Smashwords viewer before publishing?

CoffeeBlack · Aug 20, 2012

Hi,

I have a Word document that has been formatted for Smashwords. Is there a Smashwords viewer I could use to view the book before I upload it?

WeaselFire · Aug 20, 2012

Adobe's Digital Editions for ePub format, Kindle client for Mobi. Make sure you use the Smashwords Style guide. You can also preview the HTML version and that almost always points out format errors.

Jeff

CoffeeBlack · Aug 20, 2012

WeaselFire said:
Adobe's Digital Editions for ePub format, Kindle client for Mobi. Make sure you use the Smashwords Style guide. You can also preview the HTML version and that almost always points out format errors.

Jeff

Thank you. Do you know if Smashwords lets you view the file after you upload before you have to publish it?

merrihiatt · Aug 20, 2012

CoffeeBlack said:
Thank you. Do you know if Smashwords lets you view the file after you upload before you have to publish it?

No, but you can upload a revised version immediately, if needed.

CoffeeBlack · Aug 20, 2012

merrihiatt said:
No, but you can upload a revised version immediately, if needed.

Thank you!

Do you know offhand how many "free" copies one can get of your own back from Smashwords and Kindle? I ask because I would like to give free copies to market the book and to some supporters of my organization.

J. Tanner · Aug 20, 2012

Smashwords does not use DRM and, as the author, Smashwords allows you to download copies of all the downloadable formats that you have enabled for the book in the Dashboard.

End result, you can typically download EPUP and MOBI (as well as less common stuff) and distribute it as much as you'd like for any purpose you'd like (with the noted exception of using it for sale through another location.)

merrihiatt · Aug 20, 2012

CoffeeBlack said:
Thank you!

Do you know offhand how many "free" copies one can get of your own back from Smashwords and Kindle? I ask because I would like to give free copies to market the book and to some supporters of my organization.

Zero from Kindle, but if you convert your document to Mobi, you can send it via e-mail to anyone who has a Kindle or Kindle app.

aibrean · Aug 20, 2012

Smashwords allows you to create coupon codes for users. I don't think there is a limit to how many people can use the code.

CoffeeBlack · Aug 20, 2012

Smashwords problem

So, I just published my first book to Smashwords and to my great dismay it listed me as the author instead of my organization. It makes me feel like a credit hog. I quickly unpublished it. Is there any way I can change the author's name from my own to the name of my organization? Or can I delete it somehow and reupload it? This is very frustrating.

Any suggestions or advice folks have would be much appreciated. I send Smashwords an email but I know I won't hear from them for over a week.

CoffeeBlack · Aug 20, 2012

Oh my goodness, I actually figured it out! Never mind

CoffeeBlack · Aug 20, 2012

iTunes

Hi all,

I just published my book tonight on Smashwords and Kindle (the Kindle is in review).

Can anyone tell me how long it usually take until my book appears on iTunes?

Thanks in advance.

CoffeeBlack · Aug 20, 2012

covers on Smashwords

Hi all,

So I published a book on Smashwords tonight and when I download the PDF there is no cover on it. Is this normal? I see the cover of my book in the listing at Smashwords - should I be concerned that the cover is not on the PDF download?

Thanks for any guidance anyone can offer.

CoffeeBlack · Aug 20, 2012

aibrean said:
Smashwords allows you to create coupon codes for users. I don't think there is a limit to how many people can use the code.

Very cool, thank you. I didn't know that.

merrihiatt · Aug 20, 2012

For the cover to show up, you would need to insert it in your Word document before uploading. This is not a cut/paste thing. You need to actually insert the cover into the document.

Smashwords will take anywhere from 1-2 weeks to approve your e-book for premium distribution (it used to take about a month, but times have been shortened recently). It can take another 1-2 weeks (or more) for it to show up on B&N, ibookstore, etc.

I suggest you read a few of the self-publishing journals here at AW. It would give you a better idea of what to expect, time frames, etc. and it might answer a lot of your questions before you even have to ask them. Research is your friend.

aibrean · Aug 20, 2012

CoffeeBlack said:
Hi all,

I just published my book tonight on Smashwords and Kindle (the Kindle is in review).

Can anyone tell me how long it usually take until my book appears on iTunes?

Thanks in advance.

It has to be approved into the Premium Catalog first, then around 2 weeks. If you look at the Channel Manager you can see an estimation based on when your items shipped to the vendor.

CoffeeBlack · Aug 21, 2012

aibrean said:
It has to be approved into the Premium Catalog first, then around 2 weeks. If you look at the Channel Manager you can see an estimation based on when your items shipped to the vendor.

Thank you! This is very helpful.

CoffeeBlack · Aug 21, 2012

merrihiatt said:
For the cover to show up, you would need to insert it in your Word document before uploading. This is not a cut/paste thing. You need to actually insert the cover into the document.

Smashwords will take anywhere from 1-2 weeks to approve your e-book for premium distribution (it used to take about a month, but times have been shortened recently). It can take another 1-2 weeks (or more) for it to show up on B&N, ibookstore, etc.

I suggest you read a few of the self-publishing journals here at AW. It would give you a better idea of what to expect, time frames, etc. and it might answer a lot of your questions before you even have to ask them. Research is your friend.

Thank you! Sorry for my many questions. I am very thankful for each and every response on this forum which have really helped me get the book published.

Smashwords viewer before publishing?

CoffeeBlack

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merrihiatt

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