Saturday, November 20, 2010

Smashwords - Ebook Publishing and Distribution Made Easy

Over 10,000 authors and publishers around the world now use Smashwords as their ebook publishing and distribution platform.

I'm thrilled with the growth we've experienced over the last couple years, and I'm even more thrilled at how we've helped these authors and publishers collectively reach hundreds of thousands of new readers.

Yet the hypercompetitive side of me realizes there are several million talented authors around the world who still haven't discovered Smashwords. With your help, we can reach them. We can dream, can't we?

As I've mentioned previously on this blog, each new Smashwords author brings new readers who then discover and enjoy other Smashwords authors and publishers. It's a virtuous flywheel where new authors and publishers bring new readers, new readers bring more authors and publishers, and so on. We want to reach these authors and publishers before some Smashwords imitator reaches them first. Have I mentioned I'm competitive?

Below I embedded a brief introduction to Smashwords for the new and uninitiated. Feel free to share it with your favorite author/publisher friends by clicking the handy Facebook or Twitter links, embed it into your own blog, or email it to friend.



Next month at the end of the month, I'll do another year-in-review post, similar to the one I did last year. Click here to read last year's annual update.

My thanks to all Smashwords authors, publishers, readers and retailers for your continued partnership and support.


Update: Join the Promotion

What began as a simple "Introduction to Smashwords" as morphed into a "Spread the Word about Smashwords" promotion. Below is a list of Smashwords authors who are spreading the love. To join this list embed the presentation into your blog or website, then send us the hyperlink at the "Comments/questions" link at the Smashwords home page.

Here's the current list of participants (BTW, this is great list to discover up-and-coming indie authors!):

