1. SapereAude

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    Smashwords??

    Discussion in 'Electronic Publishing' started by SapereAude, Apr 8, 2021.

    Has anyone used Smashwords to publish a book? I have done two books through Amazon KDP, which is simple in terms of getting the books created but doesn't do anything for getting distribution to outlets other than Amazon. IngramSparks has access to much wider distribution, but they charge up front.

    Smashwords seems to fall in between. The don't charge the author to produce the books (I think -- is that correct?), yet they have access to distribution beyond Amazon. I'm curious to know if anyone has used Smashwords and, if so, how easy/difficult the process was.
     
  2. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    smashwords is an agregator... they're okay but dated, i prefer draft2digital who also don't charge up front ... that said you can also easily go direct to major markets like Kobo, B&N, google play and Apple..
     
  3. SapereAude

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    Unfortunately, D2D still doesn't do print-on-demand. Their web site says it's in beta development, but they are not accepting any new participants in the beta program.
     
  4. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    i wasnt aware that smashwords do print on demand either... i only use agregators for ebooks

    for PoD I'd say use KDP print for amazon, and Ingram Spark for everything else... theres always codes available on line to negate the ingram spark set up costs... last i checked INGRAM2020 was working and so was GETPUBLISHED . NANO stopped working at the end of march but there'll be another one along soon, a simple google search will throw up several just make sure you check the date
     
  5. SapereAude

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    How does that work? I have my own imprint and I use my own ISBNs. If I do a print-on-demand edition through Amazon KDP and another through IngramSpark -- can they share the same ISBN?
     
  6. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    if you're using your own isbns then you can so long as the content is the same (you obviously can't use the free kdp isbn on ingram)

    point of note is to make sure you don't tick expanded distribution on kdp, and don't tick distrubtion to amazon in IS... so theres no duplication

    the reason to do it this way is that amazon have a nasty tendency to show books from IS as out of stock which can put off purchasers
     
  7. marshipan

    marshipan Contributor Contributor

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    I've been wondering. Can you double up on free ISBNs? Can I publish a physical book on kdp with the free ISBN and then go over to ingram with the same book and get another free ISBN from them? Or would going wide mean purchasing my own ISBN?
     
  8. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    i don't think ingram do free isbns... you can use different freebies on different services where they are offered though
     
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  9. SapereAude

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    This link may be helpful: https://www.isbn-international.org/content/isbn-users-manual

    I need to digest it more fully but, based on a quick scan, my understanding is that a separate ISBN is required for each unique edition or version of a work. Things that would trigger a requirement for a new ISBN include:

    When you use the site's free ISBN, they (Amazon KDP, for example) are registered as the publisher. The above list includes a change of publisher as one of the factors that call for a new ISBN. So if you do your print-on-demand book once through KDP and then you decide to do it again through, say, Barnes & Noble Press, you can have B&NP assign an ISBN to that version. But it will only be available through B&N. To get wider distribution, you need to purchase your own ISBN.

    From Barnes & Noble's site: https://help.barnesandnoble.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4322/~/b%26n-press%3A-isbn-faqs

     

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