Alternative to Smashwords?

ethicalwriter · Jun 21, 2011

I have one free book on their site which made the premium list, but I am having a very frustrating time getting a simple .99 book on. I made the changes that were requested and have sent two emails without a response in 6 weeks. Furthermore, I emailed them about multiple sales that show up for my book without revenue and I still do not receive a response from them. It is odd because I received a quick email from Mark Coker the first time I emailed them when I initially opened my account...

So, I ask here, are there any other self publishing companies like Smashwords that will distribute over multiple channels like they do? I really like the concept for simplicity sake and I have three books which I would love to self pub outside of Amazon.

Thanks in advance.

James D. Macdonald · Jun 21, 2011

What exactly is the problem? I see the text is available at the Smashwords site. Have you tried the nuclear option?

You should be aware that Smashwords only pays quarterly, and then only if the accrued amount is over $10.

To answer the question: I'm not aware of another aggregator that has as wide a distribution reach.

Irysangel · Jun 21, 2011

Omnilit distributes to Apple, and I think they're international-friendly. Other than that, Smashwords is probably your best option.

brainstorm77 · Jun 21, 2011

This is a bit off topic, but why are you using watermarked images on your covers? People are noticing it as they have commented on Amazon. That might not be a good thing for you the author.

James D. Macdonald · Jun 21, 2011

I've looked at the text of your free short story in .pdf, .epub, and .mobi. The formatting has some problems (using both paragraph indents and line breaks between paragraphs, the scene-break line-of-dots, multiple returns in a row, others). You may want to go through the Smashwords Style Guide very carefully after looking at the formatted versions of your book as they appear at Smashwords.

dgaughran · Jun 21, 2011

@ethicalwriter

You started this thread asking for help. http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6191129#post6191129

Some people raised concerns about what appears to be a watermarked image in your cover (indicating that you could either be using a stock photo without permission or that you have used the wrong photo on your cover).

I don't want to make any assumptions, but before I help you again, perhaps you could clear that up.

mscelina · Jun 21, 2011

Actually both those covers have watermarks on them. This is a red flag to me, because it indicates that you didn't actually PURCHASE your cover art, but found it online and used it without permission. The first thing I would do is to pull both books from Amazon and Smashwords and replace it with legitimate cover art for which you have permission.

Then, I would find a formatter to address the issues within the text of the book and clean that up.

I realize this could be an honest mistake--not every image (in fact, most images online) are not in the public domain. That's why the watermarks are there. So I'd either find something that is in the public domain, or I'd go to an inexpensive image site like www.stockphoto.com and purchase something legitimately for your cover art.

James D. Macdonald · Jun 21, 2011

Without getting into the cover art issue, or the formatting issues (which I suspect are why the book didn't go to the premium distribution) I've had a chance to read the text.

May I suggest that hiring a copyeditor might not be a wasted expense?

ethicalwriter · Jun 21, 2011

Thanks for the reply Irysangel, I will check them out if I do not open multiple accounts.
As for Smashwords, I am more concerned that there was no response to my three inquiries as I had corrected what I thought needed to be corrected. My free book has gone premium though not my .99, go figure.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/member.php?u=1127

Uncarved · Jun 21, 2011

ethicalwriter said:
Thanks for the reply Irysangel, I will check them out if I do not open multiple accounts.
As for Smashwords, I am more concerned that there was no response to my three inquiries as I had corrected what I thought needed to be corrected. My free book has gone premium though not my .99, go figure.

And you still don't address the issue with the watermarked images for your covers. Are you dodging?? Are you planning on doing anything about that??

ethicalwriter · Jun 21, 2011

It was my misunderstanding, as I relied on someone posting that they were royalty free for up to 100,000 sales. I would never willingly use a photo that was not royalty free. I am going to purchase the photo and re upload it.

Thank you for making me aware, I am new to this, trying to find my way. Most people are very helpful on here.

mscelina · Jun 21, 2011

The mistake is understandable. Unfortunately, both the covers I saw (one on Amazon and one on Smashwords--your links in your siggy) are watermarked, which indicates they might both be used without the artist's permission. I'd make sure to address the other cover as well. Once you do that, get the books copy edited and formatted correctly, I'd be willing to bet they'll do just fine.

Good luck to you--

veinglory · Jun 21, 2011

Royalty free means you buy it once at one price and don't have to pay further royalties. But you still have to buy it. Having discovered your mistake you need to take the infringing covers down right now. This if for you own protection as Google image search just got rolled out so stock agencies will find this eventually and may just sue you.

Smashwords has gotten very busy. If you are having trouble getting the formatting right you can get it done for you for about 40 dollars. Or you could just save the work as plain text to strip all the bad formatting from it. Smashwords is a mostly automated site, so you kind of have to just work it out.

ethicalwriter · Jun 21, 2011

I own the royalty-free photos and have updated the correct files now.

