishing erotica. Mainstream erotica that talks about a sexual relationship between two people, that also incorporates love, seem to do alright on iBooks.
In addition, historical novels and short stories tend to do well.
However, Apple has been very vocal about not wanting to support stories that are erotic in nature and that focus on illegal or forceful sex acts. These include stories about rape, about sodomy, and about incest. There are other types of literature that Apple does not support because they don't want to sell stories about events or people that are downright illegal in the United States.
By selling these types of stories, they would be condoning illegal behavior.
Brand protection and safety
While an author can post whatever he or she wants on a personal website, Apple wants to protect the brand. If they started selling literature about the topics listed above, surely someone will talk about boycotting the brand.
Apple isn't the only company that is taking extreme measures when it comes to brand protection.
Many other resellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble have restrictions on what kind of erotic literature people can publish and sell online. People who enjoy writing about these topics may have a hard time finding a reputable publisher. Therefore, the only way they can share their work is through their own personal websites. There is no word on whether Google plans on implementing strict guidelines in terms of searchability when it comes to these kinds of illegal topics.
Are you surprised that people are publishing their erotic literature online because no other reseller wants to take it?
