Also by Mark Coker:
- Boob Tube
- Smashwords Book Marketing Guide
- The 10-Minute PR Checklist - Earn the Publicity You Deserve
- Guide des Styles Smashwords
- Der Smashwords Formatierungs- Leitfaden
- Guida allo Stile Smashwords
- De Smashwords Stijlgids
- Guía de Estilo de Smashwords
- Guida all’Ebook Marketing Smashwords
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Published: May 05, 2008
Words: 23569 (approximate)
Language: English
Ebook short description
The Smashwords Style Guide has helped thousands of authors produce and publish high-quality ebooks. This free guide offers simple step-by-step instructions to create, format and publish an ebook. It's required reading for any author who wants to distribute their book via Smashwords to major ebook retailers such as the Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo and Diesel. Rev: August 3, 2011Extended description
The Smashwords Style Guide has helped thousands of authors produce and publish high-quality ebooks. This free guide offers simple step-by-step instructions to create, format and publish an ebook. It's required reading for any author who wants to distribute their book via Smashwords to major ebook retailers such as the Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo and Diesel.It also provides a great primer introduction on ebook publishing. Over 140,000 copies downloaded!
INSIDE THE SMASHWORDS STYLE GUIDE... (Read more)
Tags
publishing, ebooks, smashwords formatting, smashwords, self publishing, epublishing, style guide, formatting tips, premium catalog, ebook formattingAvailable ebook reading formats
This book is free.| Format | Full Book |
|---|---|
| Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser) | View |
| Online Reading (JavaScript, experimental, buggy) | View |
| Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps) | Download |
| Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others) | Download |
| PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing) | Download |
| RTF (readable on most word processors) | Download |
Reviews
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Review by:
Heidi Rand
on Feb. 06, 2012 :
(no rating)
This guide is so well-written and comprehensive, it's indispensable for anyone who wants to publish an ebook without tearing their hair out. Last year I paid someone to kindle-ize my book, then did my second myself. Thankfully, I found this book as I was getting my third ebook ready for epub. As one who tries to write how-to manuals clearly, I so appreciate the way this is written, simply but clearly, with all steps explained. The diagrams are hugely helpful too. Thank you!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Wilf Voss
on Jan. 22, 2012 :
An indispensable and clearly written guide which will take you through the steps required to create a properly formatted ebook.
The guide is clear, simple to follow and will give you everything you need first time.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Cirra Turpin
on Jan. 14, 2012 :
So, after failing to upload my eBook on my own, I read the Smashwords Style Guide. Should have started out this way, it really made life easier! One thing I would like to see added: I had trouble finding my hidden text boxes. The easiest way, for me, was to view my document as a web layout. It popped right up. Thank you again for created this book and for making it so easy to follow!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Sean Roney
on Dec. 31, 2011 :
Essential reading for Smashwords authors, as well as being a fantastic template for eboom authors in general.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Wodke Hawkinson
on Dec. 28, 2011 :
This book is a necessity for any authors who take their work seriously! Thank you so much for writing it!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Florent Villard
on Dec. 21, 2011 :
This book is interesting, at least to anyone wanting to have her work published on Smashwords. It would be very convenient, though, to have the whole book available in a single page, so much easy to search for keywords or specific subjects. Thanks.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Alyssa Kress
on Dec. 21, 2011 :
I found this guide very easy to use and apply. I appreciated Mark Coker's plain and conversational style. Thank you!
(review of free book)
Review by:
W. Addison Gast
on Dec. 18, 2011 :
(no rating)
Brian; For what it is worth--the meatgrinder and epubchecker do not like MS2010. Hidden code I guess. I have three books I'm trying (now for about 5 months) to get past it for preme status. They say there is a text box...after having three people look at the manuscript and four other authors review the file which I provided them on a flash drive they all comment--"What text box???....where??" I reply --THAT is my question. Other than these skimpy details, its a decent guide.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Brian Panhuyzen
on Dec. 16, 2011 :
The guide is very Windows and Office 2007-centric. You'll have a hard time following along if you use a Macintosh and any other version of Office. Not only that, beware that the staff of Smashwords may be enforcing the content of the Style Guide a little too rabidly. I'm a professional typesetter. I managed after a great deal of experimentation to produce a very good epub which everyone says looks spectacular, and which passes epub verification with ease, but Smashwords has so far rejected it from the Premium Catalog because I use "too many font sizes" (I use four: title page, chapter headers, body text, and a smaller indented body text for quotes such as poems and newspaper articles – trust me folks, this is perfectly legitimate formatting in the real book world, and it looks great in an epub), but some Smashwords newbie fanatic employee has rejected it, probably because somewhere in the guide it says you should only use one or two font sizes. In principle, I agree that this is a good guideline for amateurs, but for pros this is a ridiculous rule. Mark Coker – you need to hire people whose skill is in aesthetics, not counting. One other thing – why the heck don't your staff respond to support queries? I've sent three over the last 10 days and received zero replies.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Sally Panayiotou
on Dec. 09, 2011 :
So easy to use and really helpful, thank you. I started by stripping all the formatting from my doc (by pasting into wordpad and then back into a word doc) and then just working through the guide. It took me just an hour to format my book the way it needed to be!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ted Summerfield
on Dec. 05, 2011 :
The Smashwords Style Guide is a must-read for new and experienced authors. Mark has done a terrific job of constantly updating the Style Guide to match authors needs. Got a question about editing your ebook? You'll find it in the Style Guide. Can't find the answer? Then ask at the Smashwords Forum.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Amazing Allergist
on Dec. 05, 2011 :
I just want to convey my "Sincere Thanks" to Mr. Mark Coker for creating and supporting this platform for upcoming authors like me. My eBook, Allergy- You Asked, We Answered, is my way of empowering people with allergies to get insight in the possibility of living great lives, allergy free. Your Smashwords Style Guide and this website has allowed me to reach to the people who need it the most. Big Thank You. Keep up the great work of supporting and inspiring the authors like me who want to help others live better lives. - Dr. Atul N. Shah
(review of free book)
Review by:
Colin Chadwick
on Dec. 02, 2011 :
This is an awesome read. I learned so much in this book and I've improved my ebooks because of it.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Milda Harris
on Dec. 01, 2011 :
This really helped with my book formatting. It makes it really easy to do! And, the only problem I ever had was with the hyperlinks - but that was because my version of word was giving me glitches! It's a really easy to use guide! I was happily impressed at how easy it was to navigate.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ivi Liakopoulou
on Nov. 25, 2011 :
When I decided to publish my cookbook into an e-book, I started with Amazon kindle. Their instruction page telling you how to convert to mobi is so confusing and after several attempts I gave up. I never believed I would be able to publish. After several months I decided to try again and on Amazon forum I read a suggestion by an author to check the tutorial at Smashwords.
