New Smashwords Series Manager Improves Book Discovery

Smashwords today released a powerful new tool called Series Manager that makes series books more discoverable.

Series Manager allows series writers to attach their books to series, and manage multiple aspects of their series metadata.

The new feature is available now in the Smashwords Dashboard under the Series Manager link.

Once authors organize their series titles within Series Manager, readers can easily identify books within a series, or across related series.  Just as importantly, series metadata will give our retailers greater flexibility to promote books within a series.  Let's say, for example, a retailer wants to do a merchandising promotion of the top 50 bestselling Smashwords series that have a free series starter.  Without the series metadata, it would be nearly impossible for Smashwords or our retailer to accurately identify which books are in a series, and in which order.

It's not uncommon for the books in some series to make no reference to their series in the book title, book cover or book description. This makes it difficult for readers to identify all the books in a series, or books in related series, and makes it difficult for retailers to properly merchandise them.  Series Manager helps solve this problem.

With Series Manager, authors can easily attach books - including preorder books - to a series using point and click check boxes. Simply click to your Dashboard, click Series Manager, click Create New Series, then attach the books.  Authors can select from multiple series numbering methodologies such as Book 1, Book 2; or Book I, Book II; or Part 1, Part 2; or no. 1, no. 2; or you can dispense with series number and simply give the series name, such as "Fellowship of the Rings."

Series books can be members of multiple series, all
controlled within Smashwords Series Manager

Authors can even connect books that span more than one series.  For example, the Smashwords Style Guide is a member of two series, Smashwords Guides and Smashwords Style Guide Translations.

If you've written series with spinoff series, this is a powerful feature that will make it easier for fans to identify books within a series, and discover new books in your related series.

You can also identify the ideal sequence of books within a series.  For example, if the Star Wars movie series was a book, you might want to designate that the Prequel to episodes 1, 2 and 3 should be enjoyed after the first three in the series.


Smashwords will provide the new series metadata, as input by the author or publisher, to our retailers.  Each retailer will handle the metadata differently.  Some will make use of all the data, and others might cherry pick.  Either way, the improved metadata will make it easier for retailers to enhance the discoverability of Smashwords books today while having the capability to develop improved discoverability features in the future.

The series metadata will also increase the discoverability of series titles in the Smashwords store. Within each book's listing, whether it's on the book's book page or in the search results, we'll display the series to which the book is connected.

If the book is attached to more than one series, then the other series will appear as well.   In the example at left which shows the book page, the Smashwords Style Guide is a member of two series.

Series names are clickable.  Readers can click the series title and view a dedicated series page, such as my page for the Smashwords Guides.  Incorporate the link into your marketing.  If you're doing a marketing campaign around a single series, provide fans a direct to your series page.

We look forward to your feedback as we enhance this feature.

Smashwords Signs Distribution Agreement with Oyster

Smashwords today announced a distribution agreement with Oyster, a new and innovative ebook subscription service.  Oyster offers consumers unlimited access to more than 100,000 ebooks for $9.95 per month.

I’ve been following the ebook subscription space for some time.  As an ebook distributor, our job is to search out the most compelling opportunities to help our authors connect with reader eyeballs.  Oyster is one such opportunity. 

The closest analog to Oyster in the music business is Spotify, and in the video rental business it’s our Los Gatos neighbor NetFlix.  The closest, most familiar analog to Oyster on the ebook market today is Amazon’s Kindle Owners Lending Library, where subscribers to Amazon’s Prime service who own a Kindle can download and read one ebook for free per month.  The author or publisher, who must enroll their book in Amazon’s KDP Select program to benefit from KOLL, earns about $2.00 for each download.

I expect Smashwords titles to begin shipping to Oyster in about three weeks.  At least 72 hours before we begin shipping to Oyster, I’ll send out an email alert to all Smashwords authors and publishers.  The email will contain complete financial details, including royalty rates and sampling thresholds, so you can make an informed decision about your participation.  It’s an author friendly deal so I expect you’ll be pleased.

Oyster offers an all-you-can-read
e-reading buffet, complemented
by an elegantly designed e-reading
app with social reading features.

Unlike KDP Select, Oyster does not require exclusivity.  It’s open to all Smashwords authors. A single Oyster user could conceivably read multiple books by the same Smashwords author in a single month, and the author will be paid for each book.  Smashwords authors will earn their royalty whenever an Oyster subscriber reads more than a sample of their book.
 
Oyster’s subscription service will help our authors connect with a segment of the reading audience they’re not reaching anywhere else.  Oyster will also give authors yet another reason to steer clear of exclusivity and embrace full distribution with Smashwords.

Oyster formally launched today with its iPhone app, which users can download from Apple’s App Store.  From what I’ve seen of it, the app is elegantly designed.  It incorporates social reading features that allow readers to follow and friend fellow readers and see what their friends are reading or have read.  The app will be available on other platforms in the future.

Oyster has impressive backers drawn from Silicon Valley and New York.  Back in October, they announced $3 million in funding led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.  The round also included Shari Redstone’s Advancit Capital, Chris Dixon and Sam Altman.

Smashwords authors don’t need to do anything to enjoy Oyster distribution other than ensure their books are Premium Catalog-approved.  If you’re not yet publishing and distributing with Smashwords, click here to get started today.

Learn More:  Check out my two-part series where I examine the business models and potential impact of the ebook subscription services:

Examining the Business Model of Ebook Subscription Services (Part I)

How Ebook Subscription Services May Redefine the Value of Books (Part II)

Smashwords Publishes 250,000th Book

An indie author today released the 250,000th book on Smashwords.

