tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post2268899732758216594..comments2024-03-18T21:30:04.613-07:00Comments on <b>Smashwords</b>: Smashwords Year in Review 2011Dovetail Public Relationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-77231976840190862722012-02-01T21:50:41.656-08:002012-02-01T21:50:41.656-08:00Mark, allowing us writers to upload our preformatt...Mark, allowing us writers to upload our preformatted EPUBs will make life so much easier for everyone. Bless you!Suzan Hardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600258874634909988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-50368341416613627392012-02-01T18:46:05.599-08:002012-02-01T18:46:05.599-08:00I enjoyed reading this report. I am a loyal Smash...I enjoyed reading this report. I am a loyal Smashwords author. Thanks for doing what you do!NancyP48https://www.blogger.com/profile/05075249747083290154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-69100913955218173432012-01-29T04:37:48.242-08:002012-01-29T04:37:48.242-08:00hi mark,
i'm fairly new to epublishing (or p...hi mark, <br /><br />i'm fairly new to epublishing (or publishing at all ;-) ) and am very grateful for the opportunities from smashwords -<br /><br />but my pages to words conversions and re-dos are so painful ;-) i will be even "more" grateful when smashwords does start accepting epub files<br /><br />best wishes, thanks!adanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710750989853277203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-86832280430742724172012-01-25T14:19:53.472-08:002012-01-25T14:19:53.472-08:00Thank you Mark for Smashwords and all the hard wor...Thank you Mark for Smashwords and all the hard work in 2011 to grow the business and ensure profitability. When I joined Smashwords in 2008, I did so because of your emphasis on distribution not just publishing, and you have not disapointed. Although my sales have been modest, I still have great ambitions, which I know can be realised through Smashwords. Thank you.Nick Travershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18207208366195633927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-49769284113501714892012-01-11T09:11:46.327-08:002012-01-11T09:11:46.327-08:00Mark, thank you for Smashwords -- a great service ...Mark, thank you for Smashwords -- a great service for authors. I've been a self-publisher since the 1980s -- not vanity, but true self-pub with my own ISBNs and 10,000 books at a time in my garage. E-books have been a great boost for self-publishers and Smashwords Premium Catalog helps a lot. We have our books on Amazon KDP, but will not join the exclusive library program Amazon is pushing now. Keep up the good work and best wishes for another banner year in 2012.<br />Lynn Osterkamp<br />PMI BooksLynn Osterkamphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14710614789241804674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-5239219935674526802012-01-08T00:43:31.113-08:002012-01-08T00:43:31.113-08:00I can remember when I started researching self pub...I can remember when I started researching self publishing in late 2008/early 2009 and there was a terrible stigma - as if authors should be embarrassed that they wanted to do it their own way. It's amazing to me how much it has grown since then! <br /><br />Thanks for all the great work you all do and the constant improvements. Looking forward to more in 2012 :)Joleene Naylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11591967764003541551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-37758208688924110272012-01-05T18:30:38.179-08:002012-01-05T18:30:38.179-08:00Happy New Year Mark, I joined Smashwords in 2008 ...Happy New Year Mark, I joined Smashwords in 2008 and had no expectations. I was so happy when anyone downloaded one of my free books. This year has blown my mind! I want to thank you for staying in such close personal contact with your authors. It would have been easy to take an "ivory tower" approach, but lucky for us, you are not that kind of CEO. Thanks so much. Dory Lee MaskeDory Lee Maskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17900629919133777584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-20732854969185191792012-01-05T07:48:26.572-08:002012-01-05T07:48:26.572-08:00Happy New Year, Smashwords! May 2012 be good to yo...Happy New Year, Smashwords! May 2012 be good to you.Kelly McClymerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04038223302234193266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-534608195047755602012-01-04T15:37:41.829-08:002012-01-04T15:37:41.829-08:00Thank you very much Smashwords for all the hard wo...Thank you very much Smashwords for all the hard work! I'm just getting started and can't wait to see how far I can go! Looking forward to working with Smashwords in 2012 and beyond! Keep it up!Thomas Yongehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05424217584696092362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-64676417635322992922012-01-04T00:58:36.180-08:002012-01-04T00:58:36.180-08:00Smashwords has changed my life you have only to as...Smashwords has changed my life you have only to ask those around me...