tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post1773312756588141102..comments2024-03-25T21:30:28.970-07:00Comments on <b>Smashwords</b>: Smashwords Year in Review 2014 and Plans for 2015Dovetail Public Relationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-30477517604084580812015-02-09T21:30:36.575-08:002015-02-09T21:30:36.575-08:00Great article! Thanks!Great article! Thanks!Michael Spellinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08810826499067989479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-7234441751246647512015-01-26T08:26:19.345-08:002015-01-26T08:26:19.345-08:00I'm glad to see you have some good things in s...I'm glad to see you have some good things in store for us but is Google Books one of them? I've asked a few times in email via the help links on the site and in comments on posts and keep hearing crickets. I understand it may not be an easy thing to put together but can you at least say if it's in the stack of things to do or should I simply consider setting up my second direct relationship with an ebooks store (KDP is the other one)?J.M. Hardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05719408093440731901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-65840610784014627592015-01-25T13:27:15.508-08:002015-01-25T13:27:15.508-08:00Hi Greg, glad to hear you want to see more blog po...Hi Greg, glad to hear you want to see more blog posts. There will be more when I have worthwhile stuff to share.<br /><br />Payments for this quarter will go out on time as they always do. This coming week is the week.<br /><br />As mentioned above in the post, improved reporting is one of our top priorities. We've got a lot of great ideas to make our reports more valuable and more accessible, and as we get closer on this we'll be soliciting direct input from our authors and publishers.<br /><br />We definitely want to increase payment frequency. It's one of many items on the roadmap. I'm not prepared to set expectations for the date yet because other projects stand in front of it. We prioritize developments that help our authors reach more readers and earn more over the long term. So increased payment frequency is coming, but likely after some other big things. Thanks.Dovetail Public Relationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-36933248409210342362015-01-25T08:57:11.458-08:002015-01-25T08:57:11.458-08:0025 days without a blog post. It's a joke, real...25 days without a blog post. It's a joke, really. Why don't you try to put some effort into telling us when we'll get paid, Mark?<br /><br />Why shouldn't I switch to D2D this year? Can you tell me that? <br /><br />I get paid once a quarter, your reporting is antiquated...why should I do business with you, Mark?gpstberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388470847179787109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-11284533508042613142015-01-17T14:04:25.991-08:002015-01-17T14:04:25.991-08:00I am so very glad that Smashwords now accepts Epub...I am so very glad that Smashwords now accepts Epub 3! Whoo hoo! Thank you, Mark!<br /><br />I must admit frustration with Amazon, Kindle Unlimited hits and they also change some key issues behind the scenes. In my genre (historical romance) all of a sudden everyone and their brother is putting out box sets for $0.99. I know exactly why this is happening and until I did the same I took a big hit in sales. As long as those prices stay, then it's going to be very difficult to make money.<br /><br />I have to admit, agency pricing is something that makes the accountant/business manager in me just cringe. Artificial price controls are not good for a free market from a basic economic premise. <br /><br />But with KU and Amazon policies, we technically don't have a free market there either, so as an author with more than a couple of books in this electronic fight, I definitely see the agency model as needed now. <br /><br />Kindle Select when I started as an indie helped me tremendously because I used it to market books as one would use the "loss lead." I selected two titles to be my loss lead and let those run with the freebies. As time passed I put other titles in and they became loss leads. It paid off big time. Now that I have a readership and because of Kindle Unlimited, I'm pulling books out of the program, except for one title that typically runs $0.99 cover price, that I have nominated again as a loss lead. As my book expire in the Kindle Select/Unlimited program, I'm expanding them to other markets like Smashwords as quickly as possible.<br /><br />2015 will definitely be a challenge but I hope all the hard work will pay off.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08182611786934034268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-52846433860487633112015-01-14T19:04:08.063-08:002015-01-14T19:04:08.063-08:00Hi Mark
I would like to ask that Smashwords creat...Hi Mark<br /><br />I would like to ask that Smashwords create some kind of user's forum on the site for authors. It is frustrating when problems arise to not be able to search a discussion forum where other authors may have already dealt with the same issue and found a solution. Most online service providers (including of course KDP) provide such a feature.<br /><br />This is especially important to me right now as about two months ago I discovered that Kobo has been selling versions of my wife, Gina Lake's, and my ebooks that are at least six months old and possibly much older. Last summer, we updated the cover images of most of our books. But when I purchase and download one of our books on Kobo (using a brand new Kobo account), the interior is an old version of the book with the old cover images (even though the cover images displayed in the online store are the more recent ones). So it appears that Kobo is updating the prices and cover images in their store, but not bothering to update the interior files that they are selling to their customers.