# SMASHWORDS - anybody buy their books, there?



## C.S. Einfeld (Dec 6, 2011)

I'm new to Kindle, and to Smashwords. 

I was wondering which outlet is more popular?


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## pomtroll (Oct 5, 2010)

*I use Smashwords all the time but only with my Sony 350. It is of course easier to directly download from the Kindle store to a Kindle & a lot of books on Smashwords are now at Amazon. But i have found some real gems at Smashwords so I do go back & check it out at least once a week.*


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## C.S. Einfeld (Dec 6, 2011)

you know, what really fries my eggs is the fact that while we can buy kindles in Canada, we can't access the Kindle Store through Amazon.ca!!

What is up with that?


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## TheSFReader (Jan 20, 2011)

(Late to the party, sorry)
Yes, When I can, I buy from Smashwords.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I've read a number of free books from Smashwords, but I haven't bought a lot from there. But then again, I'm not a huge purchaser from the Kindle Store either. I do have some books that I plan on buying, there are some Stargate books that I want to buy, they are cheaper there than on the Kindle store.


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## CrystalMarcos (Dec 27, 2011)

I just downloaded a free book from Smashwords. I know it is becoming big in the industry. Authors get paid more per book there then anywhere else I have seen. Which is nice. But most sales come through expanded distribution of Smashwords not directly from the site. Which I think will change once people know about it. I do plan on making purchases there in the future knowing all this now.


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## BrentKnowles (Mar 8, 2011)

As a reader, I haven't bought a book through it (that I can remember) whereas I have bought several titles from Kindle and Kobo and other stores.
As a writer I get at least 10x sales on Kindle compared to Smashwords. The benefit of Smashwords for me though was that it allowed me to distribute more easily to some other outlets and these get modest sales.


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## apbschmitz (Apr 22, 2011)

Another thing to be said for Smashwords is that it offers downloads in most file formats known to man, not just the Kindle format. And it offers some competition to Amazon, which is probably good for readers and writers in the long run.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I got some books from Smashwords early on.  I had more than an average number of problems. . . .weird formatting -- when the Kindle sample had looked o.k. -- odd characters in titles, etc.  So I just don't bother.  There's plenty for me on Amazon and I see no need to shop elsewhere.  I do use a couple of libraries when there's a book I want to read but not enough to pay for it.


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## Todd Trumpet (Sep 7, 2011)

C.S. Einfeld said:


> I'm new to Kindle, and to Smashwords.
> 
> I was wondering which outlet is more popular?


Quite a few authors report their sales numbers to the ePub community. From what I've read, the *VAST *majority of their sales occur on Kindle. For example, I recently saw a post by an author who reported that he had sold 60,000 eBooks in 2011, almost all of them on Kindle. And the number sold via Smashwords?

Wait for iiiiiiiiiit...

5.

Maybe not all eAuthors experience such lopsided sales numbers...

...but the Amazon Kindle is most definitely the 800-lb gorilla of eBooks.

Todd


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## altworld (Mar 11, 2010)

Selling a book on Smashwords direct is a rarity and is something that the owner Mark will agree too, however through the distribution hub that gets you pretty hassle free into Kobo, Sony, Apple, eDiesel and B&N (if choose too) you will make sales, and that is where you will make your money through Smashwords.
Arigato,
Nick


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

C.S. Einfeld said:


> you know, what really fries my eggs is the fact that while we can buy kindles in Canada, we can't access the Kindle Store through Amazon.ca!!
> 
> What is up with that?


That's one of the reasons why many Canadians won't buy Kindles, and instead use Kobo and Sony


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2012)

I don't buy through smashwords unless an author is sending me a coupon code to use there. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't seem to be very coupon-code friendly for Kindle Books, at least not that I've seen.


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## spiritualtramp (Feb 3, 2011)

I buy e-books through Smashwords first given a choice. Authors get a bigger chunk of the pie in terms of $$. I also love that they give authors more control over things like how much to share.


