mickthompson
Junior Member
Posts: 44
Joined: Mar 15, 2014 19:19:45 GMT -8
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Post by mickthompson on Dec 11, 2014 20:43:55 GMT -8
This may seem like a stupid thing to say, but since my book and following books are going to be free then is it necessary to sign up with Amazon?
Certainly, their mobi format will work best on Kindle, but the Smashwords process is a little more straightforward than Amazon and the download process of a free Smashwords book is quite easy in contrast to Amazon. And it is Mark Coker's Style Guide that showed me how to format the Word document. There is a certain amount of loyalty there.
Though does Smashwords lose money on people like me or is there some sort of professional kudos gained?
I suppose Smashwords will eventually normalise business relationships with Amazon and the mobi formats will be synchronised so it might be more practical to leave things with Smashwords.
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serbanvcenache
SWF Writers
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Post by serbanvcenache on Dec 11, 2014 22:07:44 GMT -8
Mick, don't worry at all. Coker encourages people to publish with Amazon; what he doesn't encourage people to do is go exclusive with Amazon via Kindle Select - because that requires authors to take down their books on all other retail channels.
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chelsfield
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Post by chelsfield on Dec 12, 2014 1:35:30 GMT -8
No problem with doing both. As Serban notes, Mark encourages it. And when all is said and done, it is business. Whether the objective is just money or just readers or both, you have to find the best place for your book to get noticed. And, Amazon is a recognized brand whereas Smashwords is not so well-known among book consumers.
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jenniferp
SWF Writers
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Post by jenniferp on Dec 12, 2014 10:53:02 GMT -8
I would definitely do both. You want your book in as many outlets as possible so people have more chances to stumble on it.
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Dec 13, 2014 14:14:31 GMT -8
Mick:
Serban, Chelsfield & Jenniferb gave you good advice.
For myself, I used myself as an experiment. I am on Smashwords, Amazon and soon-to-be with a small publishing house. But, in general, as my own personal policy, I do not want to put all my works on Amazon. I feel I have less control over pricing with Amazon. They seem to change the price willy-nilly. I know that they are playing with an algorithm and playing with seasonal, impulse or holiday buying.
Also, I have one work, a drink cookbook, that is graphic intensive, so I am investigating various publishing options because graphics are difficult to use in some publishing software packages.
Anyway, keep writing.
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mickthompson
Junior Member
Posts: 44
Joined: Mar 15, 2014 19:19:45 GMT -8
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Post by mickthompson on Dec 14, 2014 3:57:13 GMT -8
Oh, good. I've gone to Amazon and definitely didn't go for Kindle Select. The charge is one dollar on Amazon and free on Smashwords.
The thing I like about Smashwords is that there aren't so many dirty, nasty little tricks where you feel manipulated. With Amazon it felt like walking through a swamp with crocodile snouts breaking the surface to breath deeply.
I've recommended to my readers, all 49 of them, that they use the Sony Reader for PC and download the epub version and not mobi from the Smashwords site.
I am also not going to go with Facebook or Twitter or Linked In as these sites, Facebook at least, are incredibly manipulative of one's identity and written work.
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beardedwordsmith
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Just finding my way!
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Post by beardedwordsmith on Jul 10, 2015 2:44:31 GMT -8
I'm going with both, I think it's entirely reasonable, especially whilst only in the eBook phase. So many of my friends don't have ereaders and I they do, it's a kindle (and they don't like messing with putting their own files on).
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Post by jaydax on Jul 10, 2015 4:43:27 GMT -8
I start with Smashwords, I make a customised version of the Smashwords file for Amazon which has different end matter with links to other Amazon books in it. I use the original Smashwords file for Google Play. Apart from three short stories, which I'm using to test Amazon's Kindle Unlimited, none of my books will ever be in Kindle Select. Mark Coker is right - exclusivity is a bad idea.
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