What can I say. The tutorial covers everything. However don't read through lines quickly but read it thoroughly, even more than once, if needed, in order to understand what you need to do.
The only thing missing, however, is if we can publish in other languages, except English.
I would like to publish my cookbook in my native language, as well, which is Greek but I haven't yet got a reply to my question from support.
Thank you Mark for all your help.
(review of free book)
Review by:
K.L. Bauman
on Nov. 22, 2011 :
If you take the time to read this guide, it will greatly help. It does take a little time, but if you put the time and energy into it, it will get the job done and save you some money in the process by doing it yourself. It is easy to follow and understand if you pay attention.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Nelson
on Nov. 12, 2011 :
An indispensable, informative guide. As a newbie formatter whose book gained acceptance into the Smashword's Premium Catalog, I learned a lot from this book and will continue to refer to it as I publish more works on Smashwords.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Alan MacKenzie
on Nov. 10, 2011 :
A perfect guide to anyone wanting to publish on Smashwords. I followed the clear advice and was accepted into the premium catalogue first time.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Naima Haviland
on Oct. 30, 2011 :
(no rating)
The Smashwords Style Guide is easy to read and understand. I use it often as a reference when I publish to Smashwords and have yet to find a question that the guide could not answer. Thanks for making publishing such a sweat-free experience!
(review of free book)
Review by:
S Driscoll
on Oct. 20, 2011 :
This book delivers exactly what it promises. You follow the rules and your book gets included in the Smashwords premium catalog. You may not like the process but it does work. So as my 6th grade English teacher used to day. Mr. Driscoll just follow the directions for once in your life. You might like the results. Thanks Mark!
(review of free book)
Review by:
J Harley
on Oct. 19, 2011 :
A perfect companion ...
(review of free book)
Review by:
Chris Mercer
on Oct. 16, 2011 :
A wonderful guide which even I understood and was able to implement. Formatting, and the time taken to learn how, is hard work, but the results are immensely satisfying. thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.
Chris Mercer
(review of free book)
Review by:
John M
on Oct. 16, 2011 :
Perfect companion to great publishing.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ronald C
on Oct. 16, 2011 :
I did know what the hell I was did, and read it the first way round!
Great stuff! Keep up the good work!
(review of free book)
Review by:
ladydelight
on Oct. 15, 2011 :
i didn't know what the hell i was doing--but i did it. i didn't even know if i was doing it right but i didn't give up. for others i just say go through the book and follow the steps as best you can. good luck! :)
P.s. you 'have' to read this book, all of it to get it right.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Andy Pickford
on Oct. 15, 2011 :
Very helpful! Great information! will follow instructions carefully. Thank
Mnay thanks for the great tutorial & tips!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Angela Lovell
on Oct. 13, 2011 :
What do you do if your version of Windows is less than 4 years old?! This guide has been WORTHLESS. I probably won't be able to publish with Smashwords.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Paige Palmer
on Oct. 09, 2011 :
I will say formatting my novel took a lot longer than I had hoped, but that was due mostly to the fact that I have the newest version of microsoft, which should make things simpler, but doesn't. So anyone out there with the newest version of windows 7, hunker down and be prepared to figure some things out on your own. Other than that, I found the style guide extremely helpful and found that everything uploaded properly.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Kimberly Reece
on Oct. 05, 2011 :
Step by step guide that takes all the mystery and missteps out of eBook formatting. I've been struggling for years trying to figure out why my books don't translate the way they should. I followed the guide step by step and now I have an eBook I can be proud of and hopefully sell.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Virginia Llorca
on Sep. 27, 2011 :
(no rating)
Worked fine. Way easier than Kindle and faster.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Julie Gabriel
on Sep. 23, 2011 :
I am tired of seeing cheap ePubs generated by "pro" software - like poorly written iPhone apps, they undermine the whole idea. Unless you properly format the Word file the outcome will look horribly cheap and unprofessional. I am very grateful for the guide because it teaches you to properly format as you write.
To the previous reviewer: books ARE written in "stone age" Word unless you've invented a "pro" generator of content for your ePubs.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Null Papier Verlag
on Sep. 23, 2011 :
I feel like an idiot trying to fix those formatting "errors"
I use a pro software to generate epubs. So why not let us upload native epub instead of fiddle about Word which is completly stone age IT.
Sorry, but this really sucks
(review of free book)
Review by:
Faith Walker
on Sep. 15, 2011 :
Well, forgive me for putting a damper on all the reviews below.
I thought you just re-wrote this?
But all the directions only include up to using Word in 2007? What about Vista and Windows 7?
I cannot complete some of the things you have instructed us to do because the book is not up to date with present technology.
Please go back and make this current. Thanks!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Linda Rae Blair
on Sep. 15, 2011 :
The new and improved version is so much easier to use. Thanks to Mark et al for all the hard work on our behalf! You're the best and so is the Guide!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ron Houston
on Sep. 15, 2011 :
As an author/publisher, this book was my SOP. Thank you for the wonderful training you bestowed.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Secret Narrative
on Sep. 12, 2011 :
I wrote a five star review earlier...tried to edit and deleted instead! Wish I'd saved it in 'Word' so I could copy and paste...
This is a brilliant guide, well written and easy to follow; I found the section on hyperlinks particularly useful.
Invaluable for all documents and a great tool for your wonderwordage...
(review of free book)
Review by:
Michael Wright
on Aug. 15, 2011 :
This guide was very easy and almost fun to read. Coker shows you how to do what you need to do to upload stories on Smashwords in a simple, concise, and humorous fashion that doesn't make you scratch your head in confusion or become bored to tears.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Carol Marlene Smith
on Aug. 09, 2011 :
When I read the word formatting I thought oh oh, how difficult is this going to be. But hey, it was not difficult at all. I did my first novel and followed the guidlines which are sharp and easy to understand. After that the rest I just formatted the same way. Mine were simple text but I am sure if I should wish to do something more elaborate that the rest of the guide would lead me through that as easily as before. Thanks Mark and team, you know how to do it!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Dusk Peterson
on Aug. 05, 2011 :
I appreciate that the style guide provides so much useful information, and that it is refined periodically. It has gotten a lot better in the two years since I first read it.