In the last 30 days, over 9,000 books were released at Smashwords.  In 2008, we released 140 books in the first year.

The 250,000 books comprise 8.5 billion words.  Imagine the millions of hours of love that went into these books.  Imagine the cultural treasures that are now available and discoverable to future generations.

Five years ago when we launched Smashwords, self-publishing was viewed as the option of last resort for writers. Today, it's becoming the option of first choice.  The stigma of self-publishing is melting away as the stigma of traditional publishing increases.

Indie authors are becoming professional publishers.

Writers have learned that with ebook self-publishing, they can enjoy faster time-to-market, greater creative control and 4-5 times higher royalty percentages.  The higher royalty rate enables indie authors to price lower while still earning more per ebook sold.  This gives indies a significant competitive advantage over traditionally published authors.  When readers are given the choice between two books of equal quality, and one is $3.99 and the other is $12.99, the $3.99 title is more desirable.  The $3.99 indie earns about $2.50 for every book sold, whereas the $12.99 author earns $1.60 to $2.25. 

Based on our survey data, a $3.99 ebook will sell over four times as many copies as a book priced over $10.00.  This pricing power gives indies a tremendous platform-building advantage.  Authors who reach the most readers today will have the largest fan bases ten years from now.

The advantages indie authors enjoy in the marketplace are real, and these advantages will increase in the years ahead as reader eyeballs transition from paper to screens, and as brick and mortar bookstores continue their steady decline.

I wonder if the traditional publishing industry has yet come to terms with the ramifications of the rise of indie authorship. 

Indie authorship isn't a noun.  It's an attitude. A mindset.  It's about believing in yourself.  It's a movement. It's a movement that believes every writer has a right to publish. It's a movement that understands that every writer - regardless of commercial potential or metrics - has something special to share with the world.  It's a movement that celebrates the value of the book above the value of a dollar.  Every writer is important.  Indie authorship leaves no writer behind.

Five years and 250,000 books in, I still feel like we're just getting started at Smashwords.  Wait until we reach 500,000 books, or one million.  Our amazing authors have barely scratched the surface of what's possible. Watch, you'll see.

Smashwords Distributes Ebooks to Flipkart.com, India's Largest Online Bookseller

India, here we come!

Smashwords today announced a distribution agreement with Flipkart.com, India’s largest online marketplace and bookseller.  Smashwords titles will begin appearing at Flipkart.com within the next three to four weeks.

Flipkart is commonly referred to as the Amazon of India.  To be fair to Flipkart, Amazon would probably kill to become the Flipkart of India some day.

Flipkart.com is India’s largest online marketplace.  They serve 10 million registered users, one million daily visitors, and offer products in over 17 different categories.  Our friends at Flipkart tell me that according to Nielsen BookScan Retail Panel data, Flipkart holds 80% market share for online book sales in India, and holds 40-45% market share for all trade book sales across brick and mortar AND online.

Flipkart’s ebook store is accessible via the Web at www.flipkart.com as well as via Flipkart e-reading apps for Android, Apple iOS and Microsoft Windows 8 devices.  The Apple iOS app supports reading only, whereas the other interfaces support both purchasing and reading.

I’ve been eager to distribute Smashwords books to India for several years now.  India represents the fifth largest source of traffic to the Smashwords store after the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

In our globally connected world, consumer cultures are becoming more similar than they are different. Online social media marketing touches readers at every point of globe, generating demand for your books. We're now better equipped to serve Indian readers, who can purchase at Flipkart in Rupees.

Two years ago I sat beside a young Certified Public Accountant on a flight from London to San Francisco.  If she hadn’t volunteered she lived in India, I would have bet she lived in San Francisco.  She told me how she and her friends in India only speak English at work, they dream in English at night, and they only buy books in English.  If you haven't thought about the book market in India, now is the time to start.

Here are some quick facts about the Indian market:

• India is the world’s second most populous country with 1.2 billion citizens, accounting for 17% of the world’s population.  Source. 
• India’s literacy rate is 74% and rising.  Source.
• India has two official languages: Hindi and English.  Source.
• 125 million Indians speak English, twice the 61 million English speakers in the UK, quadruple the 33 million in Canada, and about six times the 22 million in Australia.  Source.   I don’t have data on English literacy, or the number of English readers, though our friends at Flipkart tell me about 80% of their book sales are English language books.
• 150 million Indians are online.  Source.  By 2015, according to McKinsey, the number of Internet users is expected to double to 330 million.  Source.
• India recently became the world’s third largest market for smartphones.  Its smart phone market for Q1 2013 grew over 160% year over year, a rate of growth faster than China (86% YoY), Japan (24% YoY) and the US (19% YoY).  Source. Smartphones are e-reading devices!
• India has one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and one of the fastest growing middle classes.  India had 250 million middle class consumers in 2007, a number that will rise to 600 million by 2030.  Source.  With the rise of the middle class comes increased discretionary consumer spending on books. 

The ebook market today in India is nascent, accounting for less than one percent of the market.  I expect the market to grow dramatically over the next five years as the primordial soup necessary to support a thriving ebook ecosystem comes into place. 

