OP, you're the one who keeps bringing up "fascist diktats." Take it to the Politics & Current Events forum. (Not a mod, just a frustrated poster who's TRYING TO HELP YOU.)
Look, this is not about the government, and OP, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop trying to drag that in so we can
focus on your question. Amazon and the other retailers are
private companies. They can have whatever the hell content guidelines they want, and they can change them at any time. It's right there in their TOS when you sell through them. Like I said, this is
not news to SPers, and Amazon's whims already drive erotica writers up the wall. There's a lot Amazon bans from their stores that is
perfectly legal under the American First Amendment -- Amazon just doesn't want to sell it. Which is their right as a private company, whether or not a private citizen like you or I or anyone else disagrees. Whether or not the
government disagrees, honestly. Amazon can't be forced to carry a product they don't want to carry.
And POD printers cannot be forced to print what they don't want to print.
That includes
all POD companies based in the U.S., which I think is all the big ones. The only way to find a POD company with less risk of imposing content guidelines, is, imho, to find one that associates itself passionately with freedom of speech, like a POD company associated with the EFF or Reddit. But I don't think any that do this exist, or if they do, I haven't heard of them.
If you're willing to pour some research into it, the search terms I would suggest are looking for a POD company that accepts hard-core erotica/pornography, as I imagine there may be more people asking that question than yours but the answer might be what you are looking for. (Haven't tried the search, just a suggestion.)
All this is to say: If you dislike what Amazon has done, then sure, don't use CS. But I really don't think there's any guarantee IS or Lulu or any of the other POD companies will automatically be more okay with being associated with a book Amazon would ban. They
may print something CS wouldn't, but they also may
not print something CS would. They're private companies too, and get to do what they want. So if you're worried about the future -- which is what it sounded like in your OP -- I wouldn't bet on one above the others.
If, on the other hand, this is about protesting something Amazon has already done, then sure, just go with IS. It's up to you.
If that's the case, then I'll sell on Amazon until they say I can't. I might lose that market, but they won't be able to cut me off from the P.O.D. system I'm using. I'll still be able to churn out books to sell elsewhere.
Make sense?
Not really, actually. You're not married to your POD provider. You can switch at any time, or have more than one (some people do both CS
and IS and use them for different retailers to get a higher cut). You will always still be able to switch to another POD company and sell elsewhere. (Unless, of course, you've exhausted all the POD companies out there.) It would be a mild annoyance, sure, but it's not like there's a contract -- you can always switch. Some people do it voluntarily just because they're dissatisfied for whatever reason.
I really don't think there's any more likelihood CS will stop printing you than that someone else will (though again, if you don't want any of your profits going to the Amazon parent company, of course that's a different story and it's your prerogative). But if you're worried about this, maybe you should contact the major POD providers and ask for more specifics on their content policies.
(
eta: This post is not meant as either a defense
or a criticism of Amazon's or anyone else's content policies. I'm only discussing the reality of doing business with SP/POD partners, not what I personally think of their TOS.)
