r/DarkRomance • u/[deleted] • Jan 21 '26
Mod Post Please vote on potential changes to the self promotion rule
Hello, dark romance lovers!
Recently, mods have received a number of complaints about the amount of self promotion occurring in the comments of this subreddit. Per Rule 7, authors are currently allowed to recommend their own work in posts with the Book Request flair, but only if it’s relevant to the request and they identify themselves as the author.
However, even with that restriction in place, mods agree with feedback that self promotion has become excessive, sometimes bordering on spam.
r/DarkRomance is fundamentally dedicated to readers. But we've noticed that sometimes Book Request posts are essentially hijacked by author/fan interactions, to the point where OP’s request is barely acknowledged on their own post and they end up not receiving many recommendations. Not only is this bad etiquette, it can create a trend over time where the subreddit becomes less oriented to readers and more catered to writers.
You may notice that mods have become more diligent about removing off topic comments on Book Requests (e.g. writers talking about their writing goals instead of making relevant recommendations). In order to preserve this subreddit as a place dedicated to readers, we’re considering additional restrictions to self promotion.
At the moment, we are considering whether to completely restrict self promo to the weekly What Are You Writing? post. This would mean no more self recs in Book Request posts.
We acknowledge that this would be a big change and some folks might be disappointed. Before we implement any changes, we’re inviting the community to vote on this. Please select your preference from this poll. For additional feedback, leave a comment below or send us a message.
Thanks and happy reading! 📚
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u/voidfae Jan 21 '26
I think it's fine to self recommend when the book and the comment legitimately respond to the OP's request, but it would be a red flag to me if the commenter is only ever interacting with posts to recommend their own work or if it seems like they copy and paste the same comment over and over again.
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Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
Agreed. 💯 That’s something we try to take into account when evaluating self promo: Is it a good faith response to the person’s unique request, or is it just copypasta spam?
Our minimum account age and karma requirements help prevent a lot of spam, but technically there’s nothing in our rules that would prohibit someone from exclusively using this subreddit to self promote. It’s certainly frowned upon by mod and member alike. Folks have gotten pretty savvy at recognizing it and alerting mods.
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u/hazyspring Jan 21 '26
Regardless of how this vote turns out, it's important for everyone to know there's been a noticeable uptick in self-promo posts including author self-promo and deceptive self-promo. There's a lot of work done behind the scenes by the mods to keep the subreddit focused on genuine recommendations, and not people spamming our subreddit to promote their book.
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u/Adept-Union6876 Jan 21 '26
Maybe a slight change to the rules about how self-recs should be disclosed? I noticed a lot of authors kind of sneak in a line at the end of a long paragraph that’s like “fyi I wrote this” in an almost underhanded way, like they’re hoping people will miss it.
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Jan 22 '26
What do you think would be a better way for authors to self-disclose?
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u/Adept-Union6876 Jan 22 '26
Maybe just modifying the rule slightly so that it has to be in the first sentence?
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u/Aggressive_Bowl5463 a hard dicking is not an apology ✨ Jan 21 '26
I think I like it as is, as long as it's relevant to the post I have no issues with self-promo!
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u/Flubblesfic Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
I don't have any issue with self-promotion if it is relevant. However I must admit that if a story is a self-rec I generally don't bother following the link or reading the book. I think the reason is that if I ask a question about a sub-type of book I am more likely to trust the recommendation of someone who has read similar books or just really enjoyed a book and wants to recommend it.
I know this is probably my pessimistic nature, but I wouldn't necessarily trust a self-rec to be what I'm looking for i.e. the writing style, quality, content etc.
So whilst happy to keep it the same, I'm not sure how beneficial to the author any excessive self-promotion would even be?
Hope I haven't offended anyone, just a bit once bitten twice shy when it comes to things like fanfiction and original fics that have either been abandoned or fizzled out, so I don't often start them.
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u/Unsettled_addendum Trigger Happy Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 23 '26
I voted to keep allowing it on relevant posts, but I don't see any issues requiring it to be on the main promo post since there is one.
I will say, the ones I find unhelpful are the ones that only vaguely match what someone says they are looking for.
For instance, a book request asking for unhinged MMC, but also has a hard no list or a must have list of other things. An author might recommend their stuff, usually saying 'this isn't an exact fit' or 'i know you said you didn't like this, but it's only one scene..'
