1. Self Publishing with Smashwords
By Kathy Sexton
Readers Services Supervisor

2. Today’s Agenda What is Smashwords? Why use Smashwords?
How do I use Smashwords?
How do I track my ebook sales?
How do I market my ebook?

3. What is Smashwords?

7. Why Smashwords?
Rights - You retain ownership rights and are able to publish your book with any other source at any time in the future
Exposure - Smashwords partners with several ebook distributors
Free! – Smashwords only takes a percentage of ebooks sold, there is no cost to publish your ebook

8. Compensation
Books sold on Smashwords earn approximately 85% of the retail price
Books sold on affiliate sites, like a publisher, author or blogger, receive approximately 70%
Books sold through distributors, like iBooks, Barnes and Noble or Overdrive, receive approximately 60%

9. So am I going to sell tons of books and make big money???
Probably not
Think of it as a long term investment in your writing career and as a way to get exposure

10. Getting Paid
If you do not reach the threshold, your balance will carry over to the next quarter.

11. Distributors Apple – iBook stores in 51 countries Barnes & Noble
Scribd, Oyster, Kobo, Yuzu, Blio
Overdrive – World’s largest library ebook platform
Baker & Taylor Axis 360   

12. How do I get started? Sign up for Smashwords – it’s free and easy
Use the Smashwords Style Guide – it is a must if you want Smashwords to widely distribute your ebook
Follow the simple steps on the “Publish” page to publish your Microsoft Word document

13. Smashwords Style Guide

14. Smashwords Style Guide

15. Need Help?

16. Source Formats Microsoft Word – preferred format
EPUB – can be uploaded with Smashwords Direct
Adobe InDesign – not accepted but the Style Guide gives instructions on transferring to Word
PDF – not accepted but can be converted
HTML Source File – not accepted but can be converted

17. Formats

18. EPUB – the most common format that works with a majority of ereaders and apps
PDF – readable by most devices, good for books with lots of charts, graphs or a complex layout; not reflowable
MOBI – Amazon Kindle format
HTML – allows reading in a browser
PDB – PalmDoc primarily used for Palm Pilot devices
LRF – only for older Sony Readers
Plain Text – most widely supported file format but does not work well with images for fancy formatting

19. Don’t Forget the ISBN!
An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a unique identifier associated with your book
If your book is in print as well, you will still need a different ISBN
Your ebook cannot be accepted by certain sales channels if it does not have an ISBN
So how do you get an ISBN?

20. What is Bowker?
The world’s leading provider of bibliographic information

21. Once you have created a Smashwords account and formatted your document according to the Style Guide, it’s time to PUBLISH!

22. Managing Your ebook(s)

23. Where’s My Money?!?

24. Marketing Your ebook

25. A Few Marketing Tips Have a great cover Local Libraries Social Media
Free Press Release Wire Services
Encourage your fans to write reviews on Smashwords and other outlets
Connect with other authors

26. More Resources

27. Even More Resources Use Smashwords FAQ page – it’s pretty great
Smashwords Video Workshops on YouTube -
Check out the Smashwords blog -

28. Thank You!
Questions you think of later?