I’m sure most of us remember the whole graphical standards brouhaha, but…

‘With respect to all RWA programs and services, the following shall not be depicted or represented: exposed male and female genitalia, exposed female nipples, cunnilingus and fellatio, hands or mouth covering naked female breasts, naked or g-string-clad buttocks, and bestiality. The following words: c*ck, c*cksucker, c*nt, f*ck, motherf*cker, sh*t, and t*t, will not be displayed.’

Today I finally filled out my RWA PAN (Published Authors Network) application. I figured since the forming of the Passionate Ink chapter kept me from burning my membership card in the driveway, I may as well check out PAN. And I procrastinate, but that’s no surprise.

So, anyway. You have to send a copy of the copyright page as proof of the book’s publication. I pulled up my shiny new PDF author copy and hit print. And what should catch my eye? At the end of the copyright info comes the content “warning”, including:

…it is common, for instance, for an author to use words such as “f—ing”, “c—“, “p—“, and such within…

I just about died. Maybe it’s the weather getting to me, but I almost fell out of my chair laughing.

(I did take my Sharpie and block out the words before I sent it. Now I’m wondering if I should have left the P word, since it’s not on the list.)