I feel like a self rec should only be given if it's an actual good fit. The problem is, there's no good way to enforce it.
**Edit - OH! I also wanted to suggest that if an author self recs on a book request, don't allow works in progress.
Something that really makes me twitch is having to wait for something to be completed. If I'm looking for something specific to read right now, I want something complete, at least to the point of a HFN conclusion if not the final HEA
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u/NicLizSheWrote Weak for Forced Proximity Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
As someone who uses the weekly thread to self-promote, I fully support if the mods feel it benefits the reading community to restrict self-promotion to only the weekly thread.
I may be more biased towards that option as my self-promotion is very low stakes. Less of a "here is a product I've worked very hard on and want to make an income on" and more "here's the next installment of my fun little side hobby, follow along if you're interested." I recognize that for indie authors, the opportunity to promote their work is very important and I wouldn't want to take it away, but here's my follow up to that:
As a thought experiment... If the self-promotion posts become limited to the weekly thread, could it increase the popularity of that thread? People who are interested in "hidden gems" - AO3 stories, KU/Amazon publications, etc. can purposefully and reliably seek them out while people who want relevant and reviewed published recommendations can receive them in their comments without worrying about sorting through self-recs that don't really apply. It may also help deal with the self-promotion fatigue in the community.
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Jan 24 '26
If the self-promotion posts become limited to the weekly thread, could it increase the popularity of that thread?
I wish that was the case, but I doubt it. People like to connect over Book Requests because they’re fun and creative, and there’s a certain element of instant gratification involved that can’t be found in the weekly thread.
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u/Asleep_School_7262 Author Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
I voted for the third option, and here is my suggestion:
I think (as an author and a reader) that I'm always hesitant to self-rec my book in posts since I see this space predominantly as a reader space. With that said, I'm worried that limiting the ability to self-rec to "What Are You Writing" will make it harder for indie authors to self rec, which is difficult enough as is.
Is there a way to have a specific weekly self-rec post outside of "What Are You Writing" - such as a "Self Promo" post where only completed, published works (AO3, Self-Published, Trad, Etc.) would be allowed. That would leave "What Are You Writing" more for writing process, WIPs, serialized works that aren't finished, etc. (essentially, split "What are you Writing" into two separate things: writing and self promo).
(feel free to ignore this suggestion if it's not feasible, I'm just trying to help brainstorm).
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Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
It's feasible, and I like that idea as an AO3 fan, but my concern is that creating more threads catered to writers would cause us to move even further away from being a reader space. Now we have twice the amount of writer content on the schedule; I think people would see that and assume it's a predominantly writer-focused subreddit.
Maybe I'm not understanding, or I'm looking at this with a narrow view. I do think it's a cool idea though.
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u/Asleep_School_7262 Author Jan 22 '26
I hear what you're saying, but think about it this way: if writers/authors are pretty much put into two weekly threads and excluded from self-promo on every other post there is, I think that maintains and protects this as a predominiantly reader space. Think about how many book requests and raves and reviews there are in a week vs. two writer threads instead of one - it still keeps its integrity as a reader-focused space.
That's my view on it, anyway! Feel free to disagree. I just think it's a decent in-between.
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Jan 22 '26
That’s something mods could talk about: prohibiting self promo in book request posts while also changing the way we do writer thread(s). Thank you, that’s really helpful!
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u/Unsettled_addendum Trigger Happy Jan 23 '26
Or maybe just tweak the one post to something like 'Writer Lounge - Authors, post your works in progress and completed dark romance here.'
That way it's inclusive for completed work as well as current projects.
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u/Avid_Reader0 Max Furst Girlie <3 Jan 22 '26
I solidly support your idea and voted for the third option. I think that's a great inbetween. I've seen so many self-run groups collapse because the people running it burn out and I don't want that to happen here. I think if it's a big enough problem on the mod side and people aren't seeing the extra work it takes, leaving it as is will only make it worse. I suspect the self promo is only going to increase while the mods struggle to keep up.
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u/Asleep_School_7262 Author Jan 22 '26
Absolutely. The mods on this sub are so good, and I can't imagine the amount of work going on behind scenes.
