Smashwords - yay or nay? - Page 4

fbrII · 07-18-2011, 02:34 PM

Yeah on Smashwords, from a reader's perspective, a chance to discover new authors at a reasonable price and the ability to purchase e-books without DRM are major incentives for me.

Reading this thread earlier I decided to buy books from the following authors who posted comments: Melanie Jackson (Due North), David H. Burton (Scourge), Christopher Hunter (The Days and Nights we were First Born) and Joel Arnold (Northwoods Deep).

So from this readers perspective a definite two thumbs up for Smashwords and also for the authors who publish their works at Smashwords!

I also wanted to pick something up by L.J. Sellers but alas, she is not there.

yet?

VydorScope · 07-18-2011, 07:34 PM

I will say this for Smashwords... I had over 2,000 downloads of my book through them before even the first 100 went on Amazon. Amazon has since blown that away, but I cant help but wonder if the other downloads help create that demand on Amazon.

CaraM · 07-21-2011, 09:11 PM

My book's available on Smashwords, but sales are dismal.

pholy · 07-22-2011, 07:54 AM

I can see why. Your sig doesn't include any smashword links! If you had a link, I could find out more about your book with one click.

I won't buy from Amazon because they use encrypted mobi, I can't buy from B&N because they don't like the colours of my money. And I don't feel like setting up accounts with every bookstore out there.

Frida Fantastic · 07-27-2011, 08:44 PM

I hope the mods won't find this link spammy, but I wrote a blog post with a poll on this topic: "Do you buy indie ebooks from Smashwords?" http://fridafantastic.wordpress.com/...om-smashwords/

I cover a lot of basics about Smashwords, since mobileread posters are probably the savviest Smashwords-reading folks in the world, I don't offer anything new. But I'm hoping that blog readers who aren't familiar with Smashwords will check it out, and authors who currently only sell ebooks through Amazon will seriously consider Smashwords as an option. The ebook-reading audience is global, and we want to buy books anywhere and in any format!

PamelaMary · 07-28-2011, 04:05 AM

Hi Frida. I just read your blog post. It was an eye opener that so many people buy from Smashwords. I just got three novels into the Premium Catalogue there. Like you I believe Smashwords will only get bigger, with more publicity because of the global ebook market. I'm happily looking forward to the future, and appreciate that you choose to help other authors by buying at Smashwords so that they have the higher percentage. That's not to say that Amazon doesn't give a good percentage, and I'm grateful that they opened the way for a lot of us. But it looks like Smashwords is the wave of the future.

Frida Fantastic · 07-28-2011, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PamelaMary

Hi Frida. I just read your blog post. It was an eye opener that so many people buy from Smashwords. I just got three novels into the Premium Catalogue there. Like you I believe Smashwords will only get bigger, with more publicity because of the global ebook market.

I agree 100% Smashwords isn't perfect, but it's good enough that I encourage people in my circle to buy books from Smashwords. What can I say? Mobileread indoctrinated me.

GraceKrispy · 07-31-2011, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frida Fantastic

I agree 100% Smashwords isn't perfect, but it's good enough that I encourage people in my circle to buy books from Smashwords. What can I say? Mobileread indoctrinated me.

I do, too. Smashwords is always my first link. I like that it is international and in many formats. I'd rather get my books from Smashwords as well (even if my emails go unanswered

)

BenCheetham · 08-01-2011, 09:57 AM

Just uploaded my novel to Smashwords, so I can't properly evaluate yet whether or not it was worth the investment of time and effort to get the formatting right. The formatting process is a bit of a minefield, but the Smashword Style Guide provides clear step-by-step instructions - something which is sorely lacking from the KDP site.

PamelaMary · 08-01-2011, 04:20 PM

Hi to Ben and GraceKrispy and all my writer friends,

I'd like to recommend Bob Houston Ebook Formatting. I used his affordable service and all three of my novels went through the Smashwords Meatgrinder without any auto-vetting errors, and are now in the Premium Catalog. Hyperlinks were created, so readers could find my other books at the end of each novel. When I wanted to update a novel for the Kindle, Bob Houston formatted my new manuscript beautifully. I highly recommend this service.

Here's the link to his site:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bob-Ho...420091?sk=info

I got permission to give out his personal email for the service, so if you want to contact him directly you can do so.
Bob_Houston@hotmail.com

VydorScope · 08-01-2011, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenCheetham

Just uploaded my novel to Smashwords, so I can't properly evaluate yet whether or not it was worth the investment of time and effort to get the formatting right. The formatting process is a bit of a minefield, but the Smashword Style Guide provides clear step-by-step instructions - something which is sorely lacking from the KDP site.

And I have found that if you follow the Smashwords guide, it gets your file ready for just about everyone else as well. So it is not wasted.

Nicky C · 08-01-2011, 11:26 PM

Hi!