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## wdeen (Dec 29, 2011)

I've stopped using, and purchasing from, Smashwords. Their published works do not use DRM (Digital Rights Management). Not providing this allows individuals to copy works and republish them. They've had some problems with copyright infringement because of this. Obviously this is not a problem for the reader. However, during the course of the last year, I've ended up doing everything exclusive with Amazon.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Amazon has a huge problem with copyright infringement, too...


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## hs (Feb 15, 2011)

ImmortalInk said:


> I don't buy through smashwords unless an author is sending me a coupon code to use there. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't seem to be very coupon-code friendly for Kindle Books, at least not that I've seen.


That has been my experience too.
Since I have a Kindle, I buy from the Amazon Kindle Store unless I get a Smashwords coupon.


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

I rarely buy from Smashwords or Kindlestore. I tend to use Amazon almost exclusively.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

Smashwords seems to be the erotica capital of the internet.  Thank God for the prude filter.


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

wdeen said:


> Obviously this is not a problem for the reader. However, during the course of the last year, I've ended up doing everything exclusive with Amazon.


This probably should be for another thread - but Amazon's DRM only offers the illusion of protection to the author/writer. The reality is that copying is only 1 click away.


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## A. Rosaria (Sep 12, 2010)

I live outside the USA and am forced to buy my e-books at Amazon.com at an inflated price, that's why I buy almost exclusively at smashwords. (They don't charge an extra $2-3).

About DRM, it protects you for a few seconds, that's how long it takes to take it off.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

In a word...Nope.    Nothing much going on, Amazon is the dominant force by far.


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## Guest (Jan 24, 2012)

Yes, I buy my books there because I won't pay that surplus $2-4 because of the regional pricing (Central Europe).


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

A lot of the stuff being talked about here doesn't really affect me as a reader and customer. I mean its all nice and stuff that some author might get more or not or whatever from that site, but I just want to buy my books.   I just don't really care about any of that.

As a reader I want what is most convenient to me and that is Amazon. All in one place, wireless to my Kindle, etc. 
I think I got a couple of freebies long time ago from Smashwords, but I don't think I ever ended up putting them on my Kindle. I think I kind of forgot and they got lost in the download folder somewhere. 

But there are also plenty of people that either don't have a Kindle, or don't live in the US and for them I would think Smashwords is attractive.

But to be honest, I don't see a lot of the authors and books I normally buy on that site. 


eta: I thought the question was who "buys" from Smashwords, not who "sells" on smashwords.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Atunah said:


> But there are also plenty of people that either don't have a Kindle, or don't live in the US and for them I would think Smashwords is attractive.


*nod*

I know that Smashwords is known for it's bad porn (not even good porn, not even erotica...just bad porn), but it also has a great selection of short fiction and anthologies. I find those a lot easier to find on Smashwords than on Amazon. And, I know authors get paid more when I buy their short stories on Smashwords, so I hunt there first.

I also like how I can have any format on Smashwords. When I know I'm buying a DIY author or a small press book, I look on Smashwords first. We have several ereaders in our house; it's nice to have a "cloud" of available formats.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

Erotica is porn that you like. Porn is erotica that you don't like. The quality of it doesn't change its category.

But some of their erotica/porn does make me ask "have you actually had sex?" It's like they only have a vague idea what the process involves. Sort of like the MC from "The 40 year old virgin".

I do like Smashwords, but there are some odd books. I'd be wary at best of any non-fiction books from Smashwords.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

QuantumIguana said:


> Erotica is porn that you like. Porn is erotica that you don't like. The quality of it doesn't change its category.


There different qualifications for those. Erotica publishers like Samhain put out erotica and not porn (and those looking for porn say they can't find anything at Samhain).



> But some of their erotica/porn does make me ask "have you actually had sex?"