The ingredients for that soup?  Here are they are:

1. Availability of low-cost high-quality e-reading devices – Smartphones!
2. Availability of a large, diverse and affordable selection of high-quality ebooks – Smashwords ebooks!
3. Prominent retailers to promote and sell the books – Flipkart, Amazon and others to follow
4. Internet penetration – Huge already, growing fast
5. Consumers inclined to purchase online – Only about 1% of Indians shop online now.  It’s not difficult to imagine how this will grow in the next few years.

I think indie authors will have a substantial competitive advantage in India, because indie ebooks are priced much more affordably than traditionally published ebooks.  Our 20,000+ free books make our authors' offering all the more compelling.

India has a rich and proud literary culture.  I think our agreement with Flipkart will help inspire the next generation of Indian authors to embrace ebook publishing. Thanks to the example set by the 60,000+ Smashwords authors we’ll distribute to Flipkart, I trust Indian authors will come to learn how Smashwords makes ebook publishing fast, free and accessible to all.  We’ll not only make it easy for Indian authors to reach Indian readers at Flipkart.com, but we’ll also help them reach millions of other readers across our global distribution network of Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony, the Smashwords store and others. 

How many months or years before an aspiring Indian author who learns of Smashwords through this relationship goes on to become a NY Times bestselling author?  I’m betting it’ll happen within a year or two.  I can’t wait!  There are talented writers in every corner of the globe just waiting to be discovered by readers.

How to distribute books to Flipkart:

As with most new Smashwords channels, Smashwords authors and publishers will be automatically opted in to Flipkart distribution.  As long as your book is Premium Catalog-approved, you’re eligible for distribution.

We’re sending out an email today to all Smashwords authors and publishers today regarding this announcement.  If you want to opt out of Flipkart distribution (I don’t recommend opting out!), you can do so within the next 48 hrs by visiting your Dashboard’s Channel Manager.  As most Smashwords veterans know, it’s our standard process to give all authors at least 48 hours advance notice via email before activating a new distribution channel.

You can view one of our early test books in their store, The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success.

We plan to ship to titles and metadata updates to Flipkart daily, five days per week, which is the same schedule we use for Apple, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Smashwords authors will earn 60% of the list price for all Flipkart sales, after deducting for India’s equivalent of VAT tax, which in India is called Withholding Tax.  This is similar to how we compute author earnings after VAT for Apple sales in the UK and Europe.

Agency pricing is not allowed in India, so we have entered into a wholesale pricing agreement.  Although Flipkart.com has the option to discount our books in India, it’s up to them whether they exercise this option.  Amazon’s KDP platform operates under similar rules.  When you sign up with Amazon KDP, Amazon retains the option to discount your books.  In practice, Amazon rarely discounts with the exception of price matching.  Flipkart.com, like Amazon, practices price matching against Indian ebook stores only.  If they see a Smashwords ebook is priced for less at the Amazon Kindle store in India, they will match the price and the author’s cut will drop to 60% of the discounted price, less of course the taxes mentioned above.  However, in situations where Flipkart.com discounts the price outside of price-matching situations, the author will still earn 60% of the list price from Smashwords.  Flipkart will carry our free ebooks in addition to our priced books.

If you're not already publishing and distributing with Smashwords, click here to learn how.  We make ebook publishing fast, free and easy.

Apple iBooks Refreshes Breakout Books Feature, Smashwords Authors Hitting Bestseller Lists

Today is a banner day for Smashwords authors at Apple.

Apple's US store today launched a refreshed and updated Breakout Books feature showcasing multiple Smashwords authors.

It's their top-of-the-store home page promo.  If you have an iPhone or iPad, you'll see it in your iBooks app.  If you have iTunes installed on your computer, you can view the promotion at its perma-link at http://iTunes.com/BreakoutBooks

This time around, Apple is featuring multiple preorders in the Breakout Books promotion.  As I mentioned in our ebook preorder announcement and last week in my ebook preorder primer at the Huffington Post, one of the many benefits of preorders is that retailers can identify strong titles and give them extra merchandising love!

Here's a sampling of Smashwords authors featured today in Breakout Books:  

Under the Romance category, there's GJ Walker Smith, Kirsty Moseley, Abbi Glines, Katie Ashley, Chanda Hahn, Kelly Mooney, Erica Stevens, Quinn Loftis, Shayne Parkinson, Samantha Young, Marquita Valentine, Lisa Plumely, Kahlen Aymes, Shelly Crane, S.C. Stephens and Merry Farmer.

Under Mysteries & Thrillers, there's Claude Bouchard, JD Nixon, Paul Pilkington, E.L. Henry, Maggie Shayne, G.P. Ching, Mike Wells, Claude Bouchard again (yay!), Edie Claire, Dana Donovan, Harrison Drake, John O'Brien, L.L. Bartlett and George Wier.

Under Sci-fi and Fantasy, there's Dionne Lister, Caroline Hansen, Hadleigh O. Charles, Joseph Lallo, Valmore Daniels, TC Southwell, Brian S. Pratt, Jeffrey Poole, Claire Farrell, Lindsay Buroker, Sarah Woodbury, TC Southwell (again, yay!), Joseph Lallo (again, yay!), Randolph Lalonde, Penelope Fletcher, and T.M. Nielsen.

Under the catch-all of "More to Explore," there's Linda Gillard (twice!), Mike Wells (second appearance), William Wayne Dicksion, Shayne Parkinson (second appearance!), Kaitlyn Davis, Sarah Burleton, Kim Richardson, and Alison Pensy.

Apple first launched the Breakout Books feature in Australia and New Zealand, and then in February Apple launched Breakout Books in the US.