I don't sell my books (writing is a hobby for me) but my free books have done extremely well at smashword and I like the fact that I have access to ibooks and B&N. As a way of getting your book 'out there' and noticed it's great. I've also done very well at feedbooks.com but most of my fanmail (and I get a lot) comes from people who found me through ibooks and B&N

As for ease of uploading your book, feedbooks is the easiest by far but once you get the hang of smashwords, its not a problem and the customer service is great. If you have a problem, they get right back to you and are very helpful.

Nicky

08-01-2011, 04:20 PM	#55
PamelaMary Guru Posts: 686 Karma: 1352286 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle	Formatting help for Smashwords Hi to Ben and GraceKrispy and all my writer friends, I'd like to recommend Bob Houston Ebook Formatting. I used his affordable service and all three of my novels went through the Smashwords Meatgrinder without any auto-vetting errors, and are now in the Premium Catalog. Hyperlinks were created, so readers could find my other books at the end of each novel. When I wanted to update a novel for the Kindle, Bob Houston formatted my new manuscript beautifully. I highly recommend this service. Here's the link to his site: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bob-Ho...420091?sk=info I got permission to give out his personal email for the service, so if you want to contact him directly you can do so. Bob_Houston@hotmail.com

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07-18-2011, 02:34 PM	#46
fbrII F. BluDevil Posts: 428 Karma: 1152548 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: St. Louis Missouri Device: Pocketbook Inkpad3 pro, Kobo Libra, Kindle Paperwhite	Yeah on Smashwords, from a reader's perspective, a chance to discover new authors at a reasonable price and the ability to purchase e-books without DRM are major incentives for me. Reading this thread earlier I decided to buy books from the following authors who posted comments: Melanie Jackson (Due North), David H. Burton (Scourge), Christopher Hunter (The Days and Nights we were First Born) and Joel Arnold (Northwoods Deep). So from this readers perspective a definite two thumbs up for Smashwords and also for the authors who publish their works at Smashwords! I also wanted to pick something up by L.J. Sellers but alas, she is not there. yet?

07-18-2011, 07:34 PM	#47
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	I will say this for Smashwords... I had over 2,000 downloads of my book through them before even the first 100 went on Amazon. Amazon has since blown that away, but I cant help but wonder if the other downloads help create that demand on Amazon.

07-21-2011, 09:11 PM	#48
CaraM Guru Posts: 924 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle	My book's available on Smashwords, but sales are dismal.

07-22-2011, 07:54 AM	#49
pholy Booklegger Posts: 1,801 Karma: 7999816 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: BeBook(1 & 2010), PEZ, PRS-505, Kobo BT, PRS-T1, Playbook, Kobo Touch	I can see why. Your sig doesn't include any smashword links! If you had a link, I could find out more about your book with one click. I won't buy from Amazon because they use encrypted mobi, I can't buy from B&N because they don't like the colours of my money. And I don't feel like setting up accounts with every bookstore out there.

07-27-2011, 08:44 PM	#50
Frida Fantastic SF/F book blogger Posts: 270 Karma: 502030 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Vancouver, Canada Device: Kindle 3	I hope the mods won't find this link spammy, but I wrote a blog post with a poll on this topic: "Do you buy indie ebooks from Smashwords?" http://fridafantastic.wordpress.com/...om-smashwords/ I cover a lot of basics about Smashwords, since mobileread posters are probably the savviest Smashwords-reading folks in the world, I don't offer anything new. But I'm hoping that blog readers who aren't familiar with Smashwords will check it out, and authors who currently only sell ebooks through Amazon will seriously consider Smashwords as an option. The ebook-reading audience is global, and we want to buy books anywhere and in any format!

07-28-2011, 04:05 AM	#51
PamelaMary Guru Posts: 686 Karma: 1352286 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle	Hi Frida. I just read your blog post. It was an eye opener that so many people buy from Smashwords. I just got three novels into the Premium Catalogue there. Like you I believe Smashwords will only get bigger, with more publicity because of the global ebook market. I'm happily looking forward to the future, and appreciate that you choose to help other authors by buying at Smashwords so that they have the higher percentage. That's not to say that Amazon doesn't give a good percentage, and I'm grateful that they opened the way for a lot of us. But it looks like Smashwords is the wave of the future.

08-01-2011, 09:57 AM	#54
BenCheetham Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 103734 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sheffield Device: kindle	Just uploaded my novel to Smashwords, so I can't properly evaluate yet whether or not it was worth the investment of time and effort to get the formatting right. The formatting process is a bit of a minefield, but the Smashword Style Guide provides clear step-by-step instructions - something which is sorely lacking from the KDP site.

08-01-2011, 11:26 PM	#57
Nicky C Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: none	Hi! I don't sell my books (writing is a hobby for me) but my free books have done extremely well at smashword and I like the fact that I have access to ibooks and B&N. As a way of getting your book 'out there' and noticed it's great. I've also done very well at feedbooks.com but most of my fanmail (and I get a lot) comes from people who found me through ibooks and B&N As for ease of uploading your book, feedbooks is the easiest by far but once you get the hang of smashwords, its not a problem and the customer service is great. If you have a problem, they get right back to you and are very helpful. Nicky