Scribd?

[Gus Flory]

Does anyone download e-books from Scribd?

I had my book for sale there since September with very few views and no purchases. Last week, I made the first third of the book available free for download and a few people have downloaded it.

I'm wondering if users of e-readers are going to Scribd for books, or if it's just PC people. Other than Kindle, where are e-book people getting their e-books? It doesn't appear to be Smashwords.

GALAXY OF HEROES for download on Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/29524292/G...f-Heroes#about

Gus

[m-reader]

I have used Scribd to download tutorials and other stuff before - mostly in PDF format for my Iliad.
I haven't bought anything there yet though.
Good luck with your book - I'll have a look at it.

[Gus Flory]

Hi.

Could you tell me how it looks on your reader?

Gus

[dreams]

I've never bought from Scribd, but I do buy from Smashwords (especially those authors that are on MR).

Just because a book doesn't have as many downloads from Smashwords as Kindle doesn't mean that it isn't being seen or purchased. (The book is still getting exposure, if you qualify for the premium catalog you are available through other stores... from their info page

3. Premium Feed: This new catalog is distributed to major online retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo (formerly known as Shortcovers) and Apple, and other distribution outlets. These retailers have higher mechanical standards such as requiring quality book cover images, books with copyright pages, and other simple requirements outlined below. If you're a serious author or publisher, you want your books included in Smashwords Premium Catalog. For special requirements of the Apple catalog, see this checklist, How to Publish Ebooks on the iPad with Smashwords.

I have the Sony 505 and friends with Sony's and Kindles. My friends with Kindles will look for books on Smashwords then usually look for the same book on Amazon and buy it there. Their reasoning is so they can keep all their books in one place plus whispernet it to their Kindle. They discover and try indie authors because they saw them on or through Smashwords.

EDIT: forgot to mention that if the book isn't on Amazon they will buy it from smashwords.

[m-reader]

Originally Posted by Gus Flory

Hi.

Could you tell me how it looks on your reader?

Gus

Here's a few shots on my PRS-900. You'll have to excuse the quality. I used my Nokia phone for the camera, and the lighting in the office is all fluorescent.

The book layout looks good - especially re-flowed at medium font size (last two shots).

Cheers,

m-reader

[Gus Flory]

Pretty cool. I was wondering how it would look on a different reader. It took me a while to get it right.

Thank you for that!

[jabberwock_11]

Scribd simply does not have the content that is readily available on other web sites. It is a sort of last resort stop for most folks when it comes to ebooks. I would look around here for ideas about other places to sell your book.

I use a wide variety of sites for ebooks including: www.fictionwise.com, www.bookviewcafe.com, www.kobo.com. www.manybooks.net, www.booksonboard.com, www.mobipocket.com, www.zuluexpress.com, and many others.

There are plenty of online self publishing sites as well and never underestimate the power of self promotion, start your own web site and host your book there.

Scribd is a good place to start, but it should not be your one and only place.

[Gus Flory]

Jabberwock,

Thanks for the advice and links!

On a side note, Scribd just featured my book and my number of reads shot up by around 300 in one day, plus about 10 new downloads. Pretty cool.

Gus

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by Gus Flory

I'm wondering if users of e-readers are going to Scribd for books, or if it's just PC people. Other than Kindle, where are e-book people getting their e-books? It doesn't appear to be Smashwords.

I've used Scribd for a long time, but not for pay content-- just for accessing and sharing free material, mostly scientific papers. I haven't looked in a while, but I see "my" documents have over 143,000 reads and over 13,500 downloads.