Sensitive or controversial content when looking to publish?

So, I am editing my book and realise I have a lot of sensitive or hot topics, such as rape, torture, suicide, child murder, and racism, to name a few. Now this is a science fiction and fantasy book that I pretty much wrote without any intended market, but it will likely be for adults. The various hot topics came into the book naturally, so I kinda want to keep them.

I tried to google "sensitive or controversial content when publishing." And other things. But did not get the results I am looking for.

Will the amount of controversial or sensitive subjects make publishing hard? Should I look to self-publishing instead? Will perhaps even Amazon say no to my book?

This is the first book in a series, future books may feature other sensitive subjects.

Thank you for your attention.

 

I would say much depends on how explicit the scenes involving those topics are, and how many of them there are. I used to read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy. I don't read as much these days, and I'm not sure why -- probably because my favorite authors have died and I haven't found anyone whose work I like as much. I can recall very few books in which rape was even mentioned.

You wrote that these subjects all came into the book naturally. If so, depending on how heavily you stress them, they may not be an issue. Without having read any of the book, though, my off-the-cuff reaction was that no one book needs to have that many sensitive subjects in it.

 

With the popularity of Game of Thrones, dark topics have become pretty prevalent in fantasy. A lot of the popular fantasy books I've read deal with most, if not all of those. So I don't think their inclusion would be too much of a hindrance when it comes to publishing (though it might change which publishers you'd want to go through).

I would like to say, that while it is important to write a first draft naturally, when it comes to editing, choices should be made deliberately. If your story doesn't really benefit from the inclusion of some of these topics, consider cutting them. The whole kill your darlings advice.

Just know that because these are sensitive topics there will be some members of your potential audience who will be put off by their inclusion (especially rape). Whether that matters or not, is up to you.

 

Thank you both!

I would like to keep the story as is. But maybe put up ample warnings. Will also see what beta readers will say.

Agree that on first sight it may sound like an awful lot of hot topics for a single book, but to me they really fit into the story.

I haven't gone into excessive detail on most of the topics.

Anyhow, thanks for the input.

 

If you're looking to sell a book, you need to be aware of the market conditions ahead of time and be writing for a specific audience. You need to be aware of what the market will bear. If these things are common within your genre, go for it. If they're never going to survive the current political climate, get rid of them. writing for publication is a lot different than writing for yourself.

 

Published “grimdark” fantasy books include all of those elements, so I don’t think that will be a barrier to publication in and of itself.

 

Without reading your book and seeing exactly what it contains it is difficult to say, but on a general level any sensitive/hot topics are likely to affect your publishing chances to some degree. If you're self-publishing then that's less of an issue than traditional publishing. If you're going down the traditional route then definitely remove as much sensitive content as possible, traditional publishing is competitive enough!

Consider carefully whether it is important to you to include them. They will likely put off some of your readers, some of your publishers and some of the stockists. As someone said above, you're not writing for you, you're writing for your reader.

 

I think I may have a plan of action. I will keep the content as close to original as possible, depending on beta and sensitivity readers. Then send the book out to various places, if I don't get any fish on the hook due to the content, I will then consider changes or self-publishing.

I really want the art to remain unaffected by market conditions, but I realise that may make me naive to reality.

Thanks for further input!

 

That's great that you're using sensitivity readers. They are really useful for manuscripts with any kind of topics like this.

 

My thoughts go to an analogy with stand-up comedians. Successful comedians sprinkle in awkward or controversial topics along with their funny stuff. The comedian will have an audience laughing their butts off, then transition to an ultra-sensitive topic making audience members cringe with disgust. It's almost like taking a bite of a cracker to cleanse the palate at a wine tasting. If done right it enhances the enjoyment of the audience. I'd suggest not to necessarily avoid sensitive topics, but to be wary of overuse. Make sure the sensitive topics have a specific purpose moving the story along while maintaining the reader's interest.

 

I've nearly completed my first draft, and it has rape and suicide in it. It is dystopian fantasy set after the destruction of a large part of the human race. It was never going to be a setting for a happy story and the experiences shape the MC. I am worried about the rape scene and have kept the detail minimal, but it does impact the MC throughout the book. But, some of the books I have read recently cover these subjects and one I believe was for YA. Personally, I prefer gritty impactful books, where the detail is not gratuitous.

 

Thanks for the advice!

Makes me a bit relaxed, realising that worse things have been written with more detail and still been published. And it's good advice to look up publishers who deal with the darker things.

 

All of this is why I don’t write for money. There’s a magazine that publishes my controversial poetry; they don’t pay anything, but in return, I get to write what I think about the current political and social climate. I’ve even helped a few people with my writing.

This is not to boast, but to let anyone reading this know that writing for unpaid publication as an amateur is a perfectly valid option.

 

Im in the same boat with my story.
But, theres a trend im starting to pick up on (i dont know how new or old it is, but ive noticed a few authors doing it in the books i order in the library). Trigger warnings.
Some books with sensitive topics will include trigger warnings on the back of the book or inside cover.

