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I don't know how many of you know this already, but paypal banned a ton of different kinds of erotic fiction recently. Users of Bookstrand were sent an email including
And from a call to paypal's representatives:
So yeah, everyone in the self publishing world's pissed off about that, I'm curious what your thoughts on the BDSM and pseudo-incest (since DLG is popular among us) are.
Now, completely aside from that, as I found this months and months ago, is a certain small publisher called Whisper. I have nothing against publishers having limits on their submissions, but theirs just seem ridiculous to me.
I think I might have brought this up before, but if I did, I can't figure out where/when, and I probably didn't in this much detail. I did rant about it to Tall and possibly Knots, for sure.
Okay, cool, right? This then continues on...
I was jut going to copy the most pertinent (pert'nant) parts, but I found some of this sort of amusing. No garden tools? So I can't have them penetrated by hedge clippers? But I'm sure there are some good situations wherein non-toy toys could be used, and I understand that it's a hope of not giving the readers ideas.
The rape rule is standard and good (and one we hold here). But under 21 confuses me. I didn't know there was anywhere in the States where 21 was the age of consent. Outside of Romeo and Juliet clauses, it's 16 here, at least, but the age to be depicted in porn is 18, and I thought that was the same over there? But I'm no expert, so oh well.
But onto the BDSM- It bothers me more than what they ban, the way they word it. They're just shy of ridiculing people who would submit pony play stories. We've had enough talks here to know why breath play would be banned, but impact play, too? "Any type of physical abuse"? They're not only contradicting themselves and banning many elements of BDSM (I think most of what's left is unenforced power exchange), but they're again blurring the line of abuse and making a worse reputation for fetish... not to mention making 'horse play' a joke for any vanilla writers reading their submissions.
The roleplay part bothers and confuses me. They haven't got a ban on incest anyway, but there's a ban on incest play (though I'm sure whoever submits some incest will be creating a new rule). But seriously, no DLG, or schoolgirl, or whatever else play seems ridiculous, seeing as it's already been defined as roleplay and nothing else.
I don't know. I find this all kinds of annoying.
We were informed by PayPal, without notice, and by our credit card processing company, that we are required to remove all titles at BookStrand.com with content containing incest, pseudo incest, rape, and bestiality, effective immediately.
And from a call to paypal's representatives:
When I asked if "pseudo-incest" was included (since that was mostly all we had on the site) the representative confirmed that yes, that would have to be removed. "What about BDSM?" I asked--a category full of dubious consent. "That would have to be removed as well."
That's right--they weren't just targeting illegal acts between non-consenting adults. Now they were targeting legal sex between consenting adults.
So yeah, everyone in the self publishing world's pissed off about that, I'm curious what your thoughts on the BDSM and pseudo-incest (since DLG is popular among us) are.
Now, completely aside from that, as I found this months and months ago, is a certain small publisher called Whisper. I have nothing against publishers having limits on their submissions, but theirs just seem ridiculous to me.
I think I might have brought this up before, but if I did, I can't figure out where/when, and I probably didn't in this much detail. I did rant about it to Tall and possibly Knots, for sure.
For all romances, the hero and the heroine should be introduced within the first three chapters of your story, preferably within the first chapter. We want stories that focus on the growing relationship between the hero and heroine with strong plots and not-too-perfect, flawed characters.
For romances outside of contemporary, please make sure your settings are clearly defined, historically accurate for the time period, and/or your worlds are fully established.
We require a happily ever after or a happy for now resolution to these storylines.
BDSM
Chicklit
Contemporary
Fantasy
[...]
General Fiction
Okay, cool, right? This then continues on...
Whispers Publishing’s Taboos for All Romance Novels
The following is a list of situations that are not allowed in any our books, regardless of the genre. Please use this guideline to ensure your manuscript conforms with our acceptance guidelines.
No sexual activity involving any character under the age of twenty-one. There will be no exceptions.
No sexual activity involving the use of garden tools, construction tools, kitchen utensils, or any other tool not usually reserved for sexual play. We don’t want to read about how one of the characters in the book creatively utilized a wire whisk.
The complete description of a rape scene. Rape may be utilized to enhance the nastiness of the antagonist; however, the crime should be perpetrated off camera (or out or the sight of readers) and should not be explained in detail. References can be used that will elucidate what the author needs to convey to the reader, i.e., she suffered a brutal rape at his hands, and he’d never been convicted.
No hard core BDSM or role-playing. By this, we mean we don’t want scenes involving the following:
auto-erotic asphyxiation
horse play (yes, we’ve seen submissions with these type of scenes)
the use of whips for beating or to encourage submission .
Role-playing between the hero and heroine wherein either the hero or heroine represent a character under the age of twenty-one. Additionally, we do not allow daddy/daughter, mommy/son or any other type of incestuous role-playing.
the use of gags or other methods to silence a partner unless consensual.
rough sex that involves any type of physical abuse, especially that results in bruises or trips to the emergency room
No necrophilia. Vampires, of course, are not considered dead. They are undead. Big difference between them and a corpse.
No bestiality. In a shapeshifter romance, the hero/heroine should not have sex with the character while that character is in shapeshifter form, i.e., the heroine should not have sex with the hero while he’s in wolf form.
I was jut going to copy the most pertinent (pert'nant) parts, but I found some of this sort of amusing. No garden tools? So I can't have them penetrated by hedge clippers? But I'm sure there are some good situations wherein non-toy toys could be used, and I understand that it's a hope of not giving the readers ideas.
The rape rule is standard and good (and one we hold here). But under 21 confuses me. I didn't know there was anywhere in the States where 21 was the age of consent. Outside of Romeo and Juliet clauses, it's 16 here, at least, but the age to be depicted in porn is 18, and I thought that was the same over there? But I'm no expert, so oh well.
But onto the BDSM- It bothers me more than what they ban, the way they word it. They're just shy of ridiculing people who would submit pony play stories. We've had enough talks here to know why breath play would be banned, but impact play, too? "Any type of physical abuse"? They're not only contradicting themselves and banning many elements of BDSM (I think most of what's left is unenforced power exchange), but they're again blurring the line of abuse and making a worse reputation for fetish... not to mention making 'horse play' a joke for any vanilla writers reading their submissions.
The roleplay part bothers and confuses me. They haven't got a ban on incest anyway, but there's a ban on incest play (though I'm sure whoever submits some incest will be creating a new rule). But seriously, no DLG, or schoolgirl, or whatever else play seems ridiculous, seeing as it's already been defined as roleplay and nothing else.
I don't know. I find this all kinds of annoying.
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