<br />Who could have imagined three months ago that a retired woman living in a backwoods town in Burgundy, France, would be able to publish works internationally? Happy was the day I stumbled upon Smashwords and I can only hope that 2012 will bring as many wonderful moments to the Smashwords family as they have brought to me. Happy New Year 2012 and beyond!!suzybazaarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05860315646686675798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-29773104177061734212012-01-03T15:11:38.900-08:002012-01-03T15:11:38.900-08:00Smashwords, another disruptive technology, now do...Smashwords, another disruptive technology, now does for e-publishing what LuLu, Blurb, and CreateSpace did for print-on-demand... watch this business model get traction and take off! They get it.Mike Bairdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00290057208682134624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-8333598937358836972012-01-03T12:11:33.648-08:002012-01-03T12:11:33.648-08:00It sounds like another amazing year ahead Mark. Th...It sounds like another amazing year ahead Mark. Thanks for all you do for indies.Joanna Pennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07542279229049216436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-79112797535874397932012-01-02T19:19:32.020-08:002012-01-02T19:19:32.020-08:00Mark, I love it when you talk revolution! Thrills ...Mark, I love it when you talk revolution! Thrills me to death. To the barricades, writers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-17206131781603969252012-01-02T17:33:12.999-08:002012-01-02T17:33:12.999-08:00Mark and the Smashwords team....
Wonderful and ins...Mark and the Smashwords team....<br />Wonderful and inspiring story of Smashwords growth in 2011. Now things are building for a hugely successful 2012.<br /><br />Mark, I note your remarks about Amazon. As you know my own experience with them hasn't been good. They want to rule rather than share.<br /><br />Now that you've got the publishing and distribution under control lets hope that 2012 sees Smashwords offering more marketing help to Indie authors. This may be the final battlefield in the eBook publishing saga. Whoever, finds the most effective way to capture the hearts and minds of their readers will rule as king. Lets go for it in 2012.Brian Lawrensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131217547279114477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-23272428850521587412012-01-02T16:19:25.938-08:002012-01-02T16:19:25.938-08:00Mark,
An incredible and pioneering journey!
Smashw...Mark,<br />An incredible and pioneering journey!<br />Smashwords has been a real leader in indie publishing and ebook distribution. Maybe its time to add a further string to the bow by becoming a leading worldwide ebook retailer? Why give most of the added value to other etailers?DesGreenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02101858584133187717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-77237519347955337062012-01-02T12:41:21.173-08:002012-01-02T12:41:21.173-08:00Exciting, very exciting! My promotional machine ha...Exciting, very exciting! My promotional machine has been in high gear the last ten days. Hyperlinks are weaving the digital shelves. Happy New Year!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12957576250568675434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-86228409223644913932012-01-02T11:18:53.364-08:002012-01-02T11:18:53.364-08:00Happy New Year all!
@jambalian - Yes, you and man...Happy New Year all!<br /><br />@jambalian - Yes, you and many Smashwords authors would prefer to centrally manage distribution to all retailers through Smashwords. Unfortunately, Amazon has not yet made this possible. Amazon has declined to provide us agency terms as they do for the big 6 publishers, and since they won't allow it we're unable to distribute our titles to them using the same automated systems that support bulk uploading/updates that Amazon provides to the Big 6. <br /><br />Every other Smashwords retailer provides us agency terms (so authors/publishers can set price) and bulk upload/updating systems.<br /><br />Amazon has publicly stated previously that they plan to create a bulk upload system for their KDP Direct platform, but they have delayed implementation of this multiple times. In the meantime, as an experiment we upload a few dozen titles manually to the KDP platform on behalf of a small number of Smashwords authors (and Amazon also kindly ingested about 200 Spanish-language titles the other month from us), but because it's the same slow manual process that any author using their platform goes through, it's not yet feasible for us to scale this out to all 33,000+ Smashwords authors. Until Amazon introduces their bulk upload system, we'll limit the Smashwords distribution to them to a small number of better selling SW titles because otherwise it's just not feasible.<br /><br />@Annemarie, yes, agreed it's important, which is why we put it on the priority list. :)Dovetail Public Relationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-81738733055247835032012-01-02T08:23:13.384-08:002012-01-02T08:23:13.384-08:00ark, cotrol over foreign currency pricing is urgen...ark, cotrol over foreign currency pricing is urgent and crucial to go worldwide with Smashwords. Actually it's impossible to align prices in non-Dollar prices. Especially Kobo is a huge problem - they change their prices on an d on. A bookt hat cost 0,86 Euros in summer, was at only 0,81 euro in December. And now they've dropped it to 0,73 Euros. Whilst it should be at 0,99 Euroe al the time as it is at the iTunes stores. this issue is also a legal poblem. Therefre it needs immedately be fixed. It concerns every author who distributes to iTunes and Kobo via Smashwords - which are motst of the authors, I suppose. In GErmany, France and Itlay it's plain illegal to sell an e-book for 0,99 euro at iTunes and for 0,73 Euro at Kobo. Besides, the low Kobo price hurts the authors and they will run into problems with Amazon tooAnnemarie Nikolaushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09377349978001208070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-69957041247150903482012-01-02T07:48:44.323-08:002012-01-02T07:48:44.323-08:00Congratulations on a great year!