More like people who have actually never read anything of the genre and think they can make a quick buck.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

Or they don't call the books they publish porn.


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## mscottwriter (Nov 5, 2010)

> you know, what really fries my eggs is the fact that while we can buy kindles in Canada, we can't access the Kindle Store through Amazon.ca!!


Wow...seriously?? I had no idea. I can't even imagine why Amazon thinks that's OK.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

General reminder:  This thread is in the Book CORNER so the question should be approached from the point of view of the reader.  Posts from author/publisher points of view have been edited or deleted.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

mscott9985 said:


> Wow...seriously?? I had no idea. I can't even imagine why Amazon thinks that's OK.


It's even more annoying because some older ebooks are in fact only available to purchase if you are in the US...but you are forwarded to the US store...but we can't buy it because it's only for Americans.

Hence, I shop at Smashwords and Kobo.


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Our first experience with Smashwords was a bad one - bought a book for $3.99,  it was nothing more than a horribly mashed up double-spaced format lacking dump from MS Word (the story itself wasn't so great either, but that's something that can go either way)  and the process of getting it on to the Kindle was certainly a lot more cumbersome than Amazon's instant-delivery system.    I can see why Amazon is dominating the market - they've got the whole package nicely sorted out.


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## Michael Horton (Aug 4, 2011)

I haven't got a dedicated ereader, just a smartphone and a handful of apps, so I appreciate Smashwords and all the formats I can download for the price of one book. That being said, their meatgrinder can sometimes do terrible things to formatting, so it's not my go-to choice for everything. That's something else sampling is good for, I suppose.

It's not the most searchable site either, but I like it when authors make their books available there.


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## Nancy Beck (Jul 1, 2011)

I buy mostly at Smashwords because I can use PayPal (can't do that with Amazon  ). But if I really, really, REALLY must have the book, and it's not on SW, then and only then, I'll buy at Amazon.


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## Guest (Jan 25, 2012)

Not really. I prefer Amazon, and a lot of the stuff on Smashwords sort of scares me. =-(


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I wouldn't buy anything from Smashwords (or any other outlet, for that matter) without reading a sample. Some of the shorter works, the sample offered literally has no content. You get the cover and boilerplate, and before the first page of the actual text, the sample ends. This is, of course, not a good sign.


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## mscottwriter (Nov 5, 2010)

I do use Smashwords, but mostly when I receive coupons for the books there.  Can anyone tell me if there's a way to directly upload the books from SW onto a Kindle?  That is the one thing I prefer from Amazon - the easiness of the one click!


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

mscott9985 said:


> I do use Smashwords, but mostly when I receive coupons for the books there. Can anyone tell me if there's a way to directly upload the books from SW onto a Kindle? That is the one thing I prefer from Amazon - the easiness of the one click!


Yes, there is. Use the Kindle browser, the books will download right into your list of books.


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## Guest (Jan 26, 2012)

I've used it a couple times. I like it for the most part.


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## olefish (Jan 24, 2012)

I have once.  I actually like going onto smashwords to read samples and free ebooks.  I prefer reading there than on Amazon.  Besides authors gets higher royalties on Smashwords.  So yeah if you can, buy there instead from Amazon.


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## psychotick (Jan 26, 2012)

Hi,

As an author I found Smashwords really good to set up, easy to publish and the author profile was excellent, even if I only sell one or two percent of books through it. As a reader though I find it strange. There are so may books on it that seem to be only a couple of thousand words long. But on the good side, there's an awful lot of free ones and the search system is well set up.

Cheers, Greg.


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## TheSFReader (Jan 20, 2011)

(Here is a copy of a post I wrote for my blog last august )

Roughly one year ago, I became the proud owner of an ereader. A few months later, I became aware of Smashwords. Now, the first step when considering buying an ebook is to check it's presence on Smashwords. If present, that's one major good point. And with a few exceptions, when buying there, I buy from the Smashwords website.

Why ?

