Goodbye Smashwords, Hello Draft2Digital

By Elaine L. Orr

Ebook entity Smashwords still exists, but now only as an online retailer, similar to Kobo or ibooks. Also similar to Amazon, but the latter's focus is much broader than books, of course.

I started publishing via Smashwords in 2010 -- hard to believe that was fourteen years ago. That company stopped accepting new publishers in March 2022 and D2D finished migrating 'uncomplicated' Smashwords authors in February 2024. Because I already had accounts at both places, I was a complicated migrator, and my process finished two days ago, May 17, 2024.

I've maintained an open mind. I felt as if I had more manuscripts control (in the sense of formatting) at Smashwords. It now looks as if I can maintain that at D2D. I had tried it a few years ago for one book, and didn't like the fact that D2D's process made a lot of decisions for me. Color me OCD.

There's no point in evaluating the changes. They are what they are. The company FAQ provided the following summary.

Smashwords authors and publishers gained access to:

Simpler publishing tools 

Tools for automated end-matter

Books2Read Universal Book Links (UBLs)

Author Pages, Book Tabs, and Reading Lists

D2D Print for POD paperbacks

D2D Payment Splitting for co-authors and collaborations

New payment options, including direct bank deposits

D2D authors and publishers gained access to:

The Smashwords Store

Smashwords Coupons

Smashwords Presales

Self-serve merchandising

Author Interviews

I like D2D's payment-splitting option, the ability for direct deposit to a checking account instead of receiving funds only through PayPal, and the universal Books2Read option.

I'll always publish ebooks directly with Amazon and (sometimes) with Barnes and Noble. Amazon is easy-peasy. BN isn't hard, and the pay is higher when publishing directly. 

For the most part, I won't publish paperbacks through D2D, as I already use Amazon and Ingram. I may try one of my novellas just to see how the process works. I don't use expanded paperback distribution at Amazon because I have to price the paperbacks higher -- and there is no discount for bookstores through Amazon. Ingram is the way to go for bookstores and libraries. 

Why write this? I guess it's a thank you to Smashwords for making the publishing process work for me. I learned a lot from Smashwords' founder Mark Coker's books on publishing and marketing. I'll miss them. 

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