I started including them in my query letters (the early ones).

"Trigger Warning: this novel contains mentions of suicide and sexual assault (not graphic), as well as complex emotions around mental health"​

Now i use the trigger warning sparingly as i've found that it can be a turn off. If an agent mentions certain things on their wishlist or in their bio, ill include a TW. Or if they specifically ask for a TW, ill include it.

However, i subscribe to this one fantasy writers newsletter and on monday when it came out, she linked a study that said TW actually have the opposite effect than what was intended.TW make people MORE anxious and hyper aware of it. Like they will be reading specifically for it and fixate on how "bad/graphic" it is that it needs a TW. Sometimes even seeing the TW will have the person start to relive their own traumas without even opening the book.
That was interesting to read. But at the same time..... What do we do now?

 

Hmm, it can be a bit difficult. I like the phrase "Sensitivity Warning" and have used it for some short stories. I only use that phrase and don't describe what the sensitivity warning is for actually. Then I let the reader decide if they want to move on or not.

If the mere mention of trigger warning can trigger something, then that can be problematic. But I would say that if a person is that sensitive then they really need more professional help or ways to deal with their issues. We can't really put up cushions all over society, it just wouldn't be possible. Horrors will happen, what is important is that people get to deal with those horros after the event.

 

I can see pluses and minuses with this.

Example: my sister was hospitalized for attempted suicide a few years back. I wanted to bring her stuff to read while she was there. The doctor in charge of the ward gave me a list of topics and trigger warnings to stay away from. So i had to screen the books i wanted to bring her for possibly triggering materials. Even books that i have read before ... I was never thinking about possibly triggering topics when i read them so i had to go back and skim them.
Having the TW on the covers would have made it less time consuming to do this.

 

Yeah, trigger warnings can be helpful in allowing people to pick what they want to read. If someone just wants a good story without a bunch of violence and bad stuff then they can easily exclude all books that have trigger warnings and then get their preferred book with relative ease.

Of course, sites would need to include trigger warnings in their categorization system.

 

It's not a bad idea to give an editor a heads up on a blind read that might go into entirely unexpected places.

I'm not keen on Trigger Warning as the key, though, as it puts the emphasis on the reader's reaction. I have included Content Warning, usually for the same couple of stories with an explanation that there's non-explicit but frank reference to sexual and sensitive issues. It's over the content that I have control, not what it may or may not trigger in an unknown party.

 

Literature is not and should not be a padded room with climate control, censors, and a ferocious nanny standing guard at the reader's gate.

It is a kindness to screen books for a traumatized friend or relative. It is something else all together to plaster books with professionally rendered sensitivity warnings re: everything from scatalogical references to ophidiophobia triggers.

 

Good point, yeah we writers have control over the content not the way people react to that content. Your reasoning is sound. I will probably also use content warnings going forward.

Love the way you phrase things, Catorina. Yeah literature should not be a padded room, but more categories can't hurt, right? Or can they? For example, to categorize all books that include violence, rape, etc, it may help readers avoid subjects they just aren't interested in. Though this may enter into spoiler area. And a reader may LOVE a book through and through with the exception of one rape scene, if they then never read that book because of a category, they would perhaps miss out on something. I don't know.

 

My general thought on the matter (open to reconsideration) is this: a content warning provides information about a work that helps a reader decide whether they want to read it. Just like the cover, the genre, laudatory quotes on the jacket by other authors, the blurb on the back, book reviews, etc. help a reader decide whether they want to read a book. I don't think I've yet heard a good reason why information in the form of a content warning is bad but all of the other information that informs a purchase is good or at least OK. Maybe we can sell all books with blank white covers so readers go in without any pre-knowledge of what they're getting?

 

Counterpoint: https://banished.substack.com/p/the-futility-of-trigger-warnings

This trend...runs counter to research on the effects of such advisories. As early as 2020 the consensus, based on 17 studies using a range of media, was that trigger warnings do not alleviate emotional distress, and they do not significantly reduce negative affect or minimize intrusive thoughts. Notably, these advisories, which were at least initially introduced out of consideration for people suffering from PTSD, “were not helpful even when they warned about content that closely matched survivors’ traumas.”

On the contrary, researchers found that trigger warnings actually increased the anxiety of individuals with the most severe PTSD, prompting them to “view trauma as more central to their life narrative.” A recent meta-analysis of such warnings found the same thing: the only reliable effect was that people felt more anxious after receiving the warning. The researchers concluded that these warnings “are fruitless,” and “trigger warnings should not be used as a mental health tool.”​

 

Interesting, I wonder if there is a difference between the phrases such as trigger warnings and content warnings in triggering people? If a content warning is better to use than a trigger warning?

Someone on reddit mentioned that the difference between a content warning and a trigger warning is the details, the contents of a content warning will not trigger you while the contents of a trigger warning will. I do not know how widespread that knowledge is or if it is even a standardised system? I will probably still prefer to use the phrase content warning, even for explicit and detailed things unless I am instructed otherwise by an editor.