*"Ideological reasons" :*
I don't like "monopolies", hence I prefer my money going in "smaller players" pockets. I know Amazon is no monopoly, but it has a dominant position, and I think everyone benefits if it's kept from becoming one. Each ebook cent I put in Smashwords pocket is one less in Amazon's, and one more in its opposition's.
I don't like DRMs (reasons explained in THIS OTHER POST http://readingandraytracing.blogspot.com/2010/10/drms-and-ebooks.html), and Smashwords is clearly opposed to them as seen in the FAQ).
It has no geo-restrictions, either hard (as B&N does, which prohibits me from buying ANY books for my Nook from them), or soft (like Amazon's International $2 surcharge).
It "benefits" writers due to it's high royalties rate (for direct selling) : 85% regardless of the price/geo-location (I'm pointing at you Amazon), except if the sell is through an affiliate in which case it's 70.5%, 11% going to the affiliate.
Multi-format (Kindle/azw, epub, pdf, text,html) downloads enable users to use whichever reading device/software they want.
Smashwords as a company has stated AND SHOWN that it follows a few goals that coincide with my "ethics".

*"Practical reasons"*
It has a Cloud-like library (see my related post http://readingandraytracing.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-in-cloud.html)
It's an "easy way" for writers to distribute to high number of retailers (except Amazon) without having to negotiate/register at each one.
Coupons allow writers lots of marketing promotions and to "gift" books without having to pay. Wide range of coupons.Since I can't use any "direct" buying from my reader (a Nook, abroad), I have to sideload anyway. Not a reason per se, but an acknowledgement that if I had an ereader-included 1 click buying app I would be tempted to use it instead.

*Mixed :*
I'm mixed on the "reviewing" system : Only people having "bought" the book can review it. On one hand, this "ensures" that people having it have at least access to it to review. This of course makes sure that Hordes of non-readers are unable to post bad reviews, but on the other hand with coupons an author can still ensure "hordes" of good reviews. It also limits the number of reviews, since readers having read a non-smashwords version are unable to post on SW. The small number of reviews in turn diminishes the "legitimacy" of the reviews. Amazon, with its two classes of reviews manages it best I think.
A mitigating way to manage that (and maybe a smart way to help readers regarding "portability") can be to add in your Amazon/Kindle book a coupon for acquiring the book at Smashwords too...

*What I don't like :*
The Smashwords formatting and MeatGrinder seem difficult for authors, and doesn't necessarily allow them to format the final files as they want, hence discouraging authors to publish through them.
There is no integrated easy way to organize the library. Only a pseudo Wish-List (books you've added) and a purchased list : "Books I've purchased".
The "search" is quite dumb and not sophisticated enough. 
Likewise some kind of "also bought" like feature, and other "curation" would be appreciated.
While addressing remarkably well international authors, the website is only available in English (minor) but misses a "language" filter, which could allow easier access to non-English content. 
The Meatgrinder uses Word as input. I understand that an other format (such as ODT) would force writers still an other tool to write, the Word format is NOT standardized, not standard, and belongs to the Microsoft monopoly. 
There is no fully integrated "1 click" buying software that I know of, but I may be wrong here. (Stanza anyone ?) 
(Stanza seems to be one such application, but is restricted to Apple hardware, Aldiko on Android seems also to allow 'inside app browsing')
There is not enough content/customer. One being the consequence of the other.
For writer, strategy-wise, putting the book in numerous stores, it dilutes the sells between stores, hence the "top100 effect", unless everyone does the same. 
Free books in the library can't be "bought" for free hence are "lost" when becoming paying.

