Scribd, the subscription-based content platform has apparently alerted its publishing partners that it will be dropping a number of romance and erotica titles from its ebook catalog. Smashwords CEO Mark Coker announced the news on the Smashwords website yesterday, along with the estimate that Scribd will drop 80-90% of the Smashwords romance and erotica titles. Mark is a strong proponent of indie publishing, and has been critical about the viability of a subscription model for ebooks (Amazon has updated its author compensation model for their Kindle Unlimited subscription platform starting July 1, 2015; authors now get paid “per page” read).
From Mark Coker’s post:
Scribd, the fast-growing ebook subscription service, today announced dramatic cuts to their catalog of romance and erotica titles.
Forget the bustier rippers and the thick afternoon romance novels with Fabio on the cover. According to eBook Explosion, the number one genre out there is ‘sensual romance.’ Mommy porn. The stuff that makes even Anastasia Steele breathe heavier when she’s not hanging out with Christian Grey (yeah, I just made a Shades of Grey reference).