# Kobo drops Draft2Digital books



## Harriet Schultz (Jan 3, 2012)

I couldn't find my romantic suspense novels on Kobo yesterday, wrote to D2D to ask them to fix this and this was their reply today:

*"We have discovered that over the weekend Kobo removed all books published through our account. While we have received no official word concerning this issue, we believe this is related to recent articles in the media concerning erotica titles available at WHSmith and Kobo's storefronts.

However, Kobo's response to this situation seems to have been removal of all books for any publishers (including distributors) that have offending titles until they find a solution.

I deeply regret that authors who have released books that are not erotica have been affected by this situation as well.

We are working aggressively to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and we will keep you updated as we learn more information."*


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## MindyWilde (Oct 2, 2013)

Just got the email from them as well!  Well this sucks and I love D2D so I really don't want to go elsewhere.  I had already considered starting to write in other genres but with stuff like this I guess it really wouldn't have mattered.  I know it is the name of the game and the companies can do as they like.  We take a chance by working on the production end of the business cycle and relying on distributors but the uncertainty is not a lot of fun.


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## KerryT2012 (Dec 18, 2012)

Yep just got the same email from D2D. I am confused. What is going on? Why is erotica deemed so bad? But yet, vampires and mass murderers not getting the same treatment?


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## dotx (Nov 4, 2010)

Sarwah2012 said:


> Yep just got the same email from D2D. I am confused. What is going on? Why is erotica deemed so bad? But yet, vampires and mass murderers not getting the same treatment?


Kobo deleted ALL books submitted through D2D. Not only erotica.


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## N. Gemini Sasson (Jul 5, 2010)

Seems like an extreme and sudden move on Kobo's part, if that is indeed the cause. No troubles with SW books, then? Why would they target D2D books? And did we ever figure out why BN did the same thing a few months ago?


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

And yet all my books subbed through Smashwords are still there. Because, presumably, Smashwords has no questionable titles.

WTH?


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## Quiss (Aug 21, 2012)

What's Kobo's relationship with Smashwords? Is there some backroom wrangling going on in terms of exclusivity perhaps?

Going by title is worrisome. For one, it'll exclude entirely "innocent" titles and, two, it'll just push authors into gaming the system by avoiding those types of keywords in the title. Euphemisms galore!


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## Debbiek (Aug 7, 2010)

None of my books are showing up on Kobo. I have erotica and regular books. All are missing since yesterday.  I emailed them but have not received a response.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

All my books have been pulled. I upload direct, and don't write erotica.

Looks like a crazy overreaction to a tabloid story over the weekend about "filth" being sold beside kids books.


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## 71089 (Jul 12, 2013)

dgaughran said:


> All my books have been pulled. I upload direct, and don't write erotica.
> 
> Looks like a crazy overreaction to a tabloid story over the weekend about "filth" being sold beside kids books.


Odd. Very odd.

My books are erotica. I publish through them directly. Mine haven't disappeared.

Why am I excluded? Not that I'm complaining. Although I am expecting them to pull my titles any moment now. Checking every minute to see if my books are still there.


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## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

Yup. I got that letter too. Kobo is removing all aggregator titles while it figures out the erotica situation. It's probably going to hit the direct uploads next.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

I go direct. So far my books are still there, both on dashboard and search, erotica and non-erotica.


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## mrv01d (Apr 4, 2011)

They are hitting direct uploaders simultaneously. If you're untouched (as I am) you're either lucky or at the end of the line.

M


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2013)

Saul Tanpepper said:


> And yet all my books subbed through Smashwords are still there. Because, presumably, Smashwords has no questionable titles.
> 
> WTH?


Maybe Smashwords does a better job of filtering the questionable titles. Or maybe Mark was already out in front of it since he's done this dance before with PayPal over erotic content.


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2013)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> Maybe Smashwords does a better job of filtering the questionable titles. Or maybe Mark was already out in front of it since he's done this dance before with PayPal over erotic content.


 I just lost two Smashwords titles (both crime, not romance or adult in any way). I think they're just taking time working through it.


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## Debbiek (Aug 7, 2010)

I publish direct but, my erotica is more of a romantic erotica...steamy...very vanilla and still says published and for sale but, it's not there.


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

My historical romance is still there. It isn't selling...but it's there. It's a direct upload.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

dotx said:


> Kobo deleted ALL books submitted through D2D. Not only erotica.


Incorrect, though D2D has been hit hard and it's not the first time. A couple of months ago Kobo screwed up and dropped everything from D2D and put them all back the next day. A so called glitch while they updated there rubbish search engine and store. It's not that much better now, but it is an improvement.

They dropped all my stuff this time and I pubbed through Kobo's own Kobo Writing Life. None are romance or erotic. This has nothing to do with D2D, but D2D being a large entity publishing self-pubbed books has been hit hard by it. Kobo itself is repairing its greenhouse with sledgehammer in my opinion. Instead of taking down a selection of categories and then going through them, it panicked and took all of them down so that none of its books could feed the pipe to WH Smith which takes a direct feed from them.


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## Zelah Meyer (Jun 15, 2011)

I have deleted this post as I do not consent to the new Terms of Service that Vertical Scope are attempting to retrospectively apply to our content.  I am forced to manually replace my content as, at time of editing, their representative has instructed moderators not to delete posts or accounts when users request it, and Vertical Scope have implied that they will deal with account deletion requests by anonymising accounts, which would leave personally identifying information in my posts.

I joined under the previous ownership and have posted over the years under different Terms of Service.  I do not consent to my name, content, or intellectual properties being used by Vertical Scope or any other entity that they sell or licence my data to.