The Grump · Jun 21, 2011

Back to Smashwords. As usual I had trouble posting my story and asked questions. Seemed I got a response in 2-3 days. Can't remember now.

veinglory · Jun 21, 2011

I think I has slowed down with the volume they are experiencing now.

dgaughran · Jun 21, 2011

@ethicalwriter

Thanks for clearing that up. You might want to resubmit the new version for the one that's gone into the Premium Catalogue as soon as possible because it could take a few weeks for the change to hit all the vendors.

Regarding your original question, you are stuck with Smashwords for now if you want to hit all those vendors.

If only, say, B&N was important to you then that's a different matter, but to upload direct to Apple you need a Mac, and Kobo and Diesel and Sony can be tricky to get into direct if you don't have a publishing history or an existing relationship with them.

And I don't know of any other distributor who will get you into all those channels in one fell swoop.

JFBookman · Jun 21, 2011

Another distributor for e-books is BookBaby.com, an offshoot of the indie music distributor CDBaby. They do not have quite as big a reach as Smashwords, but they do distribute to Kindle, which Smashwords does not (yet) do. You have to pay $99 upfront, but they take care of the file conversion so you can simply avoid all the hassles with the formatting guide.

Of course, they will undoubtedly reject the book if it still has the watermarked cover on it (still there today on the Kindle version).

You can also get a coupon code for a 10% savings, it's in the interview post I did last week with Brian Felsen, the president of BookBaby. Here's the link if you're interested:

e-Book Distribution with BookBaby's Brian Felsen (video)

James D. Macdonald · Jun 21, 2011

Roger, at this hour I see you still have the watermarked cover up at Smashwords. With the speed they're operating these days, two or three minutes to put through changes, you should have had that fixed by now.

Here's a copyright free cover I just ginned up for you. I grant you all rights in perpetuity. Until you can create a cover without the watermark problem... you're free to use it.

ethicalwriter · Jun 22, 2011

James D. Macdonald said:
Roger, at this hour I see you still have the watermarked cover up at Smashwords. With the speed they're operating these days, two or three minutes to put through changes, you should have had that fixed by now.

Here's a copyright free cover I just ginned up for you. I grant you all rights in perpetuity. Until you can create a cover without the watermark problem... you're free to use it.

I appreciate your unmatched persistence in regards to my free ebook.

I made the changes last night in the setting, Smashwords appears to be extremely slow for me. I decided to unpublish the entire book and will republish. From what I hear it should be a few weeks before my free ebook is ready to be downloaded again. Though it appears to be corrected and all ready (though my account says pending review).

Thanks again!

Uncarved · Jun 22, 2011

ethicalwriter said:
I appreciate your unmatched persistence in regards to my free ebook.

I made the changes last night in the setting, Smashwords appears to be extremely slow for me. I decided to unpublish the entire book and will republish. From what I hear it should be a few weeks before my free ebook is ready to be downloaded again. Though it appears to be corrected and all ready (though my account says pending review).

Thanks again!

Still showing available and able to be downloaded on my comp with the old covers still on.

ethicalwriter · Jun 22, 2011

I just checked to be double sure from my laptop and also from my wifes computer. The new cover (file without the watermark) is on. Though the file appears to be live which speaks to the speed of Smashwords.

The photo appears cloudy because the picture is showing her breathe in the air.

dgaughran · Jun 22, 2011

@ethicalwriter

I can see both covers without watermarks too - all looks fine here.

Uncarved · Jun 22, 2011

Now I can see the covers without watermarks, must have still had a cache or something.

I'm glad you took care of that. It should help in promoting your work.

Todsplace · Jun 25, 2011

I'm also interested in alternatives to SW.

Has anyone investigated the following?:

Ingram

A wholesale distributor

AuthorSolutions

A collection of vanity presses. Avoid.

LibreDigital

Aggregator for the iBookstore

I’m an author. Can I partner with LibreDigital to get eBooks to the iBookstore?
No, unless you are a self-published author with a publishing company and your titles have ISBNs.

INScribe digital

Charges fees. Five book minimum.Distributes to a limited selection of ebook stores.Here's their FAQ.

Omnilit/ARe

"All Romance ebooks"Here's their FAQ

Bookbaby

Charged fees. Limited distribution.Their page is here.

Any opinions would be great. I'm just not crazy about SW.

Alternative to Smashwords?

ethicalwriter

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

Irysangel

She of Many Names

brainstorm77

practical experience, FTW

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

dgaughran

mscelina

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

ethicalwriter

Uncarved

I aim to misbehave

ethicalwriter

mscelina

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

veinglory

volitare nequeo

ethicalwriter

The Grump

Hates Marketing. Loves Writing.

veinglory

volitare nequeo

dgaughran

JFBookman

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

ethicalwriter

Uncarved

I aim to misbehave

ethicalwriter

dgaughran

Uncarved

I aim to misbehave

Todsplace