However, I agree with what L. Frank Turovich says: "I think the guide would be much improved if the steps were more layered in organization. I know I don't want to wade through page after page looking for that one specific step I need to remember, then read through several long paragraphs for the exact info I need." His suggestions for how to layer each step are terrific.
(review of free book)
Review by:
L Frank Turovich
on Aug. 04, 2011 :
Updating the guide is always good, but different versions of Word have their settings in different locations. Showing where to find them in Word 2011 would be extremely helpful and cut down confusion and save many users time.
Also, showing the differences for Win and Mac clients would help as well. For example, on page 21 under Step 2 - Activate Word's Show/Hide, the Show/Hide command does not appear on the ribbon or toolbar by default in the Mac version. It has to be added by the user to appear.
In addition, the overlays that appear on some images could be more readable. Instead of hand scrawling the words and arrows, enter it using a readable font in any graphic's program and use an arrow tool (both supported in SnagIt, btw, a great PC program for grabbing screen images and marking them up).
Finally, I think the guide would be much improved if the steps were more layered in organization. I know I don't want to wade through page after page looking for that one specific step I need to remember, then read through several long paragraphs for the exact info I need. In other words:
1. Provide a step overview section that described all the steps at a high-level so experienced users can find the info they need immediately.
2. Provide step-by-step instructions like you have now, but organized slightly differently. Begin with a short rule, then any settings required to satisfy that rule, then follow with a more in-depth description. For example, in the step describing images, tell the reader up front the max dimensions an image should be. Don't bury it deep in the description.
3. Whenever possible, provide the user an example that illustrates the step done correctly.
A great place to see how one should document software programs/processes using well known, defined style conventions and languages can be found in the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications.
The current guide has all the information a user needs to be successful, but with just a bit more organization and by layering the information to facilitate the readers level of experience, it could be so much easier to read and comprehend for everyone.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Raja Sharma
on Aug. 04, 2011 :
The updated style guide is wonderful. I can assert that even a layman can format books if he is ready to read the instructions carefully and in steps, without ever trying to be over-smart,for I was in my initial adventures with the earlier guide and I had to resubmit books five or six times. But now I have been able to send more than hundred books to the premium catalog.
Mr. Mark Coker and his team do care for the author, publishers, and the readers.
All the best.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Kephra Publications
on July 28, 2011 :
Great information! Followed instructions to the letter (we used to do things in Corel *sigh*) and our first conversion went straight thru with no errors! Thanks for the great tutorial and tips!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Tim paners
on July 26, 2011 :
Very helpful!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Erica Beatty
on July 22, 2011 :
This guide is a blessing to publishers new and experienced. The first time I read this, I was so surprised that I, as technologically challenged as I am, could understand everything. It's well organized and easy to find the information I need to go back for - thank you so much!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jason Johnny
on July 22, 2011 :
Good info I might post one day
(review of free book)
Review by:
Shiloh Sacks
on July 19, 2011 :
excellent - couldn't have submitted without it! Well written so that even I could understand it.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Mildred Holmes
on July 19, 2011 :
I like the idea of your Meatgrinder. One issue for me is the different formatting styles required for publishing. Editors required different formats for their reading, not always what the copy editors wanted, so about 3 different versions of my manual had to be saved.
I'd have liked this style guide when I was learning how to use Word. I learned most of the tips you mention through trial and error. I followed along using one of my rough drafts and found I'd have to do a lot of re-formatting even though it's an .rtf file. Thanks to your publishing this book, I can do all my files right the first time.
4 stars - there's always room for improvement.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Mark Stevens
on July 18, 2011 :
It cannot be overstated how helpful this book is to the novice ebook author.
I followed it through for my book and had not a single auto error. Even when I spotted a few tweaks that I needed to make, I went back to the guide and all the answers were there.
With apologies to fundamentalists - this book is Biblical in its wisdom. I followed the Word, and it was a Smashword.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Robert Scott
on July 18, 2011 :
Back in the '80s, the Commodore 64 computer used the term "Patience is a virtue." It referred to obscenely long time it took to load a program into the computer's memory.
The same applies to Smashwords Style Guide.
Last week I wrote a not-too-kind review on the Guide. By the end of the week, after I followed it step-by-step, I felt obligated to delete that review.
The Guide does work if one takes the time to follow the steps in the order outlined in it. My book, "Crossing the Rainbow Bridge ... Your Pet: When It's Time to Let Go," although not yet reviewed, delivered no errors in formatting when I READ and FOLLOWED the instructions.
My apologies to Mark Coker for jumping the gun.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Lynn Mixon
on July 10, 2011 :
The information is very helpful, but the formatting is screwy in places. Well worth a detailed read.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Veronice Ceccarelli
on July 09, 2011 :
Regrettably, I have given up. Page 40 is missing, one that is vital, whatever is described in the guide does not relate to what I see on the computer, and at around P41, where it says an error if you have a particular thing in a paragraph, I find it is impossible to remove. As I doubt that my book would have earned enough to cover the cost of paying somebody, my book will stay in the drawer forever.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Margaret Antone
on July 08, 2011 :
This guide was super helpful. By carefully following the instructions, I managed to get it through all the steps involved in publishing without too much heartache. I have no idea how I would have done it without such easy step by step instruction. And I am a very experienced computer person. The instruction is not just about the formatting, it's all the other stuff about front and back matter, ISDN, etc. Great Job!!!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Joseph Veramu
on June 30, 2011 :
The Guide is very user friendly. At first I thought I would be bored with a dry technical kind of guide but I was pleasantly surprised at the very clear and simple explanations and illustrations. The Guide is also useful for people like me who are not familiar with all the features of MS Word and the e publishing scene.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Emile Sissac Jr.
on June 29, 2011 :
Great source of helpful but very practical information about the "real" business of eBook publishing and successful sales.
Mark Coker deserves a huge amount of credit for an outstanding job of writing this superb style guide!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Dom Ossiah
on June 24, 2011 :
(no rating)
Read it through once before you start, then again while you're formatting your book. Do this and you can't go far wrong. Well-written and very easy to follow. Good job.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Angela Panayotopulos
on June 20, 2011 :
No easy feat to format a book by oneself for publishing, but not impossible either. It would have been nearly impossible for me without this guide--love the step-by-step format, the friendly approachable tone, and the visual images. Do wish each "update" used different colored letters for the new sections/sentences added (esp. since I was consulting the guide throughout a span of a few months, and had to keep rereading to ensure I hadn't missed a change). I've got a 83000-word book to get out there (The Art of War: a Novel), so the manual nitpicking was time-consuming, but I believe it'll be worth it...! Thanks Mark.
