With a lot of websites offering publishing services, it is important that you delve into its nature first before you decide to avail of its services. Smashwords may be one of the best in the online publishing industry but you still have to learn more about how it works and what it can offer to its members.

Listed below are some of the most common questions that beginners often ask about Smashwords and its services.

Question #1:

What type of services does Smashwords offer to authors?

As global distributor for eBooks, Smashwords give authors the opportunity to publish their books for free and at a fast pace. Aside from these benefits, authors are also given full control over the pricing and marketing aspects. The distribution network is also wide since it covers big players in the eBook distribution scene like Barnes & Noble, Diesel, Kobo, Sony and Apple iBookstore.

Question #2:

How does publishing with Smashwords work?

The first thing you have to do is to create an account with Smashwords. After registering, you will then receive an activation email for your account within a few minutes. In the event that you will encounter problems with the registration, like not getting the activation email, you may check your spam folder because the email could sometimes be wrongly identified as spam. You can also configure your email in order to include Smashwords email on the safe list. There are also times when you would need to register again. But if problems persist, you can click on the “Contact Us” button in order to get assistance.

Question #3:

What is the purpose of the feature “Adult Filter”?

The Smashwords website gives its users the ability to filter books that belong to the “Adult” category. This label is given by the authors or publishers and it means that the content is not suitable for readers who are below 18 years old. By default, the Adult Filter is ON but users can choose to change the settings to OFF mode using the toggle located on the upper right part of the home page. You can always choose whatever settings would best suit your search for reading materials.

There are still a lot of things that you will learn about Smashwords once you get to know the website and its features better. As you go along, you will come to appreciate the ease of navigation as well as the benefits that the website can offer to its users.

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Different platforms for self-publishing have been popping out. These self-publishing platforms help writers in selling their works without having to go through the long process of traditional publishing. One of these platforms is Smashwords. Smashwords along with the other platforms make it easy for writers to create their own books without the aid of any middleman. Using Smashwords will allow writers to create eBooks for Kindle, iPad, Sony reader, Nook and other eBook reader device.

To start using Smashwords, you have to register first. This is free. You will receive a confirmation e-mail afterwards which will help you through the rest of the process. After registering, you can now start using Smashwords.

Before you upload your work in Smashwords, make sure that you have written completely your book. Make sure that every part of your book is already done to avoid going back to it again. Also see to it that you have proofread your work and edited it well. After having all the parts ready, you can now format the contents and the cover of your book. If you are having a hard time with formatting, you can read the Smashwords Style Guide. This will help you in formatting your manuscript into an eBook style. Ensure that the words can be read easily. Make the spaces and indentations consistent throughout your content. You can use MS Word for your files since this can be uploaded to Smashwords. This makes Smashwords even more user-friendly.

After checking everything, you can now upload your files to Smashwords. When uploading, you have to include the book title, short and long descriptions of your book, tags, genre and samples. The sample will allow possible readers to take a sneak peak of your work. It advisable to make about 20% of your work available so readers can have a good grasp of the story, and decide whether to purchase or not.

When you’re already sure that you’re happy with your work, you can now submit it to Smashwords for conversion. After completing the process, you can now purchase an ISBN through Smashwords. There are some vendors who don’t sell copies of books that don’t have ISBN. So it’s best to be safe.

These are the steps through which you can publish your work through Smashwords. Know the advantages and disadvantages of using Smashwords before you settle with it. Different writers prefer different platforms. So read the feedbacks and reviews first. Nevertheless, there’s really no harm in trying.