About

How Smashwords Distributes Ebooks

(and how to get fast tracked into the Smashwords Premium Catalog)

(rev. 1/11/10)

When you publish a title with Smashwords, it is automatically distributed across a growing network of online retailers, mobile phone apps and affiliates.

Smashwords offers three feeds to which online retailers can subscribe.

1. Standard feed: This catalog contains all the books for sale at Smashwords.com. Sample distributors include Stanza on the iPhone and Aldiko on Google Android phones. To qualify for distribution on Smashwords.com and in the Standard feed, an author or publisher is simply required to abide by the Smashwords Terms of Service.

2. Atom/OPDS feed: OPDS is an open industry standard for distributing book catalog information to online retailers, including mobile e-reading app developers. The specification was originally created by Lexcycle, the creators of Stanza. Smashwords first implemented its Atom feed in January, '09, concurrent with its Stanza distribution relationship. A similar feed is now provided to Aldiko. Software developers can learn more about the OPDS specification here, and can access the Smashwords Atom/OPDS feed here.

3. NEW! Premium Feed: This new catalog is distributed to major online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo (formerly known as Shortcovers), Fictionwise and other distribution outlets that have higher mechanical standards such as requiring quality book cover images, books with copyright pages, and other simple requirements outlined below. If you're a serious author or publisher, you want your books included in Smashwords Premium Catalog.

Status of retailers

Although we've signed agreements with each of the above retailers or their parents (with more agreements on the way!), we have not completed technical integrations with all of them. Some are behind schedule. Check your Channel Manager for status updates. Once we have firm ship dates, we'll report the dates to you there. If the anticipated date is listed as "To be Determined," it means we don't yet know. Also remember, it can take days or weeks for your book to appear on the retailer's shelf after we ship it to them, especially in these early days as we work out kinks with each of our partners. If there's a retailer you want us to distribute to that's not currently on the list, email us and we'll add them to our target list. Better yet, if you already have a relationship with the content acquisitions manager at a given retailer, make us an email introduction. Most new retailers are added as a direct result of your requests and introductions.

What is the Smashwords Premium Catalog?

This Premium Catalog represents a subset of Smashwords titles that match the mechanical requirements of our online distribution partners.

Smashwords distributes Premium Catalog ebooks to major online retailers. The first outlets to receive the Smashwords Premium Catalog are Barnes & Noble (and their properties such as Fictionwise and the Ereader app), Sony and Kobo. Amazon is forthcoming.

At Smashwords, we've always believed it's not our role to judge the quality of an author's work, and we expect this policy will remain in place with few exceptions. We think every author and publisher should have the right to publish and the most qualified arbiter of quality is your reader.

Does Your Book Qualify?

If you carefully follow the instructions, it's fast and easy to gain inclusion in the Premium Catalog.

Not all Smashwords books will automatically qualify for distribution. To qualify, the books must meet simple mechanical requirements (see "Criteria for Inclusion" below). The requirements do not reflect a judgment of the quality or marketability of your work.

How We Evaluate Books for the Premium Catalog (and how you can fast track your books!)

All books go through a two step evaluation process. Step one is automated, and step two is manual inspection.

In step one, we run an automated filter we call AutoVetter that checks to see if you followed the Smashwords Style Guide. AutoVetter provides you immediate feedback after you publish or make changes, and will guide you on how to correct obvious problems that will prevent you from gaining inclusion in the catalog. Books that pass the AutoVetter screen are then given fast-track priority for the second, manual stage of evaluation.

Step two is a manual inspection. We review fast track books first, so most fast track books are approved for the catalog within a week. If your book has been "pending approval" for more than a week, review the section below on "most common reasons books don't make the catalog" and check to make sure none of those reasons apply to your book.

Criteria for Inclusion in The Smashwords Premium Catalog

Please review the following carefully. Even if your book is initially accepted into the Catalog, we may remove it later if we discover it doesn't meet the following criteria. All Smashwords authors and publishers are urged to review these requirements and make the necessary updates.

EPUB - Your book must be available in the EPUB format. If you published your book prior to Smashwords introducing EPUB support, you can add EPUB by clicking to your Dashboard and then click "settings" then check the check box for EPUB, then click Save at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, if it's been a long time since you've reviewed the Style Guide, you should probably update the formatting of your book (see the next item on Formatting) and then upload a new version by clicking "upload a new version" from your Dashboard.

