Trigger Warnings and Content Rating

Trigger warnings and content ratings are topics of discussion in the writing community with strong feelings on both sides of the debate. They range from the opinion that every kind of trigger must be accounted for to stop being snowflakes. I think there is room in the middle. We have had a movie rating system for decades and no one was bothered too much about it. Parents were allowed to decide what their children could view, though clever kids had workarounds. Then came movie rentals and streaming and good luck with controlling that, parents.

Television shows currently have content warnings which don't prevent anyone from watching anything but gives a tip off to people who might have strong preferences. Sometimes there are images you just don't want in your head. And that is perfectly acceptable. You never know when content you've been exposed to will show up in a dream.

When it comes to books the debate is two-fold: should you control what children read and the fear of censorship. Again, both are valid concerns.

As a reader, I prefer to know what kind of story I am signing up for even without trigger warnings. There is content I don't enjoy, such as explicit sex scenes, gore, torture, and explicit rape scenes. I also loathe being promised a lighthearted story or ghost story and having it feature child abuse. You don't have to be "triggered" (a genuine mental and physical  stress response) to be upset by content you'd rather not read.

You can hint at a lot with key words your book description: gritty, graphic, rape, erotic, torture, abuse. At a bare minimum, I suggest using descriptive words that accurately reflect the type of story the reader is about to embark upon. This includes non-triggering words as well: comic, tragic, slow exploration, romantic, chilling, fast-paced, gripping, etc.

There is no standard for warnings as yet. I don't see a downside at this point. However, the list of things that trigger people can be quite long. You can't account for everything all of the time.

Here are some options to consider:

You can suggest the content (as mentioned) above with key words in the description itself.

You can add them at the end of the book description on the sales pages on Amazon. 

You can add a page after the title page with a list of trigger warnings.

For further information, here are more articles on the what and how:

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2019/10/should-books-have-trigger-warnings.html

https://geekfeminism.fandom.com/wiki/Trigger_warning

https://www.lookslikefilm.com/2019/01/27/how-to-write-a-trigger-warning/

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FuEER6Zu5pNSjw8oZpdaprHsYAYYRKTnI5AFUCv_YH0/edit#gid=0

https://adancewithbooks.wordpress.com/2019/09/22/a-small-list-of-trigger-warnings-you-can-use/

For more on how to craft a book description read Mastering Book Description.