*Enhancements :*
In addition to finding solutions to the above problems, there are a few enhancements that I think would improve the Smashwords website:

Proposing to remove books from the library when they are bought, hence having no dupes between the two "shelves" of the Library
Having something like "MicroPay" (Webscription) would go some way to help "impulse buying" (instead of the whole Paypal shebang).
Finding (perhaps negociating) a way to get/use reviews/ratings from retailers, which could be used to improve the "reviews" part of the website for example: 3stars at B&N (50 reviews) , 3.5 at AppleStore (20 reviews) --> ponderated at 3.2


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## acellis (Oct 10, 2011)

I own both a Kindle and a NookColor. I use Smashwords to buy eBooks for my Nook.


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## Richardcrasta (Jul 29, 2010)

thank you for this!
Richard


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## Lambert (Nov 12, 2010)

I do when I want a book in several formats such as PDF.


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## lib2b (Apr 6, 2010)

I do when I can. I love that the books are DRM-free, and you are buying many different formats. I don't like the idea of buying ebooks that are tied to a specific format or device.


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## Zackery Arbela (Jan 31, 2011)

I think the advantage of Smashwords is that they have distribution deals with sellers outside of Amazon. People buy direct from them, but it also acts as a middleman. Good for selling to Apple or the Nook, I guess...

Way I see it, the more outlets you have, the better. A sale is a sale in the end.


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

I have a Kobo and a Kindle, but it's first-generation Kobo vs. 3rd generation Kindle and the Kindle is better, so that's where I do all my ereading these days.

I get my books from Amazon because the shopping experience is the best by far. Many of the books I buy are not DRMed, but if they are...well, no need to go there. I used to reformat Kindle books for my wife's Kobo, but eventually I just bought her a Kindle.

I don't even think about buying books directly on Smashwords. It's so effortless with Amazon, that's where I go. Always taking the path of least resistance, I guess!


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

I've only bought one or two novels on Smashwords, but even when I didn't have a Kindle, I bought Kindle books using the Kindle PC app. I'm not particularly fond of reading novels on my PC and I'm not sure how I can upload a book I bought from Smashwords onto my Kindle.


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## Jorja Tabu (Feb 6, 2012)

C.S. Einfeld said:


> you know, what really fries my eggs is the fact that while we can buy kindles in Canada, we can't access the Kindle Store through Amazon.ca!!
> 
> What is up with that?


I'm sorry you're frustrated, and I don't have a good solution...But that is just the cutest expression I've ever read


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## sandrasstories (Feb 1, 2012)

I've also published on smashwords and amazon.com (kindle), even though I'm from Canada. I don't notice anyone buying anything from smashwords. My book has tons of sample downloads, but I think the reason no one wants to buy is because you have to sign up to use smashwords. Unlike amazon's "guest checkout", smashwords requires you to create an account, and not many people like to do that. I don't, anyway.

Also, I wish amazon.ca supported kindle as well. It's also hard to market your book to a limited number of people (those who have kindles).


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## jwest (Nov 14, 2011)

C.S. Einfeld said:


> you know, what really fries my eggs is the fact that while we can buy kindles in Canada, we can't access the Kindle Store through Amazon.ca!!
> 
> What is up with that?


That's crazy! I'm in the US, but I can imagine how frustrating that would be.

And on a side note, really fries my eggs is my new favorite quote! That is great


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## mitch (Mar 31, 2011)

Which is better for authors - Smashwords or Kindle? Both have confusing reporting formats that could do with improvement as they are fit only for those who can manipulate excel and has some accountancy skills. With the opening of Kindle's new markets, I found my sales scattered over the sites and some not hitting the £$etc100 barrier. Smashwords sub out to retailers such as Sony and B&N and the cross-accounting becomes slow and cumbersome and the reports unweildy. The net result is that low volume authors will see small amounts of royalty sitting for hundreds of days in company accounts. 

I would have thought any company which didn't want to hold on to cash assets would be able to funnel foreign currency sales into a author-distribution account after currency conversion. Smahwords also has a problem where people post essays and claim that they're books - they're not, they're essays. I average 250k in my novels yet they sist alongside semi-lieterate 7000 word ramblings. I'm not saying my books are readable but any thing of substance is buries in the slush-pile. I tried offering one book for free and had 3000+ downleaded in a week and only 68 when on offer the week before. Go figure. 