  1. Wayne Watson was the first with his blogs, Meddlers in Time and Oswald Bastable's Ranting
  2. J. Alexander Greenwood wrote a blog post titled, "Ladies and Gentleman, the Future of Publishing"
  3. Toni Leland wrote a fantastic post at her blog, Toni's Manuscript Musings
  4. Sarah Ettrich did a great post over at her Self-Publishing Adventure Blog
  5. Linda Nelson embedded the presentation on her home page at Young Adult Books by Linda Nelson
  6. Shayne Parkinson at her blog, Shayne Parkinson's Writing
  7. Tom Lichtenberg embedded the presentation at his Pigeon Weather Productions blog
  8. Oliver Frances added a direct link to this blog post at his blog, Oliver Frances
  9. AJ Davidson added a link to the Slideshare presentation at his blog, AJ Davidson's Blog
  10. Sami Salkosuo blogged it at his science fiction blog, The Stranger's Universe, in a post titled, Dawn to Dawn and Smashwords
  11. Ryne Douglas Pearson posted, What is Smashwords? Glad You Asked at his eponymous site.
  12. Fred Bubbers embedded About Smashwords at his site, Fredbubbers.com
  13. Robert Harper is spreading the word at his site, Robharper.com
  14. H. Lovelyn Bennison has posted a great little piece titled, Smashwords - An Easy Ebook Solution
  15. Leigh Ellwood added a post, Publishing with Smashwords, at her blog, Me Want Food
  16. Stephen Shore embedded the presentation at his Best of Smashwords page
  17. Abe of Aobibliosphere embedded the presentation at Smashwords - A Global Phenomena
  18. Richard Sanders lit up the Internet among his multiple online presences: his Richard Sanders Tumbler page; his Richard Sanders blog; and posts on CrimeSpace, Bookblogs, LinkedIn and Twitter.
  19. Audrey Driscoll integrated a link to the presentation into a broader post titled, Views on Book Reviewing that explores how book reviews are changing, and blurring the lines between professional reviewers and ordinary readers.
  20. Cliff Ball embedded the Introduction to Smashwords presentation in his blog, The Writing World of Author Cliff Ball
  21. Paul Diamond added the presentation to his blogs, Explore Your Career and Work/Life Fusion
  22. Author and cartoonist Scott Semegran wrote a great post with embed, Smashwords - The Future of Independent Publishing, at his web site, ScottSemegran.com
  23. D.R. Prescott embedded the presentation on his personal web site at InkSpot.com
  24. Sharon Cathcart posted a piece on her Goodreads page
  25. Wilson James blogged What about this Smashwords? at his blog, The Thoughts of Wilson James, Author and also Tweeted it a couple times.
  26. David Burton embedded the presentation at his blog, Random Musings
  27. Robert Ropars says Smashwords is the fastest, easiest way to distribute his work in a post titled, Smashwords.com and Self-Publishing on his blog, From The Library of Robert Ropars
  28. Peter Salisbury has launched a blog, and his second post is Good News Everyone! Free Books! in which he talks about his books, his Smashwords experience, and embeds the presentation
  29. The Ironic Catholic has embedded the presentation on the page below their book, Dear Communion of Saints, and credits Smashwords with assisting its e-publication (thanks!)
  30. Lucy Felthouse in the UK posted Spreading the Word about Smashwords on her blog, Lucy Felthouse - Erotic Author
  31. Jennifer Tribe at author services firm Highspot, Inc. posted a cool review of Smashwords at their First Issue Blog in a post titled, Smashwords = Easy Ebook Distribution
  32. Tom Allen embedded the presentation on the contact page of his blog, Chapter 1, Verse 1
  33. Carol Anita Ryan linked to the presentation on her site, Right Now is Perfect, with a post titled Ebooks and the Freedom of the Press: The Smashwords Revolution
  34. Marsha Ward posted Smashwords: How about an Introduction? over at her blog, Writer in the Pines
  35. Jaye Seay wrote about his Smashwords experience and embedded the slides in a post at his blog, Into His Word
  36. Oh wow. I love this from Dodge Winston over at Dodge Winston's Blotter. I'll quote a small bit:
    "No longer must we send out query letters to New York literary agents who keep the keys to the masterful publishing houses tucked away for a select few. You and I, mere mortals of grammatical prose, can now bypass the entire, long-winded, life-sucking process of asking permission and take the world by storm with the Smashwords battering-ram."
  37. Robert Tell, author of Dementia Diary - A Caregiver's Journal, integrated a link to the presentation into a post over at his blog, The Caregiver Chronicles
  38. Rich Feitelberg incorporated a link to the presentation on a post titled Promoting Yourself on his blog, Paraphernalia in my Pocket
  39. Joseph Lallo at the BrainLazy blog wrote a thought-provoking post titled Spreading the Word about Smashwords that explains why he decided to take publishing matters into his own hands.
  40. Ruth Ann Nordin, a Smashwords best-seller, did a post promoting this cross-promotion promotion titled Cross Promote with Smashwords at her blog, Self Published Author's Lounge and on her new blog, On Being an Author
  41. Steve Leggett has embedded the presentation at the bottom of his home page at his blog, Heirs of the Magi
  42. Dr. Charles Claus added a link to the presentation at his Cotton Candy site
  43. Paula Freda embedded the presentation on her Angelfire home page
  44. Bonnie Turner embedded the presentation in her website, Aurorawolf and also posted a link in Facebook
  45. Chrystine Julian embedded the presentation in an informative post titled Publish a Book?, in which she examines different publishing options for authors
  46. David Knight has embedded the presentation in his blog, Ascensionforyou
  47. Dana Donovan embedded the presentation in his blog, Author Dana E. Donovan
  48. Linda Pendleton is supporting the promotion with a post at her blog, Linda Pendleton's Drops of Ink Upon the Page
  49. Mara and Ford Smith link to this blog post from the resources section of their web site, Live Simply With Style, where they credit Smashwords with making it possible to produce their books in multiple formats
  50. Nick Davis blogs over at Alt World that Smashwords empowers authors to "take their work directly to readers." Amen.
  51. Joeleene Naylor has a great summary of what Smashwords offers to both readers and authors over at her blog, Amaranthine Night
  52. Mary Kit-Neel embedded the presentation in a post at her blog titled How I published my ebook
  53. Alan Baxter, previously profiled here in an interview at the Smashwords blog for his smart execution of a blog tour, has joined the promotion with a post titled, Smashwords - get busy with the ebook
  54. Hugh Ashton, on his blog Beneath Grey Skies, wrote Smashwords - A Presentation, a post where he complements Smashwords for not sitting on its laurels. Amen to that!
  55. Worth Godwin has a great post over at his blog, Basic Computer Training, Tips & More in Plain English, titled Writers, How to Publish Your Book at Smashwords
  56. Edward G. Talbot has a cool post up titled, If You Haven't Caught on to Smashwords, You've Dropped the Ball over at his blog, Edward G. Talbot
  57. Martin Chambers added a link to the presentation at his Martin Chambers website
  58. Derek Prior embedded the presentation into his blog at Indie Fantasy Review
  59. Margaux Sky embedded the presentation into her multiple blogs, including Story Time, Margaux Sky Music, Margaux Sky Original Recipes.
  60. Denise Wy embedded the presentation in her web site, Deniswy
  61. Donna Butler has a post titled Thank You Mark Coker! (you're welcome, and yes, Mark's a decent name for a kid!) where she eloquently captures the frustrations faced by authors who don't fit the myopic preconceptions of literary gatekeepers. She speaks to the joy of reaching readers directly on her own terms. I love this quote from her, especially the last line:
    And yes, I realize that Smashwords provides an equal opportunity for both talented and not so talented authors to get published. For every writer like me who majored in English, and spent a fortune on writers manuals and lived and breathed literature since they were old enough to read, there will be those who published on a whim. But that's fitting in the age of reality television, where the audience decides who is most qualified to entertain. Book lovers will be able to distinguish between those who've opened a vein and those who have opened one too many cans of beer.
  62. Shelly Stout embedded the presentation at her blog, Shelley Stout's Spiral Noteblog
  63. Randy Noble posted Smashwords - A Great Place for Readers and Authors
  64. K.R. Smith added a link to the presentation in the acknowledgments section of her blog, The Circulate Series
  65. Kristie Cook blogged about Smashwords on her blog, A Mused Writer
  66. Amy Saunders posted 3 Reasons to Publish With Smashwords on her blog, amy & the pen, where the tag line is, "The fiction is all in your head."
  67. Hank Brown embedded the presentation on his blog, Two-Fisted Blogger\
  68. Miss Mae posted Check out Smashwords! on her website, Miss May - Author of Romantic Mysteries
  69. David Mulholland added a link and some kind words on his website at David Mulholland Writer
  70. Nigel Slater added a link on his blog, An Agent of the King
  71. Chistopher Rick embedded the presentation in a post titled, Smashwords, Why I Use it, What it is, at his blog Living on the Box, Thinking Outside of it
  72. LK Hunsaker integrated the presentation into great little intro to e-publishing page titled, Indie Publishing & How-to Articles she maintains at her blog, LK Hunsaker - Thoughts and Sketches
  73. J.A. Loughlin embedded the presentation at Decendants Vampire Chronicles
  74. Camy has added Introduction to Smashwords their blog, Camy's Idiocy
  75. Michelle Gregory documents her reluctant entry into the digital world with a post titled, Dragging Me Kicking and Screaming into the Digital Age, at her blog, Beautiful Chaos (BTW, I must say I really like the titles of names of some of these blogs)
  76. Sarah Woodbury, who writes historical fiction and fantasy, embedded the presentation in a post titled, All About Smashwords, at her blog, Sarah Woodbury
  77. Stuart Aken embedded the presentation at the bottom of his publishing and writing blog, must mutter. Stuart does some interesting interviews with indie authors, and I see two Smashwords authors on the first page, so check him out.
  78. Jacob LaCivita embedded the presentation in Smashwords, Ebooks, iBooks at his blog, A Blog of Timely Persuasion
  79. Mistriss Milliscent posted a link to the presentation on her blog, Mistriss Milliscent
  80. Colette Martin embedded the presentation in a blog post titled, Great Recipe Ideas & Learn How to Use Smashwords to Create Your Own Cookbook at her blog, Learning to Eat Allergy Free. Great to see authors integrating promotion of their own books into the posts. Smart!
  81. Farida Mestek has embedded the presentation at Regency Sketches
  82. A.B.R. has embedded the presentation with thoughts on self publishing titled, Why Ebooks
  83. Ross Richdale in New Zealand posted Find Out About Smashwords at his blog, Ross Richdale's Fiction
  84. Ravis Harnell embedded the presentation at his blog, Ravis Harnell
  85. Anna Y. White embedded the presentation in her new blog, The Change
  86. Tania Tirraoro posted a link to the presentation on her blog, Not As Advertised
  87. Mel Comley has embedded the presentation at the blog for her crime novel, Impeding Justice
  88. Saffina Desforges embedded the presentation on her blog, Saffina Desforges
Join the fun. Embed the Slideshare presentation into your blog or website, and I'll add you to the list. If I'm missing anyone, contact me over at Smashwords.