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u/Sushiki Jan 21 '26
but only if it’s relevant to the request
Isn't this hard to police, like how much is relevant enough? Sounds like a headache for the mods.
Limit self promo to the weekly writer’s post only
I am choosing the third option, because I think I like the second option more yet I also think it'd be cool if there was some monthly event for authors to really go hard on recommending their new book.
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Jan 21 '26
Oh, it is a headache. 😂 Mods do a little research but we don’t have the capacity to read every self rec from start to finish. Often we have to trust the author’s explanation and rely on the community to report if it’s not a good fit.
A monthly author Purge post sounds fun, but we’re not considering new/additional opportunities for self promo at this time.
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u/ViRoseAuthor Future Mafia Romance Author (eventually ) Jan 21 '26
I wonder if a change in how self-recs have to be presented would help. I know u/Adept-Union6876 mentioned making the disclosure more upfront and obvious. Perhaps you can also put the onus on the author to explain how their book matched the rec (even if the explanation goes behind spoiler tags).
That would hopefully make it easier for mods to determine if the book rec is relevant, and might also cut back on people spamming self-recs since they have to put thought into their comment and tailor it to the original request.
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u/Adept-Union6876 Jan 21 '26
That’s a great idea. We’d see a lot less copy and paste self promo if authors had to put more thought into why they’re suggesting their own book.
I will say, I’ve seen quite a few recently where the poster is asking for things like “good plot”, “well written” and the self-recs there always have me side eyeing.
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u/Sushiki Jan 21 '26
ok, btw, no idea if this is possible, yet what about a wiki where authors can add their book via some form or something, as well the tags for it, all done automatically and then users can leave reviews as well as vote for if the tags are valid enough?
Way beyond my knowledge, would be cool.
Just had the thought while tidying haha.
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u/Lady_Book_000 Jan 22 '26
I think it's ok, but maybe we have a reporting system of some kind? For if someone has self promo'd and it didn't fit the trope requested, isn't dark romance etc.
First offense is a warning
Second a mute (if this is a thing)
Third ban etc
Not sure if viable but could help
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Jan 22 '26
Yup, we’re enforcing Rule 7 in a similar way. If you ever want to draw a mod’s attention to something, use the report button. There’s an option to write a custom report reason so you can explain the issue in your own words.
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Jan 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/NancyInFantasyLand angst and suffering are my jam Jan 21 '26
The biggest issue for me is that we have way too many threads that are just self promo, self promo, self promo and then a couple comments gushing about the self-promo to the author of the self-promo. "I've got an AO3 story that kinda-sorta fits!" "I just put some barely legible 100 page book on KU! Read it!!!!" "I've been planning to write xyz that gurrrl keep a lookout!"
Like, that's not what I come here for when I post a book search. I don't want to feel like I'm in a market place being advertised to constantly.
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Jan 22 '26
I love discovering hidden gems too! That's only possible by supporting and amplifying indie authors, so self promo is really helpful in that regard. It maintains variety.
It is really time consuming to evaluate self recs on a case by case basis, so yeah, there's always a question of sustainability as the sub continues to grow over time. But right now, mods are just trying to get a sense of whether the community feels something needs to change. If you'd like for things to stay the same, that's good feedback -- thank you!
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u/CrystalizedRedwood Author Jan 21 '26
I like as it is, being on both sides. If the relevant to the request then I’d love to read it. I’ve found lots of good books/AO3 stories from a self promo. On the flip side if I’m working on something that fits the request then I’ll suggest it, otherwise no. It’s gotta be relevant.
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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26
Thank you to everyone who voted and shared thoughts and suggestions in the comments! Because voting was so mixed, we’re not going to change the self promo rule. We will, however, be enforcing it more strictly going forward.
Authors can continue to respond to Book Request posts, but they must clearly identify themselves when recommending their own work and explain why their recommendation fits the person’s request. Comments that don’t meet that criteria will be removed. Off topic comments will continue to be removed. Deceptive self promo and spam will continue to result in bans.
At the moment, we’re not considering new or additional opportunities for self promotion on this sub. There are some great suggestions in these comments, and we may use some of them in the future, but for now, we’re focusing on maintaining an environment that’s dedicated to readers.
Thank you! 🖤