How can I search Smashwords more effectively?

[KenJackson]

Does anyone have any tips for searching the Smashwords site?

I personally don't like short stories. You just get started reading and then you're done before they can develop the characters or plot. One of the things I don't like about Smashwords is they have so many annoying little 10K-word stories all mixed in with the full-length books.

OTOH, one of the things I like about Smashwords, is you can can click "Full (≥50,000 words)" to filter out the lint. (And one thing I love is that I don't have to bother searching for no DRM, because they don't sell any DRM-corrupted books.) But that filter seems to get lost when you search for something specific.

Are there any tricks I've missed for more precise searches?

[BrianKittrell]

I cases where the search engine on-site doesn't work, you can try Google.

In the search field, use:

site:smashwords.com keywords, title, author, and so forth

I do the same for Barnes & Noble's website, along with others that are troublesome to navigate. Hope this helps.

[Ravensknight]

If a store is that hard to use, I would shop elsewhere...

[BillSmithBooks]

Smashwords' search feature is not great...but not dreadful either (cough, looking at you B&N, cough).

I'd love to see more recommendation features in Smashwords, similar to the Amazon searches -- "This book is similar to this book" kind of thing.

And user forums would be way cool, too, to help seed good recommendations and discovery.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by BillSmithBooks

Smashwords' search feature is not great...but not dreadful either (cough, looking at you B&N, cough).

I'd love to see more recommendation features in Smashwords, similar to the Amazon searches -- "This book is similar to this book" kind of thing.

And user forums would be way cool, too, to help seed good recommendations and discovery.

It is interesting how different ebookers view the shopping ease (or lack there of) of different ebook stores.

Unlike Bill, I hate Amazon's website and wish it were more like B&N's, which I much prefer. Whenever I go to Amazon, I feel like I am entering the worlkd of the 2 a.m. infomercial that is trying to sell me a food processor and if I buy it, will throw in a couple of free surprises.

At neither site do I like the "This book is similar to" "feature." If I could turn it off, I would, but I find the B&N recommendations to be less intrusive than those at Amazon.

I like to buy what ebooks I can at Smashwords because I like to support indie authors and I like to get my ebooks DRM-free. But I have complained several times -- in direct emails to Mark Coker and in articles at my blog -- about the very poor search and filtering system at Smashwords. However, the filtering system there today is significantly better than what was there just a year ago. At the rate it is being improved, it will be another decade before it is truly usable, so I'll continue to slog through the Smashwords system.

[scottmarlowe]

I've always had difficulty with the Smashwords site when it comes to search. Very difficult to wade through the monstrously sized results that come back. It would be nice if they'd do more "feature" sort of things to help readers find things. Or maybe better filtering and certainly better genre breakdowns. As Brian said, there's always Google, though I think you run into the same sort of problems.

[theapatra]

I'm not a fan of the Smashwords interface, but it has improved greatly. Personally, I'd love to see something like: "a rare unseen tidbit" that changes each day or week. A book that doesn't fall under the other categories.