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## dotx (Nov 4, 2010)

markecooper said:


> Incorrect, though D2D has been hit hard and it's not the first time. A couple of months ago Kobo screwed up and dropped everything from D2D and put them all back the next day. A so called glitch while they updated there rubbish search engine and store. It's not that much better now, but it is an improvement.
> 
> They dropped all my stuff this time and I pubbed through Kobo's own Kobo Writing Life. None are romance or erotic. This has nothing to do with D2D, but D2D being a large entity publishing self-pubbed books has been hit hard by it. Kobo itself is repairing its greenhouse with sledgehammer in my opinion. Instead of taking down a selection of categories and then going through them, it panicked and took all of them down so that none of its books could feed the pipe to WH Smith which takes a direct feed from them.


How is the statement incorrect? I said all books submitted to Kobo are gone. Or maybe some are still up, but what I meant to say is that Kobo took down D2D books regardless of the topic (I don't write erotica)


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## Zoe Cannon (Sep 2, 2012)

Seriously, Kobo? Responding to a complaint from the Daily Mail is like responding to a complaint from the National Enquirer.


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

All my books have gone. They are YA fantasy published through Smashwords.

Dannika, Clarissa, Nathalie, Gina, I searched for all of you on Kobo... NOTHING!


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2013)

ALL my titles (non erotic) have been pulled from Kobo. I publish through my registered publishing business and use ISBNs. This is baffling, and competely effin' ridiculous. How can they do this without even letting us know the situation? So much for supporting indie publishing.


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

Rlyon said:


> Dannika, Clarissa, Nathalie, Gina, I searched for all of you on Kobo... NOTHING!


I find mine when I search: http://store.kobobooks.com/Search/Query?Query=%22Gina%20Black%22


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## Al Dente (Sep 3, 2012)

This is pretty scary. I hope everything gets sorted out soon, considering that most of us need the income generated from these places.


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## JRHenderson (Dec 4, 2011)

Gina Black said:


> I find mine when I search: http://store.kobobooks.com/Search/Query?Query=%22Gina%20Black%22


_Sorry! Your search for "gina black" did not return any results._


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2013)

The biggest joke of all this is that they still sell titles such as:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/120-days-of-sodom


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

So far, my book is still for sale on Kobo. It's women's contemporary fiction (Boomer Lit stuff) and clean. It was submitted through Smashwords. I'll be watching though.


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

JRHenderson said:


> _Sorry! Your search for "gina black" did not return any results._


That is so strange. I get my book every time I click on that link. Maybe it's like Schrödinger's cat?


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2013)

Hmm, an update: it seems KWL books are still in there, but they don't show up on any search even if you search for them directly.


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## Just Browsing (Sep 26, 2012)

My non-erotic titles through d2d are all gone, and I got the letter. (My erotic titles are gone too, via D2D--but NOT via Smashwords). Note that I'm not even a self-publisher, but a small press. So it's not just anti-indie author.

And Kobo chose to do this on Sunday night. The poor folks at draft2digital waking up to all this!

Thank god my most recent BookBubs are over, because we had sales on Kobo. Of course, that money hasn't come through yet...

I had to LOL over this title still up on Kobo whose blurb says "So hot that Amazon banned it." (Note that cover and title are NSFW.)

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/daddy-s-****-daddy-dearest-volume-2-1


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

JRHenderson said:


> _Sorry! Your search for "gina black" did not return any results._


This is what I get too.



Gina Black said:


> That is so strange. I get my book every time I click on that link. Maybe it's like Schrödinger's cat?


Maybe you have a cached page?



DDark said:


> Maybe not through the search, but I have direct links to my titles and they're all up. I also just performed a search on my name, and my books are showing.


I searched your name and got nothing.

Sheryl, no results for you either.


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## JRHenderson (Dec 4, 2011)

Gina Black said:


> That is so strange. I get my book every time I click on that link. Maybe it's like Schrödinger's cat?


Could it be that your browser is showing you a copy of the page that it has stored on your hard drive, rather than actually re-loading the page from Kobo?


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

JRHenderson said:


> Could it be that your browser is showing you a copy of the page that it has stored on your hard drive, rather than actually re-loading the page from Kobo?


I did a forced reload so I don't think so.


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

Mine are still there but I'm expecting to be pulled any second now...

@Gina, when I click the search link I can also see you book. It MIGHT be regional if you can see it or not.


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## Just Browsing (Sep 26, 2012)

For what it's worth, I can find Raven's Revenge both by title and by searching for Gina Black.

But not my books.


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Gina Black said:


> That is so strange. I get my book every time I click on that link. Maybe it's like Schrödinger's cat?


I get them too when I click your link.


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2013)

This thread should probably be merged with this one: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,164749.0/topicseen.html

WHSmith removed all Kobo titles until Kobo apparently does something about erotica.


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## Sara Fawkes (Apr 22, 2012)

Gina Black said:


> I find mine when I search: http://store.kobobooks.com/Search/Query?Query=%22Gina%20Black%22


I only see one of your books listed now.


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## redandgold (Apr 6, 2011)

Cross Posted from the WHSmith thread:

I strongly suspect that a major part of the problem is the UK government.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23401076



> Most households in the UK will have pornography blocked by their internet provider unless they choose to receive it,


So, of course, when WHSmith is front and center for selling "porn" online, they will react quickly so that their site isn't block by all the ISP in the UK.

I happen to think that the book sellers like Kobo and Amazon etc could handle this far better - but when you are up against idiocy like this from the government and "authors" who try and game the system . . .

The collateral damage is not pretty - But I really hope that this spurs them to sort out the adult content issues properly rather than the silly approaches they are so far making a hash of it with.


