Smashwords trouble..

Elvira · 05-10-2010, 09:43 AM

I uploaded an ebook to Smashwords six weeks ago, and opted in to everything except for Kindle. Six weeks later, I cannot find the book in any ebook store. I checked Kobo books, the Sony reader store, the iBookstore, and Barnes and Noble.

I feel like the ebook has gone into a black hole, and there is no way for me to track its status. I’ve emailed both Kobo and Sony, but they are unable to offer help and simply direct me back to Smashwords.

Has anyone here used Smashwords successfully and had his or her book appear in the other, non-Amazon stores??

NickSpalding · 05-10-2010, 12:53 PM

Have you checked the distribution channels on your dashboard? If Smashwords haven't shipped your book off yet, they won't appear on the other sites. This can take ages for them to get round to apparently!

TC Beacham · 05-10-2010, 01:20 PM

Yes, use your dashboard - and "distribution channel manager." My books have made it to other stores, but it's slow - at the store end, not smashwords end.

HistoryWes · 05-10-2010, 02:07 PM

It is REALLY slow getting books to other channels. Kobo and B&N are the fastest, but even they are slow. None of my books have shown up on Sony and it's been far longer than yours. Ibookstore is pretty fast, but there have been other issues, like correct pricing, that Smashwords is working on.

Be patient. They will eventually show up. The outside distribution systems are still new and they are still working out the kinks.

DixieGal · 05-10-2010, 02:38 PM

Be sure to get the ISBN while you are there. It's free, and required for most sellers before they will accept your book.

neilmarr · 05-10-2010, 02:49 PM

From what Mark Coker at Smashwords says, the delay is often down to stores moving the goalposts. Smashwords' operation is largely automated (apart from great personal service), so I can well believe this to be the case. Good luck and patience folks. Neil

Simon Wood · 05-10-2010, 05:58 PM

I wouldn't fret. Like some people have said. Check the distribution manager for updates. I've had books slated to go on Sony, etc. for six months. It's very slow.

nomesque · 05-10-2010, 08:22 PM

Yup, the distribution channels are still in development stage right now - it's quite a long road between Smashwords supplying a bunch of ebooks and a store getting them catalogued, tagged and formatted to their liking. As all three parties (authors, Smashwords and ebookstores) get used to what's required, the process will speed up.

FWIW, B&N took at least 2 months to get DEAD(ish) into their store correctly, and at least another month to get it categorised. iBookstore had it listed within a couple of weeks of distribution. It still hasn't turned up in the Sony or Kobo stores.

Rest assured, it will get through - eventually. But much patience is required at this early stage.

DixieGal · 05-10-2010, 08:36 PM

Tim has an Amazon distribution date of 5/19. We shall see...

M T McGuire · 05-11-2010, 05:25 PM

I put one on at Christmas and it hasn't appeared on Amazon yet, I asked and they're in negotiation with Amazon right now and it's taking longer than they expected, B&N took a couple of months, Sony is still a no but Kobo, Apple and B&N are now all stocking it... I did the free Smashwords ISBN for these as they're short stories.

As Yoda would say... "Patience..." it does take a while.

Cheers

MTM

WAPatterson · 05-14-2010, 11:13 AM

As an example for you. My book was publlished on 2/28/2010. approved on 3/01/10 and sent out on 4/2/10 or something like that.
It just appeared on B&N two days ago.
if you look deep enough smashwords does say it can take up to 8 weeks from shipping to appear on their site and I think it can take longer with formats like Sony.
It will appear and don't fret for sales figures either - those are posted quarterly from the book sites and sent 1 to 2 months after quarter end - then Smashwords has to process them.
It's a slow process but I've not found another one more transparent and honest about it out there.

I hope this helps.

dlmartin6 · 05-24-2010, 08:43 AM

I've had pretty much the same experience with my books as well. They showed up right away in the iBookstore, next came B&N. Nothing with Sony and Kobo yet though.

Patience is the key word here. They will show up eventually.

Deb
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/debralmartin

Vintage Season · 05-25-2010, 07:15 AM

What about experiences placing free ebooks into the distribution channels? "We Don't Plummet Out of the Sky Anymore" was published 6 April, approved 11 April (that was during their "Holy cow are we backlogged!" phase), then shipped to Barnes & Noble on 16 April and Apple's iBookstore on 17 April.

