Support for Indie Authors discussion

Thinking about using Smashwords to put my book on other devices and wanted to know if anyone has an opinion about it one way or the other. It will save a HUGE chunk of money seeing as though i don't have a Mac-book and B&N has specific programs that only come with it.

Smashwords is an awesome place to put your books, but their program that converts your book has VERY specific formatting guidelines. If your book makes it through the process though, they do post it to a lot of sites.

Read the formatting guide. It is long, but free. I followed it and had no problems with the book conversion.

I wish I could say the same....I still don't have my complete series in one book listed on their premium catalog....though I followed all their steps it still comes back with errors >.>

Oh, thanks. I have to wait until May to do it since I am in the KDP program but just wanted to get a heads up.

I came back with a few errors the first run through and I got pretty frustrated. There are some great YouTube videos that will walk you through step by step or even a few people on Fiverr who would format for you for less than $20.

Get me a Word document and I'll format it for free.

I have no problem with Smashwords, either. I use LibreOffice .odt as the document to write with, and for Smashwords convert it to a Word .doc. For table of contents I do bookmarks on the chapter headings, and then put hyperlinks to those headings in the TOC. Then you have to remove the extraneous bookmarks generated by the Word doc--not a big problem. The last upload I had a problem with uneven spacing, so they told me, but I traced that to the fact that I used a larger, bold font for the first letter of each chapter. When I fixed that I had no other problems.

After uploading to Smashwords I download the EPUB version and run it through the validator at this website: http://validator.idpf.org/ If it passes that, then most likely your doc is okay.

Megan wrote: "I came back with a few errors the first run through and I got pretty frustrated. There are some great YouTube videos that will walk you through step by step or even a few people on Fiverr who would..."

I did see some great videos on YouTube that i am going to check out.

During the free days, there was a ton of traffic but once it was over not soo much :-( I have had a couple of sales however, not as much as i want but it is a start. Then again, i was a bit late with my marketing.

I have heard that Draft2Digital, a Smashwords competitor is pretty good as well. I have seen that some authors prefer it to Smashwords because of easier submission and formatting. I ran some questions by customer support of D2D and they were very responsive. You can google draft2digital vs. Smashwords to see opinions both ways.

I am beginning to think the same way Victoria. And it is such a shame and nearly a waste of time.

Someone mentioned to me about trying to get into libraries but i have NO idea as to where to even begin with that.

I think it's a matter of getting someone at that library to request your book or to simply walk in with a copy and hand it to them. My library requested that I bring in a hard copy whenever I get around to printing.

Lorine wrote: "Someone mentioned to me about trying to get into libraries but i have NO idea as to where to even begin with that."

Oh,okay. I wonder what the process is for that here in NY? I will definitely look into that and see what i come up with. Thanks guys!

Ann, I've been thinking about that route. How many copies did you bring in in? I'm working on fixing my proof copy from CreateSpace right now, and I was considering trying something like that.

if my book is published on Amazon am I able to put it on Smashwords? Or is it one or the other but not both?

You can have it on both if it's not on Kindle Select from what I understand.

If you don't sign up for KDP Select you can put your book on Amazon and any other market as well. I withdrew from KDP Select after a few months and did just that, using both Amazon and Smashwords--and now Lulu.com--to sell my books. Smashwords distributes to Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and others, while Lulu also distributes to Barnes & Noble and to Ingrams, which sells to libraries. I can't say it helped sales a lot, but the opportunity for more sales is much better than keeping it all in one market, even if it's the biggest.

I thought you had to go the whole 90 days before you can opt out of KPP?

You don't have to enrol in KDP at all to sell your books on Amazon. If you do enrol, it's for 90 days.

Yeah I know, i enrolled am already enrolled in it.

I was in KDP for 6 months and then opted out.

Oh okay. I have to wait until May for it to end.

My debut novel, an espionage thriller, will be ready for publication in May. So I am very interested in all of these comments. In addition to KDP and Smashwords, I am leaning toward Google Play Books because of their international reach. Has anyone had any experience with Google Play Books?

I haven't had any experience with Google Play books so can't help you there, but as regards KDP Select, make sure you untick the box for automatic renewal, otherwise your book will be enrolled again for a further 90 days. I think Smashwords is a great way to get excellent distribution, although my sales there still haven't been good. I had a few formatting issues but managed to sort them out easily. The best thing is to follow the instructions to the letter. I got tempted to take some short cuts after I'd done a couple of books and left out some steps.

I've decided to hire a professional to do all the interior formatting other than Createspace and KDP. I will upload my Word doc to the latter two. I'm convinced that a self-published book cannot "look" self-published in order to achieve sales. In don't think I'm up to that kind of flawless formatting.

Marie wrote: " am I understanding KDP incorrectly? I thought you were exclusive for the first 90 days, then afterward you could upload anywhere you like..."

As long as you renew your participation in KDP you're always exclusive to Amazon. And renewal is automatic unless you go in and uncheck it. You can do this at any time, but do it before you're renewed. I use Smashwords and have had no problems that weren't easily solved, but I have few sales there.

Ken wrote: "If you don't sign up for KDP Select you can put your book on Amazon and any other market as well. I withdrew from KDP Select after a few months and did just that, using both Amazon and Smashwords-..."

Thanks for the info!

It seems as if this point isn't clear, so hopefully this helps: KDP Select is a voluntary program. You do not need to be exclusive to Amazon at all if that isn't something you are interested in. When you publish, you will be asked if you want to enroll in Select. If you check the box, then you are required to stay loyal to Amazon for a period of 90 days. If you want to opt out, you can, but you will have to manually uncheck the automatic re-enrollment box as Ken mentioned.