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

I can see your title DDark.


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2013)

redandgold said:


> I happen to think that the book sellers like Kobo and Amazon etc could handle this far better - but when you are up against idiocy like this from the government and "authors" who try and game the system . . .
> 
> The collateral damage is not pretty - But I really hope that this spurs them to sort out the adult content issues properly rather than the silly approaches they are so far making a hash of it with.


I don't see how it is idiocy by the government in this case. If people specifically have their ISPs set up, by choice, to block that sort of content, then it seems the system is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

The problem is squarely in the lap of retailers who did not plan for what should have been obvious issues before opening the DIY doors. ALL of this could have been avoided. ALL of it. With a simple "Do you want to see adult content?" filter and proper metadata processing.


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Yep, all my titles are gone too. I published direct with Kobo through Writing Life. My dashboard still shows five titles for sale - two SciFi, three fantasy. However, if you actually search on the site for my book titles or author name - nothing. So it seems they're not only hitting distributor companies, but everyone who self publishes through the site. 

My only relief is that I hardly sell anything via Kobo. Sucks BIG TIME for those who do.  

Edit: I just went to my specific book pages via my webpage and they're still there. However, it says that the book is 'currently unavailable'. I suspect they've nuked everything until they've developed a filter at which time we'll have to go through a checking process.


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

DDark said:


> Can you see this? One of my books http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/Impulse-Mageri-Series-Book-3/WKfbtF6wmkeE3Y3Pu7Jt9g


I got your book when I clicked on that.


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Gina Black said:


> I got your book when I clicked on that.


I see it, but it says 'currently unavailable' as mine do.


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

GWakeling said:


> I see it, but it says 'currently unavailable' as mine do.


Strange. I got a "buy now" button.

ETA: I even get it with a different browser. Maybe it's an ISP thing?


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## 71089 (Jul 12, 2013)

DELETED BECAUSE OF TOS CHANGE


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

DDark said:


> Can you see this? One of my books http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/Impulse-Mageri-Series-Book-3/WKfbtF6wmkeE3Y3Pu7Jt9g


I get 'This eBook is not currently available.'


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## ToniD (May 3, 2011)

DDark said:


> Can you see this? One of my books http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/Impulse-Mageri-Series-Book-3/WKfbtF6wmkeE3Y3Pu7Jt9g


I see yours, Dannika.

Mine are still available, both via my bookmarked pages and a search on the site. I uploaded directly through Writing Life. If they're hitting all self-publishers, then I expect mine will soon be gone, as well. My Kobo sales are a pittance anyway, but this is a disastrous way to approach the filtering issue.


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Gina Black said:


> Strange. I got a "buy now" button.


Perhaps this is a regional issue then? I'm in the UK and nothing appears to be available from self pubbed authors. It may be to do with the WHSmith thing.

As I'm in the UK....can anyone see MY book for sale? : http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/inside-evil


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

GWakeling said:


> Perhaps this is a regional issue then? I'm in the UK and nothing appears to be available from self pubbed authors. It may be to do with the WHSmith thing.


Maybe that's it. I'm in California.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Rlyon said:


> I get 'This eBook is not currently available.'


I see it as available for purchase in the US. Maybe they're panicking in the UK.


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

GWakeling said:


> Perhaps this is a regional issue then? I'm in the UK and nothing appears to be available from self pubbed authors. It may be to do with the WHSmith thing.
> 
> As I'm in the UK....can anyone see MY book for sale? : http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/inside-evil


Available for me in the Netherlands


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## Just Browsing (Sep 26, 2012)

I'm in the US, and I can see Raven's Revenge as available for sale, with a price.

But not my own books--including the non-erotic ones. I have memoir, mystery, sci fi, what have you, with no erotic content. All completely removed from Kobo.


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

ClarissaWild said:


> Well, it still comes up here:
> http://store.kobobooks.com/en-nl/Search/Query?query=clarissa%20wild&fcmedia=Book
> 
> so why wouldn't I be there?  I have a direct link.


Sorry! Your search for ""clarissa wild"" did not return any results.

I noticed that the people not getting results seemed to be in the UK and was about to mention it, but I seem to have been beaten to it whilst typing!

Perhaps some other countries, such as Australia, could chime in too. That's where I make most of my sales, so I'm interested to know if the books have been pulled from there.


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## 71089 (Jul 12, 2013)

Rlyon said:


> Sorry! Your search for ""clarissa wild"" did not return any results.
> 
> I noticed that the people not getting results seemed to be in the UK and was about to mention it, but I seem to have been beaten to it whilst typing!
> 
> Perhaps some other countries, such as Australia, could chime in too. That's where I make most of my sales, so I'm interested to know if the books have been pulled from there.


Odd ... very odd. I'm seeing my own books.



Rlyon said:


> I get 'This eBook is not currently available.'


I'm still seeing this book too.

AHA.

So then it must be that the kobo titles are only blocked for UK versions? Because my .com version is showing and I can still see other .com books as well.


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## redandgold (Apr 6, 2011)

GWakeling said:


> Perhaps this is a regional issue then? I'm in the UK and nothing appears to be available from self pubbed authors. It may be to do with the WHSmith thing.
> 
> As I'm in the UK....can anyone see MY book for sale? : http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/inside-evil


I followed that link - and all seemed Ok - as soon as I clicked on the English link under languages, the site worked out I was in the Uk and gave me "currently unavailable"


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Well it seems that those of us in the UK are either not finding books or seeing them as 'currently unavailable', though they seem to be for sale in other countries. I suspect that Kobo are quickly peddling not to lose their business with WHSmith. As WHSmith are only a UK entity, it seems they've just blocked all self-pubbed for Britain but left titles available in other countries.

