Monday, November 16, 2009

Smashwords and Shortcovers Sign Ebook Distribution Agreement

At Smashwords, our mission is to make it free and easy for any author, anywhere in the world, to publish and distribute their ebook.

So I'm excited today to announce a distribution agreement with Shortcovers, a large ebook retailer that operates online ebook stores in 189 countries. This deal follows similar distribution agreements we announced recently with Barnes & Noble and Sony.

If you haven't heard of Shortcovers, they're a hot startup created by Indigo Books, Canada's largest book retailer. They offer a family of free e-reading apps supporting all major smart phone platforms, including the iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pre and Google Android. They also support several eInk devices.

The mobile channel, Shortcovers' strength, is extremely important to the future success of all authors and publishers. Already, more ebooks are read on cell phones than on dedicated e-reading devices. Over the next few years, billions of ebook-ready smart phones will be in the hands of consumers around the world, dwarfing the number of dedicated e-reading devices.

For Smashwords authors and publishers, this agreement will make your books discoverable and purchaseable by millions of customers.

Before dollar signs start flashing in your mind, remember we make it easy to publish and distribute your book, but bookselling is always difficult. The success or failure of your book in the marketplace will ultimately come down to the quality of your book (does it touch your audience in such a way that they want to tell all their friends about it) and how well you market it (for helpful marketing tips, check out the Smashwords Book Market Guide).

All Smashwords Premium Catalog books will begin shipping to Shortcovers this Wednesday November 18.

If you're not already publishing with Smashwords, learn how at this page, How to Publish on Smashwords.

To learn more about the Shortcovers relationship, check out the joint press release issued today by Smashwords and Shortcovers.

9 comments:

Maria said...

Excellent news, Mark--you rock!!

Maria
author page:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BearMountainBooks

Jason Matthews said...

Well done, Mark. I feel like I have some power in my corner. Hey man, do you ski Tahoe?

Derek said...

Congratulations, Mark. We live in exciting times.

Shayne Parkinson said...

Good news, Mark! Well done.

Dovetail Public Relations said...

Thanks Maria, Jason, Derek and Shayne! I really appreciate your support.

Anonymous said...

Okay Mark, now I'm waiting for some of the Castle dwellers in New York to show up, crowns in hand, to ask for your help.

Thanks for giving us a platform!

** Reposted due to glitch with sign in. Sorry. **

Derek said...

And PW picked up the story, too http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6707044.html

Tracy Falbe said...

Mark, thanks for your efforts to give all writers a chance to reach an audience. Your Smashwords distribution system is taking down the barriers that have heretofore prevented me from placing my works where people actually shop for reading materials. I appreciate your company's work and hope you succeed.

Pamela T. said...

Hi Mark,
I've been in the Smashwords premium catalog queue for several months now hoping to see my ebook made available on Shortcovers/Kobo and Sony and Amazon's Kindle Store. Any updates on those Smashwords distributions? In regards to Kindle, I could upload directly but I believe I'll get better royalties with Smashwords. Am I right? Thanks for all your great work! (BTW: I'm delighted that B&N.com listed my ebook almost immediately.)