Smashwords and Lexcycle Expand Readership Opportunities for Independent Authors to the iPhone and iPod Touch Via the Stanza eBook Reader
Ebooks from Up-and-Coming Smashwords Authors Now Available for Immediate Sampling and Purchase by over One Million Stanza Users
Portland, OR and Los Gatos, Calif., January 13, 2008 – Lexcycle, the company behind the critically acclaimed Stanza electronic book reader for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and Smashwords, a publisher of ebooks from independent authors, today announced an important relationship that will dramatically increase the readership opportunities for self-published authors.
“Our partnership with Smashwords provides an immediate pathway for independent authors to sample and sell their books on the iPhone via Stanza,” said Neelan Choksi, Chief Operating Officer at Lexcycle. “As the publishing industry struggles to adapt to a challenging bookselling environment, new digital publishing models such as Smashwords/Stanza create exciting opportunities for independent authors to reach new readers.”
“Our mission at Smashwords is to provide independent authors the tools they need to publish, promote and sell their ebooks,” said Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, based in Los Gatos, Calif. “This relationship with Lexcycle will put our authors’ books in the hands of over one million Stanza users for immediate sampling and purchase.”
For independent authors who hold the digital rights to their new or out of print books, there's never been a better time to publish with Smashwords. Authors simply register for a free account at www.smashwords.com and upload their finished manuscript as a Microsoft Word file. Smashwords automatically converts the book into multiple DRM-free ebook formats including the EPUB standard used by Stanza, ready for immediate sale online via Stanza and the Smashwords online bookstore. Authors set the price of their book, determine the sampling percentage, and receive up to 85% of net sales proceeds.
For Stanza users, Smashwords offers a virtual literary playground where they can discover new and emerging voices in fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Most Smashwords books are priced around $3.00, and most authors offer generous sampling, often up to 50% of the book, so readers can try before they buy.
Today’s news follows a related announcement in early December in which Smashwords announced it had optimized its website for iPhone and iPod Touch users, and had developed initial integration with Stanza that enabled Smashwords members to manually import their Smashwords libraries into their Stanza reader. Today’s announcement takes that integration a step further because Lexcycle has now seamlessly integrated Smashwords books directly into the native Stanza catalog.
Stanza users can easily access the complete Smashwords catalog on their iPhone or iPod Touch, download book samples and free books, access their personal Smashwords library, and purchase and download full books.
Availability
The complete Smashwords catalog of books will be available beginning today to all iPhone and iPod Touch Stanza users. Stanza for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch is available as a free download from the iTunes App Store or from http://www.lexcycle.com.
About Lexcycle
Lexcycle is a private company that strives to bring the digital reading revolution to readers around the world. With over one million users in 50 countries, Lexcycle Stanza is the highest rated and the most popular free electronic book reader for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. To learn more, visit www.lexcycle.com
About Smashwords, Inc.
Launched in 2008, privately held Smashwords operates a digital publishing platform and online book store for independent ebook authors. The free service puts authors in full control over the publishing, pricing, marketing, and licensing of their works. In addition to receiving exposure to hundreds of thousands of potential readers, authors receive up to 85% of the net proceeds from sales of their works. For readers, Smashwords offers the opportunity to discover exciting new voices in fiction and non-fiction. Smashwords, Inc. is based in Los Gatos, California, and can be reached on the web at http://www.smashwords.com/. Visit the official Smashwords blog at http://blog.smashwords.com/
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