Nicked off Facebook...

“Well...today's shocking revelation is that Amazon allows sellers, who you have given negative feedback to email you and offer you a cash enticement to take your negative review down!!!!”

Do I believe this? It seems silly enough to be true. Would I give money to someone to retract their negative feedback? I’d have to give a damn first. Writer Rule number one – or it should be – some people will hate what you write. Writer Rule number two - develop a thick skin. Don't ask for retractions. Toughen up. General Rule Number three – don’t email a writer and ask for money back. It's tacky. If you didn't like the writer's style then move on. You're not going to like everyone. General Rule number four - one exclamation mark is enough. We get it. If you're that alarmed by what you read then do something more than put it on facebook for people to 'like.'

Okay, that's about the only rules I adhere to...

I have not yet begun to be irritating...

Reply Kindle Direct Publishing to me
show details 8:06 AM

Hello,

As stated in our content guidelines, we reserve the right to determine what content we consider to be appropriate. This content includes both the cover art image and the content within the book.

We’re unable to elaborate further on specific details regarding our content guidelines.

Best regards,

Arthur.
http://www.amazon.com

Scarlet Harlot Publishing Scarlet Harlot Publishing to title-submissi., amarinda_jones
show details 8:45 AM

Dear Arthur

The thing with giving an answer is it has to make sense and justify your position. Pointing to the rules but not answering the question – ‘What I would like Arthur is for someone to explain to me why my book is not published and the schoolgirl/rape/porn books which blatantly violate your rules are?” - does not answer the question.

Your rules –

Pornography
We don’t accept pornography or offensive depictions of graphic sexual acts.

**Please explain how this book –

http://www.amazon.com/XXXX

"Included are compelling narratives of foodsex, phonesex, musclebear
prisonsex, dental blood, enemas, scat, piss, doublefucking, fisting and
; dildo initiation, mudsex, bestiality, crucifixion, sex in costumes, plenty
of BDSM (bondage / discipline / sadomasochism), and a dungeonful more…." fits that rule?

Why not Sinner then –

"He calls her sinner. She comes when he calls. But who is he?

Payton Ray finds herself under the control of an unknown man who takes her in wild, dirty pleasure and leaves her wanting more.”

Please explain how fist fucking, bestiality and crucifixion are deemed not offensive?

Offensive Content

What we deem offensive is probably about what you would expect.

Really? See above. Not offensive? Hmmm…

Illegal and Infringing Content
We take violations of laws and proprietary rights very seriously. It is your responsibility to ensure that your content doesn’t violate laws or copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other rights. Just because content is freely available does not mean you are free to copy and sell it.

Nope – this does not fit Sinner either.

Public Domain and Other Non-Exclusive Content
Some types of content, such as public domain content, may be free to use by anyone, or may be licensed for use by more than one party. We may choose not to sell a book if its content is undifferentiated or barely undifferentiated from one or more other books.

Nope – this does not fit Sinner either.

Poor Customer Experience
We don’t accept books that provide a poor customer experience. Examples include poorly formatted books and books with misleading titles, cover art or product descriptions. We reserve the right to determine whether content provides a poor customer experience.

Nope – this does not fit Sinner either.

The cover art – is a woman – no nipple showing with her finger in her mouth. Offensive? No.

“We’re unable to elaborate further on specific details regarding our content guidelines.”

The thing is Arthur, closing a door when someone asks a question you may not want to answer smacks at elitism and inequality.

I realize you are a worker at Amazon who gets to answer these emails and deal with pesky people like me. I also know that every company has a hierarchy. Please get someone higher up the Amazon food chain to give me a reason and not a standard shut-up-and-go-away-email.

Thanks
Amarinda

Arthur of Amazon...

I got this email from Arthur at Amazon in relation to the very specific email I sent to them about the banning of Sinner at Amazon - http://amarindajones.blogspot.com/2011/08/you-may-reply-to-title.html

On Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 4:53 AM, Kindle Direct Publishing wrote:
Hello,

Our content guidelines are published in the Help Section of the Amazon.com website.

To learn more, please see:
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A1KT4ANX0RL55I

Content that is in violation of these guidelines will not be offered for sale.