Formatting - If your book doesn't follow the recommendations of the recently updated Smashwords Style Guide - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52 - we will reject it. How does your book look? A good canary in the coal mine is the HTML Reader on your book page. If this page looks ugly (like words smashed together, not what we intended when we named Smashwords), you didn't follow the Guide. Considering all the recent important updates to the Guide, all Smashwords authors and publishers should take a fresh look at their books and consider how to make them look better. Also follow the guidelines in the Guide for the copyright page, the Smashwords Edition statement, the license statement (to reduce piracy) and other helpful tips. Most common formatting errors that will lead to rejection (not a complete list): Using multiple successive paragraph returns to arrange text (creates blank ebook pages); using exotic, non-standard fonts; using tabs instead of ruler-bar indents; and not following the Style Guide's guidance on how to unify the text of your book around the "Normal" paragraph style with a common unified font size.

Book title - Some Smashwords authors and publishers have developed a bad habit of screwing up their title by adding words not related to the title, such as, *Joe's Memoir (half off for one more day only!)*. Don't bastardize your title because it'll disqualify you from the Premium Catalog. Similarly, don't do your titles in ALL CAPS. It's okay if it's ALL CAPS on your book cover, but not the metadata that displays on the site.

Book description - You must have a complete, professional-looking book description. If your description is written in ALL CAPS, we'll reject it. If your book description contains information not related to the description, such as "Use XYZ123 Coupon Code for 1/2 off now!" or "Visit my website for a free PDF" we will reject it. Update your book description by clicking to "settings" from within your Dashboard.

Book cover - Required. Your book must have a book-like cover, because bookstores use your cover to merchandise your book in their online store. The ideal cover image is a vertical rectangle shape (like a book), not a square and not a 3-D image, and features the title of the book and the author's name. The book title and author name should appear on the cover. If your title is obscene or pornographic, we will reject it. We have some flexibility to be racier than what you might see in the average bookstore, but as a general rule, keep it tasteful. For our first pass of approvals, we're erring on the side of pushing the envelope, though if our retail partners object to anything, you'll be removed. If your cover will give readers nightmares, it's probably not okay. :) If you can't create your own cover, read below if you want a referral to a low cost cover designer.

Copyright page - Your book must have a copyright page that designates the author as the copyright holder. It's not enough to list "By AuthorName." We want to see the words, Copyright Authorname Date. See the Style Guide for a sample.

Smashwords Edition - The copyright page should contain at one of the following phrases (you decide what works best for you): "Smashwords Edition" (without the quotes) or "Published by [the name of the publisher publishing it on Smashwords] at Smashwords," or "Published by [Authorname] at Smashwords." It's okay to say, "This book is also available in print at WordClay [or Lulu, or Amazon or your website or wherever]." We also recommend you include a hyperlink back to your author page at Smashwords, and you hyperlink to other titles you publish at Smashwords. Remember to make your hyperlink live within Microsoft Word by highlighting the hyperlink with your mouse, right mouse click, and use the "add hyperlink" feature. Make it easy for readers to discover your works!

"Published by" - If the body of your ebook says, "Published by Lulu," "Published by WordClay," or "Printed in the United States," for example, we'll reject it. We love print books too, but remember your print book is different from your ebook, so don't confuse your readers. Your ebook is published either by you (the author or publisher) or Smashwords. We still allow you to tell customers where the print version is available. See the Style Guide for guidelines.

ISBNs - ISBNs are not required to publish at Smashwords, or to gain inclusion in the Premium Catalog. An ISBN is a digital identifier that helps identify your book within the book industry supply chain. If you have an ISBN for your print version of your book, you should not list it as the ISBN for your ebook. Only list it in your ebook if you're using it to identify your print version. Ebooks require different ISBNs, tied to each format you're distributing via retailers. We do not require you to have an ISBN for your ebook. If you do not supply an ISBN, most retailers will assign their own unique digital identifier or ISBN to the book. Smashwords is working to offer low cost ISBNs that will allow you to be identified as the registered publisher of the book.

Complete Work - Smashwords only publishes and distributes complete works. If your book is only a partial sample of a book, we will reject it. If it's a free anthology of book samples, we might accept it.

