Quote:
Originally Posted by Smashwords
Thanks, everyone, for your comments.
@ shighfield, thanks for the kind words about our CTO, Bill Kendrick. I think he's great too. In addition to the daily iterations he does on the site each day, he's working on some really cool projects, including something neat for iphone users.  Re: your suggestion of allowing you to come back and send more compensation to the author, one current option to to buy multiple copies, and another item on our roadmap closer to your suggestion, probably a month or two out, is a "Tip me" button. Of course if anyone here has a better label than "Tip me", I'm all ears. One of the reasons I founded Smashwords is because I think authors get a bum deal with most traditional publishers, so we're interested to build our business in such a way that creators get compensated for their hard work.
@ ebookpirate, I appreciate your comments and don't disagree about the need to grow our author base. While I'm thrilled ~ 60 authors have already entrusted their works with us, I won't be satisfied until we add three more zeros to that number, and once we reach that point I'll want to add one or two more. As pshrynk pointed out, we're just getting started. We launched our public beta in May. You mentioned you liked the HTML format. We do offer an online HTML reader for book sampling and reading. Or would you like to be able to download a single HTML file, essentially the entire book in one long page? That's certainly an option I'd be willing to consider. Most of our development roadmap is based on user suggestions.
Best,
Mark |
Hi, Mark!! Thanx for responding to my complaints. Yes, that's exactly it. I'd like to download the story in 1 HTML file like I can do right now from the otrher e-publishers' websites. It's easier for me over all rather than have to deal with moving my file from device to device. And sometimes, my computer crashes which is why I like an open format like html where at least I can store it at multiple places on my storage devices or online in case a computer fails.
As I said when I said I enjoy romances, the one thing I like about shopping with epublishers is not just the number and selection but that they take RISKS in their writing. They're not as "mainstream" and "staid" as harlequin or other physical book publishers. The more risks the writer takes, the better I appreciate that author's works. Their viewpoints can be vastly different from the mainstream, different from what the "mainstream" p-publishers would want as physical books. And I'm not just talking about how explicit the book is which is what many readers look at or the fact that the e-story has werewolves and vampires. I'm talking about how the different viewpoints, from morality to how one looks at the world, can affect the entire story from beginning, to middle, to end. Many stories from epublishers are so different (example: Angela Verdenius' exciting blend of scifi and romance) in outlook and mix of subgenres that I would never see them in print which is one big reason I love ebooks more than pbooks.
Also, I'd like a sample of how the writer writes. I know I'm asking for a lot but can they put a good representation of an entire book (if they write novels) or a few short stories(if they write short stories) for free as a sample?? Then I'd feel more comfortable as a consumer whether or not to buy further works from them. That would DEFINITELY make me shop more with smashwords rather than more frequently with other e-publishers or ebook online stores.
Thanx for your ears:-)