Tag: Smashwords

What’s Smashwords Good For?

Smashwords LogoRecently, for a number of reasons that will take too long to explain here, I decided to pull a few of my titles from the KDPS (Kindle Direct Publishing Select) program and make them available for other retailers as well as Amazon.

But this left me with another choice: I could publish with each of the big retailers individually, I could pay a company like BookBaby to do it for me, or I could publish through an eBook aggregator like Smashwords, Draft2Digital, or Pronoun (formerly Vook and now owned by MacMillan Publishers).

The idea of publishing vendor by vendor gave me a headache; Continue reading “What’s Smashwords Good For?”

Smashwords Hooks Gardners, Expands Distribution in UK

smashwords-logoStarting today, titles you have listed through Smashwords will be shipping to a new distributor: Gardners, the largest book wholesaler in the UK.

Smashwords CEO Mark Coker announced the deal on his blog last week. Erotica titles are not included.

Gardners may not be a household name – even to readers in the UK – but it’s the force behind a host of eBook sales sites, including hive.co.uk and books.telegraph.co.uk in the UK; bokus.com in Sweden; saxo.com in Denmark; and takealot.com in South Africa. Continue reading “Smashwords Hooks Gardners, Expands Distribution in UK”

Self-Publishing Book Expo 2014 Wrap-Up

Screen shot 2014-11-16 at 4.13.54 PMWhat a difference a year makes. New York’s Self-Publishing Book Expo, now entering its sixth year, has followed alongside the evolution of indie publishing, more or less. It’s a unique show designed to help self-published authors network with service providers and learn how to navigate the marketplace to publish and promote their books more effectively. But the most recent show, from the exhibitors to the presenters to the audience, had some huge differences—some good, and some that made me want to punch a wall. Continue reading “Self-Publishing Book Expo 2014 Wrap-Up”

Choices for Publishing: eBooks, Part One

publish buttonCongrats! You’ve finished your book! Your editor and beta readers have worked their magic, you have a kickass cover and an awesome blurb, and your ARC readers are ready to post their reviews as soon as you push the “do it” button and release your book.

The question is which “do it” button to use. The good news is that you don’t have to pick just one; you can mix and match, depending on how many ways you want readers to be able to buy your books. And the choice you make now doesn’t have to be your final answer; if your book isn’t performing on a particular platform, you can bail out and try something else.

But there are a few things to keep in mind when you’re making your initial choice. I’m going to cover eBook publishing options today, because I happen to think eBooks are quicker and easier than print. (Your mileage may vary, of course.) We’ll get to the options for dead-tree books later this month. Continue reading “Choices for Publishing: eBooks, Part One”