Angela
http://art-of-war-novel.blogspot.com/
(review of free book)
Review by:
Janine McCaw
on June 20, 2011 :
You know, things just got a whole lot easier after I took the time to read this. Just sayin'...
(review of free book)
Review by:
Steven R. Gardner
on June 19, 2011 :
Awesome book! Easy to understand and use. I followed it to the letter and my book uploaded and converted without single error. I highly, highly recommend it to anyone thinking of e-publishing.
(review of free book)
Review by:
.EF Clark
on June 18, 2011 :
The Smashwords Style Guide is the definitive source of knowledge for every author venturing into the world of digital self publishing. The Style Guide proves to be a viable instruction manual to get the job done right.
.EF Clark
.efclark.com
(review of free book)
Review by:
Pam Bainbridge-Cowan
on June 17, 2011 :
I think this guide was fantastic. I especially like that the author took the time to differentiate between the versions of Word. This enabled me to use my 2003 version (at my office) and my 2010 version (at home) with very little confusion. I helped a fellow author format his book in just under 1 hour and mine in just under 1 hour using different versions of Word. I would guesstimate that I will format my next 60-80,000 word novel in about half an hour. I also like that the guide can be skimmed through if you just need to find specific sections, thanks to the handy table of contents. Or, if you're a complete newbie, contains simple, step-by-step instructions.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Joe Vasicek
on June 14, 2011 :
This book is only useful if you use Microsoft Word. If you use Open Office, the instructions are meaningless and extremely difficult to follow. I would appreciate an appendix for authors who use other word processing programs besides MS word and an executive summary that assumes a basic level of competence with html and basic document formatting (the current edition contains far too many step by step instructions for things that could be explained in much simpler terms--again, good if you're a complete beginner but very difficult to skim and use as a reference if you have even a basic level of experience).
(review of free book)
Review by:
Psychic Jucy
on June 10, 2011 :
The guide was clear, straight forward, and easy-to-understand. However, it was long and arduous for a creative (like myself). :-) Having said that, we felt confident that our ebook would work in ANY format after following ALL the instructions and so far, so good. Great job and thank you!!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Danial Kelly
on June 06, 2011 :
.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Tom Allard
on June 04, 2011 :
(no rating)
Easy to understand and it help me with no problem, thanx.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Raynesha Pittman
on June 03, 2011 :
Once I read the Style guide it made for an easy upload! Thanks Mark!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Aliya Anjum
on June 02, 2011 :
Very thorough and surprisingly easy to follow. I followed it and managed to create my own e-book in an hour, which I successfully uploaded without any error.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jack Forge
on May 31, 2011 :
Essential to preparing manuscripts for ebook publishing, especially on Smashwords. Thorough and organic. But it could benefit from editorial/organizational skills from someone, such as, well--me.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Joyce Freese
on May 31, 2011 :
Excellent guide to publishing an ebook; one of the easiest step by step guides if you follow all the suggestions. The final product will look professional which will help your marketing.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Rome
on May 26, 2011 :
The book is methodically written and presents scenarios and situations so you will not get lost. Mark writes with the intention to help authors looking to expand their horizons. This book is the ultimate go getter - follow it to the letter.
(review of free book)
Review by:
D J Lowbridge
on May 16, 2011 :
(no rating)
This book is designed to help people get the most out of their own books on smashwords and it certainly does that. If you follow the guide to the letter you will get the best distribution you could possibly manage. Of course this is a double edged bonus as everytime that you do well, smashwords do well, and if they do well every author published here benefits as Mark Coker is able to add more value to Smashwords. It will also help you boost your potential sales by giving you a more professional outlook. Follow this guide religiously its a win-win scenario.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Elijah Joon
on May 13, 2011 :
(no rating)
This is by the guy who owns this site, right?
This is truly exceptional work, indeed. In fact, this guide written by Mr. Coker is essential for anyone wishing to publish their work on Smashwords. However, it would be nice if authors were allowed to upload their own epub, mobi, etc., files directly to ensure they are formatted the best way possible instead of being sent through a generic "meat-grinder" conversion as the term for this site's machine has been popularly termed across these far and wide "interwebz" in blogs, forums, and such. This rates five stars, though. In summary: Arnold Schwarzenegger + Quentin Tarantino = Oscar-Winning Box Office Megahit.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Tom North
on May 05, 2011 :
The Smashwords Style guide is great, and of course MUST be adhered to if you don't want your ebook slicing, dicing and generally reconstituting as offal by Meatgrinder. However I have found one aspect a source of repeated frustration. I, along with many others, use Open Office (and now Libre Office) rather than MS Word. A small difference of opinion between Libre Office and Meatgrinder means that the lines in the converted .epub tend to come out on top of each other; which looks...interesting. Mark's solution (essentially: don't use Open Office) means that every time I want to upload an ebook I need to borrow someone else's laptop. As I say, a small gripe in an otherwise great experience, but surely there must be another way around this one tiny, but irritating, glitch?
Tom North - author of 'Puttypaw'
(review of free book)
Review by:
Cyn Bagley
on April 29, 2011 :
Thanks for the help by writing this ebook. It has some very valuable information and I keep going back to read when I need to do something different on my next ebook.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ansley Gilmore
on April 24, 2011 :
Top notch. Well executed. Logical arrangement. Thank you Mark!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Lisa Vandiver
on April 16, 2011 :
I have read this book to help me meet the requirements for submission into smashword's premium catalog and it really was my salvation in meeting the requirements.
Mark Coker is correct, if you will follow this guide word by word, line by line, you can pass the requirements for the catalog. I will use this guide over and over with each book that I attempt to submit, it is that important! Thanks Mark!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Dr. Ramendra
on April 14, 2011 :
(no rating)
Smashwords Style Guide is really smashing!! I followed it very closely and carefully to format my 'Why I am Not a Hindu' and I didn't get a single Auto Vetter error message on publishing it. Besides, it passed the EPUBCHECK in the very first attempt! So, naturally, I am celebrating and thanking Mark Coker for writing the Style Guide
(review of free book)
Review by:
Chris Adonn
on April 02, 2011 :
Absolute must-have for the first-time author and publisher.