It's an ongoing feature at multiple iBooks territories around the world. For example, the iBooks store in Australia is running a Breakout Books promotion this week featuring titles priced at FREE (promo graphic at left).

Featured Smashwords authors include Jacques Antoine, Tina Chan, Raquel Lyon, Bobby Adair, Emma Grace, Belinda Crawford, Cherise Kelley, K.Z. Freeman, J.D. Brink, Rebecca Ethington, Josephine Kent, Maggie Shayne, Connie Keenan, Amelia Rose, Josephenie Kent (second appearance!), Jim Davis, Mary Tribbey, M.D. Bowden, Electra Rossello, Kimberly Wells, Kitty Margo, Lleaon Rao, Kevin Provance, Dillie Dorian, Janice Gallen, Jessica Carter, Aaron Lee, Missy Lyons, Wolf Black, Witold Matulewicz, Amanda Martin, Jamie Buchanan, Cathleen Conley, Lee Penney, Nathan Bassett, Diane Dunning, Dean Schechinger, Terry Renner, Julie Richie, Lauren Scharhag, Michael Rogers, Dr. A. Nyland, Laine Crosby, Hercules Bantas, Bart Cline, Valerie Holmes, Electra Rossello, Marius Renos Dicomites, Bobby A. Troutt, Matthew Christopher Benner, Ali Simon, TJ Seitz, Shelton Ranasinghe, Rachel Higginson, James Hampton and C. Sean McGee.  Whew.  Wow.

In other great Apple news today, Chanda Hahn, who I predicted last week in my eBook Preorders Help Indie Authors Hit Bestseller Lists story at Huffington Post would hit Apple's bestseller lists, today landed high in multiple bestseller lists with her new title, Fable: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale.  As of this morning, she was the #2 bestseller at Apple's US store, #2 in Australia, #4 in Canada and #45 in the UK.

The love Apple and its customers are showering on indie authors doesn't stop there.  In the US store today, Smashwords authors are holding three of the top five bestseller spots (Congrats Chanda Hahn, Justine Elvira and Melody Grace!).  In the UK store, Smashwords authors are holding five of the top 10 spots (congrats Justine Elvira, Melody Grace, Samantha Young and JD Nixon!). In Australia, Smashwords authors are holding five of the top 10 bestseller spots (congrats Chanda Hahn, Justine Elvira, Melody Grace and Samantha Young).

Smashwords authors are featured in multiple other promotions today and nearly every week around the world at Apple.  For example, at Apple Australia and New Zealand this week, Smashwords authors G.J. Walker-Smith and Dionne Lister earned their own top-of-page merchandising features with custom artwork produced by Apple based on each author's covers.  So cool.

All I can say is that Apple is super-awesome.  If your book is at Apple, return the favor by linking to it on your blog, your website and in your social media links.  It makes a big difference for your sales.  Be sure to join their recently-improved affiliate program where you can earn and extra 7% of the list price on your own book, simply by linking to it.  Click here to learn the latest details on Apple's affiliate program and apply for an account.  They've expanded their worldwide coverage of the program.  For linking tips to Apple, see my previous post about Apple ebook merchandising, How to Sell eBooks at the Apple iBookstore.  I'll be doing an updated post sometime soon about Apple merchandising, based on a presentation I first gave at RT Booklovers in Kansas City.

If you're friends with any of these authors above, let 'em know today's a good day!

Smashwords Interviews Helps Readers Learn the Story Behind the Author

Smashwords today introduced Smashwords Interviews, a new author marketing tool that helps readers learn the story behind the author.

Smashwords Interviews guides authors to create, edit and publish their own Q&A interview.  Authors simply answer a series of questions, or create their own questions, and then click publish.

Your interview will be published on the Smashwords site, and is cross linked and discoverable from your author profile page, each of your book pages, and the Smashwords home page.  At the end of each interview is a clickable listing of the author's books.  The interview includes social sharing features so your fans can help spread your interview on their favorite social media channels.  

The idea for this feature came to me last year when we were running a series of author interviews here on the Smashwords blog.  Many more authors wanted to be interviewed than we could accommodate.  I thought to myself, "wouldn't it be cool if we could interview every Smashwords author?"  And then the solution became apparent: a self-serve system for publishing author interviews. Smashwords Interviews is the result.  Kudos to Case Talbot, the newest member of our software development team.  She took my ideas and realized them better than I imagined.

To test the feature, we invited a few Smashwords authors and team members to give it a spin.  Here are their interviews:

• Aaron Fernandez
• Chelsea Campbell
• JD Nixon
• Kevin Shlosberg
• Mark Coker
• Marquita Valentine
• Rebecca Forster
• Shayne McClendon

I look forward to reading the amazing stories behind our authors.  I think you will too.


How to Publish a Smashwords Interview

Creating an interview is fun and easy.   Here's how to get started:

1. Sign in to your account, click to the Account tab, and then you'll see the link for Create or edit your interview. Study the instructions for tips, and then jump in by clicking Proceed to Your Interview! at the bottom of the page.
2. We'll present you with a series of questions to get your creative juices flowing.  Feel free to edit our questions, or create your own.  Make your interview unique!  Show off your personality and your writing.
3. Click Save and Show Next Question to answer the next question
   
4. When you’re done, click Preview and Publish. From this page, you can use the up/down arrow to rearrange the order of the questions.  You can also click to edit any question or answer.
5. Promote your interview! Share it on social media, and encourage your fans to share it too.

