Smashwords - Need Some Comments

I publish direct to

KDP
iTunes
Google Play
CreateSpace

Draft2Digital, where they distribute to everyone other than the above.

SmashWords, where they distribute to their list of additional sites.

XinXii, where they distribute to their list of additional sites.

I use my own cover artist and have never worked with any of the sites on cover creation, so I have nothing to offer there...

Do you mean KDP or KDP Select (Amazon exclusive)?

And what did you find unsatisfactory about it? Your answer to this will better allow us to just whether you might get a more satisfying result from Smashwords, or Nook.

In general, KDP is the most lucrative, and most simple platform to publish to. If you have problems with it in those regards, you probably aren't going to find some panacea elsewhere.

(My experience with Amazon and Draft2Digital have been pretty much all positive. Those are my recommended starting points. Smashwords is super clunky, prone to technical glitches, and has spotty support at times. But it basically works--and I use them for the rest of the small markets D2D doesn't hit. Nook direct is okayish, but I prefer to just simplify my life with the chump change I earn there and use an aggregator: D2D or SW. Same deal for me with Apple and Kobo--to small to deal with their direct systems.)

My experience has been similar to J. Tanner's: I use KDP direct and then D2D for everything else. The very small markets not covered by D2D are not worth it for me to bother with Smashwords.

And I agree, if you're not satisfied with KDP, you probably should stay away from Smashwords.

FWIW, I started publishing ebooks at both Amazon and Smashwords at roughly the same time (late-November-ish, 2013). After about a year and a quarter of number-crunching, I found well over 90% of my sales came via Amazon, so last month I decided to go exclusively with their Select program.

I never had any issues with Smashwords, in fact I was impressed with the reach of their distribution. Unfortunately, the sales just weren't there for me. I found their formatting and uploading procedures just a bit more complicated than Amazon's, but on the whole never had any technical issues with them.

As far as covers go, I think they have a "do-it-yourself" setup similar to Amazon's, but I'm not entirely sure. I have no graphic artistry skills to speak of and had pre-made covers at the ready when I took the plunge.

Best of luck to you!