It's bad, but not AS bad as it could've been. The fact that they've left the book pages up gives me hope that it's a stop-gap solution whilst they're working out a new filter.

Geoff


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Could somebody test whether there is a buy-now-button on the _individual_ book pages?

http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=%22Andrew+Ashling%22


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Could somebody test whether there is a buy-now-button on the _individual_ book pages?
> 
> http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=%22Andrew+Ashling%22


That's what we've been looking at, Andrew. It seems that in the UK, we're noticing 'currently unavailable'. In other countries, for the _same_ books, they're available. For your search, my London-based ISP finds nothing. But you may well appear in other country searches.


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## JRHenderson (Dec 4, 2011)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Could somebody test whether there is a buy-now-button on the _individual_ book pages?
> 
> http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=%22Andrew+Ashling%22


Not if I'm in the UK....

_Sorry, your search for "andrew ashling" did not return any results._


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## Al Dente (Sep 3, 2012)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Could somebody test whether there is a buy-now-button on the _individual_ book pages?
> 
> http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=%22Andrew+Ashling%22


I'm in the US and I see your books.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

Rlyon said:


> All my books have gone. They are YA fantasy published through Smashwords.
> 
> Dannika, Clarissa, Nathalie, Gina, I searched for all of you on Kobo... NOTHING!


I can find myself!
http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=poison+godiva
http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=irma+geddon
http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=nathalie+hamidi

Still seeing nothing?
Thanks for looking Raquel!


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

Gina Black said:


> That is so strange. I get my book every time I click on that link. Maybe it's like Schrödinger's cat?


I see you too!


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

JRHenderson said:


> Not if I'm in the UK....
> 
> _Sorry, your search for "andrew ashling" did not return any results._


Haha. This could be a UK thing then&#8230;

Thanks.



David Scroggins said:


> I'm in the US and I see your books.


Thanks. Could you please click on one of them and see whether there is a buy-now-button on the book page?


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## Nicholas Andrews (Sep 8, 2011)

David Scroggins said:


> I'm in the US and I see your books.


Same here. My titles are still up as well.


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## Seleya (Feb 25, 2011)

GWakeling said:


> Perhaps this is a regional issue then? I'm in the UK and nothing appears to be available from self pubbed authors. It may be to do with the WHSmith thing.
> 
> As I'm in the UK....can anyone see MY book for sale? : http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/inside-evil


Available in Italy


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

DDark said:


> Can you see this? One of my books http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/Impulse-Mageri-Series-Book-3/WKfbtF6wmkeE3Y3Pu7Jt9g
> 
> I'm not overly concerned since my sales on Kobo are abysmal, but i know this does impact a lot of authors negatively. I'm having no trouble pulling up my stuff ,and I've cleared my cache. If that's the case, it may be browser/region related. Something is impacting why you aren't able to pull things up.
> browser: Firefox (no chrome)


I see your book.


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## ToniD (May 3, 2011)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Could somebody test whether there is a buy-now-button on the _individual_ book pages?
> 
> http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=%22Andrew+Ashling%22


Yes, the buy buttons are on the individual pages when I check.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

GWakeling said:


> Perhaps this is a regional issue then? I'm in the UK and nothing appears to be available from self pubbed authors. It may be to do with the WHSmith thing.
> 
> As I'm in the UK....can anyone see MY book for sale? : http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/inside-evil


I see it for free!


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

ToniD said:


> Yes, the buy buttons are on the individual pages when I check.


Thanks, Toni.

Curiouser and curiouser&#8230;

I can't see the buttons on my individual pages. Is it because I'm in Europe? Or do they want to prevent me from buying my own books?

(Granted, I'm far too young to read that stuff.)


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Could somebody test whether there is a buy-now-button on the _individual_ book pages?
> 
> http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=%22Andrew+Ashling%22


I tried the first three and they all had the buy now or free button on their individual pages.


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## nobody_important (Jul 9, 2010)

DDark said:


> This is exactly why I like going direct. I only use D2D for iTunes, only because I have no other alternative. Sorry for everyone and hope it gets resolved.


I went direct w/ Kobo. They still removed my books.


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## Vivi_Anna (Feb 12, 2011)

i'm in Canada, and all my titles from D2D are gone, but mine thru SW are still up and of course all of mine thru my big publishers.

And I've clicked on links above and I can see those titles for sale.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

ClarissaWild said:


> Odd ... very odd. I'm seeing my own books.


I see your books too.


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Ryan Casey said:


> I'm in the UK and upload directly to Writing Life. I've posted at length in the WH Smith thread. Would some kind non-UK friend be willing to check whether my books are still available overseas? Mine aren't on sale in the UK anymore. Cheers.
> 
> http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/what-we-saw
> http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-painting-3
> http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-disappearing


All present and accounted for.

Belgium, Europe


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## KaryE (May 12, 2012)

My books are still there, though my sales report page generates an error message and won't resolve.

I go direct, and none of my titles have any sex at all, not even kissing. 

(Note: that's not a statement of superiority or anything. Posted to help folks suss out why certain titles are still there while others aren't. Like, maybe they just haven't nuked me yet.  )

Also, I am US-based.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

Ryan Casey said:


> I'm in the UK and upload directly to Writing Life. I've posted at length in the WH Smith thread. Would some kind non-UK friend be willing to check whether my books are still available overseas? Mine aren't on sale in the UK anymore. Cheers.
> 
> http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/what-we-saw
> http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-painting-3
> http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-disappearing


They're available here in France!


