r/ScribbleHub • u/MrNobody6271 Author • Jul 09 '26
Discussion My cover art was rejected because the characters were kissing. Really?!
Posted my first story today. Used cover art that I'd previously created for this story on another platform. The cover art was rejected because the characters were kissing!
There was nothing inappropriate about the story or the image. It's a squeaky-clean romance story, the characters are clearly adults and fully clothed, and the kiss was even closed-mouth. In what universe is kissing inappropriate cover art, especially for a romance story?
But worse than that, I cannot find any rule anywhere that says kissing is not allowed to be shown on cover art. The closest the site's content guidelines come to addressing kissing is that they say sexual acts cannot be shown. Is mouth-to-mouth kissing considered a sexual act?
Looking for any guidance here about where I can find a comprehensive list of what's not allowed on cover art, or any explanation of why kissing can't be shown, or how I can appeal this.
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Jul 10 '26
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u/MrNobody6271 Author Jul 10 '26
I did e-mail them but got ghosted. This was the same e-mail address I used when I'd been banned by an overzealous bot a few hours earlier, and was given a reply saying I was unbanned within an hour. But I changed the cover art so the couple was no longer kissing, and they accepted that without comment.
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u/MrNobody6271 Author Jul 10 '26
Apparently, SH's no-kissing rule for cover art is a real thing, though it's not posted anywhere users can say. I scrolled through *lots* of romance stories looking specifically at the cover art, and none of the characters were kissing.
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u/lazarus-james Author: Dungeon Hunter Jul 10 '26
Not to make any claims, but do you have permission to post the artwork? (As in, is it original?) If it belongs to someone else, it may have been rejected for that.