Imagine building a company slowly, one that is intended to give authors a place to sell and distribute their own ebooks. You grow that company into a household name in the publishing industry and enjoy a measure of success that goes with it. You even publish a few very helpful ebooks on your site--Smashwords, incidentally--so authors can benefit from years of industry insight … [Read more...] about Predators Ripping Off Authors Are Worse than Ever
mark coker
Where Would We Be Without Amazon? Buying Books on Smashwords
There's little doubt that Amazon has changed everything about publishing. It's not just a matter of opening the doors for indie authors, producing a viable e-reader device and then creating a platform for content to fill it, or leveraging the power of enhanced searchability to give authors potential visibility. Amazon has even sparked change in traditional publishing, such as … [Read more...] about Where Would We Be Without Amazon? Buying Books on Smashwords
Smashwords Unveils Publishing Predictions for 2018
Smashwords' CEO and founder Mark Coker has once again unveiled his annual predictions for the publishing industry, and to say this year's edition is dark would be an understatement. Coker continues his longtime tradition of decrying all things Amazon, but this year...things are different. For too long, it was easy to dismiss Coker's predictions as a sour-grapes approach to … [Read more...] about Smashwords Unveils Publishing Predictions for 2018
Does Publishing Have a Future without Amazon?
With the end of a pretty rough year behind us and the first few weeks of 2017 under our belts, it's a good time to take a deep breathe and take stock of the state of publishing. There's perhaps no more comprehensive analysis of the current trends than the annual Smashwords Book Industry Predictions, written each year by founder and CEO Mark Coker. Before looking at Coker's … [Read more...] about Does Publishing Have a Future without Amazon?
HarperCollins, Amazon Reach Agreement
In an announcement that is certain to bring a sigh of relief to authors and readers, HarperCollins announced yesterday that it has reached a multi-year agreement with Amazon over its recent pricing dispute. While HarperCollins, like several other publishers before it, has been gunning for an agency pricing model in which the publisher sets the price of its books and basically … [Read more...] about HarperCollins, Amazon Reach Agreement
Does Agency Pricing Hurt Reading Consumers?
The publishing world is still rebounding from the effects of the DoJ suit against Apple and five of the then-Big Six publishers, and the effects of the judgement against the parties involved is still resolving itself. One of the current resolutions involves the expiration of key prohibitions against the publishers in how they deal with retailers. Following the Hachette dispute … [Read more...] about Does Agency Pricing Hurt Reading Consumers?
The Indie Author Dream: Fact or Fiction?
Much of the ongoing drama between the self-publishing proponents and the traditional publishing industry boils down to one chief concern: money. With whole data sets dedicated to examining not only what self-published authors truly earn but also what traditionally published authors are (or more likely, are not) earning, the facts seem pretty clear: Authors who do the work of … [Read more...] about The Indie Author Dream: Fact or Fiction?
Romance Still Tops Bestsellers at Smashwords
eBook distribution platform Smashwords has forged a lot of the paths that self-published authors have taken, and has provided a lot of groundbreaking data to help authors form career plans that may or may not include the status quo. One of the many sources of information that Smashwords provides the industry as a whole is a look at its bestsellers lists broken down for the … [Read more...] about Romance Still Tops Bestsellers at Smashwords
Smashwords’ Survey Indicates Shifting Trends in eBook Pricing, Sales
Self-publishing and ebook distribution platform Smashwords announced this week the results of its annual survey which tracks sales for the previous year and compiles an intense look at trends in ebook retailing from the data. Each year, this data has provided an in-depth understanding of how reading consumers are behaving in regards to their ebook purchases. Some of the key … [Read more...] about Smashwords’ Survey Indicates Shifting Trends in eBook Pricing, Sales
iOS8 Means eBook Discovery for Indie Authors
Apple's fall release of iOS 8 was unveiled in a press conference yesterday, and for people who are used to big things from Apple, there's bad news: this is no iPhone launch. It wasn't world-changing stuff, just a run down of new features and enhancements that will make everything consumers love about Apple run a little better. If you're a self-published author, though, your … [Read more...] about iOS8 Means eBook Discovery for Indie Authors
BookExpo 2014 In Pictures
Author Rick Riordan and Hachette's Vanessa Vazquez met up with the team from Disney Digital Publishing while the author was discussing an exciting new project coming up that will coincide with Riordan's bestselling Percy Jackson series. FastPencil's Steve Wilson displaying their IDPF Innovation Award for their streamlined ebook creation and distribution … [Read more...] about BookExpo 2014 In Pictures