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Nathalie Hamidi said:


> I tried the first three and they all had the buy now or free button on their individual pages.


Thanks. Yours are all right as well.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

Happy to help!


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## Just Browsing (Sep 26, 2012)

If your titles are missing, give Kobo a call. The phone number in the US is  1-855-732-3662 (toll-free). I just did, and the guy was very pleasant to talk to, although all he could do was take my info and say he'd escalate it to a Writing Life team member. But he gave me a record # for the call to write down, so I feel the call is being noted and tallied somewhere.

He asked for my first and last name and "email address associate with the account" (I gave him the one I use with Draft2Digital). He didn't ask for specific titles, although I did say "all of them." 

If some computer did an automated purge, perhaps actual people aren't aware yet of how extensive what they did actually was. So, we should tell them.


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## twilcox (Oct 16, 2012)

If this is about the erotica titles being mixed in with the children's titles I hope they come up with a solution--a good one. I'm very sensitive to kids being introduced to grown up things before their time.


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## Debbie Bennett (Mar 25, 2011)

I'm via smashwords and mine are all showing as "not currently available".

All the D2D customers have had emails today explaining the situation. Has anyone had anything from Smashwords? There's not even anything on the SW blog. If titles from SW and D2D are being pulled by Kobo, then B&N and Apple are also going to be looking to get their own houses in order too. At this rate the aggregators will become redundant!


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## Just Browsing (Sep 26, 2012)

DDark said:


> Has anyone missing books emailed Kobo? Maybe all the going back and forth on this thread could be resolved if they would provide more in depth information.


I emailed and messaged their Facebook page; no response yet. But then I called (as described above), and felt better about that. I did first identify myself as the senior editor of a small press. The person I spoke to was extremely courteous and very careful about spelling my name right, getting my phone #, etc.


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## O_o (Aug 6, 2013)

I'm UK-based and my one book on Kobo (via Smashwords) is now unavailable. It's a horror.

Is this really the result of scaremongering from the Daily Fail? 

Sigh.


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## nobody_important (Jul 9, 2010)

Ryan Casey said:


> I called Kobo and this is what they had to say (transcribed as well as I could - the line was a little iffy):
> 
> "At this time we are doing upgrades on the Kobo website. I do apologize if you're having an issue not seeing self published non-erotica fictions at the moment. There isn't an a date set for the these updates to be completed as of yet."
> 
> ...


I think what they're trying to say is:

"We're doing some super fast damage control, and we have no idea if the hot fix we put in even works. We have no pressing deadline on making things work since we at least managed to 'fix' things with our British partner."


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

NadiaLee said:


> I think what they're trying to say is:
> 
> "We're doing some super fast damage control, and we have no idea if the hot fix we put in even works. We have no pressing deadline on making things work since we at least managed to 'fix' things with our British partner."


THIS. Kobo make a lot of money from self pubbed books, so I really don't think they're suddenly going to stop trading. I DO however think they're trying to save their business venture with WHSMITH and, therefore, need to be seen to be doing something. Hence, UK based people can no longer search, find or buy a lot of self-pubbed books whilst those abroad may well be able to as if nothing has happened.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

Fantasy only for me. I go direct with Kobo and my titles are still there.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> I don't see how it is idiocy by the government in this case. If people specifically have their ISPs set up, by choice, to block that sort of content, then it seems the system is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.
> 
> The problem is squarely in the lap of retailers who did not plan for what should have been obvious issues before opening the DIY doors. ALL of this could have been avoided. ALL of it. With a simple "Do you want to see adult content?" filter and proper metadata processing.


Only that it's not by choice. Instead, all UK ISPs are forced to put the porn (and other objectionable content like extremist websites, pro-anorexia sites, etc...) on by default for everyone. You have to contact your ISP to have it shut off. And how many people will be unwilling or unable to do that?

Otherwise I agree that a simple adult filter would have avoided a lot of problems. Though I'm still furious at W.H. Smith, Kobo and Amazon giving in to the moral panic mongers from the Kernel, the Daily Mail and Jeremy Duns.


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## nobody_important (Jul 9, 2010)

GWakeling said:


> THIS. Kobo make a lot of money from self pubbed books, so I really don't think they're suddenly going to stop trading. I DO however think they're trying to save their business venture with WHSMITH and, therefore, need to be seen to be doing something. Hence, UK based people can no longer search, find or buy a lot of self-pubbed books whilst those abroad may well be able to as if nothing has happened.


I'm in Japan, and I can't see lots of titles from self-pubbers on Kobo.


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

NadiaLee said:


> I'm in Japan, and I can't see lots of titles from self-pubbers on Kobo.


That's VERY interesting to know. I wonder why some countries can and others can't?


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## elalond (May 11, 2011)

KRGriffiths said:


> I'm UK-based and my one book on Kobo (via Smashwords) is now unavailable. It's a horror.
> 
> Is this really the result of scaremongering from the Daily Fail?
> 
> Sigh.


You mean the Panic? I went to Kobo and it's available for me (I'm stationed in the East Europe). And all the links that the others posted led me to books with an active buy button.


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## nobody_important (Jul 9, 2010)

GWakeling said:


> That's VERY interesting to know. I wonder why some countries can and others can't?


Probably b/c Kobo's architecture is a mess?