Meets Smashwords TOS - The Smashwords Terms of Service is our contract with you. The TOS outlines what Smashwords will publish and what we will not. For example, we require all books listed on Smashwords to be original works, published on Smashwords by the author or the exclusive digital publisher. We do not accept public domain books, or books that appear elsewhere on the Internet under other authors' bylines. We also don't like scammy "Get Rich Quick" books that offer "systems" for making money on the Internet. As we review all Smashwords books for Premium Catalog consideration, we'll remove books that don't meet the standards for originality. Read the updated Smashwords TOS at http://www.smashwords.com/about/tos

Blacklisted Work - 99.99% of Smashwords authors act with honorable and mature intentions. For the very small minority of authors who have deliberately violated the Smashwords TOS in the past; or engaged in behavior not supportive of fellow Smashwords authors, publishers and readers; or published work that is obviously not a serious effort, we may remove the book from any further consideration or delete their accounts.

Updates - If you make updates to anything other than price after we ship your books to retailers, your new updates may require review before the updated book can ship to retailers. Until your updates are approved, the prior approved version will ship. Updates include things such as changes to your title, changes to your book description, changes to your book, or new cover images.

Subject to Change! - The Guidelines above are subject to change and clarification. Visit this page for the latest updates to these guidelines. Also refer to the Smashwords Style Guide.

Most Common Reason Books Don't Make the Catalog

Poor Formatting
Please carefully follow all formatting requirements in the Style Guide. If you uploaded the same file you used for your print book, we'll probably reject it.  Remember, we're trying to help you create a good looking ebook. Ebooks require different formatting. Common problem: More than five consecutive paragraph returns, anywhere in your manuscript. This creates blank ebook pages in small-screened devices. Activate Microsoft Word's "Show/hide" feature to clearly identify these formatting errors (the Style Guide shows you how).

Missing Proper First Line Paragraph Indents and/or Block Styles
If you don't carefully separate your paragraphs, they'll run together and become unreadable.  Your readers won't know where one paragraph ends and the next begins.  This is mostly common sense, yet it's one of the most common mistakes.  Books are composed of paragraphs.  At the end of each paragraph you finish the last sentence with a period and then hit the Enter key.  There are two primary ways that authors separate their paragraphs.  One is to use the block paragraph method, which is what we use on this page you're reading now.  At the end of each paragraph, we add a period and then hit the Enter key twice.  This adds a blank line between the paragraphs, and makes paragraphs easy to read. 

The other acceptable form is to do a first line paragraph indent.
    This is what a first line paragraph indent looks like.  Notice how the word "This" starts in from the page.  In Microsoft Word, you can use the ruler bar to make these indents (DON'T use the space bar or the tab key to make an indent!).  This style is the best style for fiction and other books that are mostly straight narrative.  See the Smashwords Style Guide for simple tips on how to create a ruler bar indent.

Use one of the above styles or the other, but not both.

Missing Proper Front Matter/ Copyright Page
Make sure your book contains the copyright page. It's very important you assert your right to publish. Follow the example of the copyright page and other "front matter" such as the license statement. The copyright page should mention that this is your Smashwords Edition, or that the book is published by you at Smashwords, or Distributed by Smashwords. The last pages (Step 20) of the Smashwords Style Guide provide clear examples of how to do it.

Improperly Identified Publisher
If your ebook incorrectly names your publisher, it'll be rejected. Your ebook publisher is either you or Smashwords, not Lulu or Createspace or some other e-publisher/e-retailer.

Missing an Appropriate Book Cover
If you don't have a book cover, you can't get in the catalog. A book cover image should be a vertical (upright) book-like image, not a square or horizontal (sideways) image or three dimensional image. The title of your book and the author's name should be listed on the cover. If you can't create your own cover, ask for a low cost referral (see below).

Mistakes in Table of Contents
Do not include page numbers or internal hyperlinks in your table of contents. It's a sure sign you ignored the Smashwords Style Guide.

Waiting for You to Resubmit
If your book was previously rejected and you corrected the problem, please be sure to return to the Dashboard and click the link, "requires submission." This is your way of telling us you're done with your revisions and you're ready for us to review your book again.