Thanks, Mark, I'd have been lost without this book!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Valerie Roberts
on March 31, 2011 :
Smashwords Style Guide was most helpful in creating my first ebook. It assisted me every inch of the way with formatting, style, hints and tips on editing, and creating an ebook cover. I couldn't have done it without the sound knowledge of the author. Very well written, spaced out and just an absolute gem! Thanks.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Linda L. Richards
on March 21, 2011 :
Mark Coker's Smashwords Style Guide was dead on. It's lucid, direct, no-nonsense, yet light enough to keep you moving forward. I followed his instructions precisely and here I am: my first e-book made it through the meatgrinder without even a snicker or a cough. I'm now on to Coker's marketing book and have every reason to believe it will be just as good.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Chantale Reve
on March 16, 2011 :
Exactly what I needed, when I needed it. This is an authentic gem of a how-to guide. The humor was a nice touch, too.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Yellow Dog ePublishers
on March 15, 2011 :
Great guide. Follow these step by step instructions and you can't go wrong. Your book will be published in the Premium Catalog every time.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Renee Adams
on March 09, 2011 :
Great and very thorough guide. The only thing I might add is a quick blurb about dedication pages in the front matter, but otherwise very well written and easy to follow. It was great to have this while formatting.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Khairulsani Ismail
on March 09, 2011 :
Great, at least I know how to do it...! Great job done here.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Coinneach Fitzpatrick
on March 09, 2011 :
Tremendously helpful and well-written. I successfully submitted my first ever ebook on my first attempt thanks entirely to Mark's guide. Now to tackle the marketing side...
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ana Dinescu
on March 07, 2011 :
(no rating)
A very useful and interesting guide, written in an accesible form - including for those not too familiar with the mysteries of various publishing programs. Sometimes we, the writers, are too cloudy brains, but such guides are helping us to navigate through the right clouds (of the publishing industry, of course).
(review of free book)
Review by:
Vattacharja Chandan
on Feb. 21, 2011 :
(no rating)
Well, I knew nothing about how to format for epub. But after reading the style guide several times I also hope to publish my work some day here! And for this the sincere effort of the author Mark Coker is highly commendable and recommendable.
(review of free book)
Review by:
H.C. Paye
on Feb. 13, 2011 :
This was a great style guide, which I breezed through quickly and easily. The only thing I have a suggestion for is the part that shows you how to do the Table of Contents. It's much easier than hyperlinking and all that. Simple make your Table of Contents with Word's automatic TOC builder (make sure you uncheck the page numbers and check the hyperlink button) then you highlight the entire TOC, copy it and paste it in. It'll come out hyperlinked and ready to go.
Otherwise, this style guide made this an easy upload.
(review of free book)
Review by:
John Medler
on Feb. 09, 2011 :
This book is fantastic. I had no idea how to upload my eBook. This step-by-step guide is really easy to read and understand.
(review of free book)
Review by:
F J Harrigan
on Feb. 08, 2011 :
Mark Coker has produced an excellent guide to preparing your eBook for publication on SmashWords. He takes you through each of the steps necessary to format the eBoook and you'll learn a lot more about MS Word in the process - I know I did.
My little eBook is almost ready and views fine in all the eBook readers, thanks to this guide.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Joseph Radosti
on Feb. 07, 2011 :
Mark has done a great job detailing how to format your book for Smashwords. I would like to see an update for Microsoft Word 2010, especially since doc files are no longer used by Microsoft. I was tempted to use Open Office but I am glad I followed Mark's advice and purchased Microsoft Word 2010. I was able to get my book into the premium catalog on the first try.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Lynn Trall
on Jan. 30, 2011 :
This guide helped me fine tune my novel. Without it, it would have taken me much longer to format my book for publication. Thank you!
(review of free book)
Review by:
J J Andrews
on Jan. 26, 2011 :
An essential guide to publishing on smashwords. Thanks Mark, I couldn't have done it without you
(review of free book)
Review by:
Mohini Tangri
on Jan. 22, 2011 :
Thanks...even with a few errors, this ebook helped me fix errors I've never even heard of! Just one problem...I wanted a bunch of paragraphs on one page, and this told me to merge them into ugly bunches, but if you just insert continuous section breaks I get much better results! But still, a very informative, helpful ebook.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ted Stetson
on Jan. 21, 2011 :
A must read. Very informative. A good step to understand e-book publishing. I read it again and again.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Claudia Newcorn
on Jan. 11, 2011 :
Mark, I was simply boggled at how much more complex it is to prepare a book for digital distribution than I imagined. Your exceptional style guide made a world of difference. Thank you for taking time to do this and help other authors!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jeff Maurer
on Jan. 09, 2011 :
I can not even begin to estimate how much time, energy, and frustration the Smashwords Style Guide saved me. Thank you Mark.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Wambui Bahati
on Jan. 06, 2011 :
This style guide is very informative. It helped me to better understand ebook publishing in general. It took some very concentrated time but I found the guide to be easy to understand and follow. I actually had fun formatting my book. I also learned some things about Microsoft Word that I didn't know before.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Patricia Rachal
on Jan. 06, 2011 :
Easy to read and simple to understand. Well written instructions that remove the "intimidation factor" of self- publishing. Helping me to become a published author of books I have written for years. Have highlighted much of it to refer back to when I am working on each book. Have read three times through and will continue to use as a reference and probably read again. I have many years experience with MSWord but less than a year with MsWord 2007 and have learned new and helpful things from this guide.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Tiffany Fulton
on Jan. 05, 2011 :
At first I was intimidated when I glanced at the guide...but then when I really had time to work on a book and followed the guide carefully enough, it was worth it. You just have to take it in small doses. ^^ 5/5
(review of free book)
Review by:
Cloning Vlapov
on Jan. 03, 2011 :
Helpfull and clear guide!
Thank you!
(review of free book)
Review by:
L. Franklin Wasson
on Jan. 01, 2011 :
(no rating)
After reading this e-book and carefully following the easy to understand directions I was able to properly format and successfully upload my books on the very first try. Read the Smashwords Style Guide before you upload and you'll have it right when you publish.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Catharina Shields
on Dec. 31, 2010 :
(no rating)
Every author who seeks to publish with Smashwords needs to download and read this e-book FIRST. There are NO excuses! It's free and easily downloadable.
This book will save you so much heartache and wasted time.
This is an easy, step-by-step guide to get your e-book published the right way, written by the man who created and launched this wonderful site.
A MUST HAVE and MUST READ for all aspiring self-publishers who want to do it right the first time.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Timothy Noble
on Dec. 31, 2010 :
An excellent step by step guide to formatting your work that even someone who isn't as computer literate as they wish they were could follow.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Thuyen Nguyen
on Dec. 30, 2010 :
Nice step by step guide.
