Publishing Erotica on Google Play Books

The line is defined by legality and consent. Erotica, which is sexually explicit storytelling between consenting adults, is permitted. Prohibited content includes anything depicting or promoting illegal acts (like child sexual abuse), non-consensual sex, necrophilia, bestiality, or content that appears to be transactional or promoting sex trafficking. If your story involves consenting adults (even in fantasy scenarios), you are generally safe. The moment it crosses into illegal territory, it’s prohibited.

Yes. Themes like BDSM, Consensual Non-Consent (CNC), and other “dark” kinks between fictional, consenting adults are generally permissible. The key is consent within the narrative framework. You must clearly mark the book for Mature Audiences and ensure your cover and description do not violate policies. Avoid descriptions that could be misinterpreted as promoting actual violence or illegal acts.

The policy is very strict and can be subjective. It’s best to err on the side of caution. A shirtless man is usually fine, as long as the pose isn’t overly suggestive. A woman in tasteful lingerie might pass, but if it’s revealing or in a provocative pose, it’s likely to be rejected. Absolutely no visible genitalia, nipples (male or female), or depictions of sexual acts. Your best bet is to use evocative imagery, silhouettes, or symbolic objects rather than character art that pushes the boundaries.

The most common reasons are:
1. Failure to mark the book as “Mature”: This is an automatic rejection.
2. Explicit Metadata: Using extremely graphic or vulgar words in your title, subtitle, or book description can trigger a rejection.
3. Misleading Categories: Placing your erotica book in a non-erotica category (like Young Adult) to try and gain visibility will result in a policy violation.

Yes. If it contains any scenes that are sexually explicit, it must be flagged for a mature audience. There is no middle ground. Even one explicit scene requires the flag. This protects you and ensures your book is shown to the correct audience.

Google is generally more lenient about this than other retailers, but be careful. You can typically link to your author website, social media, or a reader mailing list. However, if you link directly to a page that contains or sells even more explicit material (like an uncensored art gallery on Patreon), you risk having your book flagged. The safest approach is to link to a “clean” landing page.

Absolutely. This is standard practice. Your legal name and tax information are required for the financial setup, but this information is confidential and is not displayed on your book’s sale page. You will enter your pen name in the “Author” field for each book you publish.

Google pays out monthly, approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which the sales occurred (e.g., sales from September are paid around the end of November). You must meet a minimum payment threshold, which varies by currency (e.g., $1 USD for EFT). Payments are typically made via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to your bank account.

Non-US authors must submit the appropriate tax form (usually the W-8BEN form) through the Partner Center. This form certifies that you are not a U.S. person. Depending on the tax treaty between your country and the United States, this can reduce or eliminate the amount of U.S. tax withheld from your royalties on sales to U.S. customers.

EPUB is a “reflowable” format. This means the text and images can automatically adjust to fit any screen size, from a small phone to a large tablet, and allows the reader to change font sizes. A PDF is a static, fixed-layout document. It doesn’t adapt, forcing readers to pinch, zoom, and scroll constantly on smaller devices, which is a poor reading experience.

You do not need your own ISBN to publish on Google Play. If you don’t provide one, Google will assign a unique identifier to your book, known as a GGKEY (e.g., GGKEY:1A2B3C4D5E6). An ISBN is a global standard useful if you plan to publish on multiple platforms or in print and want to consolidate your book’s identity. For a Google-only release, a GGKEY is perfectly fine.

In your Partner Center, go to the Book Catalog and select the book. In the “Content” tab, you can upload a new manuscript or cover file directly over the old one. After uploading, you must click the “Publish” button again to submit the changes for review. Updates are usually processed faster than new books, often within 24-48 hours.

Yes. Google Play has a robust pre-order system. You can set up your book for pre-order months in advance. You must provide all the metadata and a cover, but you can upload the final manuscript file up to a few days before the release date. Pre-orders are a great way to build buzz and have sales count towards your rank on launch day.

In the “Pricing” tab for your book, you can add a new price for a specific date range. For example, you can set a sale price of $0.99 for one week. To make a book free, simply set the price to $0.00. You can schedule these promotions in advance, which is great for marketing campaigns.

The 70% royalty is calculated on the list price net of VAT/GST. Many countries have a Value Added Tax or Goods and Services Tax on digital products. Google collects this tax and remits it to the government, and your royalty is calculated on the price after that tax has been deducted. This is the most common reason for discrepancies.

Readers find books through direct searches (author/title), browsing categories, and Google’s recommendation algorithms (“You might also like…”). Your metadata is key. A clear, compelling description that uses keywords and tropes relevant to your sub-genre will significantly help readers find your book.

No, Google Play does not currently have dedicated “author pages” in the same way some other retailers do. Clicking on an author’s name on a book’s product page will simply perform a search for other books by that same author.

Like any retail site, reviews provide social proof and can influence a potential buyer’s decision. While Google’s algorithm is more opaque than others, it’s reasonable to assume that books with more positive ratings and reviews get better visibility. However, getting reviews on Google Play can be challenging, as it has a smaller “community” aspect than sites like Goodreads.