Metadata Mistakes
Metadata is information attached to your book, like your author name or your book description.  If your author name is lower cased, like lillywhite lillith, we'll reject your book.  All author/publisher names should be Initial Caps, so... Lillywhite Lillith.  In the book description, avoid using ALL CAP words, otherwise we'll reject it.  Also do not mention temporary promotions or word counts.  Also don't include web addresses in the description.

What to do if your book is rejected in the manual review

First, don't email us to complain! :) Remember, we're trying to help you.

If your book doesn't make the cut, it means you didn't follow the Smashwords Style Guide, and you didn't follow the recommendations on this page. You can update the book, upload it via the "upload new version" link in your Dashboard, and then re-submit it for consideration.

We expect you to excercise common sense. The mechanical requirements for inclusion in the Premium Catalog will only serve to make your books more accessible and discoverable by readers, and that's the point, right?

Many great Smashwords authors and publishers will not make their first cuts. Don't take it personally.

Get a Referral to a Book Cover Designer

If you are unable to create your own book cover, email Mark Coker at first initial second initial at you know where dot com and ask for an introduction to a cover designer who can design you a good cover for low cost (as low as $30.00). You will pay the designer, not Smashwords. We don't receive a commission, and we cannot warrant their work. However, the reason we recommend them is because other Smashwords authors have been satisfied with them. Also understand that you're hiring them, not Smashwords, and just because you pay them money does mean you deserve special fast-track handling of your book or priority customer service.

Get a Referral to an Ebook Formatter

Mark Coker has created a short list of Smashwords authors who are willing to provide low cost formatting services for fellow Smashwords authors. If you would like to receive the list, email Mark at first initial second initial at you know where dot com. We don't receive a referral fee, and we cannot warrant their work. We provide this list as a service to you.

Fixing Your Book

Want a short cut to fixing your book? Follow the great example of the formatting of this Smashwords novel, by Eva Gale (opens an RTF file in your word processor) - CLICK FOR EXAMPLE

With every book that doesn't make the Premium Catalog, we will attempt to provide you guidance regarding the recommended next steps you can take to gain inclusion. You will find the reason for your title's rejection in your Dashboard by clicking on the hyperlink "Requires Modification" link. Return to this page you're now reading for updated guidance.

From your Dashboard, you can view your "Premium Status." You will either see the words, "Approved," "Pending," "Requires Modification" or "Needs Submission."

Approved = Your book is in the Premium Catalog. Even though you made the cut, you should still review the above requirements in section 3 above, and double check that your book follows the formatting requirements of the Smashwords Style Guide. If we later discover we approved you in error, we will remove you from the list until the problems are corrected.

Pending = We haven't evaluated your book yet. Please be patient. Trust me, we want to get your book into distribution just as quickly as you do! Please don't email me to ask when your book will be evaluated.

Requires Modification = This will be a clickable link where you can learn what your next steps are. After you make the necessary modifications, you must submit your book for re-evaluation. The button to re-submit will not appear until you have made the modifications.

Needs Submission = This means we're waiting on you to complete the necessary tasks to re-submit your book.

If you carefully follow the instructions above, and you follow the guidelines of the Smashwords Style Guide, you'll have no problem gaining quick inclusion into the Premium Catalog.

Quick Facts:

Cost - There is no cost to be included in the catalog, just as there is no cost to publish or distribute with Smashwords.

Royalties - In most cases, authors and publishers will continue to receive 85% of the proceeds to Smashwords and Smashwords will receive 15%. Since retailers typically take a big chunk of sales, often 50% of the list price (and we have little control over this), your net may equal approximately 42% of your list price. So, if you set the price of your book at $10.00, you'll receive about $4.20 from each sale. We will clearly disclose to you your estimated proceeds from each of the major online retailers we add to our distribution network. If you are not satisfied with the terms, you can opt out on a retailer by retailer basis by clicking to the new Channel Manager feature in your Dashboard. I expect the only authors or publishers temped to opt out will be those who already have relationships with our outlets.

Sales Reporting, Royalty Payments - Although Smashwords provides you real-time sales reporting, most of our retail partners will likely report sales on a quarterly basis.

Expected sales - Will you sell a lot of books? Unlikely. Shelf presence, while critical, is only the first step in selling a book. It's up to you to generate demand for your book.