I have a tip though if people out there don't want to do the "nuclear" option. In Word, save your DOC document as a RTF file, then re-open it in Word and save it back as a DOC file. By going DOC->RTF->DOC, you remove all of the unnecessary (and probably problematic) Word-added junk but still keep the basic formatting like indent, justify and bold - which you lose if you go the "nuclear" option.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Annie Jean Brewer
on Dec. 25, 2010 :
I wish I had discovered this style guide when I first started writing professionally! It really makes it easy, not only for submission to smashwords, but to ensure a clean format for other online writing jobs as well. Thank you!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Mark Matthews
on Dec. 18, 2010 :
After researching and reading many online comments about the troubles of formatting, I thought I would just pay for an editor to get my ebook set for premium distribution. Instead, I decided to follow the style guide, and it is so much easier than I feared. Less than 24 hours after starting the edit, it was submitted, and soon after approved for premium distribution and 10 samples immediately uploaded. A great, step by step guide. I will use the book and the service again.
Mark Matthews
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/31664
http://www.amazon.com/Stray-ebook/dp/B004EYUC10/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1
(review of free book)
Review by:
T.M. Nielsen
on Dec. 14, 2010 :
This book was a ton of help! It was well written, well organized, and very user friendly. Thanks :)
(review of free book)
Review by:
Thomas Wainwright
on Dec. 08, 2010 :
How explicit can you get? He tells us, step by step, exactly what to do, then shows us how it should be done. If you're publishing ebooks anywhere, you need to read this, several times. Download a copy and practice this...it works. Wonderful job there.
(review of free book)
Review by:
S.P. Wish
on Nov. 24, 2010 :
Excellent and clearly written. This style guide is useful not only for those who want to publish their novels on Smashwords but also for other authors and in fact, everyone who is writing or trying to write something.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jane Bernard
on Nov. 16, 2010 :
This is a clear, concise, and complete guide for publishing on line. By removing the mystique of the machine, Mark makes it painless for even a non-techie to publish. I was particularly thrilled to discover how easy it is to do hyperlinks! Who knew?
If you have any doubts about epublishing, read this style guide and enjoy smooth sailing.
Jane Bernard
www.finetuningbook.com
www.fine-tuning-eating.blogspot.com
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/23345
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jamie J.
on Nov. 13, 2010 :
I have yet to publish, but this was a great ebook!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Mark Van Dyke
on Oct. 30, 2010 :
Mark,
Thanks so much for your style guide. I'm new to ebook publishing and your step-by-step instructions to format an ebook is very helpful.
My next move is to distribute my free ebook "Sell House Fast For Cash" via Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo and Diesel, and with your help, I can achieve that. Thank you.
It's good to know that SmashWords.com is out there and able to help new authors like myself...
Mark, my appreciation to your site and the SmashWords program.
Regards,
Mark Van Dyke
The Carefree Writer
http://www.SellHouseFastForQuickCash.com
free ebook: http://www.ez.com/sellhousefast
(review of free book)
Review by:
Laurie Sones
on Sep. 07, 2010 :
Creative, all-encompassing and HONEST. This book opened my eyes wide. Mark Coker is not only thoughtful and hard-working but not above accepting new ideas from others for something that is already a very fine product. All authors should read both this and his Marketing Guide, which itself took me down avenues I really would never have thought of. Thanks Mark, and congratulations on a job well done.
(review of free book)
Review by:
D. K. N. Yuko
on Aug. 28, 2010 :
I thought I could get around reading this book since I already had several titles published in print and on Kindle. Boy was I wrong. This book is so helpful. I could read it easily and follow the directions, even with my three year old jumping on my back. Of course, the best part of all was having my works accepted for the Smashwords Premium Catalog. I even went back to Kindle and uploaded my new files there, using this guide to improve the look of my ebooks. Thanks Mark.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Valerie Thompson
on Aug. 17, 2010 :
I feel a debt of gratitude to Mark Coker for creating such a detailed and easy to follow guide. A thorough read of it simplified the process no end. My only issue is with the cover, as I uploaded a pic that was too small even though the size matched the style guide's recommended 600 by 900 pixels, at least according to Microsoft's picture editor. I've now uploaded another but the small one is still showing by my listing. I have resubmitted (on Sunday) so perhaps this will right itself. If you are a first timer, as I was, I suggest you spend an hour or so reading the guide from the comfort of your sofa, and resist the urge to try to learn as you go. From reading it I also learned a lot about Microsoft word I never knew, which was a big bonus. So, thank you heaps, Mark.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Gareth Mottram
on Aug. 12, 2010 :
Excellent guide. Clear, step by step, instructions with hints and tips and screenshots. After following this, my original manuscript(for print)has been sandblasted clean into a tight,lean ebook machine.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Edward St Amant
on Aug. 10, 2010 :
I have published over 20 books on smashwords.com, (my career goes back 35 years) and have found the experience tolerable, and especially due to this easy to follow style-guide and Mark Coker and staff’s continuing help. Smashwords Style Guide assumes the reader has little knowledge nor aptitude for the mundane details of formatting for the e-world so explains everything in simple grade one fashion; for someone like myself, it’s terrific. I could have easily given up on the effort and I’m glad I persevered, thanks.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Peter Lawrence
on Aug. 06, 2010 :
A must if you want to get your ebook styled correctly to get into the Premium Catalog.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ron Ruthfield
on July 23, 2010 :
Excellent, straight-forward guide to organizing an ebook. It's far too easy to forget the obvious things like how pagination settings would differ when reading on the screen rather than in a book.
I found the step-by-step approach of this book very helpful.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Becky Barker
on July 05, 2010 :
(no rating)
The guide helped me some but I still need to figure out how to indent paragraphs with a ruler! All the guide says is to do it, but not how. (at least I can't find it) Changing paragraph settings doesn't fix the problem:-(
(review of free book)
Review by:
A. J. Lath
on June 11, 2010 :
An excellent guide - provided you follow the instructions as closely as possible. By doing so, my ebook was uploaded without a hitch, translated into all available formats, and it made the premuim catalogue within a couple of days. My advice - sit down with a nice cuppa coffee, and adjust your manuscript step-by-step as per the instructions in this book. It will take a while, but the results are likely to be well worth it!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Michael E. McGrath
on June 01, 2010 :
Absolutely an essential step-by-step guide for formatting and submitting our first ebook into an ePub file. Coker's guide is comprehensive and thorough, also providing tips I'll be able to use with MS Word in the future. Very appreciative of his dedication to helping authors!
