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    A Writers Guide To Adult Compliance Requirements
    A Writers Guide To Adult Compliance Requirements
    A Writers Guide To Adult Compliance Requirements
    Ebook118 pages1 hour

    A Writers Guide To Adult Compliance Requirements

    By Phaedrus T. Wolfe

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    About this ebook

    Erotica is the most lucrative genre in the publishing industry, because let’s face it... sex sells! But recent changes in the publishing industry, spurred by irresponsible bloggers and panicky CEO’s, are making it more and more difficult for erotica writers to get published.

    Publishers who claim to support free speech are censoring anything that might possibly be considered controversial. Myths and misnomers abound, and few authors know the true facts about what they can, or cannot, legally publish.

    Whether you’re an experienced erotica author, or new to the publishing industry, this informative writer’s guide is for you!

    Learn the truth about past and current obscenity laws, and how the U.S. Supreme Court determines whether a visual, oral, or written work is legally obscene. How is obscenity different from pornography? How has easy access to such materials via the Internet changed how laws are interpreted?

    What age restrictions are placed on pornography? Is it illegal to photograph your child playing nude in the bathtub? Does it only apply to photographs? Or are computer illustrations, hand-drawn sketches, and written works also considered illegal?

    Is it legal to write and publish ‘age-play’ books? What extremes are underage?

    What is ‘barely-legal’ pornography? Does it really apply to books, or only to adult movies? What is the real ‘barely legal’ age limit, anyway? (The answers will surprise you!)

    What is the real Age of Consent, locally and worldwide? If you think the answer is 18, think again!

    Can you put adult material on your blog? What should you do if someone posts unacceptable pornography on it?

    How is the Electronic Frontier Foundation working to protect your legal rights?

    Are you required to keep records of any adult images you might own, even if you aren’t a reseller?

    What is ‘sexually explicit conduct,’ and how does it differ from ‘sexual abuse’?

    What can be done about ‘moral censorship’ and the growing proliferation of adult filters? Is censorship of adult books really a violation of the United States Constitution’s First Amendment?

    Answers to all these questions, and many more, can all be found within this essential resource for aspiring or experienced erotica authors who certainly do not want to run afoul of the law!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLot's Cave, Inc.
    Release dateNov 14, 2013
    ISBN9781310747816
    A Writers Guide To Adult Compliance Requirements
    Author

    Phaedrus T. Wolfe

    Phaedrus T. Wolfe is the author of over twenty five books. ‘Man of the House’, ‘The Truth’, and ‘Punishing Sarah Jane’, became instant hits with readers. He often writes romance books focusing on controversial subjects which can only be published by non-censoring publishers like Lot’s Cave. Phaedrus T. Wolfe enjoys writing stories touching on forbidden and taboo topics, exploring the more intimate and romantic sides of ‘erotic fiction’, and never shying away from society’s threat of suppression.Phaedrus commands an international presence, particularly in the Lot’s Cave European division, even though he works out of the Lot’s Cave corporate offices in Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey. Here, he continues to enjoy researching cultural taboos and understanding the differences between European, Asian, South American, and North American societies.What makes a subject so controversial in one society and not another? What contradictions can be found to divide law from social policy? An inseparable part of his romance and erotica writing involves gaining a true understanding of forbidden taboos. Exploring what makes a forbidden topic truly erotic, couldn’t be more appealing.Find out what taboo Phaedrus T. Wolfe explored most recently!

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      Book preview

      A Writers Guide To Adult Compliance Requirements - Phaedrus T. Wolfe

      WARNING—DISCLAIMER

      THIS EBOOK DOES NOT CONTAIN LEGAL ADVICE

      The information contained herein is general, widely available, and not original. It can commonly be found by anyone doing a Google search. It does not constitute, and should be not relied on as, legal advice. Lot’s Cave, Carnal Pleasures, and their associates (Editors, not authors, Phaedrus T. Wolfe, Becca Sinh, and others) recommend you seek advice from a qualified lawyer on the legal issues affecting you before acting on any legal matter.

      While Lot’s Cave, Carnal Pleasures, and their associates try to ensure that the content of the information contained in this ebook is accurate, adequate, and complete, they do not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness.

      Lot’s Cave, Carnal Pleasures, and their associates are not responsible for any loss suffered as a result of, or in relation to, the use of the information contained within this ebook. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Lot’s Cave, Carnal Pleasures, and their associates exclude any liability, including any liability for negligence, for any loss, including indirect or consequential damages arising from, or in relation to, the use of the information herein.

      Acceptance of Terms of Use: By accessing and using this ebook, you agree to be bound by all terms and conditions contained and/or referenced in this Warning—Disclaimer, or any additional terms and conditions set forth on the websites of Lot’s Cave and/or Carnal Pleasures (Terms of Service), and such Terms of Use shall be deemed accepted by you. If you do not agree to all the Terms of Use herein, you should not use this ebook or the websites.

      Table of Contents

      Warning & Disclaimer

      Introduction & Conclusion

      What is Obscenity?

      What is Child Pornography?