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## Katherine Roberts (Apr 4, 2013)

GWakeling said:


> Well it seems that those of us in the UK are either not finding books or seeing them as 'currently unavailable', though they seem to be for sale in other countries. I suspect that Kobo are quickly peddling not to lose their business with WHSmith. As WHSmith are only a UK entity, it seems they've just blocked all self-pubbed for Britain but left titles available in other countries.
> 
> It's bad, but not AS bad as it could've been. The fact that they've left the book pages up gives me hope that it's a stop-gap solution whilst they're working out a new filter.
> 
> Geoff


Yours at least still has a cover and the message "not currently available". When I click on mine, the page says "oops!" and they appear to be gone completely:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-gb/ebook/the-great-pyramid-robbery-seven-fabulous-wonders-1

Not a very professional error message, Kobo - and particularly annoying, since I write children's books for middle grade and my self-published ebooks are backlist titles so have all been through editing at mainstream children's publishers. Clearly, nobody is checking content before swinging the axe.


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

NadiaLee said:


> Probably b/c Kobo's architecture is a mess?


Yes, well, that wouldn't surprise me in the least! I'm not overly worried because I've been there for 12 months and had 5 sales. I'm just concerned for authors - Patty Jansen springs to mind - who has a lot of success with Kobo. I hate for people like her to be crushed by this.

Geoff


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Katherine Roberts said:


> Yours at least still has a cover and the message "not currently available". When I click on mine, the page says "oops!" and they appear to be gone completely:
> 
> http://store.kobobooks.com/en-gb/ebook/the-great-pyramid-robbery-seven-fabulous-wonders-1
> 
> Not a very professional error message, Kobo - and particularly annoying, since I write children's books for middle grade and my self-published ebooks are backlist titles so have all been through editing at mainstream children's publishers. Clearly, nobody is checking content before swinging the axe.


Oh dear, Katherine. That's pretty worrying. It'd be nice if they at least bothered to send out a memo to us about what the hell is going on!


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2013)

CoraBuhlert said:


> And how many people will be unwilling or unable to do that?


I don't know. About as many people that would be unwilling or unable to call to turn the filter on?

I am a proponent of "opt-in." Smashwords prompts me to make a decision insofar as whether or not I want to view adult content. Drivethrufiction prompts me to make a decision whether or I want to view adult content. I don't see how people are put upon to have to send an email or make a phone call to tell their ISP to grant access to a site. The default of any system should always be the most family friendly, and then adults should be adults and determine if they want to view adult content. If you are too embarrassed to call your internet provider to tell them you want access to adult content, then that is a personal issue. But if you (imperial you, not you personally) are too embarrassed by the content you want to read to tell the ISP to give you access, then isn't it a bit hypocritical to tell people who DON'T want to view such content that THEY have to do the work to avoid it? And if people who want to read that type of content are simply too stupid to figure out how to contact the ISP, should we assume people who don't want to view that sort of content are more intelligent and therefore more likely to know how to make a phone call?


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

I had one book removed, the only one there and it's under a penname. It's a little steamy, but I wouldn't even rate it an R if it was a movie. Anyway, it was a freebie, so it has no effect on me whatsoever. 

However, we should do something to counter this. Not directly to Kobo or WHwhatevertheyare, but to their readers. Let them know that the stores they have chosen are censoring the books as if they are little children who need protecting. If there was some kind of impropriety in regards to explicit books listed in the childrens' section, then it's certainly appropriate that they fine tune their filters. It reminds me of those mean school bus drivers who would try to kick everyone off the bus because two kids in the back were throwing spitballs. Maybe let readers know that they can no longer read their favorite genre on their ereaders anymore. Nope. Now they have to buy them in paperback and hope nobody peeks at the cover and title.  

Of course, if I knew how to target Kobo readers, I'd have had a lot more success there in the past and would still have most of my books listed on Kobo


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## nobody_important (Jul 9, 2010)

GWakeling said:


> Yes, well, that wouldn't surprise me in the least! I'm not overly worried because I've been there for 12 months and had 5 sales. I'm just concerned for authors - Patty Jansen springs to mind - who has a lot of success with Kobo. I hate for people like her to be crushed by this.
> 
> Geoff


I'm not as worried since I sell so little on Kobo. Kobo's been nothing but a headache for me, and I regret (from time to time) that I decided to distribute there b/c I never sold much there, and it's been a very troublesome vendor for me (due to their poor architecture/technology and lack of any useful guidance/help)


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## Just Browsing (Sep 26, 2012)

GWakeling said:


> That's VERY interesting to know. I wonder why some countries can and others can't?


I think it depends on how you uploaded, to a certain extent. And they may not be done with their purge. As I've said a few times, I'm in the US. And our titles via Draft2Digital are most definitely gone, both erotica and non-erotica. It's not an "England only" issue.

Here's our direct link for The Pleasure Dial, for instance:

http://store.kobobooks.com/Search/Query?fcmedia=Book&query=1230000146230

Feel free to search for it by title. If you search by author (Jeremy Edwards), you'll see his other erotica titles from Xcite and from us via Smashwords still up.

I hit the top 50 on Kobo with a title recently, so I do care about this. We haven't had our money from that title yet, come to think of it, as it was recent...


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## Austin_Briggs (Aug 21, 2011)

Andrew Ashling said:


> All present and accounted for.
> 
> Belgium, Europe


Yep, same down here in Switzerland. Prices in Swiss Franks, sales ranks -- all's working.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

All my titles are there, both the direct uploads and the Smashwords ones.


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## Austin_Briggs (Aug 21, 2011)

David Scroggins said:


> I'm in the US and I see your books.


I see all your books here in Geneva, Andrew.


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2013)

I direct publish, and all of my books are still up as of this afternoon.


