Learn How to Publish Your eBooks Today on Smashwords
This article serves as a guide to understanding Smashwords, its features that enable authors to connect with readers globally, and the detailed process for publishing a book on the platform. By the conclusion of this article, you will have learned the most efficient methods to publish your books in multiple formats and reach a broader online audience. Let’s begin with the fundamentals: what is Smashwords?
What is Smashwords?
Smashwords is among the top online publishing tools and platforms, offering writers global access. It enables you to distribute your book in various formats, including PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, MOBI, ePub, and HTML for online reading. Additionally, Smashwords allows you to make your book accessible across numerous online retail sites.
Related: Self-Publishing Ultimate Guide
Publishing a book on the Smashwords catalog can be challenging due to the numerous technical requirements that the book files must meet before they are made live. However, Smashwords provides a free Style Guide to help you format your book correctly, as well as a variety of online articles available at no cost on their website.
I almost gave up on publishing my book on Smashwords in 2013 because it failed to convert to various eBook formats several times. However, I will never regret my persistence, as once my book was successfully published, it reached more readers online, and I have been earning online every month since then, regardless of the amount.
Before settling on Smashwords and Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, I explored other options like Lulu, Lambert, and many more. After extensive trials, I chose these two platforms for my personal reasons. I found publishing with Lulu to be more challenging than with any other platform, although that may just be my personal experience.
What are the Smashwords features?
Similar to KDP, Smashwords (SW) boasts numerous impressive features. One such feature is the ‘meat grinder,’ which processes your book and delivers it to your readers in their preferred formats. Once you upload your book in the .doc format, the system begins converting it into various other formats, while preserving the original file for you, the publisher.
The platform’s capability to retain your original file is highly advantageous, as it allows you to access your original work whenever necessary. For instance, if you were to lose all your files on your computer, visiting the Smashwords website could alleviate that stress by enabling you to download the original file directly from the system. This particular feature is unique to Smashwords and is not available on KDP, Lulu, or Lambert Academic Publishing.
Another significant feature is the tool’s ability to distribute your books to various global book retail sites, including Amazon, Kobo, Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, among others. It also caters to those who wish to download and print your book in PDF format for personal use. Additionally, while SW does not currently support publishing print versions of books, it offers the option to link your eBook to video trailers and other print formats. This means you can connect your eBook to its print edition on platforms like Amazon, Lulu, or LAP.
Smashwords also provides a suite of tools to manage your published book, such as the Channels Manager, ISBN Manager, Reports and Payment Manager, and more. These tools are designed to help you expand your online readership and facilitate payments. Although PayPal is the sole payment method, which may pose challenges if PayPal is not operational in your country, alternative payment requests via check or money transfer are available.
How Do I Publish My Books on Smashwords?
To successfully publish your book on Smashwords, begin by ensuring your manuscript is ready for publication, which involves writing and thorough editing. You can edit the manuscript yourself or hire professional editors. Depending on your book’s complexity, multiple editors may be necessary.
Next, design an engaging book cover and format the interior files correctly. Your book must include accurate metadata; otherwise, it will be flagged by the system. Note that Smashwords does not offer an online cover design tool like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. The cover image must be at least 1600 x 2400 pixels. Additionally, your manuscript should be in a 2003 Microsoft Word (.doc) format. If your document is in a newer version of Word, you’ll need to convert it to the (.doc) format.
After these steps, visit https://www.smashwords.com to create a free account. Once your account is set up, log in and complete your publisher/author profile. You have the option to create additional ghost author profiles if needed, but a single publisher/author account suffices if you’re not publishing for others or using different pen names.
Proceed by clicking the ‘Publish’ button to initiate the book upload and publishing process. Enter your book’s title, subtitle (if applicable), publication date, keywords, and select appropriate categories. Upload your book’s interior file and cover image. The platform allows you to manage all these steps on one page, differing from the KDP process. Assign the book to your publisher or a ghost author account, and decide if the book will be free or if you’ll allow customers to set the price.
You can set a price on Smashwords and immediately see your earnings after a purchase is made. Remember, each retailer, like Kobo, reports sales to Smashwords, and you’ll receive payment monthly, regardless of the amount accumulated.
Once you’ve adjusted all settings, hit the publish button to proceed. Your book will be live on Smashwords within an hour, but appearing on other retailers may take a day or more due to manual checks of technical requirements, known as the Premium Catalog. Your book must fulfill these requirements to be listed.
Should your book encounter any format conversion issues, you’ll be notified via email with instructions on how to proceed. Smashwords support is always available to assist you. Once you complete these steps, your book will be available for purchase. Congratulations!
Summary
We’ve now explored what Smashwords is, its features, and the step-by-step process of publishing a book on Smashwords. Remember, knowledge is only potential power; it becomes powerful when acted upon. Therefore, you must apply the information from this article to see a positive impact in your life. Did you gain new insights from this article? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Shalom!
Further Readings
- 5 Reasons For You To Self-Publish Your New Ebook On Smashwords – justpublishingadvice.com
- Smashwords Advantages: Can it get any better than this? – self-publishing-solutions.com
- About Smashwords – smashwords.com