      What is ‘Barely Legal’ Pornography?

      What is the ‘Age Of Consent’?

      What is Adult Material?

      What is Sexual Exploitation?

      What is Sexually Explicit Conduct?

      What is Sexual Abuse?

      What About Censorship?

      Recordkeeping Requirements

      Compliance Statements

      Does Sex Sell?

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      About the Editors

      Introduction & Conclusion

      What is legal erotica, and what is illegal? A sacred corollary to this question is: what policies are socially and politically acceptable?

      Let’s make one thing clear: law and policy are not the same, and often they are not even similar. Authors writing romance novels, or erotica dealing with taboo sexuality, need to understand the differences between law and policy.

      Fifty Shades of Grey recently pushed the boundaries of acceptable BDSM romance into the distant background. Yet most authors agree that Fifty Shades is NOT well written or truly representative of BDSM. Much better BDSM erotica exists, and has existed for many years. What happened? BDSM has always been legal in the USA. What occurred was a shift in the editorial policy of legacy publishing companies who would never before touch BDSM.

      Had BDSM been illegal all these years, and publishers turned a blind eye to it by policy, then BDSM would have been considered mainstream long ago, and readers would be demanding better writing skills than demonstrated in Fifty Shades. Therefore, it’s often necessary to pay more attention to policy than law.

      The exception to this rule is with child pornography. The problem with this rule is that few people know its legal definitions, forcing companies to set policy based on crowd acceptance. Publishers tend to be quite conservative, and are slower than the crowd to update legacy policies.

      Let’s define child pornography as sexual situations involving people under the age of eighteen. Sound reasonable? Of course, because everyone knows that anything dealing with sex and minors is illegal.

      But that’s not how the law defines it! The law defines child pornography as VISUAL DEPICTIONS of….

      Does this mean that ‘written depictions’ do not count? That’s right! Child pornography has nothing to do with written depictions of fantasy involving child sexuality, no matter how extreme or disgusting. But sketch a picture of a child (even if said child is fully clothed and doing nothing that involves sex) and include it with your romance writing, and you can expect to spend the next ten years in a Federal prison cell with Bubba Bad-Ass. Guaranteed. And you can imagine what Bubba thinks about erotica authors!

      The First Amendment to the United States Constitution gives protection to written fiction. In 1998, Brian Dalton was charged with creation and possession of child pornography under an Ohio obscenity law. The stories were works of fiction concerning sexually abusing children that he wrote and kept, unpublished, in his private journal. He accepted a plea bargain, pled guilty, and was convicted. Five years later, the conviction was vacated.

      Why do publishers refuse to handle underage sexuality in erotica and romance? Policy. Not law, no matter how vociferously the publishers insist it’s the law. This policy either drives public opinion, or public opinion drives the policy… or both. A publisher who breaks this underage taboo can expect a massive social backlash.

      Still, even that rule is changing with the recent publication of Tampa by Alissa Nutting (female pedophilia), published by Harper Collins. If underage pedophilia in novels was illegal, rest assured that Harper Collins would not be publishing it, and Amazon and Barnes & Noble would not be selling it. It’s all a matter of changing policies.

      Those who publish erotica, especially stories ‘on the edge’ or of ‘taboo’ themes, know all-too-well that nearly all press doors are closed to them. And to make things more difficult, PayPal’s new content commerce policies mean that the payment company is even more intolerant of ‘icky’ content than many publishers.

      Therefore, writers of ‘taboo’ erotica are not only fighting the policies of publishers, but also the policies of their credit card processing company—which tends to be the most conservative of all company types.

      If a publisher agrees to publish incest, they can expect most credit card processors to dump their merchant account, effectively putting them out of business—based on policy, not on law.

      Some publishers, during the early 2012 PayPal ruckus, stood by their writers and readers, and fought, and even led efforts to ensure the freedom of access for erotic fiction. Others did little or nothing. Lot’s Cave is one of the few publishers who has your back when your ‘filth’ gets banned elsewhere. We put few policy boundaries on what an author may publish—provided no laws are violated.

      What is banned, by policy, with most publishers?

      Common Abbreviations:

      nc = non-consensual/rape

      inc = incest

      best = bestiality

      necr = necrophilia

      ped = pedophilia/underage

      ws = watersports

      bf = bodily functions (watersports + scat)

      Notice the "Big 5″ (B5): non-con/rape, incest, bestiality, necrophilia, and pedophilia/underage. If a publisher excludes the Big 5, it very likely excludes bodily functions as well, but won’t say so explicitly.

      One thing authors should pay a great deal of attention to is the subject of obscenity. What is the definition of ‘obscene,’ and how can an author recognize it? It’s worth looking into, because most likely that is where erotica authors will run afoul of the law. But with a little understanding of the matter, it is also easy to prevent an obscenity problem. Lot’s Cave always includes a disclaimer regarding community standards as front matter in each of the ebooks or books we publish, which effectively blocks obscenity problems.

      Further, we have compiled various notes concerning laws on banned subject matter. The entire amount of information herein is taken (copied)

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