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## Austin_Briggs (Aug 21, 2011)

Katherine Roberts said:


> Yours at least still has a cover and the message "not currently available". When I click on mine, the page says "oops!" and they appear to be gone completely:
> 
> http://store.kobobooks.com/en-gb/ebook/the-great-pyramid-robbery-seven-fabulous-wonders-1
> 
> Not a very professional error message, Kobo - and particularly annoying, since I write children's books for middle grade and my self-published ebooks are backlist titles so have all been through editing at mainstream children's publishers. Clearly, nobody is checking content before swinging the axe.


Wow, that's random. I also get an Oops message for yours.

I wonder if I'm next with my innocent books for 8-12 years old.


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## Michelle Hughes (Dec 12, 2011)

Thankful that I never worked with D2D and so sorry to see so many authors dealing with this situation!


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> I don't know. About as many people that would be unwilling or unable to call to turn the filter on?
> 
> I am a proponent of "opt-in." Smashwords prompts me to make a decision insofar as whether or not I want to view adult content. Drivethrufiction prompts me to make a decision whether or I want to view adult content. I don't see how people are put upon to have to send an email or make a phone call to tell their ISP to grant access to a site. The default of any system should always be the most family friendly, and then adults should be adults and determine if they want to view adult content. If you are too embarrassed to call your internet provider to tell them you want access to adult content, then that is a personal issue. But if you (imperial you, not you personally) are too embarrassed by the content you want to read to tell the ISP to give you access, then isn't it a bit hypocritical to tell people who DON'T want to view such content that THEY have to do the work to avoid it? And if people who want to read that type of content are simply too stupid to figure out how to contact the ISP, should we assume people who don't want to view that sort of content are more intelligent and therefore more likely to know how to make a phone call?


I tend to agree, Julie. Lots of people are raving about censorship, but it's not. It's protecting minors. If you're too embarrassed to call your ISP and opt in for adult content, then get over it. Me? I like porn and I'll be contacting them to allow me access. But I don't have kids who might be getting online. There are SO many ways to access the internet these days that I can see why officials want to restrict content at an ISP level.


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## AriadneW (Feb 16, 2013)

I can see my books searching from NZ but if I use a UK proxy to check, they don't come up.


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## Thomas Watson (Mar 8, 2012)

It's a clean split for me. Five titles, with two through D2D (gone) and three through Smashwords (still available). The D2D titles are a memoir and a short scifi story, so erotica content is not involved.


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## Lana Amore (Oct 13, 2013)

Since both my books are still in "Pending" for Premium in Smashwords, I'm tempted to submit them to Kobo again once they're out of review, to see if I get through, just for a laugh.


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## Debbiek (Aug 7, 2010)

Books all missing in Ohio! I emailed no response as of yet.  Mine just says oops! or couldn't find when searching.


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Katherine Roberts said:


> Yours at least still has a cover and the message "not currently available". When I click on mine, the page says "oops!" and they appear to be gone completely:
> 
> http://store.kobobooks.com/en-gb/ebook/the-great-pyramid-robbery-seven-fabulous-wonders-1
> 
> Not a very professional error message, Kobo - and particularly annoying, since I write children's books for middle grade and my self-published ebooks are backlist titles so have all been through editing at mainstream children's publishers. Clearly, nobody is checking content before swinging the axe.


I get:

*Oops!

This content has been deleted by its creator.*


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## Gone To Croatan (Jun 24, 2011)

Zoe Cannon said:


> Seriously, Kobo? Responding to a complaint from the Daily Mail is like responding to a complaint from the National Enquirer.


Unfortunately, this probably isn't their fault. I suspect they're making a knee-jerk reaction to the knee-jerk reaction from WH Smith to the Daily Mail complaint.

Gotta love the joy of 'self regulation'. The world would be a much better place if companies just said 'if it's legal, and people want to buy it, we'll sell it.'


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## Cheryl Douglas (Dec 7, 2011)

One of my titles distributed through SW is missing from Kobo. It's a fairly new release, so I'm not sure if it ever showed up there. Awaiting a response from SW. I don't sell much at Kobo, but it's frustrating for the odd reader who wants to purchase my book there.


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## PalomaEroti (Oct 14, 2013)

GWakeling said:


> As I'm in the UK....can anyone see MY book for sale? : http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/inside-evil


It says This book not currently available.


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

GWakeling said:


> Perhaps this is a regional issue then? I'm in the UK and nothing appears to be available from self pubbed authors. It may be to do with the WHSmith thing.
> 
> As I'm in the UK....can anyone see MY book for sale? : http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/inside-evil


Yep, it's free. I downloaded the epub from Belgium.


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## SVD (Jan 15, 2013)

Guess they don't like zombies either ...*Sometimes We Ran* is missing on Kobo. It was published through Draft2Digital, and it's not erotica. 

Both Kobo and Draft2Digital told me to sit tight. It's still up on Apple and Barnes & Noble ...so far. 

I turned it into a marketing blurb ...."Read the ebook that Kobo pulled from their store...etc"


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## Jason_Matthews (Jul 12, 2010)

I feel like Draft2Digital could have handled this better. The email today sent some authors into panic mode, perhaps without any reason other than Kobo making some website changes that have affected all D2D titles temporarily.

If Kobo is really set on deleting all erotica, they're probably in for a battle they can't win. JMO but that doesn't make much sense.


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## Jennifer R P (Oct 19, 2012)

Neither my small press published title nor my self published title are currently available to readers in the UK.

So, Smashwords got nailed too.

And yes, they do plan on deleting all erotica. I am seriously considering pulling my self published title from Kobo altogether.

This is why I support erotica writers. I support them because they get this crap all of the time - and because I firmly believe adult material should be available to adults - it should be easy to both find and avoid. This crap happens because vendors can't be bothered to implement a simple opt-out adult material filter.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Jennifer R P said:


> And yes, they do plan on deleting all erotica.