The same picture you use for your author profile will appear on your Smashwords Interview page.


Tips to Create a Great Interview

At Smashwords, we believe every author has an important story to tell. Your writing is influenced by your life experiences, talents, dreams and passions. 

Smashwords Interviews helps readers learn the story
behind the author.  Simply answer our questions,or
create your own questions.  Then publish and share!

Your opportunity with this interview is to bring who you are as an author to life.  It's an opportunity to share the story behind the author, and the story behind your books.  It's an opportunity to convert prospective readers into readers, and turn fans into super-fans.

A good interview helps the reader develop a multidimensional understanding of who you are as a writer and a person.

The secret to creating a great Smashwords Interview is to select questions that prompt honest answers that address what readers would want to know about you (even if they don’t yet know they want to know it). Above all, be yourself!  Allow your personality and your writing talent to shine!

Before you begin your interview, put yourself in your target readers’ shoes. The readers of your interview will fall into one of four camps:

1. They’re already a fan of your writing, and they’re curious to learn more about you as person. Your interview can help them appreciate you and your work on a completely new level, and will help solidify your brand in their mind.
    
2. A fan of yours, or possibly even a complete stranger, enjoyed your interview and shared it with their social media friends on Facebook, Twitter, or on their blog.  Be sure to promote your interview to your fans, and encourage them to share it with their friends!
3. You’re a new author to them, they’ve never read you. They’re looking for a good read and they’re curious to learn more about you before they take a chance on your book.
4. They stumbled across your Q&A by accident, possibly via a search engine like Google because your interview addresses a topic that matches the keywords they were searching on.  They didn't know they were looking for your book, but after reading your interview, they might think differently!

Although we created Smashwords Interviews with authors in mind, readers are also welcome to contribute interviews!

We look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions for improvements.

Enjoy!

Update September 10, 2013 - Smashwords Interviews now supports Publisher and Agent accounts!  This means publishers and agents can compose interviews for each of their authors or pen names.

Smashwords Authors Top Charts at Apple with Preorders

A couple weeks ago, we announced preorder distribution to Apple, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.  Today, we see a first-hand example of how preorders can help increase visibility and sales for authors.

Three Smashwords preorders went onsale today at Apple and other retailers.  They're topping the charts.  At Apple, accumulated preorders credit as sales on the day of release, which can cause titles to spike in the bestseller lists.  The higher ranking in the bestseller lists increases visibility which can then lead to greater sales.

As of this writing, JD Nixon's new mystery, Heller's Decision, is at #1 store-wide at the Apple iBooks store in Australia, #1 in Canada, #4 in the US, and #11 in the U.K.

Kristen Ashley's new romance, Rock Chick Revolution, landed today at #3 store-wide in Australia, #2 in Canada, #5  in the US, #20 in the UK

Elizabeth Reyes' new romance, Abel, landed today at #7 store-wide in Australia, and #46 in the UK.  In the US, she's charting at #35 in the always-competitive romance category.

Keep an eye on some of these other hot new releases coming out in the weeks ahead, each of which are likely to be chart-toppers as well:

Chanda Hahn's  Fable: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 3 (onsale 8/27)
J. S. Scott's  The Billionaire’s Salvation (The Billionaire’s Obsession ~ Max)  (onsale 9/8)
Quinn Loftis'  Sacrifice of Love: Book 7 of the Grey Wolves Series (onsale 9/13)

Learn more about preorders here at the Smashwords Blog.

Smashwords Commences Daily Shipments to Barnes & Noble

Starting this past Monday, Barnes & Noble became the third major Smashwords retailer to begin accepting daily deliveries of books and metadata updates from Smashwords, five days a week. Previously, Smashwords shipped to B&N twice-weekly.

For Smashwords authors and publishers, and for B&N customers, this means faster listings of new releases, faster listings of preorders, and faster price updates. We also ship daily to Apple and Kobo.

My thanks to our friends at B&N for taking on the extra work to process our daily deliveries.


Smashwords has a long history with Barnes & Noble.  Barnes & Noble was the first retailer to sign a distribution agreement with us back in 2009, and they've been a strong supporter of Smashwords authors and publishers ever since.  B&N earns our authors millions of dollars each year, and is our second-largest sales channel after Apple. If all your books aren't at B&N, you're missing out on millions of readers you can't reach anywhere else.

As we announced July 26, Smashwords now delivers preorders to Barnes & Noble, a powerful new author merchandising tool.  Preorders aren't available to authors who upload direct to B&N via NookPress (f.k.a. Pubit).  Smashwords also delivers books priced at FREE to B&N, and we pay 60% list for books priced under $2.99 and over $9.99 (vs. 40% list earned by NookPress users). 

If you're not yet distributing your titles to B&N, Apple and Kobo via Smashwords, consider consolidating your distribution and metadata management through Smashwords!

Smashwords Introduces Preorder Distribution to Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble and Kobo

Smashwords authors and publishers now have an exciting and powerful new merchandising tool:  Preorders at Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Today we launched a public beta of our new preorder feature, available immediately to over 70,000 Smashwords authors and publishers around the world.

With preorders, Smashwords distributes a book to Apple, Barnes & Noble and Kobo in advance of the official onsale date.

During the preorder period, customers place advance orders.  At some retailers such as Apple, these advance orders accumulate in the days and weeks prior to the official onsale date and then credit all at once on the date of release, which causes the title to spike in the retailer's bestseller lists.