(review of free book)
Review by:
F. J. Mackelroy
on May 29, 2010 :
Coker's book is essential. Even so, several of you have had some trouble formatting. Here is a link to a couple of templates I made for my own use, for fiction and nonfiction, perhaps they will give you a place to start.
http://guide2epubs.wordpress.com/2010/05/30/templates-for-smashwords-manuscripts/
These have not been approved or recommended by Smashwords, just one user's offering.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Mike O'Connor
on May 25, 2010 :
Before publishing my first novel at Smashwords, I decided to take a look at this book. I didn't think it could teach me much, but how wrong I was! The Smashwords Style Guide saved me hours of frustration by showing me how to get my book right first time. The tips and tricks for MS Word are particularly useful. All in all, I can't recommend this book highly enough.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Biblica Publishing
on May 17, 2010 :
(no rating)
I tend to agree with Michael Perry. I'm not an author, I'm a small,boutique publisher that is trying to break into the eBook world with books already, or soon to be, in print. Working backwards from printer formatted PDF files is a real chore. I'm now trying to get at the original Indesign files to learn how to format output from there into Word format according to Smashwords style guide. It sure would help if I could find pre-formated templates for either Indesign or Word that would make the eBook generation much less time consuming. Any ideas out there?
(review of free book)
Review by:
Michael W. Perry
on April 28, 2010 :
(no rating)
George Paxton's February 27, 2010 comment is 'spot on.' The #1 problem with creating ebooks for Smashwords is that all the documentation, including that by Mark Coker, assumes that writers will be working The Microsoft Way, which is the ugly, time-consuming, inefficient, inflexible way that Microsoft Word is structured to encourage.
As Paxton notes, proper writing for publication uses stylesheets (aka "named styles"). A first-level heading, for instanced, is attached to a style called Heading 1, a quote is given the style Quote and so on. Even word-level formatting like italics is done with text styles. Absolutely no in-place formatting is used in laying out the book. Font, font size, indention etc are all defined in the style definition. That makes attaching and changing the formatting easy. In a couple of seconds, every formatting trait for an entire book can be changed.
Microsoft, in its infinite stupidity, makes doing that incredibly difficult, particularly in comparison to properly designed products such as InDesign. In Word, named styles are buried in the Format menu behind a series of convoluted buttons and additional windows that must have been created by a sadist intent on filling the life of everyone who uses Word with drudgery. The result is a style system so awful, few use it. Instead, they hand enter the formatting every time it changes.
I know. I layout books for publishers. Virtually every time I get a Word document from an author, I find it cluttered with an infinite number of little author-made formatting tweaks that have to be stripped out to fit the publisher's style guide. It's virtually impossible to get them to think otherwise. They are slaves of The Microsoft Way.
Smashwords needs to escape from The Microsoft Way. It needs to give us a book template with styles for every formatting feature users are likely to need and that their reformatting software can handle. We shouldn't be having to spend our time klutzing with Word's clumsy hand formatting and rules or fretting with what the result we look like. We should be concentrating on what we are saying not fretting over what our guesses at formatting will look like after it has been run through Smashword software.
In short, give us Word templates with styles that do all the work of formatting and give good results at your output. Free us to focus on content not on formatting.
Contact me if you'd like to discuss this in more detail.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Dick Stanley
on April 23, 2010 :
It certainly worked for me. After following the guide, I had only one minor "printed in" error called and I fixed it quick and the file sailed through after that. Smashwords e-books even look better (much better) inside than Amazon Kindle at the moment. Despite submitting a nicely formatted book to them, all I got back was block paragraphs with no indentation at all. Very hard to read.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Kyle W. Bell
on March 31, 2010 :
Smashwords is the ultimate site for getting new authors off of the ground. This Style Guide helps you do that by providing tips, guidelines and helpful information to make the process as smooth as possible. After reading this Style Guide, you will not likely ever need to resubmit a book because of faulty formatting. It's a MUST read for upcoming authors looking to publish on Smashwords.
(review of free book)
Review by:
John Mcalister
on March 29, 2010 :
I first of all want to congratulate Mark Coker on developing an amazing web site - my whole experience with Smashwords has been exemplary - and it's all free of charge to convert a book to ebook formats that are collectively compatible with all e-readers on the market today! The site documentation is professionally done to say the least, the style guidelines in particular. I was a little intimidated at first because following all the details seemed like a daunting task; but taking the guidelines a little at at time made achieving excellent results quite easy. Within 2 days including the editing of my manuscript (144,000+ words plus 41 images), I was approved for inclusion in the Premium Catalog - I am thrilled with this result and have high hopes that the world-wide exposure and distribution will be a shot in the arm for selling my book and getting the word out.
Just a word of caution though, you must take every word in the style guidelines seriously, Mark means what he says and doesn't mince many words - as a writer, I appreciate this very much - many thanks Mark on a masterful job!
John W. McAlister
Ethical Universe
(review of free book)
Review by:
Crescent Suns e-Books
on March 18, 2010 :
Out of all the books I've ever read this book is the most important. Without Mark's help found in this book I wouldn't now have my first seven books published and ready for people to read. Mark made it easy to follow in order to get my work published. Sure, I messed up a few times, but that was my fault. Now that I know the proper way to follow Mark's work (Do what he says)it's super easy to get my latest book uploaded to Smashwords, along with the cover. Thanks, Mark.
(review of free book)
Review by:
George Paxton
on Feb. 27, 2010 :
The style guide is clear and comprehensive. However it fails badly in one important area.
Microsoft Word - and OpenOffice Writer - really start to sing and perform if you take the trouble to set up a style sheet / template, defining all the font and paragraph formats you intend using.
Having just been through the PT of having to 'fix' documents written with templates - for conventional print publication - I would suggest that, with the book, is provided a basic book template so that, when starting to write an ebook, the correct formatting is already in place. This will not fix problems with the copyright page, but the basic formatting will be ready to go.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Michael Bruce-Lockhart
on Jan. 22, 2010 :
The guide is a must read for anyone who wants to publish on Smashwords, even if you are a software engineer(which I am). It is well-written and does a good job of demystifying the arcane world of Word. However, I do think it needs a linkable index. My day job required me to read a lot of guides. Generally I would skim them to get a feeling of what information was available and where, then turn to the relevant section when I needed it. You can't do that with this guide. Most disappointing is that it is particularly hard to use on a Kindle because digital ink technology makes paging so slow.
I would also like to see more information on images. Science Fiction/Fantasy books often require maps. After spending a week learning to use Illustrator in order to produce a good map, I was dismayed to find it doesn't show at all on my Kindle.
