Personally, I would always recommend including a content warning in your book if it includes content that could be distressing to readers. But there is some debate about them in the wider writing community. Read on to find out what exactly content warnings are, how they’re used in books, and why you might want to include one or not.
Content warning: This blog uses pet loss as an example.
What is a content warning?
A content warning is a notice – like the one above – highlighting any potentially sensitive content contained in a book, comic, game, film, etc. It might sometimes be referred to as a “trigger warning” or “content advisory” instead. Regardless of the name used, these warnings are designed to allow readers to prepare themselves for something that may be particularly difficult for them, or to make the informed decision to avoid it.
For example, someone who has just lost a pet might find reading about a character grieving a beloved dog particularly difficult. They might still want to read the book, but a content warning means they a) go into it forewarned, avoiding any additional upset that might be caused if they were taken by surprise, or b) choose to start reading it at a later date, when they feel better able to face that part.
There’s no definitive list of the issues that might be covered by a content warning, and it doesn’t feel necessary to include a bunch of potentially triggering words in this blog. If you are looking for guidance, you could consult a website like the Trigger Warning Database (available here: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/masterlist-tw/) or simply perform a quick google search.
How are content warnings used in books?
In some cases, the genre, cover, and blurb of a book are enough to signal the types of content it’s likely to include. A dark fantasy with a dagger on the cover that mentions blood and bone magic in the blurb, for example, is clearly going to include some degree of violence or gore. But where a sensitive issue isn’t as easy to predict, a content warning may be helpful.
Many content warnings are included as a separate page at the front of the book, where they’re less likely to be lost as readers flip through the pages. Separating a warning from the main text like this also has the benefit that it can be spotted and avoided relatively easily, if a reader is more concerned about the potential for spoilers than distressing content. For that same reason, some authors choose to include a content warning at the back of the book instead – with a short notice at the front about where readers can find it if they need it.
Some authors choose to include a content warning in the text of the website where their book is sold as well, so people know what to expect before they buy it.
The format of the warning itself can vary. It could just say something like, “CONTENT WARNING. Please be aware that this book contains…” with a list of words or phrases that describe the issues you want readers to know about. But it could also be more than that – an opportunity for an additional message to the reader.
For more advice on how to write a great content warning, do check out my upcoming interview with Alistair Caradec, author of dystopian novel The Old Love and The New. I thought his approach was fantastic, and wanted to share it with other authors!
The arguments against including content warnings (and why I disagree with them)
Some authors are concerned that including a content warning might mean that some readers don’t buy the book at all. Well, yeah, that’s kind of the idea. Your book is never going to be for everyone, and someone who explicitly wants to avoid the subject matter of your book is not a reader you should be targeting. A content warning is a win–win: the reader avoids being blindsided, and you avoid any backlash or negative reviews that come from unhappy, unsuspecting readers.
Some authors reject the idea that they should need to put safeguards like this in place, and think readers should take individual responsibility for their mental well-being. To my mind, this is exactly what the inclusion of a content warning helps to achieve. You as the writer are still free to include any of these issues in your book and deal with them in whatever way you see fit, without censoring yourself. But, by including a content warning, you are also giving the reader the opportunity to take an informed decision about whether the book is for them or not.
Some authors worry that including a content warning at the beginning of a book might create spoilers for the story. I completely understand why an author would be concerned about this. And, yes, in a book that is – for example – mostly about a character’s relationship with their pet, a content warning for pet loss does rather give something away about the plot. However, my response here is twofold:
- Your book is about more than one particular plot point. Every romance reader knows the main characters are going to end up getting together by the end of the book, but does that mean they shouldn’t bother reading it? No, of course it doesn’t! The situations in which a content warning renders a book unreadable are few and far between (if they exist at all). Even if a content warning listed every event of the plot, point-by-point, it’s the journey that makes it worth the read!
- Readers who are particularly concerned about spoilers and not concerned about potentially sensitive issues that come up in the book can simply skip over a content warning if they prefer. You can even advise them that the warning may contain spoilers, and that they shouldn’t read it if that’s their main concern. Meanwhile, the people who really don’t want to be blindsided by the content will appreciate the heads-up. And, of course, you can also try to write the warning in such a way that it doesn’t “spoil” anything!
The argument for including a content warning in your self-published book
For me, the argument in favour of including a content warning is clear and convincing: It doesn’t do you any harm, and it could really help the people who need it.
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