Sunday, October 20, 2013

Smashwords Ebook Publishing Workshops on Youtube

I've posted a series of five ebook publishing workshops at Youtube.  Each is embedded below.

Whether you're considering publishing an ebook for the first time, or you're already an ebook publishing veteran, I hope you enjoy these workshops and learn new ideas that will help you publish with greater ease, confidence and success.

In total, they run eight hours.  It's like an all-day digital publishing seminar you can attend at your leisure.  Although the videos can be watched (or listened to) in any order, if you're new to ebook publishing, then start with #1 since it explains foundational information that will make the other videos more useful to you.

The ebook publishing workshop series includes:

#1 - An Introduction to Ebook Publishing (a primer and e-publishing checklist)
#2 - The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success (best practices secrets for reaching more readers)
#3 - Smashwords Survey Helps Authors Sell More Books (pricing strategy and fun metrics)
#4 - 10 Trends Driving the Future of Authorship (indie authors are the future of publishing!)
#5 - How to Reach More Readers at Apple iBooks (merchandising secrets to grow sales!)
#6 - How to Add Navigation to Smashwords Ebooks (create a linked Table of Contents and NCX)


I've embedded each of them below.  If you enjoy them, please feel free to share them with a friend or embed them and repost them on your blog or website.

#1 - An Introduction to Ebook Publishing (a primer and e-publishing checklist)



#2 - The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success (best practices secrets for reaching more readers)



#3 - Smashwords Survey Helps Authors Sell More Books (pricing strategy and fun metrics)



#4 - 10 Trends Driving the Future of Authorship (indie authors are the future of publishing!)



#5 - How to Reach More Readers at Apple iBooks (merchandising secrets to grow sales!)
This is a video recording of an online workshop event sponsored by ALLi, the Alliance of Indepedent Authors.  Thanks to Orna Ross of ALLi for recording and sharing this video!




 #6:   How to Add Navigation to a Smashwords Ebook (build a lined Table of Contents and NCX)




We'll develop more videos for the Smashwords Youtube page in the future, including shorter videos.  If there's a tutorial you'd like to see us create, post your wishlist below!



9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm jumping in before accessing your first sets of videos, but I can say that new authors who are self-publishing are most interested in discoverability. Also, has Smashwords considered putting out an email advertising list like Book Bub for its authors?

Unknown said...

Discoverability is also one of my concerns. Will you be partnering with the Book Genome Project any time soon? This isn't just a matter of helping authors find an appropriate audience; it's also about automatically classifying books in their correct genre. That's likely to be helpful for everyone, but particularly authors who want to get or stay on the Premium Catalogue.

Dovetail Public Relations said...

Maria and Ros, you'll find discoverability to be major themes across all these videos, especially the best practices one.

Maria, no plans for a BB-like service.

Ros, nothing going on with BGP.

Jason Matthews said...

Thank you as always, Mark. Breathing easier now. I've actually being worried about the blog for a bit--waiting for the next post :)

Anna_esq said...

Thanks for uploading these, Mark! I'd caught the Apple one live, but glad to see these all in one place.

You know what I'd love to see? Some 'live' step-by-step tutorials to do some of the stuff in the Smashwords Style Guide like some people do for GIMP on YouTube? It's less frustrating sometimes when there's a 'voice' attached to doing something nasty like hunting for hidden URL's. Maybe a bit at a time?

Unknown said...

Great collection, Mark. I've added them to the Smashwords Forum.

thelma harcum said...

I just want to thank you Mark, for such inspirational videos. I love "your" story of how you got started.
Thank you for all you do for all of us and much success to you too! Thelma Harcum

Joleene Naylor said...

Thanks for these - I need to take time and watch the apple one :)

Anonymous said...

Happy 2014 Mark! This is my year to rock out my first ebook in your empire, and I'm stoked after watching your first workshop! I'm starting the next workshop right now, and doing one a day. Once I've viewed them all I'll start on your three free ebooks. And then, I publish!

I am grateful for your and your wife's pioneering into self-publishing, and of course for your detailed outreach for new authors.

I look forward to working with your stellar site to get my innovative ideas into the world of minds!