How do you know this? Do you have a source or is this speculation?


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> I don't know. About as many people that would be unwilling or unable to call to turn the filter on?
> 
> I am a proponent of "opt-in." Smashwords prompts me to make a decision insofar as whether or not I want to view adult content. Drivethrufiction prompts me to make a decision whether or I want to view adult content. I don't see how people are put upon to have to send an email or make a phone call to tell their ISP to grant access to a site. The default of any system should always be the most family friendly, and then adults should be adults and determine if they want to view adult content. If you are too embarrassed to call your internet provider to tell them you want access to adult content, then that is a personal issue. But if you (imperial you, not you personally) are too embarrassed by the content you want to read to tell the ISP to give you access, then isn't it a bit hypocritical to tell people who DON'T want to view such content that THEY have to do the work to avoid it? And if people who want to read that type of content are simply too stupid to figure out how to contact the ISP, should we assume people who don't want to view that sort of content are more intelligent and therefore more likely to know how to make a phone call?


Not everybody has a family and children. I am already subjects to lots of restrictions (movies cut to ribbons or banned altogether by overzealous censors, child safety systems that make plenty of things more difficult to operate, etc...) to protect children I don't have, just because some parents cannot protect their own children. I don't mind opt-out filters on the level of an individual website such as Smashwords, DriveThru, Google, Deviant Art, etc..., though I switch them off at once. But my ISP is supposed to deliver the content I requested without deciding what I can and cannot see. If my ISP were to implement a default on filter (they already offer a filter for those who want it), I'd switch to a different provider in a second. I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions, thank you very much.

Besides, you're naive if you think that such "default filters" on the ISP level will just apply to porn and anorexia sites and extremist propaganda. Because they can easily be altered to filter anything the powers that be don't want. Torrent sites, political sites, sites that offer information about reproductive health, etc... It also provides a handy little list with names and addresses of "those people" who opted in to see the "depraved content". Wanna bet how long it takes until those lists are handed over to the police when there's a sex criminal on the loose? That's precisely why a similar filtering initiative was stopped by popular opposition in Germany, because everybody knew that the extreme porn sites would only be the start.



> This is why I support erotica writers. I support them because they get this crap all of the time - and because I firmly believe adult material should be available to adults - it should be easy to both find and avoid. This crap happens because vendors can't be bothered to implement a simple opt-out adult material filter.


Yes, this. Because if they are banning erotica now, how can I know that they won't ban my books next, especially since I don't write happy, fluffy bunny books either.


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## Gone To Croatan (Jun 24, 2011)

CoraBuhlert said:


> Not everybody has a family and children. I am already subjects to lots of restrictions (movies cut to ribbons or banned altogether by overzealous censors, child safety systems that make plenty of things more difficult to operate, etc...) to protect children I don't have, just because some parents cannot protect their own children.


Indeed. I'd much rather see children banned from the Internet than the Internet censored to whatever is considered 'safe for children'.

A society which tries to make its culture 'child friendly' by default merely infantilizes adults.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

NadiaLee said:


> Probably b/c Kobo's architecture is a mess?


It could also be they follow a common architecture where the same file resides on multiple servers. It's reasonable that a unique set of servers could handle traffic from a given country. In this kind of system changes propagate through the network on different schedules.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Julie

"unable" is not necessarily the same thing as "too stupid."  Less caffiene.

Betsy


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Edward M. Grant said:


> Indeed. I'd much rather see children banned from the Internet than the Internet censored to whatever is considered 'safe for children'.
> 
> A society which tries to make its culture 'child friendly' by default merely infantilizes adults.


 ↑
This and this
↓


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## Debbiek (Aug 7, 2010)

To our Kobo Writing Life and self-publishing partners:



As you may be aware, there has been a significant amount of negative media attention in the UK regarding offensive material that became available across a number of eBook platforms. Kobo was included in the reports from media and we are taking immediate action to resolve an issue that is the direct result of a select few authors and publishers violating Kobo’s content policies.



In order to address the situation Kobo is taking the following steps:

1.      We are removing titles in question from the Kobo platform.

2.      We are quarantining and reviewing titles to ensure that compliance to our policies is met by all authors and publishers. We will ensure that content meeting the policy is made available online as soon as possible.

3.      We are reviewing our policies and procedures to implement safeguards that will ensure this situation does not happen in the future.



We are working hard to get back to business as usual, as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.


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## PalomaEroti (Oct 14, 2013)

Edward M. Grant said:


> A society which tries to make its culture 'child friendly' by default merely infantilizes adults.


Yes. This.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

SVD said:


> Guess they don't like zombies either ...*Sometimes We Ran* is missing on Kobo. It was published through Draft2Digital, and it's not erotica.
> 
> Both Kobo and Draft2Digital told me to sit tight. It's still up on Apple and Barnes & Noble ...so far.
> 
> I turned it into a marketing blurb ...."Read the ebook that Kobo pulled from their store...etc"


I did the same only I said, "Too hot for Kobo!"


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## 72263 (Sep 10, 2013)

Has anyone heard anything from B&N? Apart from the 'we're looking into things' that they said in some of the news stories?


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## Lana Amore (Oct 13, 2013)

Chunter said:


> Has anyone heard anything from B&N? Apart from the 'we're looking into things' that they said in some of the news stories?


They immediately accepted my BBW virgin bondage spanking book today, so ... I think they are just nodding and then doing what they want. Not sure they're in the position to be too picky.


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## SVD (Jan 15, 2013)

MaryMcDonald said:


> I did the same only I said, "Too hot for Kobo!"


I think it worked ...sold 3 on Amazon since the tweet went out.


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