Marketing Your Book on SmashWords – Episode #056

Hi,
I'd like someone to format the 3 books I have on Smashbooks so that they will be elibible for the premiere catalogue. (I'm in the middle of a project I can't leave.)

What would that cost me?

Presently they are on there looking like the print books they were.


Thanks so much,
Joan

love to know Carly how it converts to sales for you having it on this site and also Dale, are any of yours on there? did have a quicklook and couldnt find any

@Caryl, Hi Caryl, great to see your first book up there. Devolving to Word is necessary in order for us to automatically convert your book into nine different ebook formats. The upside, as Dale correctly points out, is access to a broader market of customers. The downside of working backwards with some books is that you can lose some control over layout. For novels and other books that are mostly straight narrative, such a simplification adds tremendous value to your book because it allows your book's text to easily shape shift across different e-reader screens. For books that require strict layout, the process is more challenging. The Smashwords Style Guide offers tips about how to move your book from professional book design applications such as InDesign and Quark back into Word.

Thanks Mark - I see there is a way to pay Wordclay to format it for me - but a bit pricey. Will relook at the Style Guide and remember it for my next book! I have one e-book I want to sell about my success with the Law of Attraction and Internet Dating - which I will put up on Smashwords in September. Now that is a dandy for the broader market with the nine different formats.

Smashwords also has an example document which can easily be converted into a template. Import into Word and save as template. Then input your own text in place of the existing text. Simples ;) !

Hi Caryl, it's really quite easy to format a book for Smashwords. The three secrets are simplify, simplify and simplify. Books that work best for us are straight form narrative (all words), with minimal formatting. It's best to unify around a common standard font and font size, apply proper indents (use Word's ruler bar, don't use tabs), add bold and italics for readability where necessary, avoid multiple consecutive paragraph returns (keep to five or under, otherwise it creates "blank" pages in small-screened e-reading devices).

Authors who have the most difficulty are those who attempt to maintain the exact look and feel of the printed page on the ebook device. This creates unnecessary complexity and usually yields a lower quality, less readable book. The reason is that users of e-reading devices and e-reading apps will customize the look and feel of your text to match their own preferences. By simplifying the formats and sticking to what matters (indents, bolds, italics), your book can easily shape shift across all the different e-reading devices, apps and ebook formats. The Style Guide covers all this in more detail. :)

Thanks @MarkCoker for helping out Caryl with this issue. We all appreciate your support. Dale

Smashwords success with my Michael Jackson E-book - will be doing more soon.

I wanted to upload my new book to Smashwords: "You Can Break-Free Fast - 3 Simple Steps to Get Unstuck and Attract the Life you Love" but had to rethink because my book is in print and already laid out in a design for the print version (already on Amazon) and as an e-book.Disappointed that I would have to convert it BACKWARDS INTO WORD for Smashwords. So have held back - what do others think?

Mark Coker from Smashwords has replied to your question. Head back to GetPublishedTV.com to read his answer. Talk soon Caryl. Dale

Thanks Dale. I love Smashwords and I enjoyed this episode.

Thanks Karen, Yes Smashwords is a great service, so get into it. Talk more soon, Dale

Thanks for this info. I have just included my book on Smashwords.

Please reply when you have some feedback. It would be great if you can share your experience so others can benefit. Talk soon, Dale

Thank you Dale! Great overview.

@markcoker Thanks Mark for stopping by and getting involved in the conversation. Looks like a bunch of our viewers have now set up Smashwords accounts. Looking forward to everyones feedback and keeping the conversation going. We'll talk again soon Mark. Dale

So much fantastic quality information. You just keep on giving Dale! Thanks so much, I'll be getting my book (in the editing process right now), in a digital format as well so I can get it onto smashwords.
Cheers

Thanks Shelley. Glad that you are enjoying GetPublishedTV.com. Looking forward to seeing your book in print. I am sure it is going to be amazing :-)

Well I think I'll be heading over to Smashwords and check it out right away. In this day and age, like you said Dale, there are so many different ways to get your book out there. Of course if you are trying to earn money then you will look at things differently. I'm not too concerned with that though, just want to get people reading it. On my way to Smashwords.

Yes Connnor. head over to Smashwords and let me know how you go? Talk soon, Dale

Smashwords seems like a really great platform to market your books. I'll check it out and give it a go. Thanks Dale. I really am enjoying all your episodes.