rolanni | Dammit, Universe... (Reply)

And, I've hit a snag in the republication project.

Draft2Digital has produced Content Guidelines, to wit:
What are the requirements for self-certifying erotica content?
You must accurately declare the presence of specific erotic themes during the publishing process. You are required to disclose if your work contains any of the following:
Incest or Pseudo-Incest: Sexual relations between family members, whether biologically or non-biologically related (including step-relatives).
Bestiality: Sexual relations between humans and real-world animals. (Note: Fantasy creatures such as shape-shifters or aliens are not classified as bestiality).
Rape for Titillation: Content where the dominant theme is non-consensual sexual relations intended to titillate the reader.
Age Play: Consenting adult characters role-playing or pretending to be babies or children.
Dubious Consent (Dubcon): Scenes exploring the gray area between consent and non-consent where the receiver’s willingness is unclear.
Non-Consensual Sexual Slavery: Erotic depictions of kidnapping, imprisonment, or trafficking. This is distinct from BDSM, which relies on informed consent and safe words.
We do not accept content with pornographic images or content that glorifies taboo subjects such as sexual exploitation of children or rape.

. . . Given the squeamishness of the audiobook company that backed out of its contract because Chapter Whatever-It-Was, I'm guessing that D2Digital will find The Fey Duology to be in violation of its terms of use.

This? Is disappointing. To say the least.

The other, somewhat disturbing thing about this new policy is that books that certify "erotic" content will not be offered to libraries. I'd like to know if the libraries know that they're being "protected" in this manner. And, I do have right here a review from Library Journal stating that Duainfey is "for most libraries."
#
Sigh. This has been a good day for Stress Eating. At least it was strawberries. Mind you, strawberries and whipped cream, but it could've been worse.

So, the Plan. I'll continue getting the book together while I'm waiting for D2D to answer me (surprise! They warn of higher-than-normal customer contacts. Gee, I wonder why.), and based on their answer, I'll ... figure something out.

You'd think the people who are trying to suppress "erotica" would understand that hiding things in the corner, or forbidding certain things that people want, like, oh, I dunno? Abortion? Oh! Alcohol! Only drives it underground, where it warps and becomes deadly.

Yes, well. Back to work.

This day has not been as productive as I had envisioned.

Despite the best efforts of the universe, I did get some useful stuff done today. I include washing the dishes and vacuuming the dining room, living room, and bedroom in that.

Tomorrow, I need to research how/how much it will cost to register the copyright for The Fey Duology (we had always assigned and noted an ISBN, and published the copyright notice, which, until the late shenanigans with the AIs, provided protection as it showed Intent. The Anthropic Settlement teaches us that there's no protection without you spend money for it. Well. Lesson learned.), fill out the necessary forms, and maybe even finish formatting the book.

After which, it can languish until I get some Answers from D2D.

. . .I keep catching myself saying, to myself, or to the cats, or, yanno, to all of us, "Why is everything taking so long?" And, aside the universe being bored, the answer is -- today? Today, if I was focused on getting the book formatted, Steve would have vacuumed, done the dishes, and cooked dinner, too. If he'd drawn the book, then I'd've picked up the chores, and the book would have been ready for formatting (except we'd probably still be talking about if we're paying the copyright fee, and wondering to each other WTF D2D has got into its head) right about, oh -- now.

I'm never going to get used to this, am I?

Well.

Onward.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I'll check in tomorrow.

Here, have some daffodils: