Erotica authors have always worked on the margins—pushing boundaries of taste, acceptability, and publishing norms. For many, the genre offers a space for freedom, identity, and creative expression. But that space is shrinking. Algorithms quietly bury books. Platforms impose vague restrictions. Advertising is nearly impossible. Authors are left guessing what word, image, or plot line might trigger a shadow ban or a takedown.
At the same time, some readers crave stories that reflect a wider range of desires, relationships, and identities. Erotic fiction—especially the kind that doesn’t fit neatly into niche categories or rigid definitions—struggles to be seen, even when there’s demand for it. And for authors writing stories with emotional depth and sexual honesty, the gap between what’s considered marketable and what’s meaningful is getting harder to bridge.
What Is Erotica, Really?
Ask ten writers to define erotica, and you’ll get ten answers. For Regina Kammer, a librarian, art historian, and multi-published author of provocative historical and contemporary romance, erotica is a literary form in which sexuality is central to the story—not just present, but driving the plot, themes, and character arcs.
“Porn does not conform to dramatic story: the main character gets what they want with zero effort. Erotica means there is a story, the main character has setbacks, things are not easy.” — Steve Turnbull
Kammer began writing fiction during National Novel Writing Month in 2006, initially with the goal of producing a historical romance. But when her characters insisted on taking the story in more explicitly sexual directions, she embraced erotic fiction and has never looked back.
“Erotic romance has all the elements of erotica,” she explained, “but includes the conventions of romance, those conventions being a Happily Ever After or a Happily For Now.” Strip away the sex, and the story no longer holds.
Steve Turnbull, a writer of fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, and steampunk erotica, takes a slightly different view. For him, erotica is best defined as “sexual discovery,” and it doesn’t necessarily require on-page sex. The key distinction, he argues, is structure.
“Porn does not conform to dramatic story: the main character gets what they want with zero effort,” he said. “Erotica means there is a story, the main character has setbacks, things are not easy.”
His work, often set in a queer, historically grounded steampunk world, includes explicit scenes but always centers on character development and narrative depth.
“I can’t write that short and without a real story,” he said.
Despite these thoughtful definitions, platforms and readers often lump everything under one broad—and often misunderstood—label. Writers who include any kind of intimacy risk being miscategorized or filtered. Some avoid the label entirely out of fear that their books will be hidden or flagged. Erotica, as a genre, continues to be a space where the definitions are fluid—but the risks are very real.
Platform Challenges and Censorship
Writers of erotica and erotic romance face mounting restrictions across major publishing platforms. Turnbull summed up one of the core issues in two words: “Fake prudery.” He pointed to what he sees as contradictions in how society treats sexual content.
Turnbull said current platform policies make it nearly impossible to promote erotica through traditional channels. “Amazon won’t let you create ads for a book labeled as any form of erotica. Same for Facebook.” He added that Meta-owned platforms like Instagram and Threads apply the same restrictions.
While some social platforms are more open, they come with limitations. “Of other social media sites, only Mastodon and BlueSky are essentially unrestricted—but they don’t run adverts,” he said.
There are niche websites dedicated to promoting erotica, but Turnbull noted their limited visibility. “There are dedicated websites for promoting erotica, but you are limited to people knowing about and visiting those websites.”
Kammer offered a detailed account of how platform policies have changed over time.
“Around 2013, Amazon started cracking down on what it considered erotic content,” she said. This included adult filtering, recategorizing books without author input, and, in some cases, banning books outright. She said this mostly affected romance books, including those from mainstream publishers. “For a time, choosing any romance category could get that book tossed into erotica categories even if nothing erotic happened in the story.”
Over a decade later, Kammer said, Amazon’s approach has improved.
“They now allow erotica categories to exist alongside non-erotica categories for the same book. Still, authors are wary about words in blurbs and titles, and images on covers, as there are some undefined triggers that place romance titles into erotica.”
She said Barnes & Noble’s more recent changes introduced similar complications. “Last year, Barnes & Noble introduced an ‘erotica content’ designation. This designation hides books B&N deems erotic—no definition on their part—from their public website. One has to log into their Barnes & Noble consumer account and check ‘allow erotica content’ in their settings in order to see the books B&N has decided are erotica.”
Kammer said Google Play bars free samples of books that have sexual content in the first 20 percent, even for logged-in users. Kobo briefly tested its own filter but backed down when authors protested. “But Kobo showed they have the technical infrastructure to reinstate this at any time.”
Kammer also pointed to changes at Smashwords, which now has three separate filters for erotica. “The filters appear to be based on whether ‘Erotica Themes’ are checked when authors upload their books. I think, but I’m not positive, this change from two to three filters happened when Smashwords was bought by Draft2Digital.”
She said Draft2Digital has added new content requirements of its own. “Authors now have to check either ‘My book does NOT contain content inappropriate for minors’ or ‘My book contains content that is inappropriate for minors.’”
Kammer added that Draft2Digital blocked two of her books from being distributed to Hoopla and once rejected a short story collection because of its title, even though “no other retailer had an issue with the collection.”
IngramSpark has also introduced new language under the EU’s General Product Safety Regulation, which Kammer said could be interpreted as applying to the “safety of consumers’ mental health,” placing responsibility on authors to ensure metadata is accurate.
“There are no such filters for violent content, including ultra-violent content,” Kammer said. “While general statements like ‘contains content that is inappropriate for minors’ can be interpreted as targeting both sexual and violent content, most retailers are obviously targeting erotic content only.”
Mislabeling and the Market
Writers working in erotica and erotic romance often face challenges not just from restrictions, but from how their books are labeled—by platforms, readers, and even themselves. Kammer described how miscategorization has affected her work directly.
“Before Amazon’s category overhaul a few years ago, a number of my romance books were placed in erotica categories, and I could not get them recategorized,” she said. “Most of my books have since been recategorized correctly into romance.”
She also ran into issues with cover design.
“A second edition I published in 2013 on Amazon was adult-filtered for nudity on the cover, when the first edition (2009) with the same cover was not. I changed the cover a couple of years later, and the filter was removed.”
Turnbull said the current market favors narrowly defined kink categories and leaves little room for books that don’t fit those molds.
“The increasingly striated kink structure means you cannot expect to sell anything unless it features a very specific kink—and nothing else.” He added, “My erotica does not fit into that broader landscape kink. And since I can't sell it, I haven't been writing it, which is a shame because I love my characters, and there's so much to say about them.”
For authors who blur the line between genres or include explicit scenes in otherwise mainstream stories, there’s an added layer of uncertainty. Writer John Straughn expressed frustration over the lack of clear boundaries.
“I’m confused about where the line is between erotica and a hot scene,” he said. “My book, like many, has some intimate scenes. But they’re classy scenes, not trashy, cheap sex. The focus is more on emotional connection. I don’t consider it erotica, not at all.”
For many authors, the risk of mislabeling leads to self-censorship. Even books that aren't erotica can be caught up in filters, limiting their reach and shaping the way authors present their work.
Strategies for Survival and Success
“Find community with your erotic romance colleagues! Passionate Ink is one such specialized organization for erotic fiction authors.” — Regina Kammer
Faced with platform restrictions and market limitations, some authors are turning to alternative strategies to reach readers. Turnbull pointed to Cornelia Quick, an indie author known for writing across multiple kink categories and maintaining a strong online presence, as one example of how to adapt. “Cornelia Quick is one writer who has embraced the striation, writing multiple kinks and distributing everywhere but also sells direct from her website. She is very present on social media.”
Some authors are turning to subscription platforms like Patreon and Ko-fi to reach readers directly. “Patreon and Ko-fi are another way successful kink-based erotica writers have gone—not just erotica either,” Turnbull said. These platforms support serialized content, commissioned stories, and exclusive material for subscribers.
For those looking to sell beyond the big platforms, Kammer recommended Eden Books. “Eden Books was founded in 2019 as a reaction to Amazon and other major online retailers blocking romance and erotica books,” she said. “Eden carries romance, women’s fiction, and erotica, including taboo erotica.”
She also emphasized the importance of finding a professional community.
“Find community with your erotic romance colleagues! Passionate Ink is one such specialized organization for erotic fiction authors.”
While she doesn’t consider herself an expert in marketing, her advice reflects a growing recognition among writers that connection—with readers and with fellow authors—is increasingly essential in navigating a restrictive landscape.
Conclusion: Creativity, Censorship, and the Future
For authors like Kammer and Turnbull, the path forward is far from simple. The rules keep changing, and platforms remain inconsistent in how they apply them. “Publishing platforms… are incapable of listening because their policies are driven by PR and profits,” Turnbull said. Kammer added that, in practice, “most retailers are obviously targeting erotic content only,” despite the lack of similar restrictions on violence.
Still, neither writer has fully turned away from the genre. Kammer continues to write erotic romance because, as she put it, “I enjoy writing stories where the protagonists find a Happily Ever After.” Turnbull, despite shelving some of his steampunk erotica due to market limitations, hasn’t given up either. “I love my characters and there's so much to say about them,” he said.
What persists is a commitment to telling stories that matter to them, even when the market doesn’t make it easy. Whether through direct sales, subscription platforms, or small but supportive communities, indie writers are finding ways to keep going—often outside the spotlight, but on their own terms.
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