[Beatriz]

I'm a little confused with Smashwords.  Do you automatically publish on Nook and Pubit and all those others if you publish on Smashwords?  Also does everybody need to get a number to sell to more places?

 

[Jan Strnad]

Publishing on Amazon DTP and PubIt is separate from publishing on Smashwords.

Smashwords also distributes to these outlets, but the sales reporting lags by several months and Smashwords takes an additional fee.

I'd recommend going direct, especially with Amazon, when you can and opting out of those outlets on Smashwords.

 

[Kathleen Valentine]

I'm so glad Beatrice asked because I was about to ask the same thing. All my print sales are handled through LSI and my Kindle sales are handled through Kindle but I haven't got a CLUE about the rest. My books are on Smashwords but never seem to do much and a couple of them are on Nook but I have no idea how they got there or if they are anywhere else.

Any enlightenment would be appreciated.

 

[Kimberly Van Meter]

Smashwords was a huge waste of time on my part. I know there are people selling and doing well with that platform but I'm not one of them and when I think of how I nearly tore out every strand of hair as I tried to figure out the kooky formatting, I wonder why I even bothered. Kindle has been the best thus far for me. Like Smashwords, Pubit has been similarly useless in terms of sales. *sigh* Live and learn!

Kimberly V.

 

[Todd Russell]

Smashwords was a huge waste of time on my part. I know there are people selling and doing well with that platform but I'm not one of them and when I think of how I nearly tore out every strand of hair as I tried to figure out the kooky formatting, I wonder why I even bothered. Kindle has been the best thus far for me. Like Smashwords, Pubit has been similarly useless in terms of sales. *sigh* Live and learn!

Kimberly V.

Hi Kimberly,

Agree that the formatting and process can be a bit clunky but there are some useful aspects of Smashwords.

Like if you want to use them for coupons and distributing to the Apple iBookstore. Unless you buy your own ISBN and have a newer Apple machine Smashwords is currently the most cost effective way to get there. Smashwords will also automatically remind anybody who has bought your book to please write a review. That in itself is a handy feature. You can also have free books at Smashwords if you want which you cannot do at Amazon.

Add to that a nice Summer sale promotion going on right now...

 

[Kimberly Van Meter]

Like if you want to use them for coupons and distributing to the Apple iBookstore. Unless you buy your own ISBN and have a newer Apple machine Smashwords is currently the most cost effective way to get there. Smashwords will also automatically remind anybody who has bought your book to please write a review. That in itself is a handy feature. You can also have free books at Smashwords if you want which you cannot do at Amazon.

Add to that a nice Summer sale promotion going on right now...

Yes, there are some seemingly helpful things at Smashwords, alas, none seemed to work for me. I ran a coupon, posted it on FB and Twitter, and I have a free read on SW, yet my sales have ground to a halt. It's a disappointment for sure, but I'm pleased with my Kindle showing so at least I have some movement.

Kimberly V.

 

[Beatriz]

Thank you guys.  I started redoing the format for a premier account and I guess I'll continue.  But this was very helpful.  I guess there are good aspects to it and bad ones like in everything else.  I sold a few books through them so far and I like the feature they have of letting you know.  I think that's really cool.  But if they keep pestering me about the format, I'll forget about their premier account and just leave it as is.

 

[TheSFReader]

I personally try and find a Smashwords version of each and every book I buy before going and buying it elsewhere.
Well, I must say it's more :
Is there a Direct sell link ? (author or publisher) ? Yes ? buy
Is There a Smashwords link ? yes ? Buy
Is it at B&N or Amazon ? If yes check DRMs. If DRMed check again the motivation. If still OK, buy it and get rid of the DRM.

With Smashwords, I know 2 things : No DRMs, and I give some money to an Amazon concurrent, hence trying and balance the market.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I use Smashwords as a reader service. I have enough readers that are international or want .pdf format that it's an easy way to meet their needs without selling ebooks on my site. I don't use premium distribution - I go direct to B&N and apple, and pretend the others don't exist .

I have everything on Smashwords and sell to the other outlets through them, except for Kindle, of course. I sell more on Kobo and Sony than I do on either Apple or B&N. I have no idea why that is.