The formatter in Smashwords - affectionately known as the 'meatgrinder' - can thriw up some formatting kinks as it's trying to produce multiple formats but it does get you books out to a wider audience. If Smashwords get their formatting, programming and royalty systems upgraded, they could easily surpass Kindle in it's current format. The Lending Library schmeme where Amazon want authors to restrict themselves to Kindle is an example of how worried they are. At the moment - they're neck and neck IMHO. Good sales to you all. Mitch


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Amazon has one trump card over SW... painless delivery.  You click, it arrives,  no side loading, no format incompatibilities, no lifeless meat-grinded layouts.  All the support calls we fielded when we were selling our eBooks directly were to do with complications of getting the book onto their reader, even with "detailed instructions".


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## Neil Ostroff (Mar 25, 2011)

I sell far more books on Amazon than Smashwords. Though I have sold a few dozen copies through them.


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## Ms T (Nov 19, 2011)

wdeen said:


> I've stopped using, and purchasing from, Smashwords. Their published works do not use DRM (Digital Rights Management). Not providing this allows individuals to copy works and republish them. They've had some problems with copyright infringement because of this. Obviously this is not a problem for the reader. However, during the course of the last year, I've ended up doing everything exclusive with Amazon.


Amazon has had its own share of copyright issues. There is an interesting article/podcast titled "On Amazon, An Uneasy Mix Of Plagiarism And Erotica."

Dishonest people will be dishonest no matter what the outlet.


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## TLH (Jan 20, 2011)

For me, it's Amazon. It just seems like everytime I'm on Smashwords, it moves at a snails rate. It takes forever for the pages to load. it's really not conducive to browsing.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

The very few books I've gotten from Smashwords were sub par.  Either there were formatting issues, the title/author metadata were messed up (random weird characters in the title, etc.), or the books just weren't very good.  Or all of the above.   So I don't bother any more.  There are more than enough on Amazon for me, and if I get one that is poorly formatted, I can return it very easily.


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## Ms T (Nov 19, 2011)

Ann, do you mind if I ask what format the books you purchased were in? I ask because I've heard that some formats seem to be much more finicky than others. I've not purchased a book from Smashwords where the formatting was horribly off so I wonder if it's because of the file format I have chosen.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Ms T said:


> Ann, do you mind if I ask what format the books you purchased were in? I ask because I've heard that some formats seem to be much more finicky than others. I've not purchased a book from Smashwords where the formatting was horribly off so I wonder if it's because of the file format I have chosen.


No idea. It was at least 3 years ago.  It was either .mobi or .prc because those are the ones that work with Kindle. (O.K., not much of an idea.  )

I haven't looked at Smashwords lately to see what format they generally use for kindle compatibility. . . . . .


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## Ms T (Nov 19, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> No idea. It was at least 3 years ago.  It was either .mobi or .prc because those are the ones that work with Kindle. (O.K., not much of an idea.  )
> 
> I haven't looked at Smashwords lately to see what format they generally use for kindle compatibility. . . . . .


Thanks for the speedy reply! I'm sure it's still .mobi although I know that they have improved their "meatgrinder" for file conversions and released a comprehensive guide for authors to use when formatting their books. Have a groovy day!


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## Nancy Beck (Jul 1, 2011)

I use SW all the time, because I prefer to pay with Paypal.

And the only time I had a problem with uploading was the first time, but since I starting using the Nuclear Option (which clears out any weird formatting), I haven't had any further problems.


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## churlishfellow (Feb 15, 2012)

I gotta agree that, as both a buyer and a self-publisher, Smashwords can sometimes be spotty.  There are times when the site is just unavailable.  But, I do find it to be easy to navigate through and I can quickly grab some cheap or free reads to check out other self-published works.


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