Premium Catalog - You can check the status of your book by visiting your Dashboard. We are completely transparent about our criteria. Since this is a new endeavor and it's a tough, manual process to review thousands of books, you can expect we will apply the criteria inconsistently. We ask for your patience. If your book is accepted, it could still later be rejected if we discover your book slipped through our manual and automated filters. If your book is rejected, fret not, we will do our best to notify you about the reason in your Dashboard and give you a chance to remedy the situation.

Ship Dates - Currently, we "ship" the Premium Catalog approximately once a week. To view ship dates, go to your Dashboard and click the Channel Manager link.  If your title is not accepted for a ship date, you can wait for the next ship date. Our intention is to help every Smashwords author or publisher who wants distribution to receive it, but it is your responsibility to review the requirements. As we streamline our processes, we will increase the frequency of the ship dates. The day we ship doesn't correspond to the day your book appears at the retailer. Expect delays of up to several weeks, especially as we work out the kinks. Also expect glitches. If you're the type of person who's driven bonkers by delays and uncertainty, do yourself a favor and opt out of all distribution channels. You should expect delays and glitches, okay?

Prices - If you currently have your book set to "Reader sets the price," this pricing option is not supported by our retail partners. In this situation, we will give your book a price for their purposes. We'll set the default to $4.95 but will eventually give you the ability to set the suggested list price at retail. FREE books will also be distributed, and available to our retail partners' customers for free. Be sure to add a link in your book, preferably near the copyright page, listing a hyperlink back to your Smashwords author page so readers know where to find your other work.

Channel Manager - New Feature - The Channel Manager appears in your Dashboard. This allows you to view and control the retail outlets that distribute your book. You'll be able to set suggested retail price, view the status of your book, or remove your book from a particular distribution outlet. This feature is in continuous development.

ISBNs - Oh, what a mess. ISBNs are digital identifiers that help retailers and distributors keep track of your books. Smashwords does not yet support ISBNs, and as a result some of our retail partners will assign free ISBNs or other numeric identifiers to your book. Those identifiers may list Smashwords as the publisher, or possibly even the retail partner. Some Smashwords authors fear this reduces their ownership, or threatens their copyright - not true. If this freaks you out, you should opt out of the distribution channels until Smashwords introduces ISBN support. We've been in frequent discussion with Bowker, the ISBN agency here in the U.S., and they are working to provide us a solution. Our desire is to offer low cost ISBNs to Smashwords authors and publishers (only if you want them or need them) that would register you as the publisher, not Smashwords. In the meantime, you should understand it's possible that your book might have multiple, different ISBN numbers or identifiers attached to it. Like we said above, it's a mess. But don't worry. Such a scenario won't meaningfully impact your book in the long run and none of the above impacts your copyright or ownership over your own book.

Sampling - Each channel partner utilizes different sampling practices, and these practices may differ from the practices at Smashwords. For example, at Smashwords, if you choose 10% sampling, this means the first 10% of your book, from word one, is available as a free sample. Some retailers, however, maybe permit customers to sample 10% of any portion of your book, and they may allow them to sample a different 10% on another date. We will do our best to inform you of the individual sampling policies of each retailer. If you do not agree with the sampling policies, you can opt out of that retailer (we think the policies of our partners are fair and reasonable, so I doubt any Smashwords authors would want to opt out for this reason).

If you're already in distribution - If your books are already in distribution at the same outlets we distribute to, you'll have the option to remove your books on an outlet by outlet basis. We trust our royalty rates are competitive with other distributors. If not, let me know!

Timing - How long until your books appear in stores? - Your books will appear most likely within a few weeks of your acceptance into the Premium Catalog. If you miss a ship date, you'll have time to make the necessary modifications before the next ship date. Check the Channel Manager link in your Dashboard for ship dates.  Remember, although Smashwords has signed and announced distribution agreements with several retailers, not all of the retailers may have completed their technical integrations.  Check the Channel Manager for updates.

Length - At present, it appears our partners will take ebooks of all lengths. If this changes, we'll reflect it here and in the Channel Manager.

Thanks for publishing (and distributing) with Smashwords! Please tell a friend. Smashwords was created for your benefit, so please let us know how we can better serve you.


Mark Coker
Founder
Smashwords, Inc.

email: first initial second initial at you know where dot com

For regular Smashwords news and updates, follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/markcoker