I expect preorders to become an essential best practice for all professional indie authors, because the benefits are too significant to pass up.

Here's a quick summary of preorder benefits:

1. Advantageous placement in genre and store-wide bestseller lists - All preorders credit on day one of the release, the onsale date.  This can cause the book to spike in the charts.  The advantageous placement in the bestseller lists increases visibility and discoverability, which builds buzz and sales.  
2. Increased odds of hitting national bestseller lists? - Preorders can potentially increase an author's odds of hitting one or more of the major bestseller lists such the New York Times or USA Today because the preorder concentrates a greater number of sales into a shorter period of time.  Lest you find yourself salivating uncontrolably, stop!  Keep in mind that most authors will never hit these lists, preorder or not.  Preorders are simply a tool that give you merchandising advantage.  It's up to your book, your fans and your savvy marketing to catapult you onto these lists.
3. Simultaneous availability - Your book is available on sale at these major retailers on the same day.  No more waiting days for your new release to appear for sale at each store.  With a preorder, we distribute your completed book in advance of the onsale date, and fans will be able to download it at their favorite store on the same day.
4. Advance marketing - Authors can execute more strategic advance marketing campaigns to build buzz and accumulate orders leading up to their official release date.  Do chapter reveals on your blog or Facebook page.  Hold contests.  Run promotions on your other titles to build readership in advance of your big release.  Encourage your fans to mark their calendars so they can be the first to download and read your book.
5. Your existing titles help market your preorder - The retailer will display your preorder title alongside your other books in their store.  If you have multiple titles on the market already, update your back-of-the-book "Other titles by" listings to advertise your upcoming release.
6. Capture the reader's interest at the moment you have their attention  - It's one thing to tell the reader you have a new book coming out in a month or two.  Will they remember to come back then to find and purchase the book?  A preorder enables you to capture the reader's order at that moment they're buying all your books, or all the books in your series, or at the time they've stumbled across your web site or blog.
7. Increased on-store merchandising - Your advance preorder also makes it easier for retailers to slot your book into special preorder promotions or genre-related merchandising promotions.  If a retailer sees that your book is experiencing a high rate of preorders, they're more likely to select the book for increased merchandising love.

Advance staging of book releases has always been a common best practice in traditional print publishing.  It's interesting now how some of those same best practices are migrating to the digital world.  Now indies can access the same tools.

We began testing preorders a few months ago at Apple, starting with the successful launch of Kirsty Moseley's Free Falling and followed by Abbi Glines' Forever Too Far.  Both titles hit #1 or #2 in Apple's largest markets.

In the last two weeks, following multiple successes with Apple, we expanded our testing to include Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

A partial list of Smashwords authors who have participated in our preorder beta, or who have preorders in process, include for R.L. Mathewson, Emma Hart, Claudia Hall Christian, T.M. Nielsen, Maree Anderson, S.H. Kolee, Lilliana Anderson, JD Nixon, Rebecca Forster, Quinn Loftis, J. S. Scott, Eve Langlais, Ambush Books, Elizabeth Reyes, Kristen Ashley, Marquita Valentine, Joseph Lallo, Ruth Ann Nordin, Chanda Hahn and Camilla Chafer.

Here are Some Quick Start Tips (more tips on our Preorder Help page http://www.smashwords.com/preorder):

1. The preorder option is available on the normal Smashwords upload page.  Simply select a release date in the future.
2. The book you upload should be formatted to the Smashwords Style Guide, as usual.  The moment you upload, check for AutoVetter errors, and download your .epub to check the formatting quality. Don't let formatting problems delay your preorder!  If you need to make a correction, simply click Dashboard: Upload New Version  to correct.  If you're new to Smashwords and don't have the time or patience to do your own formatting, get it right the first time by hiring low-cost formatter from Mark's List.
3. The book should be complete and either a final or a near-final draft, and not a work in progress.  The file you upload will be used to generate a sample of the start of the book which retailer customers will download and read, so make it solid!  
4. Preorders work best if you select a date that's at least four to six weeks out.  The longer the time out, the greater your runway to accumulate orders.  This also provides ample time for Smashwords to deliver your book, provides time for the retailer to process and load it, and gives you several weeks of runway in which you can point readers to each retailer's preorder page.  A runway of four or more weeks also gives you time to make last-minute corrections (more on this below).  If your release is only a week or two out, you should still load it as a preorder because a couple days of preorder listing is better than none!
5. Even if you have a release that's a couple days away, or even tomorrow, enter it as a preorder today.  Although the book may not make it to the retailer in advance of the onsale date, you'll at least get a headstart to get your formatting right, achieve Premium Catalog distribution, and allow the retailer time to receive, process and list the book.  Also, once you enter your preorder, you'll have the URL for your Smashwords book page.  Although the Smashwords store doesn't accept preorders, you can start building this URL into your marketing campaign, blog and website.
6. Since you'll be uploading your book in advance of the onsale date, we expect that you may want to make last minute updates, cover tweaks and typo fixes.  This is fine.  Just make sure you upload your final final at least 10 days in advance of the release date to avoid last minute panics.  In reality, we and our retailers typically process updates much quicker than 10 days, but it's always good for you to budget in a buffer in case you run into unexpected delays with your editors or proof readers.
7. Your preorder listings will likely appear at each retailer at different times, depending on shipment schedules (we ship daily to Apple and Kobo, twice-weekly to B&N) and vary by the processing speed of each retailer.  As each preorder page appears at each retailer, make it a marketing event and a cause for celebration with your fans, and provide a direct link to your fans on your blog, website and on social media.