I was under the impression that it had already shown up in the iBookstore from the number of downloads I was seeing, but the other day I finally had the chance to look at a friend's iPad and discovered that it is apparently still not listed in Apple's catalog despite being five and a half weeks out. (Nor is it yet listed on Barnes & Noble's site, although I didn't really expect to see that one for at least a few weeks more.)

Will free ebooks actually be carried in the iBookstore? I was under the impression this would be the case, but re-reading the fine print seems to indicate that prices in the iBookstore must end in .99... which free does not.

One last question: At whatever point an ebook finally appears in the channels to which it has been distributed, will downloads via that channel also be reflected in the Smashwords dashboard, or will there be periodic/quarterly updates to let authors know how their stories have performed?

- M.

nomesque · 05-25-2010, 07:29 AM

1. Free in ibookstore - YES. My first is free, and has made it to the ibookstore and B&N so far. Both listed as free.

2. There will be periodic - quarterly? - updates for free ebooks, if they're received from the distributor. I don't think they're added to the usual downloads shown in the dashboard - could be wrong there. Mine for B&N don't seem to have shown up yet, although I could have misunderstood how they'll be shown - I think I'd notice if they were added to total downloads because due to a fluke of promotional luck, DEAD(ish) was downloaded a lot in the initial months of B&N figures received.

Hope that helps

DixieGal · 05-25-2010, 10:07 AM

As I understand it, and believe me that you are probably more knowledgeable than I, but after you get the ISBN and all the T's dotted and I's crossed, only then can Smashwords get it to various distributors. Smashwords wants to get it to as many purchasers as possible. But it is the distributors who hold things up. Everything seems to take place in batches as to when they will accept batches of titles, then when they will put them on their sales pages, etc. So I think Smashwords is getting them out as quickly as possible, but it takes a while for the distributors to get them onto their virtual shelves.

05-10-2010, 09:43 AM	#1
Elvira Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 462 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle	Smashwords trouble.. I uploaded an ebook to Smashwords six weeks ago, and opted in to everything except for Kindle. Six weeks later, I cannot find the book in any ebook store. I checked Kobo books, the Sony reader store, the iBookstore, and Barnes and Noble. I feel like the ebook has gone into a black hole, and there is no way for me to track its status. I’ve emailed both Kobo and Sony, but they are unable to offer help and simply direct me back to Smashwords. Has anyone here used Smashwords successfully and had his or her book appear in the other, non-Amazon stores??

05-10-2010, 01:20 PM	#3
TC Beacham Great Beach Reads! Posts: 202 Karma: 300000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle 2	Yes, use your dashboard - and "distribution channel manager." My books have made it to other stores, but it's slow - at the store end, not smashwords end. Last edited by TC Beacham; 05-10-2010 at 01:25 PM.

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05-10-2010, 12:53 PM	#2
NickSpalding Addict Posts: 270 Karma: 1041222 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle	Have you checked the distribution channels on your dashboard? If Smashwords haven't shipped your book off yet, they won't appear on the other sites. This can take ages for them to get round to apparently!

05-10-2010, 02:07 PM	#4
HistoryWes Teacher/Novelist Posts: 632 Karma: 2274466 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nevada Device: Nook STR, iPad	It is REALLY slow getting books to other channels. Kobo and B&N are the fastest, but even they are slow. None of my books have shown up on Sony and it's been far longer than yours. Ibookstore is pretty fast, but there have been other issues, like correct pricing, that Smashwords is working on. Be patient. They will eventually show up. The outside distribution systems are still new and they are still working out the kinks.

05-10-2010, 02:38 PM	#5
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Be sure to get the ISBN while you are there. It's free, and required for most sellers before they will accept your book.

05-10-2010, 02:49 PM	#6
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	From what Mark Coker at Smashwords says, the delay is often down to stores moving the goalposts. Smashwords' operation is largely automated (apart from great personal service), so I can well believe this to be the case. Good luck and patience folks. Neil

05-10-2010, 05:58 PM	#7
Simon Wood Addict Posts: 237 Karma: 400001 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: California Device: none	I wouldn't fret. Like some people have said. Check the distribution manager for updates. I've had books slated to go on Sony, etc. for six months. It's very slow.

