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
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Coker: Publishers Are Disposable to Amazon
Smashwords' CEO and founder Mark Coker has written an in-depth look at the battle raging between Amazon and one of the Big Five publishers, Hachette Book Group. The battle over contract terms has seen Amazon raise the price of Hachette titles while directly offering consumers a cheaper alternative title, the out-of-stock notices that inform readers they'll have to wait an … [Read more...] about Coker: Publishers Are Disposable to Amazon
Smashwords Wins Inaugural Self-Publishing Service Award from ALLi
The Alliance of Independent Authors is an advocacy organization that works to further self-publishing in the book industry. One of the many ways the group works for authors is in providing up-to-date and continuous information as resources for authors. As part of its Choosing a Self-Publishing Service 2014 guide, Alli examined the opportunities authors have for assistance in … [Read more...] about Smashwords Wins Inaugural Self-Publishing Service Award from ALLi
Self-e Plans to Curate Self-Published Titles for Library Inclusion
With exciting new announcements like the one this week from Smashwords, who's now partnered with OverDrive to add an additional 200,000 self-published titles to the 22,000 partner libraries' ebook catalogs, one concern does come up: who will read and approve of all of those titles? While self-published books have always had a bad reputation for low quality, even the fact that … [Read more...] about Self-e Plans to Curate Self-Published Titles for Library Inclusion
PW Launches BookLife Self-Publishing Platform
While the company website is a little stark right now, make no mistake that the people behind Publisher's Weekly are going to unveil something big. Set to launch during this year's BookExpo event, BookLife will not only help authors with the usual suspects like vetted professionals for cover design, editing, and formatting, but will also work to offer promotional tools that … [Read more...] about PW Launches BookLife Self-Publishing Platform
Smashwords, OverDrive Brings Indie Titles to Libraries
An agreement announced today between ebook distributor and self-publishing platform Smashwords and OverDrive, the largest provider of digital content to public and school libraries, is going to give self-published authors one of the few remaining pieces in the publishing puzzle, namely the ability for libraries to stock their work.As it stands right now, self-published … [Read more...] about Smashwords, OverDrive Brings Indie Titles to Libraries
Smashwords Authors can Now Distribute via Txtr
Indie Authors who self-publish through Smashwords are in for a treat. The company has just signed a new distribution agreement with Txtr. This move will benefit authors to give them the ability internationally distribute all over Europe and the UK.Txtr started their digital bookstore back in 2009 and quickly became one of the largest companies outside North America packing … [Read more...] about Smashwords Authors can Now Distribute via Txtr
IndieReader Launches First of Its Kind App and eBookstore for Self-Published Works
Self-published authors have a new sales and distribution opportunity, thanks to the pioneers in indie book promotion, IndieReader. The company, long known for its awareness-raising efforts for self-published and small press titles, has added a branded app and ebookstore to its list of services for authors."The IR app has all of the features you would expect in a great … [Read more...] about IndieReader Launches First of Its Kind App and eBookstore for Self-Published Works
Smashwords Authors Benefit from B&N eBook Pre-Orders
One of the truths we've been hearing from forward-thinking publishing industry experts, namely where Amazon is concerned, is that we have to stop trying to compete. There are enough readers for every genre and every retailer, but offering an identical product in the same cookie-cutter way will drive consumers to go where the price is cheapest if all other factors are the … [Read more...] about Smashwords Authors Benefit from B&N eBook Pre-Orders
Scribd Subscription Reading Adds Titles from Wiley
When ebook subscription-based reading was a new concept over four years ago, the idea seemed to intrigue readers while failing to entice publishers. With major concerns over piracy and compensation, a number of different companies developed models that were intended to address those issues while still keeping all-you-can-eat book consumption inexpensive enough for customers to … [Read more...] about Scribd Subscription Reading Adds Titles from Wiley
Self-Publishing: How Good Is Good Enough?
With both camps still divided on the self-publishing front, the same tired arguments for and against the concept are still being levied: "self-published books are notoriously bad" versus "every book has the right to be published." These same two ideas, both for and against self-publishing, have been uttered since the recent wave of indie author revolution began, to the point … [Read more...] about Self-Publishing: How Good Is Good Enough?
Mark Coker’s Indie Author Manifesto
To say that self-publishing has unleashed something profound around the world is an understatement. Whether it's through the launch of ebooks and print-on-demand books or just a blogging or social media platform, digital publishing has made it possible for individuals to put their ideas in front of a broader audience. It cannot be a coincidence that the global spread of ideas … [Read more...] about Mark Coker’s Indie Author Manifesto
Smashwords Authors Get a One Year Free Subscription to Scribd
Smashwords signed a distribution agreement with eBook subscription service Scribd last December. Indie authors who elect to include their titles in the Scribd catalog are now getting extra benefits, a free one year subscription to Scribd.The one year free subscription to Scribd is only available to authors who have included their books in that distribution platform. Your … [Read more...] about Smashwords Authors Get a One Year Free Subscription to Scribd
Smashwords Reveals Number of Bestselling Authors Overwhelmingly Female
Over on the Smashwords blog, CEO and founder Mark Coker posted some interesting information about the demographics of the bestselling authors on the site. According to the Smashwords bestseller list, published each month by Publisher's Weekly, the top twenty-five bestselling titles on Smashwords for the last many months have all been written by women.All of them.Coker … [Read more...] about Smashwords Reveals Number of Bestselling Authors Overwhelmingly Female
Ellen Hopkins, eBooks, and the Fight Against Censorship
Young adult author Ellen Hopkins is no stranger to controversy. Her teen books--which deal with very difficult yet realistic subject matter such as drug addiction, suicide, and self-harm--are often found hovering near the top of the lists of books that have been banned in schools or libraries. But an event this week shed new light on an age-old problem: censorship.Hopkins … [Read more...] about Ellen Hopkins, eBooks, and the Fight Against Censorship
Smashwords Announces Author Promo for Read an eBook Week
Pioneering self-publishing and ebook distribution site Smashwords made an announcement for all of its member authors and publishers today that tomorrow kicks off a week-long promotional event for books. Dubbed Read and eBook Week, a campaign that runs from March 2nd through 8th, the event offers authors the opportunity to reach out to readers with promotional pricing on their … [Read more...] about Smashwords Announces Author Promo for Read an eBook Week