I founded Smashwords to democratize publishing and give writers the tools and knowledge they need to become professional publishers.  Preorder capability is one such powerful tool.  I look forward to watching what our authors build with it.

Please share your feedback as you test this new feature.  I'll create a temporary email hotline at http://smashwords.com/preorder where you can contact the development team and myself to report bugs.

My thanks to the many Smashwords authors who participated in our private beta, and my advance thanks to you for participating in this rollout.  Good luck!

August 20 2013 update!  To learn more about ebook preorders, check out my post at The Huffington Post titled, eBook Preorders Help Indie Authors Hit Bestseller lists.  

JD Nixon's Heller Named Book of the Week at Apple iBookstore

A big congrats to Smashwords author JD Nixon.

Heller, book one of her fun and amazing mystery and detective series by the same name, was named Book of the Week this week by the Apple's iBookstores in the US and Canada.

Click here to download Heller for free at the iBookstore.

The free series-starter is receiving heavy promotion on the iBookstore's home page.  As of this writing, 12 hours into the promotion, it's already charting as the #1 most-downloaded mystery and detective title in both the US and Canada.

This is what Apple says about Heller in its Editors' Notes:

Each week, we select a great book and bring it to you, for free, as our Book of the Week.  Sexy, suspenseful, and delightfully snarky, this romantic thriller set in Australia follows Tilly, a young woman whose risky new job comes with an even riskier boss: a demanding, drop-dead-handsome security expert with a wicket protective streak.  Heller is the first novel in an ongoing series.  Its blend of deftly written prose, color characters, and a fast-paced plot make for a sassy story of danger Down Under that'll leave you breathless.

 Last week, Heller was featured as Book of the Week in Apple's iBookstores in Australia and New Zealand.

Two weeks after the Book of the Week
promotion in Australia, JD Nixon's
priced titles dominate six of the top
seven bestseller spots in the crime
and thrillers category.

To give you a sense of the power of such a free promotional feature when combined with a super-awesome series that wows readers, as of yesterday, almost a week after her Book of the Week promotion ended in Australia, JD's six priced titles held six of the seven bestseller spots in Apple's Australia iBookstore in the crime and thrillers category.

JD first published Heller at Smashwords on May 30, 2011, and distributes via Smashwords to Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Sony.  In the last two years, she has continued to write and release new titles in the Heller series and build a global fan base. In 2011, she also launched her Blood Ties series, which now comprises three titles.

We interviewed JD Nixon last year here on the Smashwords blog.

Book 5 in the Heller series, Heller's Decision, is available for preorder at Apple with a release date of August 13, 2013.  Order it now at Apple!

If you're viewing this blog post from your iPhone or iPad and you have the iBooks app installed, or if you have iTunes installed on your computer, click here to view how Apple is merchandising the feature.

Congrats JD, and thanks to the entire worldwide merchandising team at Apple for their incredible support of Smashwords authors!

Connect with JD Nixon:

Favorite her on Smashwords
Follow her on Twitter
Friend her on Facebook
Read her blog, Tilly and Tess

Smashwords Romance Authors Promoted at RWA Atlanta

Attendees of the Romance Writers of America national convention in Atlanta this week will discover a special treat in their registration goodie bags.

Inside each bag will be a four gigabyte Smashwords USB thumb drive containing 118 free romance ebooks, including titles from many of the world's most popular romance authors.  They're all Smashwords authors.  The books are provided in both .epub and Kindle formats.

Also on the drive are digital handouts for nearly 50 RWA workshops and sessions, as well as a Smashwords ebook publishing kit containing copies of  The Smashwords Style Guide, The Smashwords Book Marketing Guide, and The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success.

We're really excited about the drive and trust it'll give our authors some great exposure within the romance community.
 

I'd like to thank RWA for their incredible support.  Special thanks also to the 100+ Smashwords authors participating in this promotion.  Each author personally selected the title they wanted to share with the 2,000+ attending authors, publishers, agents, media, bloggers and other industry professionals. I'd also like to give a shout out to Angela, Jim, Aaron, Henry, Bill and Raylene on the Smashwords team for their work in pulling together this fun project.

If you're attending RWA, I'll be in two sessions.  The first is a 90-minute PAN (Published Authors Network) panel on Thursday at 10:30am titled, Self-Publishing for Professional Authors.  Also on the panel will be Julia Coblentz from Barnes and Noble, Jon Fine from Amazon, and Mark Lefebvre from Kobo.   

The second session takes place on Saturday at 11am in room A703, where I'll present a one-hour workshop titled, Focus on Smashwords.  Stop by and say hi!

Here's a summary of all the great books included on the drive, alpha-sorted by the author's first name.

