Is this a violation of federal obscenity laws, or is it free speech? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

As I shared on Facebook last week, we are receiving an increasing number of manuscripts from perverts. I’m not referring to super-spicy romance novels. I’m referring to manuscripts that depict graphic acts of violence (you know what I’m referring to) involving children. Of course, they all claim it’s “fiction.” I doubt that…

I have received a handful of those types of “manuscripts” (if you can even call them that) over the years. They are always very poorly written. Monsters get their rocks off writing that horrific material, and they also love fantasizing about other people reading their work.

I rejected one two weeks ago. I never read beyond the first page. The sickos usually get right into the “action” in the first paragraph or two. I’m always honest with the pedo authors. I tell them they are sick in the head.

That guy responded, “Can you tell me what about my book didn’t tickle your fancy?”

I did not respond.

At BookLocker, we, of course, don’t publish that filth. But the number of those types of “manuscript” submissions has increased dramatically over the past few months. We save the manuscripts in case law enforcement needs them, and we change the monsters’ passwords in our system so they can no longer access their author account on our server.

A friend of mine in the industry is receiving an increasing number of nasty photographs (either stolen from adult sites, or created using AI) on social media and via email. The scammers haven’t started sending me nude female photos…yet.

Are These Manuscripts Considered Obscene or Are They Considered Free Speech?

Bold text below is my emphasis.

The Supreme Court has ruled that, “transmitting obscenity and child pornography, whether via the Internet or other means, is… illegal under federal law for both adults and juveniles.”

-Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844 (1998).

Obscenity

Obscenity is not protected under First Amendment rights to free speech, and violations of federal obscenity laws are criminal offenses. The U.S. courts use a three-pronged test, commonly referred to as the Miller test, to determine if given material is obscene. Obscenity is defined as anything that fits the criteria of the Miller test, which may include, for example, visual depictions, spoken words, or written text.

Federal law makes it illegal to distribute, transport, sell, ship, mail, produce with intent to distribute or sell, or engage in a business of selling or transferring obscene matter. Convicted offenders face fines and imprisonment. Although the law generally does not criminalize the private possession of obscene matter, the act of receiving such matter could violate federal laws prohibiting the use of the mails, common carriers, or interactive computer services for the purpose of transportation. (For more information, see Citizen’s Guide to Federal Law on Obscenity). – Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice

The three-pronged Miller test is as follows:

1. Whether the average person, applying contemporary adult community standards, finds that the matter, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interests (i.e., an erotic, lascivious, abnormal, unhealthy, degrading, shameful, or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion);

2. Whether the average person, applying contemporary adult community standards, finds that the matter depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way (i.e., ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, masturbation, excretory functions, lewd exhibition of the genitals, or sado-masochistic sexual abuse); and

3. Whether a reasonable person finds that the matter, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Any material that satisfies this three-pronged test may be found obscene. – Citizen’s Guide To U.S. Federal Law On Obscenity

The manuscripts I’ve been receiving definitely meet those three criteria.

Some are so graphic that it’s possible (and entirely likely) that the person writing the obscene material has actually performed some of those atrocious acts.

Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) should be reported to your local FBI office, who can direct you where to send the materials. It’s VERY important to NOT share what you received with anyone else, because then you could be charged with distributing obscenity.

I previously reported one of these monsters to the FBI. It was a story about a child being victimized, and the author referenced NAMBLA many times, which is the North American Man/Boy Love Association. Yes, there really is such a thing.

Sadly, many of our competitors (like Amazon KDP) will allow people to publish just about anything. They previously published a handbook for child molesters (the author was later arrested), and only removed it after that story hit the news.

WARNING: If you are one of the perverts who is planning to send me your smut, you WILL be reported to the authorities. If you enjoy writing that garbage, we assume you’re participating in those activities as well. You’re life will become a living hell, and you deserve it!

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• Any Writer Who Sends Me This Kind of Filth Will Be Reported to the Authorities
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Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.

About The Author

Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 24 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.

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