Tag: Smashwords

Breaking News: Draft2Digital Acquires Smashwords

From the Draft2Digital website:

We’re betting that’s a headline you never expected to see, and we’re already anticipating the chatter this will cause in the indie author community!

We know this is going to feel a bit unexpected and out of the blue, but we’re very excited to make this announcement, and even more excited about what this means for you and the rest of the author community.

Since Draft2Digital was founded, in 2012, we have always believed that Smashwords was a vital and integral part of the self-publishing community. In many ways, Smashwords ultimately built the very industry in which we all work and thrive. Their work laid the foundation, and we’ve all been building on that foundation ever since.

And though Draft2Digital and Smashwords have always been cast as rivals in this little drama, the truth is it was, at worst, a friendly rivalry. In the end, we share the same goal: Empower self-published, indie authors and publishers to build and grow their publishing careers.

At the core of each company there has always been a love and appreciation of the author community. Many of us are authors ourselves, and each company was founded to provide the sort of services and support that we need. We understood your needs because we share them.

To read more, go to the Draft2Digital website here.

When the Reading Audience is Captive

Smashwords givebackSW
Sale has been extended to May 31

There isn’t a corner of the world the Coronavirus hasn’t hit (well, maybe Antarctica) and now millions of people are stuck at home with nothing to do. Some are diehard readers, and others choose to binge watch stuff on Netflix or another online platform. For many people the social isolation is too much to bear. They can’t figure out how to productively pass the time. And then there are those of us who spend much of our year in social isolation, and this is just business as usual.

Smashwords has set out to ease the pain of isolation. They’re holding a sitewide Author Give Back program that lasts from March 20 to May 31. Authors can enroll some, or all, of their books, and those can either be listed as free, or you can set a discounted price. I’ve been a part of Smashwords for many years, and each time they have an event like Christmas in July or another promotion, I’ve always enrolled my books and short stories. Readers can find the sale books here. This is a good, free way to get your books promoted. But do you make money off giving away books? Yes, you do! Continue reading “When the Reading Audience is Captive”

Smashwords vs. Draft2Digital

library-1666703_640It’s been a while since we’ve had a post outlining the similarities and differences between Smashwords and Draft2Digital (D2D), and since both have made changes over the years, now seems like a good time.

Smashwords, introduced by Mark Coker in 2008, was a breakthrough for many small presses and self-published authors because it offered a way to get eBooks into stores authors couldn’t otherwise access. A few years later, D2D came along offering many of the same perks. So which should you use? Let’s take a look at both. Continue reading “Smashwords vs. Draft2Digital”

Smashwords Summer Sale and More

Smashwords LogoThose of you who have opted to publish with Smashwords will want to look at this. I have participated in these sales, which they also run in December, a few times with decent results. It’s about the easiest sale you can be part of. It literally takes only a couple of clicks and your books revert to their original prices automatically at the end of the sale period. Here’s a summary. Much of this is directly quoted from their recent email.

The Tenth Annual “Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale” Runs July 1-31 

Enrollment is now open, and, for the first time ever, they allow you to enroll ALL your books at a single discount level –  25%-off, 50%-off, 75%-off and 100%-off (FREE).  Continue reading “Smashwords Summer Sale and More”