Not only is your...Congratulations on a great year!<br /><br />Not only is your service excellent, but your Style Guide has helped me understand formatting in so many helpful ways.Lynn Michelsohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04128243691149987364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-20016288455826482032012-01-02T06:10:39.219-08:002012-01-02T06:10:39.219-08:00The WHO sang "Got a feeling Twenty-One is gon...The WHO sang "Got a feeling Twenty-One is gonna be a good year, especially if you and me see it through together". On that note, I'm singing, "Got a feeling Twenty-Twelve is gonna be a good year...."<br /><br />To Mark and the Smashwords staff, Let's see it through together. You Guys Rock! Happy 2012dana e donovanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09018257326494278111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-50538407490304029902012-01-02T05:37:39.855-08:002012-01-02T05:37:39.855-08:00I'm excited about these new Smashwords develop...I'm excited about these new Smashwords developments!<br /><br />You guys rock =)<br /><br />Merry 2012!Raymund Hensleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14813058517995561080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-70754865521979514792012-01-02T02:06:54.145-08:002012-01-02T02:06:54.145-08:00I can sense the passion in Smashwords. Good luck a...I can sense the passion in Smashwords. Good luck and well done - because of Smashwords, I m now an inide author and publisher. 6 months ago i wouldn't have know what the word 'indie' meant, and now I am one of them. Great feel.Jian Qiu Huanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05866987895871527116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-34342419216852008482012-01-02T00:01:24.807-08:002012-01-02T00:01:24.807-08:00A thought came to me as I read the bits on ebook p...A thought came to me as I read the bits on ebook publishing being in its puberty: <br /><br />Would you say that the e-book revolution is now at same stage as the Personal Computer revolution was when the choices got narrowed down to Apple and MSDos? The choices now being ePub and Kindle -- except, interestingly enough, Apple, this time around supports the non-proprietary format.Robby Chartershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11489170772663055615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-2489578388538741142012-01-01T18:47:32.966-08:002012-01-01T18:47:32.966-08:00I uploaded my books to Smashwords a year ago and h...I uploaded my books to Smashwords a year ago and have never looked back. Thank you for providing such an amazing service to authors. Looking forward to a great 2012.Sarah Woodburyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04428869371751939930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-5910196642261621932012-01-01T18:46:00.251-08:002012-01-01T18:46:00.251-08:00Smashwords has been vital in helping me develop my...Smashwords has been vital in helping me develop my publishing business. I am able to convince our authors that an ebook should be the first step - don't waste a tree until you test the waters.<br /><br />The whole Smashwords concept is great and thank you, Mark, for sharing your thoughts on where you wish to take the operation over the coming year. It's a big comfort to small business operators like myself who rely so heavily on the Team's services, not to mention inspirational. I have to admit to being highly excited about the thought of Smashwords Direct - this will save a lot of multiple formatting.<br /><br />Congratulations all, and keep up the good work - so many of us really appreciate it!<br /><br />http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MoshPitAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00810358594425698396noreply@blogger.com