If you are searching for KDP banned Erotica keyword list or what words NOT to use in the title of your book for erotica then you have come to the right place, this article is just a guide - the problem with KDP, when there is a change made, they do not update their TOS and/or notify us authors.
We have to guess and since they do not follow a process (block book, email author for questions, suspend account....and then author apologizes to get account back) - instead they are sweeping through termination of accounts and when account gets terminated you don't get any royalties. Hopefully this article will help you and remember, Salty Vixen Stories & More, we do have an erotica bookstore that you can publish your books on here and anywhere else - as we are non-exclusive: https://www.saltyvixenstories.com/shop-ebooks/
After combing through hundreds of sites (and I'm still pretty much bewildered by the scanty and variant information available), Amazon does not allow nudity, sexual positions (even fully clothed), etc., and some say that the words "erotica" or 'sex" are banned in titles and blurbs (although plenty of published titles and blurbs contain these words), but anything is permitted in keywords.
I read stories such “Banned by Amazon KDP After 8 Years and 300 Books” - And as the author you think “I did nothing wrong. KDP approved of my books and it was part of KDP Terms of Service”…. I know this Is frustrating, trust me I and many others feel for you because we all have been though the abusive power KDP has. They don’t have an official keyword list and when they make changes to their TOS during office meetings on Zoom, they don’t tell us the authors about the changes that is why there are so many massive account termination sweeps (and it isn’t just erotica!) (here is one I suggest to read “https://www.reddit.com/r/KDP/comments/zh65b9/account_terminated_even_though_i_followed_the/“
If you are wondering why your book got blocked or your account was terminated, sadly, KDP doesn’t tell you, they want you to figure out what you did wrong (gotta love the abusive relationship they do!) - as there is no official list on KDP’s website, many erotica authors have put together a list that this will help you.
- If you write horror stories, you can NOT include “Blood, die, slaughtering, etc..” in the title.
- For BDSM & Bondage: you cannot include the word ‘Slave’ - yes there are older books that were published on KDP over the years that went through the KDP Cracks, but using the word ‘slave’ today is a no-no.
- Cannibalism, while that is a word and can be used in stories, using that word in the title can get you banned - yes cannibalism is a horror topic that many write. I mean, there is a market for basically everything, ins’t there?
- Keywords : DO NOT USE “Extreme Horror” That will tip off the AI bots for instant ban. Although Extreme Horror is a thing for book topics, KDP doesn’t see that.
Amazon's no-no words include: (some of these will get you blocked, some more often just adult-filtered but still you can get blocked for any of them)
- cheerleader, virgin, babysitter, hypnosis, rape, force (enforced, forcibly, etc), noncon, pound (used as a verb), abuse, girl, boy, preteen, teen, teenager, tween, molest, baby, infant, newborn, child/ren, mother, father, brother, sister, bro, sis, mom, momma, daddy, pa, grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, cousin, great-, -in-law and step-variants, incest, pseudoincest, PI, family, mind control, hypnosis, hypnotized, (gang)bang or any variant with the word -bang in it (not "gangbanger" though) like blowbang or ragebang, back door (in certain contexts), breeding, lactation, rimjob, rectum, deflower, pussy, cunt, creampie, cum, splooge, semen, sperm, menstrual, period blood, slave, prison bitch (other derogatory uses of bitch), molest, underage, pedophile, pedo-anything, fuck, jizz, shit (when literal) and anything referring to actual feces or urine, bestiality, any real-world extant animal word like wolf, dog or bull…
Cover pictures that include a person tied up, handcuffed or otherwise bound are likely to get you banned. Referring to the concept in the blurb/title does not seem to have that effect, just depictions on the cover. It is also minimally enforced when the model is a man.
Reviewers at Amazon don't usually look at what they're blocking, so these words can get you blocked even when used in phrases like "frat boy", where "boy" obviously doesn't imply underage. Usually they won't block you for that, but you can never be sure. Similarly Alfred lusts for his long-lost wife, his sweet baby Gertrude or Now that she's in college, Mildred doesn't want to be daddy's little girl anymore - no matter how nonsensical it is, there's a real chance you'll get blocked with usages like these. It's better to avoid it.
Words like "virgin" are banned very strictly if referring to a woman, but you might be able to get away with it (for awhile) referring to a man. Don't count on it though.
If you use any animal word in the title or blurb, make sure it is accompanied by the words "shifter" or "were-". "The Bear-Man Orgy" may get blocked, but "The Werebear-Man Orgy" or "The Bear-Shifter Orgy" will not.
Amazon is fine with animal words that refer to fictional, extraterrestrial or extinct creatures, such as dinosaurs, unicorns and aliens. I guess since there's no chance of acting it out?- well sort of- because these can be flagged by Amazon AI Bot and if the KDP Content Reviewer doesn’t know it is a fictional story, they can terminate your account without notice.
They do seem to be aware that words like "bear", "otter" and "bull" are used to describe sexual roles, so you can get away with these as long as it is clear you're not talking about the animal.
Remember that, if people complain that there is rape in your book, it will be blocked. Amazon will not check that that complaint is valid. Remember also that there are people who buy erotica just to trawl through it for references to alcohol or other drugs, and if they find it, they will complain that this is a date-rape-story. It does not matter if you specify that the person drinking is not drunk, or that the drunk person has been having willing sex with their partner for years, or that they're just smoking weed, or that they took Ecstasy specifically for the purpose of having sex.
It does not even matter if you specify the people having sex are not drinking if they are at a party where others are drinking, sensitive readers will claim that it is a lie. When they complain, Amazon will block the book.
There are more things that can cause your KDP Account to be randomly terminated:
- Any direct reference to genital contact or specific sex acts in the blurb
- Profanity in the title or blurb
- Possibly some adult warnings in the blurb, especially if you specifically say it's "for adults only"
- Covers that come close to being too explicit to be allowed at all, anything obviously simulating sex
- Samples of hardcore action in the blurb: How do you get around these restrictions?
- "man of the house" has been suggested referring to pseudoincest. "Brat" is okay to describe a protagonist/stepdaughter.
- "brutal and aggressive" are fine. I think "extortion" is still okay?
- Sometimes people just put "trigger warning" in the blurb with no details. The title and description will probably make it clear what trigger is meant.
- "Gangbanging Sarah" will get you blocked, but "Ganging Sarah" is still fine. "Gangbanger" as a noun referring to a criminal is okay too.
- "Rimjob" is bad but AFAIK you can still get away with using the verb "to rim".
Note I'm only referring to words/ideas in the title, cover or blurb here, not the actual content. AFAIK, Amazon never reads the actual stories, so as long as you dance around it in the title/cover/blurb, you can get away with a lot of this banned stuff in the stories themselves (not that you should). However, if someone complains that your story includes under-age sex, rape or incest (or even semi-rape or pseudo-incest), your story is likely to get blocked, again without anyone from Amazon reading it.