<br /><br />I would love to be able to discuss this issue with other Smashwords authors to see if they are having similar problems, but alas, there is no forum for doing so. Please add this feature to Smashwords for everyone's sake. It would allow these problems to be discovered and addressed sooner rather than later. I have been going back and forth with customer service about this for two months now and was even told incorrectly a few weeks ago that Kobo had updated all of our books. A forum would allow someone having a problem like this to get more attention and response from Smashwords, and to find out if other authors are having a similar issue. it could be helpful to Smashwords also as it would be more likely that you would catch these problems as they occured, instead of having them stretch out for months.<br /><br />Thanks for all you do with your service. I hope it continues to improve and a user's forum would help that process.Nirmalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14620667876235314509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-86870760368038967762015-01-13T17:34:23.890-08:002015-01-13T17:34:23.890-08:0022% more titles and 26% more words--it's easy ...22% more titles and 26% more words--it's easy to do the math--for some--it's a word swamp--a sentence life-sentence--but, I kid--I love the stats, Mark--keep 'em up--I lost the research on price v. word count--can you run it again?Rory Macbethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06809008625793567015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-79731751486931888982015-01-09T09:59:12.210-08:002015-01-09T09:59:12.210-08:00I'd love to see Smashwords get authors the opt...I'd love to see Smashwords get authors the option of getting on Google Books. I know we can upload things there ourselves (like I do with Amazon) but it would be a lot easier to keep up with things if we could get in Google Books via Smashwords like we are with the other big ebook retailers. I've spoken to an Android user about my ebooks and they don't even know Aldiko exists, but they know about Google Books.J.M. Hardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05719408093440731901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-59063113740272849242015-01-03T19:13:05.529-08:002015-01-03T19:13:05.529-08:00The one update I am waiting on is when are you goi...The one update I am waiting on is when are you going to change the ISBN number field back to a text field like it was at the start?<br />You do not add, subtract, multiply or divide the field. It is a text field.<br />That way, when I download the xls file I can extract meaningful data into my database, not the 9.78145E+12 as displayed.<br />Thanks.<br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-90081207317022277332015-01-02T05:01:14.563-08:002015-01-02T05:01:14.563-08:00You have time to fix 'Woodstock' in the in...You have time to fix 'Woodstock' in the index, but you can't do anything about an entire missing category, "International mystery and crime', Bill?<br /><br />Are you the 'tech person' who vetoed this essential category some months back?<br /><br />Wondering why, as ever,<br />Inkstainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03849218858979776045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-65101093639232636682015-01-01T14:24:28.969-08:002015-01-01T14:24:28.969-08:00@peter Thanks for letting us know. I noticed our s...@peter Thanks for letting us know. I noticed our search indexer had a hiccup. Your book's coming up (top of the list, even!) now. https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=woodstock Happy New Year!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01895778806561154498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-27547702389421475672015-01-01T14:01:50.963-08:002015-01-01T14:01:50.963-08:00Thanks Mark and the rest of the Smashwords gang fo...Thanks Mark and the rest of the Smashwords gang for all you've done this year! <br /><br />I have also received the amazon nastygrams in the past, though here's a funny one. I have a book free on smashwords, B&N etc. and have notified amazon multiple times about it. Their reply? "We determine your price"... um... okay... so even though I notified you multiple times (both used the "report" feature and finally sent them a direct message through "contact us") They are choosing to break their own ToS? It's craziness. <br /><br />Looking forward to 2015, though I think as per mark's previous post sales are only going to get harder from here on out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-49847363767874383772015-01-01T10:15:07.458-08:002015-01-01T10:15:07.458-08:00Don't you get thoroughly fed up with greedy go...Don't you get thoroughly fed up with greedy governments that get more from your books than you do? At least in New Zealand this tax gets called something far more appropriate than VAT: GST, which (whether our ghastly Tory Prime Minister likes it or not) is universally known as Grab Snatch Take. <br /><br />Laraine Anne Barkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13869300616419407003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-50295173712583121852015-01-01T09:05:52.001-08:002015-01-01T09:05:52.001-08:00Happy New Year to Mark and the entire Smashword...Happy New Year to Mark and the entire Smashword's team--especially Angela H. and Samsang who answer my help tickets promptly and professionally!!!<br /><br />Thanks for negotiating deals with all the retailers. My favorite addition this year has been SCRIBD and overdrive. I love SCRIBD so much, I'm planning a subscription giveaway this week on the blog with author Margaret Lake.<br /><br />Y'all ROCK! Here's to a great New Year and continued partnership!!!<br /><br />Maria Schneider<br />www.BearMountainBooks.com <br /><br /><br />Mariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11234907275906877802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-6511741752338093512015-01-01T08:44:49.541-08:002015-01-01T08:44:49.541-08:00my predictions? Three leaks, one bucket.