• A. M. Hudson   - Dark Secret
• Abbi Glines - Fallen Too Far 
• Addison Moore - Someone to Love  
• Alexis Harrington  -  A Taste of Heaven  
• Amy A. Bartol -  Inescapable  
• Asrai Devin - Second Chance Romance  
• Autumn Dawn -  The Charmer 
• Ava Stone - A Scandalous Wife  
• Becky Barker - Chey’s Cowboy  
• Bella Andre -  Candy Store  
• Brenda K. Davies - Awakened 
• C.L. Bevill - Disembodied Bones  
• Calle J. Brookes -  Live or Die  
• Camilla Chafer  - Armed and Fabulous 
• Candice Hern -  A Garden Folly 
• Carol Rose -  Hating Christmas   
• Caroline Clemmons - Brazos Bride 
• Catherine Bybee - Binding Vows   
• Catherine Gayle - Pariah  
• Chanda Hahn - UnEnchanted - An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 
• Cheryl  Douglas - Shameless   
• Cheryl Bolen - The Bride Wore Blue  
• Christie Craig - Gotcha!  
• Claire Delacroix  - The Beauty Bride  
• Claire Farrell - Death is a Gift  
• Claudia Hall Christian -  Tax Assassin  
• Claudy Conn  -  Shadowlove-Stalkers  
• Colleen Hoover  - Hopeless   
• Cynthia Eden - Bound By Blood  
• Cynthia Wicklund  - In the Garden of Temptation  
• Danelle Harmon - The Wild One  
• Debra Webb - Dirty   
• Donna Grant - Shadow Magic  
• Donna McDonald -  Next Song I Sing   
• Eliza Gayle - Tucker’s Fall   
• Elizabeth Hunter  - A Hidden Fire
• Elizabeth Reyes - Fate   
• Elizabeth Schulte  - Easy Bake Coven   
• Ella Ardent  - Submission    
• Emma Holly - Hidden Talents 
• Erica Stevens - Captured   
• Eve Langlais - Bunny and the Bear  
• Felicity Heaton  - Covet   
• Gemma Halliday  - Hollywood Scandals  
• Heather Boyd  - Guarding the Spoils  
• Isabelle Rae - When Summer Ends  
• J.R. Rain - Vampire Dawn   
• Jami Alden - Private Paradise  
• Jamie McGuire - Providence 
• Jana DeLeon - Rumble on the Bayou 
• Jasmine Haynes - Dead to the Max  
• Jennifer Ashley - Hard Mated    
• Jennifer Skully - She’s Gotta Be Mine   
• Jerrica Knight-Catania  -  A Gentleman Never Tells   
• Jillian Holmes - Initial Kiss  
• JL Paul - All The Wrong Reasons 
• JS Scott  - The Billionaire’s Obsession   
• Julia Templeton - The Deepest Cut   
• K.A. Linde - Avoiding Commitment 
• K.M. Golland - Temptation   
• Kahlen Aymes - The Future of Our Past   
• Kaitlyn Davis - Ignite (Midnight Fire Series Book 1)  
• Karina Halle - Lying Season  
• Kat Martin - Hot Rain    
• Kate Angell - Squeeze Play   
• Kathryn  Shay - After The Fire  
• Kelly Mooney - Down the Shore 
• Kira Saito - Bound     
• Kirsty Moseley - The Boy Who Sneaks in my Bedroom Window   
• Kris Pearson - The Boat Builder’s Bed  
• Kristie Cook - Promise    
• Kristine Mason - Kiss Me  
• Lacey Weatherford - Crush  
• Leia Shaw - The Dom with a Safeword 
• Lexi Blake - The Dom Who Loved Me  
• Lisa Mondello  - Her Heart for the Asking  
• Lisa Scott - Flirts! 5 Romantic Short Stories   
• Liz Fielding - Wild Justice   
• Lizzy Ford - Xander’s Chance   
• Lucy Kevin - Sparks Fly   
• M. Leighton - Fragile    
• Madeline Sheehan - The Soul Mate   
• Marie Kelly - Billionaire’s Revenge  
• Marquita Valentine - Live For You  
• Marsha Canham - Through A Dark Mist  
• Marti Talbott  - Marblestone Mansion  
• Melanie Nilles - Starfire Angels  
• Mia Dymond - Leather, Lace, and Rock-n-Roll   
• Morgan Rayne - A Different Kind of Fairy Tale  
• Nicola Marsh - Crazy Love  
• Norah Wilson - The Merzetti Effect  
• Pamela Clare  - Sweet Release  
• Patricia Ryan - Heaven’s Fire   
• Peggy Webb - Can’t Stop Loving You   
• Quinn Loftis - Prince of Wolves   
• R.E. Butler  - Every Night Forever 
• R.L. Mathewson - Playing for Keeps: A Neighbor From Hell    
• Rachel Van Dyken - Elite 
• Rita Hestand - Rainingin My Heart 
• Rose Gordon  - Her Sudden Groom  
• Ruth Ann Nordin  - Bid for a Bride    
• Ruth Cardello  - Maid for the Billionaire   
• S.C. Stephens - Collision Course   
• S.H. Kolee - Seeing Shadows   
• S.J. Wright - The Vampire’s Warden  
• Samantha Young - Drip Drop Teardrop  
• Sarah Woodbury  - Daughter of Time  
• Shadonna Richards - His Island Bride  
• Shayla Black - Dangerous Boys and their Toy 
• Shayla Black and Lexi Blake - TheirVirgin Captive   
• Stacey Wallace Benefiel - Crossing   
• Sylvia Day  - All Revved Up
• Sylvia McDaniel - A Scarlet Bride  
• Theresa Marguerite Hewitt - Two Weeks With a SEAL   
• Tracie Puckett  - The New Girl  
• Tracy Falbe - Union of Renegades  
• Trina M.  Lee - Once Bitten  
• V.K. Sykes - Curveball  

Congrats to these fine authors for participating in this promotion, and thanks for publishing and distributing with Smashwords!  

If you're not yet publishing and distributing with Smashwords, click here to get started.  At Smashwords, we make it fast, free and easy to publish an ebook!