Marie wrote: " Does your royalty percentage suffer much outside of Select? Since Amazon claims they equal about seventy percent of an author's market.
Have you had much success with lulu? You're the first person I've spoken to who had gone through them. ..."

You get the same royalty in or out of KDP in most countries. Some countries I rarely ever sell in are much lower outside of KDP (I forgot which countries, but they tell you during the process). With Lulu I just do hardcovers. They put them out on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and libraries. I don't ever expect to sell any, since the retail price is so high, but I like to get my own copies for myself and to give away to friends and family. At that price I make a ton of cash if I ever sell one on Lulu, but make very little at the retailers they distribute to.

Marie wrote: "I've heard some bad things about Smashwords from several authors. Everything from formatting nightmares to issues over payment, though that was a foreign author so it may have had something to do w..."

Can you elaborate on the bad things you have heard about Smashwords? This option is, or was going to be my first place to publish my debut novel. If it is not worth it then I would like to find out why. Please.

I agree with Chris. It was going to be my first stop when my novel Wicked Soul Ascension gets published. What happened to Smashwords that would make you say that?

Is your novel in the Premium Catalog? Selling at all of the different platforms connected to it?

And the $10 threshold is not that bad, as you said most of these types of places do it.

I would just like to know if I should use them or rather try another service, like Lulu.

With Smashwords you have to have a Paypal account to get paid at the $10.00 level. Otherwise, they'll send you a check when your sales reaches $75. Your first stop should be Amazon, since it's the biggest. Amazon accounts for almost all of my sales. Use Smashwords to distribute to other markets, but don't expect a lot at first. I'm hoping to sell more there as my presence there becomes known, but right now it's almost all Amazon.

Ken wrote: "With Smashwords you have to have a Paypal account to get paid at the $10.00 level. Otherwise, they'll send you a check when your sales reaches $75. Your first stop should be Amazon, since it's th..."

Thanks for this information. My book is currently on Amazon and I'm not have any issues, I have light sales each month. I didn't realize Smashwords needed a Paypal account nor did I know about $10.00 level. Learn something here every day - thanks!

Victoria wrote: "Hey all. I just read my daily report for Amazon. I'm up to a whopping 4 (count them) 4 KOLL books this month. WOO HOO! I'm going to be a millionaire before you know it. LOL."

Congratulations!

Victoria wrote: "I don't have a Paypal connected to Smashwords. They deposit directly to my bank..."
I looked for that option but could never find it. Amazon does directly deposit to your account.

Ken wrote: "Victoria wrote: "I don't have a Paypal connected to Smashwords. They deposit directly to my bank..."
I looked for that option but could never find it. Amazon does directly deposit to your account."

Yes, Amazon does deposit directly into my account, but I don't know if there's a minimum like the $10 mentioned when using Smashwords

This is right off the Smashwords website:
Payment options - We have two payment options. For residents of the US, payment is made either via paper check or Paypal. For residents outside the US, payment is made via PayPal only.

Payment thresholds - The threshold for paper checks is $75.00. The threshold for PayPal is only $10.00. We encourage all authors to sign up for a free PayPal account so you can receive electronic payments. If you're registered for paper check payment as of the date we process payments, and you're not paid because you didn't reach the threshold, you can opt for PayPal payments below and you willl be paid in the following quarter. It is your responsibility to select your payment option in advance of our quarterly payment rounds, and in advance of the 15th of month in which we pay.

I soo love this group. Best one that i have found!

Susan wrote: "Ken wrote: "Victoria wrote: "I don't have a Paypal connected to Smashwords. They deposit directly to my bank..."
I looked for that option but could never find it. Amazon does directly deposit to y..."

No minimum. One really bad month Amazon deposited 35 cents in my account.

Chris wrote: "Is your novel in the Premium Catalog? Selling at all of the different platforms connected to it?

And the $10 threshold is not that bad, as you said most of these types of places do it.

I would ju..."

Smashwords is a distribution source, like the others. I like them because the royalty percentage is higher than Amazon. Also by using their premium service it saves me from having to go to each individual site to upload books. For me, time saved is money earned. And last, they're really 100% for self-publishers. They're aggressive about going after markets to get your books out into the public eye. Through Smashwords my books are now available on Scribd, a reader subscription service. Every time someone selects my book on Scribd and reads it, I get paid. Even if they don't read the whole thing. I get paid percentages based upon how much they read. Quarterly payments suck but several of my publishers pay this way, so I'm used to it. On Smashwords, I make the most money from B&N and Scribd.

Do you make more money with Smashwords or Amazon?

So now the million dollar question would be: Lulu, Smashwords or contact the different places directly (like B&N, Amazon, Google Books, etc)?

Regarding Smashwords... I think it's important to understand what you are expecting. I use SW for their distribution, not their bookstore. It's true that once your book is live, it is almost immediately buried. Mark himself advises that you only have a few minutes in the sun. For distribution, once I've put my ms through their Meatgrinder, they take care of getting it into the iTunes store, B&N, Kobo, and a few other places. Plus, they make all those and other formats available to me at no charge, which I in turn use to upload to Omnilit and Coffee Time Romance. Just a matter of preference.

It's been my experience that there are more lookers than buyers on Smashwords. My books get viewed every day, but rarely bought on Smashwords. I don't know how many look at my books on Amazon, but they sell there. Even so, I think it's smart to get into every market you can.

I have been advised that kdp is only good if you have multiple books out. Using it for a first time book really isnt helpful. I wont use any free days until i have qnother book published. But i have decided to put my new books on smashword and other sites as well leaving only my first kdp for now.

Ken wrote: "Marie wrote: " am I understanding KDP incorrectly? I thought you were exclusive for the first 90 days, then afterward you could upload anywhere you like..."

As long as you renew your participation..."

What is the difference between KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited?

I've never had to deal with Kindle Unlimited, so I can't really say.