 

[K. A. Jordan]

For me, smaswords is the best way to get copies to reviewers. Give them a code and let them decide what format they want to d/l.

Also there is no place besides Smashwords where you can have your work automatically converted to phone aps and offered up for sale...NO EXTRA CHARGE.

That's 90 million potential readers.

 

[Beatriz]

I personally try and find a Smashwords version of each and every book I buy before going and buying it elsewhere.
Well, I must say it's more :
Is there a Direct sell link ? (author or publisher) ? Yes ? buy
Is There a Smashwords link ? yes ? Buy
Is it at B&N or Amazon ? If yes check DRMs. If DRMed check again the motivation. If still OK, buy it and get rid of the DRM.

With Smashwords, I know 2 things : No DRMs, and I give some money to an Amazon concurrent, hence trying and balance the market.

You just restored my faith in Smashwords. I'll continue the tedious process of editing according to their format.

 

[Herc- The Reluctant Geek]

That's 90 million potential readers.

Huge untapped market right there. You wouldn't believe the number of uni students that do their readings on their phones. The upcoming generation have absolutely no attachment to paper and read quite happily on anything with a screen.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Huge untapped market right there. You wouldn't believe the number of uni students that do their readings on their phones. The upcoming generation have absolutely no attachment to paper and read quite happily on anything with a screen.

I read even more on my Iphone than I do on my Kindle these days. I always have my phone with me and if I get stuck in a checkout line, I pull it out and read.

I have no idea how to promote scrollmotion or even what it really does. Can anyone explain?

 

[Megan Duncan]

I haven't been able to crack the riddle that is the SmashWords formatting and have completely given up hope.  If I knew how to do it I would probably offer my work through SM, but... have yet to find useful help.

 

[RobertY]

The formatting of a Smashwords ebook can be a bit tricky. When I am prepping an ebook for Smashwords I always have their guide open and refer to it often. 

But as it has been pointed out once you have it formatted properly and submitted, Smashwords then puts it in all kinds of formats for you and also distributes it to you to different venues. Venues like Kobo, Apple, Diesel, etc... Couple that with you can get free ISBN's assigned to your ebooks which is needed for some venues and you are golden.

Oh, also Smashwords really helps you with the google machine. LOL!

But here is how I submit:

If my ebook is free I submit to feedbooks and smashwords.
If it is not free then I submit to Smashwords and Amazon.

Yes, Smashwords can be a pain, but the return is worth it.

(my 2 cents)

 

[catjournalist]

Is sampling mandatory with all e-book publishers? At Smashwords, seems many samples do not necessarily translate to sales. Would it be better to request this be changed? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[RobertY]

At Smashwords sampling is a choice. You do not have to do samples. I usually do.

 

[nomesque]

Is sampling mandatory with all e-book publishers? At Smashwords, seems many samples do not necessarily translate to sales. Would it be better to request this be changed? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Do you think that a sample downloaded equals a lost sale, though?

 

[Edward C. Patterson]

I have found Smashwords convenient, fast and easy. I've been with them since 2008, some of my titles being in the first one hundred out there. All the extra distribution perks have come along and although it takes a little longer to get a book up there (it used to take five minutes, it now take 3 days due the size), it still shorter than the traditional 6 months to a year. I use KDP for Amazon formerly DTP), but have avoided B&N's native uploader because of the horror stories I've read. Smashwords is great for promotionals and, of course, it stands at the center of Operation eBook Drop - so at least 861 authors have found it convenient also.

Edward C. Patterson

 

[Gertie Kindle]

At first I uploaded my novelettes onto Smashwords because I figured it wouldn't be so bad to format something short. By the time I did the third one, I pretty much had it down pat. Since by the time I'd written these three, I knew more about how to format for ebooks in general, it wasn't so bad.

But then I faced two full-length novels that I had written originally in Word Perfect and I was afraid it was going to be a formatting nightmare to convert those two into Smashwords format. I put it off for a long time then decided I had to bite the bullet. I needed to get them into the other outlets. Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I did both of them in a couple of hours each. The key was to hit that remove all formats button and then reinput first line indent and justification changes. I also took out all page breaks and put a couple of returns at the end of each chapter. Add in "Smashwords Edition" and that's all it took.