Help Indie Authors Fight Censorship!
Censorship via the “free” market: PayPal, claiming to be acting on behalf of credit card companies, has been threatening to close down the accounts of retailers and distributors that sell works of certain types of erotica. Faced with this ultimatum, many distributors have asked those authors to pull their works (at least for now).
Smashwords has managed to buy some time for its authors by opening a dialogue with PayPal to seek a less odious solution. A positive outcome could lead to a partial or even total rollback of PayPal’s demands. Go, Smashwords!
(Disclosure: My books, published under the Channel 37 banner, are available on Smashwords. As my books do not fall under the categories affected by the censorship, I have no financial stake in the outcome of the issue — only a moral one.)
I am a firm believer in the right of authors to write what they want to write, and of readers to choose what they want to read. This is not a decision that belongs in the hands of institutions that have the power to demand compliance with policies of convenience by threatening authors and writers with the ultimate economic sanction.
That’s not how America rolls.
In the coming days, Smashwords will be launching a call to action. In the meantime, here’s a list of things we can all do (via Smashwords):
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Although erotica authors are being targeted, this is an issue that should concern all indie authors. It affects indies disproportionately because indies are the ones pushing the boundaries of fiction. Indies are the ones out there publishing without the (fading) protective patina of a “traditional publisher” to lend them legitimacy. We indies only have each other.
Several Smashwords authors have contacted me to stress that this censorship affects women disproportionately. Women write a lot of the erotica, and they’re also the primary consumers of erotica. They’re also the primary consumers of mainstream romance, which could also come under threat if PayPal and the credit card companies were to overly enforce their too-broad and too-nebulous obsenity clauses (I think this is unlikely, but at the same time, why would dubious consent be okay in mainstream romance but not okay in erotica? If your write paranormal, can your were-creatures not get it on with one another, or is that bestiality? The insanity needs to stop here. These are not questions an author, publisher or distributor of legal fiction should have to answer.).
All writers and their readers should stand up and voice their opposition to financial services companies censoring books. Authors should have the freedom to publish legal fiction, and readers should have the freedom to read what they want.
These corporations need to hear from you. Pick up the phone and call them. Email them. Start petitions. Sign petitions. Blog your opposition to censorship. Encourage your readers to do the same. Pass the word among your social networks. Contact your favorite bloggers and encourage them to follow this story. Contact your local newspaper and offer to let them interview you so they can hear a local author’s perspective on this story of international significance. If you have connections to mainstream media, encourage them to pick up on the story. Encourage them to call the credit card companies and pose this simple question, “PayPal says they’re trying to enforce the policies of credit card companies. Why are you censoring legal fiction?”
Below are links to the companies waiting to hear from you. Click the link and you’ll find their phone numbers, executive names and postal mailing addresses. Be polite, respectful and professional, and encourage your friends and followers to do the same. Let them know you want them out of the business of censoring legal fiction.
Tell the credit card companies you want them to give PayPal permission to sell your ebooks without censorship or discrimination. Let them know that PayPal’s policies are out of step with the major online ebook retailers who already accept your books as they are. Address your calls, emails (if you can find the email) and paper letters (yes paper!) to the executives. Post open letters to them on your blog, then tweet and Facebook hyperlinks to your letters. Force the credit card companies to join the discussion about censorship. And yes, express your feelings and opinions to PayPal as well. Don’t scream at them. Ask them to work on your behalf to protect you and your readers from censorship. Tell them how their proposed censorship will harm you and your fellow writers.
Visa:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=V+ProfileAmerican Express:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=AXP+ProfileMasterCard:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=MA+ProfileDiscover:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=DFS+ProfileEbay (owns PayPal):
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=ebay+Profile
Add your voice today, and stand up for the rights of readers and writers everywhere!
The voice you save could be your own. Someday.
Categorised as: Life the Universe and Everything
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UPDATE (3/13): PayPal has backed down and Smashwords’ terms of service will revert to what they were prior to the brouhaha! Get the details from Galleycat.
Smashwords’ Mark Coker says: “I met with PayPal this afternoon at their office in San Jose. They will soon announce revised content policies that I expect will please the Smashwords community. Effective immediately, we are returning our Terms of Service to back to its pre-February 24 state. Beyond that, our friends at PayPal have asked me to hold off sharing additional details until they’ve had a chance to finalize their new policies. Thank you for your patience and support during this crazy last few weeks.”
Bravo Zulu, Smashwords!