Support for Indie Authors discussion

In the past several months, I've read two books that didn't have any warning in the blurb. If I had known there would be sexually explicit scenes, I wouldn't have chosen those novels. The most recent one was about dragons. From its title, I feel teens will purchase it. From the book blurb, many parents would allow this.

Do you agree that erotica novels should have a warning in the blurb?

I'm with you. I once bought a book and gave it to a thrift store before I read it.

Yes, Trana, totally agree. I see those "warnings" every time I upload a book...anywhere! And it should be followed (altho I haven't needed it as mine are always 'behind the scenes' - as unfortunate as that is for those who enjoy it:)

Yes, Trana, I agree with you. I'm glad to see some authors state it at the end of the blurb.

I don’t write erotica, but just to help people make informed decisions, I place content warnings on my work. I have those on my copyright page, not on my back cover, just to keep it more clear. I’d hope the blurb and the cover help to narrow down the audience for the book though! It’s really important.

I have looked at your profile and the likely book, given your review.
On Amazon, it's listed under 'Paranormal Erotica' and Age level is listed as 18+. The information is there.

In other genres than erotica, mentioning this probably can't hurt, though the question is how to do this. I have the mention of intimate scenes on the book's page on my website. On Amazon, just as the book you've read, I set the Age Level to 18+, which should be a strong hint, though that doesn't say what is the reason of being 18+ (though Amazon doesn't let you specify the reason, which may way - sex, drugs, blood/gore, and maybe more possibly reasons.

There seems to be no end to what will "trigger" sensitive readers. I don't bother warning people and see no need for it. If you pick a book labelled as erotic for 18+ as Tomas noted I'm not sure what other clues you need. Digging further than Tomas, the author's website has pictures that some would call pornographic. Her bio on Amazon and Goodreads makes it pretty clear she writes about the "darker" side of romance and tries to push the boundaries. Again, I'm not sure what more you need.

Yes teens might buy it. So what? Teens have always done things they're told not to. I read The Godfather at age 14 because my dad told me not to. Kids do that. Warning labels will make them want to read it.

Kids can do worse than read a book about dragons with a dirty scene or two. And if kids then go out and do the nasty things that are mentioned in the books they read, that's on the parents, not the author. Yes, I defied my dear old dad by reading the Godfather, but on the other hand, I didn't cut any heads off any horses and didn't rape any underaged children, just because it happened in a book I read - because my parents had the guts to instill morals in me. Mario Puzo wasn't my parent and it wasn't his responsibility to shield me from the dirty side of human nature.

If you want warnings on your books go for it. Let's not worry about what other authors are doing. We're supposed to be supportive of each other, not complaining that other authors aren't doing what we think they should.

For me, I will note the line that says : This book contains adult language, violence and explicit sex.

To me it's there for the easily offended and I do have that on my one novel. I consider it a courtesy to the readers who avoid those types of things.

Like Dwayne said, it isn't to keep teens from reading it, because they will. For me, it's just a way of letting those who are offended at swearing or sex or any type of violent to not read the d**n book.

Tomas wrote: "I have looked at your profile and the likely book, given your review.
On Amazon, it's listed under 'Paranormal Erotica' and Age level is listed as 18+. The information is there.

In other genres th..."

Hello Tomas! I had only searched under books for the title on Amazon. The result did not note it was such. I did it again today and the only place it showed "paranormal erotica" was under the book rankings!

Let's not be coy. The cover alone would have warned me.

Trana wrote: "Hello Tomas! I had only searched under books for the title on Amazon. The result did not note it was such. I did it again today and the only place it showed "paranormal erotica" was under the book rankings!"

Which is where Amazon mentions genres (as rankings are by genres). Could that be put in a more obvious place? Maybe. But if you're searching book just by name, it's a good practice to look at that, to make sure the book is in a genre you're interested in.

M.L. wrote: "Let's not be coy. The cover alone would have warned me."

It's definitely on the suggestive side, but I've seen covers going further than that.

It really depends. People tend to know what to expect when looking for certain books and genres. If it's in the best interest of the author to put a warning label because the books a bit over the top then normal then a label should be placed in the blurb.

Dwayne is right though, trigger warnings especially these days sets off people easily so who knows what is and what isn't explicit or too much.

Deborah wrote: "Great comment, Dwayne! For my novels... I have warnings for folks under 18 that basically claim if books are purchased or downloaded without parental permission, it's on you, the 18 and under buyer or downloader. Since the books are about a 90s rock band--sex, drugs, cussing, etc.--they could be considered "erotic" or "sinful" and not for teens by some stricter parents. And you are right--having warning labels would likely cause teens to want to, at least, download the free pdf if not buy the books. At least my covers aren't clearly erotic! Bwahahahahahahahah!"

Keeping this much of your comment, deleting the few words that come across as bookwhacking. Thanks.

Sometimes I think books should have ratings (pg 13, r, etc) if they don’t have a warning. But yes I agree, if it’s not in the erotica genre and it has an explicit scene, a warning is called for.

Loustella wrote: "Sometimes I think books should have ratings (pg 13, r, etc) if they don’t have a warning. But yes I agree, if it’s not in the erotica genre and it has an explicit scene, a warning is called for."

Well, Amazon asks for age range on upload. The issue that it's listed in a very small text on the actual store.
I'd not mind if they made a similar rating system for books as it is for games, though.

Who impliments a ratings system on books? How so they decide how much is too much? One of the issues raised when they started talking about rating records is what if things are misinterpreted? A good example is for a time radio stations wouldn't play John Denver's Rocky Mountain High because some people thought it was a drug song. So who gets to tell the world my books are too filthy for polite society? Any one of us who has had a beta reader or reviewer complain about something and it's clear they misinterpreted, misread, or didn't bother to read should be able to see the problems with a rating system.