Erotica writers have always been the canary in the coal mines. Over and over again, this century especially, we’ve warned writers about book banning trends we see from retailers, credit card processors, funding/promotional platforms, etc. We’re always ignored and then the writers who don’t explicitly write about s*x but do have Queer and/or Trans characters in their books and/or characters who have s*x on the page (or implied outside of marriage, in non-conforming pairings, etc.) are always surprised when their books / sales / promotions are banned.

The P25 policies/bans are already being implemented across the country in “red” states and proposed or implemented in more conservative local jurisdictions in “blue” states. Librarians are already being threatened with jail for not removing books with LGBTQ characters or books containing factual U.S. history. (One book, for example, that accurately discusses the reality of the damage done to the lives and society of the Wampanoag Tribes after the English arrived in Plymouth was reclassified as fiction without notice or public input by a board in Texas that deliberately excluded librarians from its ranks.)

Eliminating the ability of LGBTQ people to live openly is very high on the xtian nationalist playlist (as it was in Nazi Germany). Eliminating books with characters who are Queer and/or Trans (unless they’re the evil villain) is one of the first steps (again, as it was in Nazi Germany) towards that.

As to implementation, one of the ways fascism works is voluntary compliance in advance. Barnes & Noble is already purging its virtual store shelves of erotic books. Amazon probably will be next. (Amazon has a long history of misclassifying children’s/YA books with LGBTQ+ characters portrayed in a positive light as p*rn.)

I’m sure for most writers #3 “Plan for the worst but prepare for the best” means planning for a reduction of income or losing access to their ACA health insurance. But in reality, for many of us that’s a best case scenario. The worst, if we don’t return to the closet/stop writing and selling books, includes jail, deportation, and/or execution.

If you’re already in the “take care of other” position, one way of helping (in addition to the obvious of buying our books sooner rather than later if you have the discretionary income) would be passing along emigration lawyer recommendations for folks who are looking leave the U.S. (If you contact me via my website, I can share any information with folks trying to help them.)

Yes, they published that. Publishing something is easy. Implementing is not.

I’m going to keep doing what I do, including writing LGBTQ+ characters.

But, as I said in this piece, we all need to make our own choices. We need to make decisions that will take care of ourselves first, and then take care of others.

Those of us who write romance, erotic fiction, or any (including children’s) fiction with LGBTQ+ characters will be classified as p*rn writers and could face jail time. We definitely will not be able to sell our books via current market places which will be threatened with fines and possible criminal penalties if they don’t ban our work no matter how much money we make for those retailers. Creating/maintaining our own stores will not be an option, either. Credit card companies and shopping cart software will be making the same (against us) choice.

The decisions we make must include the options of: 1) shutting down our businesses, 2) abandoning our readers and our current work to start over in other genres under new names, 3) leaving (if we have the resources) the country in order to continue writing, or 4) accepting the risks of being jailed, deported (if your family has been here less than three generations it won’t matter if you’re a citizen, born or naturalized), or 5) executed if we try to stand up for our rights.

Life is about cycles. Things go this way and then that. To and fro.

One side was upset four years ago. The other side is now. This time, however, we have a track-record to refer to. So not everything is unknown, even in the current situation and how different the word is now than it was then. And that should make planning a bit less traumatic.

But your ten points are exactly how my parents taught us kids to live. Plan for the worst case scenario, but hope for the best and enjoy it when it comes. Always be flexible in those plans and be ready to adjust mid course, if necessary. And don’t catastrophize things. And be open to opportunities, even with people you perceive to think differently from you.

If only our “leaders” on both sides would accept that cooperation is the best plan. Even if it can be contentious sometimes.

Life will go on. So thank you for your common sense approach.