27 comments:

Oswald Bastable said...

Done.

I love these win-win promotions!

Wayne Watson
Meddlers in Time

Lindsay Buroker said...

It'll be interesting to see your year-end post. I'm wondering if you guys are turning a profit yet. I've only just discovered Smashwords (only just decided to publish an ebook, heh heh), but I'm digging the affiliate program and the ease of making an account and downloading ebooks for any reader.

Sean Patrick Reardon said...

Thanks for doing this, everybit helps us and Smashwords.

Amanda said...

Just a small suggestion - new-to-publishing/non-technical people might be a bit put off by the word 'metadata', which you use twice on the second slide. Maybe 'book details' or 'book information' might work better there?

Dovetail Public Relations said...

Thanks Wayne. You were the first to embed it. I gave you a plug over at https://www.smashwords.com/about/beta

For anyone else who embeds the Slideshare presentation into their blogs, please drop us a note via the "comments/questions" link at Smashwords and we'll give you a little plug in the next "site updates" update. Of course, you can also post a link to your blog here in the comments as well. Thanks for your support!

Amanda, thanks for the suggestion. I updated the presentation to explain the "metadata" term.

Wilson James said...

Nice presentation, Mark. I continue to offer my congratulations to you and all of the Smashwords team for the success over the last couple years.