Best regards,

Arthur.
http://www.amazon.com
=============================

My response to Arthur today…

Hello Arthur

Yes, I have read your rules. If you had read my email instead of providing the standard generic text book, fob-her-off approach response, you would see that my book actually fits your guidelines unlike the books I listed below. Those have not been banned. Again, I have to question Amazon's idea of equality. Is it equal opportunity to only some? Is it a nationality thing? Is there a secret handshake that allows some books to be published but not others?

What I would like Arthur is for someone to explain to me why my book is not published and the schoolgirl/rape/porn books which blatantly violate your rules are? Whom do I speak to in charge? Please advise. I await your response

Amarinda Jones

And the beat goes on…

You may reply to title-submission@amazon.com if you believe this decision has been made in error.

My letter to the Amazon Nazis...

Hello

I received this email from you...

Amazon.com ip-inquiries@amazon.com to me

"Hello,
We’re contacting you regarding the following book that you have submitted for sale in our Kindle store:
Sinner (ASIN:B004WPP26G)
During our review process, we found that your book contains content that is in violation of our content guidelines. As a result, we will not be offering this book for sale.
You may reply to title-submission@amazon.com if you believe this decision has been made in error.
Best regards,
Title Submission
http://www.amazon.com"

What exactly is the violation here? Why do you allow these books below and not mine?

1XXXX- woman who is tied up and forced to submit
2XXXX – "Included are compelling narratives of foodsex, phonesex, musclebear prisonsex, dental blood, enemas, scat, piss, doublefucking, fisting and dildo initiation, mudsex, bestiality, crucifixion, sex in costumes, plenty of BDSM (bondage / discipline / sadomasochism), and a dungeonful more."
3XXXX - forced submision
4XXXX- schoolgirl sex

Please explain how my book is worse than these books. It appears to me that you are picking and choosing who you will ban. That smacks at inequality and I have to wonder why you are choosing my book as being a 'violation' over others? Please re-instate my book or remove the ones that are worse than mine. Freedom of speech on Amazon appears to be ok for some and not for others. I await your response and explanation.

Amarinda Jones

***you can buy Sinner here - http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-sinner-536369-144.html

***removed the name of books in my email for the blog because I can and why give them publicity?

Give over Amazon...

Amazon went along and banned a bunch of erotica e-books that they deemed inappropriate. Some authors are jumping up and down and asking why. That’s understandable. Amazon’s response is the standard ‘because we can’ and it’s in ‘our guidelines’ to do so. What are those guidelines? What is deemed as appropriate when it come to erotica? Is Amazon targeting all publishers or just the Indie publishers? The answer is we don’t know an answer. Amazon is chanting their guideline speech.


Whatever your feelings are concerning incest, or its portrayal in fiction, every book in the entire “erotica” genre probably contains something that will be offensive to someone. And yet it is also one of the best-selling genres in electronic literature.

http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/amazon-removes-incest-related-erotica-titles-from-store-kindle-archive/

Exactly…

As we all know what is deemed erotic covers a wide range of situations. To me, incest, rape and pedophilia are never going to be acceptable in any form. That’s not erotica. Anyone who thinks so or writes or practices such ought to be banned/shot/imprisoned and not necessarily in that order. Just my opinion of course…

But true Erotica? That’s different. Erotica to me is consenting adults – that means 18 and over – who get all naked, rub body parts, get sexually excited and have intercourse/oral sex be in standing up, lying down, underwater, chained up etc. The number of people who do the rubbing, the genders and are they naked but for a mask or a feather stuck in their arse is irrelevant. Consenting sex is erotic. And taboo subjects like BDSM, ménage, fisting, anal sex, multiple, random sexual partners or stranger sex etc? All these books have a warning. You have the choice to read or not. Give people that choice. Don’t allow the likes of Amazon to tell you that you can only read missionary sex that happens on a Sunday after a roast dinner and apple pie and ice-cream. That’s censorship, discrimination and it’s very Orwellian.

We all know that by banning books you’re actually doing the author a favour as people instantly want to know what’s so forbidden. So really – unless the act is illegal, non-consensual sex none of us can tell another what they can read when it comes to erotica. Give over Amazon. Trust people to read the warning labels and make their own decisions.

Amarinda Jones
Penn Halligan
www.amarindajones.com
www.amarindajones.blogspot.com
Be daring...read an Amarinda book