(review of free book)
Review by:
John Wolf
on Jan. 21, 2010 :
Great little guide Mark. I did have a question that wasn't addressed in the guide. Since my bookcopy in Word was set for 5.5x8.5" pages, I left it that size for the upload. It didn't seem to matter, but I was wondering if you had a recommended page size?? Also, where I placed a blank line between paragraphs was ignored by the converter, so I uploaded again with a centered line with ~ ~ ~ in the line to get this separation for shifts of point of view within a chapter. Is there something I missed on how to actually get a blank line, say between paragraphs done as blocks without the first line indented?
John Wolf -
(review of free book)
Review by:
David DeRosa
on Jan. 11, 2010 :
(no rating)
Not only did did the Style Guide make it possible for me to publish an ebook, it gave more info in a few pages, about MS Word, than anything I've read from Microsoft.
Thank you for making this available for free.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Wilson James
on Dec. 30, 2009 :
(no rating)
I am finding the “The Smashwords Style Guide” very useful. In fact, I could not have published my Smashwords ebooks without it.
Although I have been a ‘Word’ user for years, I learned some new things, such as the ‘show/hide’ feature. I also like that the book shows the easiest way to do formatting tasks, including the direction to reduce the whole file to its simplest form as a ‘txt’ file to get rid of all the bad formatting that has crept into the document; and only then re-save it in ‘Word’ and add the little bit of necessary formatting.
In short, I like the idea and the implementation of Smashwords. This book helps us authors with necessary information and it is a great addition to the overall helpfulness of your site. Please accept my thanks.
Wilson James
BLOG: http://wilsonjamesauthor.blogspot.com/
ebooks: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/WilsonJames
(review of free book)
Review by:
PaperBox Books PBB
on Dec. 23, 2009 :
Excellent - easy to follow and full of useful tips and ideas. This guide helped me get the upload right the first time.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jim Chevallier
on Dec. 21, 2009 :
I've only glanced at it so far, but it appears to be excellent. And not only for publishing works here. Anyone planning to publish on the Kindle, for instance, would do well to read it, for a strong understanding of the peculiarities of this new mode of publication.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Greg McQueen
on Dec. 11, 2009 :
Overall, I found the Smashwords Style Guide easy to follow and very useful ... And I can't wait to start making my work available through Smashwords!
Greg McQueen
www.ireallyshouldbewriting.net
(review of free book)
Review by:
Laura Shinn
on Dec. 01, 2009 :
This guide is exactly as it is described, a guide to walk the writer through the formatting process. Even if you're a novice, or I should say especially if you're a novice, reading this ebook is all the more important. I've been writing for ten years and published for seven and there are several things listed in Mark Coker's formatting instructions that I wasn't aware of through Word. This ebook is highly detailed, yet delivered in such a way that even my youngest child would understand.
For those who are working in Word 2007 or plan to purchase the upcoming Word 2010, be aware the formatting instructions are based on Word 2003. Regardless, each item in Mr. Coker's formatting instructions can still be found in Word 2007. Most of it will be in "Word Options" when you click on the Word icon button in the top left corner of your document. The others will be found in Page Layout under Custom Margins or in Review. I do recommend Word 2007 users save their m/s in the 97-2003 Compatibility Mode so the final document you upload is a .doc rather than a .docx.
I read through the Style Guide slowly to make sure I formatted everything as recommended or required and was able to do it in only a few hours (I'm very picky and wanted to make sure my m/s was perfect). Needless to say, the uploaded document went through in the first try. Follow the guidelines and you shouldn't experience any problems at all. If you'll open your m/s as you read, you can change it as you go. This removes much of the stress when you see how many pages are in the Style Guide. Don't let that deter you. About a third of the ebook at the beginning is information already found on the website and you've probably already read it.
I'm looking forward to uploading many more books in the upcoming months and watching to see the new and different directions this company will take. It's very exciting to be your own boss and see your dreams realized.
Laura Shinn
www.laurashinn.com
(review of free book)
Review by:
Wayne Watson
on Nov. 22, 2009 :
(no rating)
Thank you for this guide- it has really helped me raise my game!
Most of us use Word like we use our brains- at about 5% of their potential!
I have learned more since downloading this guide about formatting than in all the years I have been using this software.
Also, having been properly motivated, I managed to make a presentable cover for my book!
Again- THANK YOU!
And to all other writers- download it and READ IT!
Here is the portal to the future :-)
Wayne Watson
Meddlers In Time.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Oren
on Nov. 01, 2009 :
A very necessary guide in order to master the harsh realm known as Smash Words!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Samuel Horelick
on Oct. 09, 2009 :
(no rating)
I must agree with previous reviewers - this book is a "must read" before submitting. An excellent detailed guide!
Samuel Horelick
(review of free book)
Review by:
Anne Lyken-Garner
on Sep. 28, 2009 :
I spent the afternoon reading this before I uploaded my first book. It was extremely helpful to me. I would've been totally lost without it. Thank you for a job well-done. I recommend this to everyone starting out with Smashwords.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Maria E. Schneider
on Aug. 30, 2009 :
Good stuff and essential reading if you want to upload a book! Thanks for writing down the details in such a compact form.
(review of free book)
Review by:
E. Patrick Dorris
on Aug. 01, 2009 :
After seeing the results of some books here that were not formatted using this guide, I am glad that I read this simple yet indispensible guide and use it for everything I have published so far.
Underestimate the importance of this guide and it's instructions at your peril. OK, maybe not peril, but do what it says, please!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Randolph Lalonde
on Aug. 01, 2009 :
Fantastic guide! After dealing with a dozen or so eBook retailers, Smashwords is a breath of fresh air so far. I'm in the process of converting my work (11 titles at the moment), so it can appear here and this guide is absolutely essential.
(review of free book)
Review by:
George Angus
on April 01, 2009 :
This style guide is an absolutely crucial read prior to publishing your ebook. I was all fat, dumb and happy thinking I'd just hit "publish" and my beautifully formatted ebook with the fancy colors and fonts would be whisked away to stardom.
After reading the style guide, I now get it. Ebooks are a different animal. I do want my book available to the largest number of readers so I'm going to follow the advice here.
I also agree with Christopher. The guide is not written for techies at all. If you have even a passing knowledge of MS Word, you will find this guide helpful in walking you through the steps.
An absolute must read.
George
(review of free book)
Review by:
Christopher Pinckley
on March 28, 2009 :
If you are an independent author/writer, then there is no getting around reading this ebook(unless you are also a software engineer).
What I loved about this book was that Mark doesn't take any reader for granted, anyone can understand his instructions. Mark also happens to be a very patient guy and extremely helpful, all of which comes through very clearly in this easy to understand guide.
(review of free book)