golbal ...my predictions? Three leaks, one bucket. <br /><br />golbal monoculture + cascade attacks.<br /><br /> indie lawsuits against resellers... anything that hits a screen can be copied... and resold.<br /> brit laws on 'orphan' (ie: unknown authors) allow scrapers to have a field day.<br /> third world markets, while tiny.. (want a copy of shriek re-dubbed into PC Persian tirades?)<br /> <br /> we have already had censorship scandels rumble thru. THAT's almost normal. free speech isn't, unfortunately.<br /> <br /> the third leak is slow sale.<br />reporting methods there, mostly.<br /> expect a lot of corporate oopsie's.<br /> sharks prirannha and vermin.Kevin Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13837031188946013218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-74701707376893281592015-01-01T07:39:59.113-08:002015-01-01T07:39:59.113-08:00I look forward to spending another year with Smash...I look forward to spending another year with Smashwords and seeing what improvements you have in store for us. Although I have had more sales from Amazon, I will never put all my eggs in the Amazon basket. I often use my promotional vouchers to encourage readers to buy through Smashwords or consider other retailers. <br /><br />I think Amazon has scored an own goal with Kindle Unlimited. This will hopefully make authors change their minds about going exclusive. <br /><br />Claudy Conn I don't think Mark was suggesting we don't spend any time marketing our books. But perhaps we should spend much less time promoting and more time writing. I know this from experience, too much promotion can make you look spammy. Take a look at some author's Twitter or Facebook timelines. People don't go on Social network sites to be sold to all the time. Yes, keep on writing, that is your best promtional tool.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-3109388498433685992015-01-01T06:48:27.881-08:002015-01-01T06:48:27.881-08:00Satisfied Smashwords publisher with a couple of su...Satisfied Smashwords publisher with a couple of suggestions. <br />(1) improve your keyword search of books. We have a children's book about the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival up but it doesn't come up with the word "woodstock". <br />(2) allow readers on the main page to sort by price more effectively e.g. $4.99 -$9.99 or greater-than-$9.99.petrabooks.cahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15426377027553215330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-44345601465582283922015-01-01T06:45:00.816-08:002015-01-01T06:45:00.816-08:00Okay, I agree about upcoming sales as I know I hav...Okay, I agree about upcoming sales as I know I have personally seen a tremendous drop in sales. <br />Only one thing I disagree with. I think we (authors) have to spend time marketing because we do need to keep our backlists and 'name' in the limelight to create new readers in a market where so many new indie authors are publishing.<br />Going to just go with the flow and keep on writing. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14905130583473355588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-24600343593404803162015-01-01T02:24:28.281-08:002015-01-01T02:24:28.281-08:00We were quite discouraged after two years of repea...We were quite discouraged after two years of repeated requests that your team flatly ruled out adding the category "international mystery and crime' to the search engine. Amazon has had it for years.<br /><br />'No more categories' was their written response. <br /><br />Hope this can finally be addressed, as it is now a basic global funnel (viz Scandinavian noir, etc) for readers who have moved beyond English, cat mysteries, historicals, and American police yarns. You want to be a global player? At least give 'international' a try!<br /><br />Please spend more attention on areas beyond the obvious genre moneyspinners romance, scifi and fantasy.<br /><br />Apart from this big disappointment, thanks for improving your service and the wise words on avoiding exclusivity. We have seen sales move higher.<br />Inkstainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03849218858979776045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-31616559296579348412014-12-31T23:54:18.338-08:002014-12-31T23:54:18.338-08:00I'm with Carla, Linda. I've received dozen...I'm with Carla, Linda. I've received dozens of nastygrams from Amazon over the last few years. And yes, they are nasty. They are often quite unfair too because you don't always have control over what other platforms are charging. I am expecting a lot more over the next few days as I have 30+ titles up and won't be tracking all their prices. I'll wait for nastygram to arrive and then change the price. :-)Stephen Leatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08179238880325952527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-14326541908026642182014-12-31T23:20:53.600-08:002014-12-31T23:20:53.600-08:00Linda, plenty of authors HAVE received an e-mail f...Linda, plenty of authors HAVE received an e-mail from Amazon when a price elsewhere dropped below the Amazon price. It's against Amazon's TOS to have any price be lower than Amazon's. They price match free books only because they do not allow 0.00 to be chosen as a price in KDP.<br /><br />I've had Amazon discontinue a title of mine in the past because a retailer didn't update a price and I wasn't aware until it was too late for Amazon's deadline - which is usually only 3 days.Carla Kraehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02047587802229995722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-30967414040245744132014-12-31T21:55:19.776-08:002014-12-31T21:55:19.776-08:00Sorry, Mark. All the years I've had books at ...Sorry, Mark. All the years I've had books at Amazon Kindle and some with Smashwords, I have never received a "nastygram" from Amazon as you referred to in your email. <br /><br />"Since no author enjoys receiving Amazon's nastygram price match emails, you have an decisions you might make. If you choose to leave your Smashwords prices as they are (i.e., you choose to eat the VAT hit), you can click to your Amazon Dashboard and lower your prices at Amazon to quell Amazon's price-matching robots. Or, you choose to opt in to the Smashwords VAT Manager tool, we'll adjust you prices so they approximate Amazon's new adjusted prices. Your choice."<br /><br />Linda Pendletonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04333787752335329007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-45067017773933380292014-12-31T18:01:02.099-08:002014-12-31T18:01:02.099-08:00Thanks for a productive 2014 to you Mark and all t...Thanks for a productive 2014 to you Mark and all the helper-elves at Smashwords and hoping for an even MORE productive 2015!Anna_esqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04308973517820331789noreply@blogger.com