05-10-2010, 08:22 PM	#8
nomesque Snooty Bestselling Author Posts: 1,485 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ipswich, QLD, Australia Device: PRS-650	Yup, the distribution channels are still in development stage right now - it's quite a long road between Smashwords supplying a bunch of ebooks and a store getting them catalogued, tagged and formatted to their liking. As all three parties (authors, Smashwords and ebookstores) get used to what's required, the process will speed up. FWIW, B&N took at least 2 months to get DEAD(ish) into their store correctly, and at least another month to get it categorised. iBookstore had it listed within a couple of weeks of distribution. It still hasn't turned up in the Sony or Kobo stores. Rest assured, it will get through - eventually. But much patience is required at this early stage.

05-10-2010, 08:36 PM	#9
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Tim has an Amazon distribution date of 5/19. We shall see...

05-11-2010, 05:25 PM	#10
M T McGuire Addict Posts: 231 Karma: 1006970 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England Device: kindle	I put one on at Christmas and it hasn't appeared on Amazon yet, I asked and they're in negotiation with Amazon right now and it's taking longer than they expected, B&N took a couple of months, Sony is still a no but Kobo, Apple and B&N are now all stocking it... I did the free Smashwords ISBN for these as they're short stories. As Yoda would say... "Patience..." it does take a while. Cheers MTM

05-14-2010, 11:13 AM	#11
WAPatterson Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 520420 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Kansas Device: HTC Touchpro 2 Smartphone	As an example for you. My book was publlished on 2/28/2010. approved on 3/01/10 and sent out on 4/2/10 or something like that. It just appeared on B&N two days ago. if you look deep enough smashwords does say it can take up to 8 weeks from shipping to appear on their site and I think it can take longer with formats like Sony. It will appear and don't fret for sales figures either - those are posted quarterly from the book sites and sent 1 to 2 months after quarter end - then Smashwords has to process them. It's a slow process but I've not found another one more transparent and honest about it out there. I hope this helps.

05-24-2010, 08:43 AM	#12
dlmartin6 Debra L Martin Posts: 79 Karma: 114 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Greater Boston area Device: Kindle	I've had pretty much the same experience with my books as well. They showed up right away in the iBookstore, next came B&N. Nothing with Sony and Kobo yet though. Patience is the key word here. They will show up eventually. Deb https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/debralmartin

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05-25-2010, 07:15 AM	#13
Vintage Season Pulps and dime novels... Posts: 343 Karma: 1952003 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kobo Aura/Kobo Aura One LE/iPad Air	What about experiences placing free ebooks into the distribution channels? "We Don't Plummet Out of the Sky Anymore" was published 6 April, approved 11 April (that was during their "Holy cow are we backlogged!" phase), then shipped to Barnes & Noble on 16 April and Apple's iBookstore on 17 April. I was under the impression that it had already shown up in the iBookstore from the number of downloads I was seeing, but the other day I finally had the chance to look at a friend's iPad and discovered that it is apparently still not listed in Apple's catalog despite being five and a half weeks out. (Nor is it yet listed on Barnes & Noble's site, although I didn't really expect to see that one for at least a few weeks more.) Will free ebooks actually be carried in the iBookstore? I was under the impression this would be the case, but re-reading the fine print seems to indicate that prices in the iBookstore must end in .99... which free does not. One last question: At whatever point an ebook finally appears in the channels to which it has been distributed, will downloads via that channel also be reflected in the Smashwords dashboard, or will there be periodic/quarterly updates to let authors know how their stories have performed? - M.

05-25-2010, 07:29 AM	#14
nomesque Snooty Bestselling Author Posts: 1,485 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ipswich, QLD, Australia Device: PRS-650	1. Free in ibookstore - YES. My first is free, and has made it to the ibookstore and B&N so far. Both listed as free. 2. There will be periodic - quarterly? - updates for free ebooks, if they're received from the distributor. I don't think they're added to the usual downloads shown in the dashboard - could be wrong there. Mine for B&N don't seem to have shown up yet, although I could have misunderstood how they'll be shown - I think I'd notice if they were added to total downloads because due to a fluke of promotional luck, DEAD(ish) was downloaded a lot in the initial months of B&N figures received. Hope that helps

05-25-2010, 10:07 AM	#15
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	As I understand it, and believe me that you are probably more knowledgeable than I, but after you get the ISBN and all the T's dotted and I's crossed, only then can Smashwords get it to various distributors. Smashwords wants to get it to as many purchasers as possible. But it is the distributors who hold things up. Everything seems to take place in batches as to when they will accept batches of titles, then when they will put them on their sales pages, etc. So I think Smashwords is getting them out as quickly as possible, but it takes a while for the distributors to get them onto their virtual shelves.