Your thoughts about how we all build on the success of each other are spot on! We should all celebrate the success of each of us, because together we will continue to build something that is bigger and better than the sum of its parts.

I have included your presentation in my own blog, and I commend it to all other Smashwords authors.

Wil

Dovetail Public Relations said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Wil. Exactly. I really believe that indie authors, working both collectively and individually, will define the future of book publishing. The rules of ebook publishing success are still being written, and one doesn't need to look far to realize indie authors are the ones out there experimenting with innovative forms of marketing, pricing, sampling and promotion.

Oswald Bastable said...

Cheers and my downloads are up.

As I said, win-win!

Ebooks- a brave new world!

Wayne Watson
Meddlers in Time
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/6204

AO said...

thanks Mark for including me in the list! your Marketing Guide has done wonders for me - not as an author (yet) but as a blogger! c",)

http://aobibliosphere.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/aobibliophile

Paul said...

Hi Mark,

My post is up with the presentation embedded:

http://www.exploreyourcareer.com/2010/11/an-introduction-to-smashwords/

Great idea doing this! Another win-win for you and the community. Plus you're right, I got to read some great blogs :)

Will also add this to my Blogger.com blog too and send you the link when it's up.

Best Regards

Paul

Paul said...

Hi Mark,

Embedded presentation now up on my work/life fusion blog here: http://worklifefusion.blogspot.com/2010/11/introduction-to-smashwords-ebook.html

All the best,

Paul

The Ironic Catholic said...

Mark, thanks for the easy overview, and I've got it embedded and recommended on my Dear Communion of Saints ebook page:
http://www.ironiccatholic.com/p/about-book.html

Kristie Leigh Maguire - Indie Author said...

I just posted it to my Facebook Wall.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/kristie.maguire

Kristie Leigh Maguire
Books on Smashwords:
You've Got Mail from Japan
Second Chances
Desert Heat
Cabin Fever
No Lady and her Tramp

Joseph Lallo said...

Hi! I put up a post about Smashwords and linked the slideshow on my blog at www.brainlazy.com.

http://www.brainlazy.com/article/entertainment/spreading-word-smashwords/

Turtlette said...

I POSTED SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT SMASHWORDS AND THE ARTICLE OF JOSEPH FOUND ON HIS BLOG www.brainlazy.com ON FACEBOOK AND ON MY TURTLE RESCUE WEB SITE.
I ECHO JOSEPH'S EXPERIENCE IT TOOK ME A LITTLE WHILE LONGER BUT I HAD NO EXPERIENCE AND WAS
ABLE TO PUBLISH 2 EBOOKS THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME ACHIEVE A DREAM OF A LIFETIME
COLETTE BROWN
BOOKS: 1- WEB QUEST FOR A HEART OF GOLD
2- TURTLEVIEW POEMS - L'ACUEIL

Anonymous said...

I posted a link to the Slideshare Presentation on my personal home page, but could not get the movie to show up. I'll keep trying. Thanks for this, Mark.

My page:
http://my.athenet.net/~aurorawolf

Nick said...

With everything Smashwords has done for me I am happy to promote this on my website.

Link URL - http://alt-world.com/altworld/?p=1446

Thanks again for all your help and opening the doors for me.
Arigato,
Nick D

Unknown said...

I'm in. Hope it's not too late.

Regan Black said...

My post will go live tomorrow morning. Thanks for doing this Mark!

Regan
http://www.reganblack.com

Craig said...

Got it on my Facebook fan page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Job-Based-on-a-True-Story/104805546240239?created

Craig Davis

Derek Haines said...

Done Mark. Now on both of my sites.

Hank Brown said...

Hey Mark:

I imbedded it on the Two-Fisted Blog (http://twofistedblogger.blogspot.com) but, due to the size, had to put it down at the bottom. If a smaller widget comes out, I'll be able to feature it more prominently.

Thanks for all your work on our behalf negotiating about the discounts and so forth. I also appreciate how prompt you've been with responses every time I ask a question.

Camy said...

The 'embed' link on the presentation doesn't work as it's missing some of its tags. Though eventually I got it to work!

http://camy-2007.blogspot.com/2010/12/introduction-to-smashwords-ebook.html

I'll be signing up as soon as I've finished editing.

Phoebe's Sisters said...

Done it on my blog "Regency Sketches" (http://faridamestek.blogspot.com/)

Anna Y. White said...

I'm in, too! Hopefully it's not too late!
http://annaywhite.blogspot.com/

Dovetail Public Relations said...

You're in, Anna, thanks. For now, I'll keep adding people as they come in. Thanks, all, for your participation. Let me know if I missed anyone!

William and Anna Patterson said...

I was spending some time on the computer today, and found this article and did add it to our web site. Always a wealth of information. Thank you.