Hi all. Sorry I was slow to find this thread. Sounds like ya'll hashed this out pretty well, though I'll add a couple more comments.
Microsoft Word is by no means a perfect Word processor, and somehow MS has managed to make Word more cumbersome and more difficult to learn with every new version.
My personal favorite version of MS Word is Word 2000. Word is a good universal format because most writers already have it. If an author takes the time to learn how to tame it (and we show you how in the Smashwords Style Guide), you can get really good results from our Meatgrinder. For authors who can't afford the $140 or so to purchase a copy, Open Office is a reasonably good free alternative, though understand in advance that it has its own problems and doesn't always export clean Word .doc files.
I've been in the tech business almost since the dawn of Microsoft, and it's interesting that so much anti-Microsoft sentiment is still out there. Open Office, despite the word "open" in its name, was acquired by Sun Microsystems, a company, which despite its calls for openness, ultimately on a trojan horse mission to harm Microsoft and drive customers to its own proprietary, over-priced hardware. When Sun failed, they were acquired by Oracle. For anyone who has ever followed Oracle and its CEO Larry Ellison, Mr. Ellison is the prince of darkness when it comes to closed, expensive proprietary systems, and their marketing tactics (a former Oracle executive once bragged to me how they savaged Informix, an old database competitor, with underhanded marketing and PR) at times made the worst of Bill Gates and team look downright saintly. If given the choice of finding yourself stranded on an island with Larry Ellison or Bill Gates, most folks would be smart to choose Bill Gates IMHO.
Naomi, yes, it would cause me to faint if authors started uploading separate versions of the same book to overcome different formatting idiosyncrasies. It might also cause us to delete an author's account if we felt they were abusing or gaming the system to the disadvantage of their fellow Smashwords authors. If folks follow the Style Guide, they'll get good results. The results will continue to get better over time as we enhance Meatgrinder and provide better formatting instructions.
Neil, you know I like you and respect the great work you do as a publisher, but you're painting with too broad a brush to label Smashwords as a place for amateurs. I'm sure many Smashwords authors and publishers would consider that an insult, because we have thousands of authors/publishers who are anything but amateur. I know of many indie authors who are out-publishing, out-selling and out-smarting traditional publishers every day. These authors will serve as the role models for other indie authors who want to improve their craft and up their games.
In the next few years we'll see more previously published "professional authors" turn their backs on traditional publishing and go indie, and some of them will use Smashwords as their distribution partner. Would such a move put them in the amateur category? Definitely not. The old caste system in publishing is crumbling away. Ebook retailers want diverse content because their customers (readers) want it. Readers care less about the publisher name on the spine than publishers care. Authors will publish directly to their readers, and their readers will determine what's worth reading.
It's the author's responsibility to learn from and incorporate the best-practices of traditional publishers. If they can't do it on their own, they should hire professional help as necessary to improve their books with editing, book doctoring, proofing, etc. Authors sitting on the sidelines waiting for the blessing of a publisher are only denying themselves the opportunity to start reaching readership today.
For those interested, here's my Seven Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success (Note that tip one is "write a great book," something all professionals can appreciate):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-c..._b_751743.html