[Publishing svcs] Smashwords, Inc.

Like Smaddux I have my book on Smashwords but have opted out of Amazon and BN because you get more if you list directly with them. I would also like to add that for most of the other e booksellers Smashwords is the only way to get listed in their libraries.

Smashwords doesn't yet deliver to Amazon, all they do is provide the book in .mobi format, so that Kindle readers can download it from Smashwords and put it on their Kindle. So publishing at Amazon directly is a must ...

B&N ... I think Smashwords only delivers there into some sort of extra catalogue, but not the main B&N directory. So I guess users have to actively open the Smashwords catalogue on their Nook to find the book ... which makes uploading it to PubIt also kind of mandatory.

Smashwords is okay, but one thing I don't like about it is that anyone can put anything on it. It's a breeding ground for wannabee writers to put words on paper with no quality and proclaim to have written a book. It gives the writer the option of putting better versions of their works on it, which I have done.

Smashwords would get you on Nook and Apple (Apple needs an ISBN, however...which I need to do. Just got an email for Smashword the other day about that).

I like Smashwords because it doesn't clash with CreateSpace which goes on Amazon. I do Kindle directly.

The only think I don't like is having to make yet ANOTHER format of my book for all of these different sites.

one big advantage of having your stuff on smashwords: they let you generate coupons for up to 100% off, so you can give the coupons to reviewers and they can download the format they need, for no cost to them or you.

I have also done Smashwords (and will continue to) and have been happy with them. I too wish there was ONE format for all these eBooks instead of several. Let's standardize people!

Vampires Rule is available at Smashwords now, and I sold 87 in three week and a half weeks. I have nothing to compare that to, but I hear it's pretty good, and my reviews haven't even come out on blogs yet.

SmashWords is the choice of several pros, including ebook guru J.A. Konrath and Monk mystery writer Lee Goldberg.

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/01/guest-post-by-lee-goldberg.html

But they're both established pros with a large backlist. As they say on the infomercials in the fine print running fast at the bottom of the screen: "Results not typical."

It offers books in various formats, but authors should list the books separately on PubIt! (Nook) and Kindle is a must. Many ebook fans will have heard of those, while fewer know about SmashWords. You want your book available in as many "stores" as possible.

I think the royalties are around 80% of the price, paid quarterly. Others offer monthly royalties and quarterly from 65-70% of the list price.

If your book is 2.99 on SmashWords, you must list it at the same price on PubIt! and Kindle, even if they offer lower royalties. The rules are it has to be the same on all of them, which is the lowest price you set. Can't have it .99 on one and 1.99 on another.

One day there was a tech glitch and one of Lee Goldberg's books--and presumably books by other authors--dropped from 2.99 to .99 on SmashWords.

That meant that all across the other sites, the price of that title dropped to .99.

He made the most of it and blogged, FB posted & Tweeted, so if readers wanted a "sale" copy, this was their chance.

As it was the first book in a series, it's not unheard of for writers to drop the price intentionally in order to build an audience.

What to price your book? Check this blog by Dean Wesley Smith:

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=3940

However, I think those prices are for new books by self-publishing established pro writers with a readership. A debut writer may have to start lower. No one is going to buy a 1st novel by an unknown for 9.99 unless it's a completely amazing bit of writing and the author has a good chunk of the book there for shoppers to sample read.

And I'd still consider keeping the price down.

I'm established and putting up a book on Smashwords, but my price will be 3.99--about half the price of a paperback. That seems fair, considering my spot as a mid-lister on the publishing ladder.

How to have great sales? To quote Konrath: "I've said it time and again: Don't Write Shit."

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/


Also make sure this blog post is bookmarked. It should be required reading by those considering self-publishing!

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/02/02/why-your-self-published-book-sucks-a-bag-of-dicks/

Good luck!

As a shopper, find books on Smashwords is a nightmare.

Provide a direct link on your blogs, etc.

Use Smashwords, but in conjunction with Amazon and Pubit!. I find it OK; it's not as a pain in the neck to use as Pubit!. Amazon is much easier to use than both. SW Metagrinder is so fussy; if the formatting isn't exactly right, your book gets rejected for the premium catalog. And It takes forever for a book to hit premium catalog. I uploaded my first book in late January, and it wasn't approved until March or so.

I'd say put it on SW, but in conjunction with Amazon and Pubit! That way all your bases are covered when it comes to eBooks.

Shopping for books on there is a challenge.

One thing to realize with PubIt is that Barnes and Noble requires access to your credit card in case their 'returns' are greater than your sales. Not cool in my opinion. They should never take 'returns' on ebooks as there is no guarantee the person hasn't retained a copy.

Smashwords is a mess when it comes to their reporting, at least if you're a publisher offering your author's works. Maybe it's not so bad for self-publishers--who they went into business to distribute.

Kindle often puts books 'on sale' and you wind up making virtually nothing, especially on books under $2.99 which they often decide to make free.

Customers generally don't buy direct from Smashwords, but through one of the retailers they feed to.

One reason places like Amazon and B&N need to take returns on ebooks is the number of rip-off ebooks that are out there. If I download something that turns out to be plagiarized from a bunch of blog posts, you bet I want my money back.

JulieB said:

One reason places like Amazon and B&N need to take returns on ebooks is the number of rip-off ebooks that are out there. If I download something that turns out to be plagiarized from a bunch of blog posts, you bet I want my money back.

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This.

Also illiterate writing and/or poorly formatted ebooks that are virtually unreadable.

Smashwords Problem

Smashwords doesn't allow you to change your email address, once you've signed up. A problem exists because they post your email address with your books, so spammers can harvest your email addresses along with thousands of others.

Changing your email address would solve this problem. Spam is a scourge.

Where does smashwords list emails online? I don't see it.

veinglory said:

Where does smashwords list emails online? I don't see it.

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Nor do I. And I haven't had any spam to either of the email addresses I use on smashwords.

deana said:

Smashwords would get you on Nook and Apple (Apple needs an ISBN, however...which I need to do. Just got an email for Smashword the other day about that).

I like Smashwords because it doesn't clash with CreateSpace which goes on Amazon. I do Kindle directly.

The only think I don't like is having to make yet ANOTHER format of my book for all of these different sites.

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Smashwords advertises that it assigns ISBNs for free. Is there a catch? Do these ISBNs still apply if you want to also publish the word with PubIt and Amazon?

The Smashwords ISBN uniquely identifies Smashwords as the publisher. ISBNs are non-portable. If you ever part company with Smashwords you can't use that ISBN with some other publisher.

Amazon uses their own internal number, ASIN, rather than ISBN.

James D. Macdonald said:

The Smashwords ISBN uniquely identifies Smashwords as the publisher. ISBNs are non-portable. If you ever part company with Smashwords you can't use that ISBN with some other publisher.

Amazon uses their own internal number, ASIN, rather than ISBN.

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Okay, so if an author publishes with Smashwords and then does PubIt on their own, they'll have to purchase a separate ISBN for the PubIt (and they'd get an ASIN if they used KDP). But the advantage of the Smashwords ISBN is it gets you listed in places like iTunes and Kobo. But if you want full distribution of your ebook, you have to do a lot of legwork even with Smashwords it looks like.

PubIt offers their own ID number for free, if you prefer.