Can You Have Sex Scenes or Swearing in a KDP Book?

You can write a romance or a gritty thriller and publish it on KDP, but there are rules about what Amazon will sell and how a book is listed. KDP does not sell pornography, and it asks you to say if your cover or title is sexually explicit. This post sticks to the rules and keeps to what KDP’s pages say, because the details change.

What do KDP’s content guidelines say?

KDP’s content guidelines have an offensive content section. It says KDP does not sell certain content, including content it determines is hate speech, content that “contains pornography,” and content that glorifies rape or pedophilia or advocates terrorism. It ends with a catch-all: “other material we deem inappropriate or offensive.”

The same page says KDP reserves the right to remove content from sale if it creates a poor customer experience, and that it will reject or remove content that does not meet the guidelines.

Two things follow. First, pornography is named, so a book that is mainly that is not something to submit. Second, the catch-all means KDP decides at its own discretion, and its page does not draw a line for you between a love scene and something it would refuse. I can’t tell you where the line sits for your book, and nobody outside KDP can.

Is swearing a problem?

KDP’s guidelines do not name swearing or strong language. They name specific categories of content. That is not a promise that anything is fine, because of the catch-all above, but it means swearing in dialogue is not on the list.

If you are writing a character who talks the way real people do, my advice is to write the book you want and keep the cover and title in good taste. That is my view, not a KDP rule.

What is the sexually explicit question in KDP?

When you set up a title, KDP’s categories help says you must answer Yes or No to a question about sexually explicit images or title. You cannot go on to pick categories without answering it.

Look at the wording. It asks about the images or the title, not the text inside. If you answer Yes, KDP says the book is automatically ineligible for Children’s categories and you cannot set a reading age. That page also says books with sexually explicit images or titles are removed from inappropriate categories.

If you are also publishing for younger readers, keep those books separate. My post on how to self-publish a children’s book covers the reading age field.

Will an adult book show up in Amazon search?

KDP’s metadata guidelines say, under the primary audience section, that “books containing sexually explicit images or titles will not surface in general product searches.”

So the practical risk is on the cover and the title. A romance with a tasteful cover and a plain title is in a different position from one with an explicit cover. KDP does not say on that page what happens to books in between, so don’t guess at it.

How do categories and keywords come into it?

They decide which shelf your book sits on and which searches it can match. KDP lets you choose three categories and says to choose ones that describe your book. The metadata page says it does not tolerate categories or keywords that mislead or manipulate customers, so don’t borrow a popular category your book doesn’t fit.

For fiction, use the genre and sub-genre your readers actually search for. My posts on how to use keywords on Amazon KDP and the best book categories on Amazon show how to do it. If KDP does block a book, what to do when KDP blocks your book walks through the notice and the fix.

What should I do before I publish?

Start with the cover and the title, since those are the parts KDP’s pages tie to the explicit content question. Ask whether a stranger scrolling past would find them suitable for a general store listing. Then check that the book description does not promise something the book is not. It is easy to fix before launch.

Read the guidelines pages above on the day you publish, answer the explicit content question truthfully, and describe the book accurately in the title, categories and keywords. If you are not sure how to position a series or a genre-crossing book, I can look at it with you on a free 25-minute discovery call.

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