Smashwords is a global ebook distributor serving authors, publishers, readers and major ebook retailers. Smashwords is ideal for publishing novels, personal memoirs, poetry chapbooks, short and long-form fiction, and non-fiction. If you’ve written it, we want to help you share it and sell it! We distribute books to Apple iBooks (51 countries), Barnes & Noble, Kobo (which powers the bookstores of multiple other retailers such as FNAC in France and WH Smith in the U.K.), Flipkart, Oyster, txtr, Baker & Taylor (Blio.com and the Axis360 library platform), and others.
Smashwords.com is an e-book self publishing site. Smashwords distributes e-books to a wide network of online retailers, mobile app platforms and affiliates. They have 3 catalogs:
1. Premium Catalog – Every author aspires to get their e-book in the premium catalog in smashwords. This means that your e-book is distributed to major global online retailers. These are:
Apple – Ibook stores available in 51 Countries
Barnes & Nobles – US and UK market
Kobo Bookseller
Page Foundry – (Inktera.com, Versant.Com as well as Android e-book store apps for Cricket wireless & Asus)
Baker & Taylor Blio
Txtr
Flipkart
Oyster
Scribd
Amazon – (Limited distribution for books that reach over $2,000 in sales)
To get books in the premium catalog, your e-book needs to have a quality book cover image, a proper copyright notice, and an ISBN no. The author should also format their book according to theSmashwords Style Guide. Smashwords have a program that runs your document and if any errors are found then the book doesn’t pass to the premium catalog. Some of the errors include, having multiple font sizes, inconsistent line spacing, lines overlapping one another, multiple successive paragraph returns to arrange text…etc…All these can be fixed if you go through the Guide.
2. Standard Catalog – This is the Smashwords catalog. Your e-book should satisfy the copyright and content requirements found in the Smashwords terms of service. Your book is available on this catalog the moment you upload and publish it to the site.
3. ATOM/OPDS Catalog – This catalog is for all major mobile app platforms. Your book is available to millions reading on their phones. Sample distributors include Stanza on the iPhone and Aldiko on the Android mobile device platform
How to get started:
2024 Updates: Please Note: Smashwords.com has been acquired by Draft2Digital.com. All new authors now need to register into Draft2Digitital.com to sell their books on the smashwords.com shop. So, if you're hoping to get your books on smashwords.com, please check out Draft2Digital.com.
Firstly, Register for an account with Smashwords.Com. Go through the set up process, as well as the payment registration. This means you need a Paypal account too if you’re planning on selling the books. If you don’t want to sell the books and only want to share them, then finish your Smashwords registration. There are 3 Smashwords Accounts
– An Author Account – This is for an author self-publishing his/her books
7 Things to Know Before Publishing on Smashwords in Kenya
1. A Finished Story – Polish your story, until you’re satisfied it can be read by others. Download the Smashwords Style Guide and make sure your document is formatted according to the instructions in the book. This is really important as your .doc is then turned into different types of e-book formats. If it’s formatted wrong from the start, your book won’ t make it to the Premium Catalog.
2. A Title for your story – Make it unique, and eye-catching.
3. A Book Cover – Smashwords needs a good quality cover, usually a cover with a 1,600 width and 2,560 height. The minimum width should be 1,400. Make a pleasing cover.
– A Description of your story – This is the synopsis of your story. That short paragraph behind a book makes you want to read it. Write one that fits your story.
4. Smashwords Categories – Smashwords classifies their books into the following categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Essay, Plays, and Screenplays. These categories are then broken down into different genres. So if you’ve written Fiction, you should choose a category of fiction, that is, Romance, Mystery, Thriller, etc.
5. E-Book Formats – This is the part you must understand to get your book into the premium catalog. It’s also why you need to download the Smashwords Style Guide. Smashwords allows you to turn your book into different formats. They are:
E-pub – Widely used by readers on Apple Ibookstore, Sony, Kobo, Barnes & Nobles, and Aldiko. It’s the most popular format, and if your .doc fails to pass through the Smashwords check, you get autovetters because it failed the e-pub check. The Smashwords guide can help you sort out autovetter errors. If you have issues, check the Smashwords FAQs and you’ll find your answers.
Sony Reader – LRF Format
Kindle’s .Mobi
Palm Doc (PDB) – Used by readers on palm pilot devices, Windows Mobile Pocket PC/Smartphones, Symbian OS, and Palm OS.
PDF Format
RTF Format – Rich Text Format
Plain Text
You can choose all formats, or choose certain formats. The file you upload should be a Word Document with a .doc extension. Trust me, this makes it easy for you.
6. ISBN No. – To get your book in the Premium Catalog, you need an ISBN. Now, Smashwords offers FREE ISBN Nos. You can assign a Smashwords ISBN no. to your book. If your book previously has an ISBN, Smashwords allows you to assign it to your book.
Write a Book, Publish It
7. Pricing and Sampling – So, you’re in Kenya, and you’re wondering how to deal with pricing your e-book. After all, Smashwords only does Dollars. Yikes! This was a challenge two years ago, but PayPal and Equity Bank recently made a deal that is making life easier for all of us online business people. ^_^ So, whatever the content of your book, if you can market it, then, by all means, price it and make extra money. The minimum price you can set in Smashwords is .99 cents. (Edited) If you manage sales of more than $10 a month, Smashwords pays the money into your PayPal account at the end of the month. As for you accessing your money in Kenya, Paypal works with Equity Bank…read more here.
2024 PayPal Updates: It is now easier than ever to access your PayPal funds. You can withdraw to Equity Bank, or use Mpesa. Get your royalties easier from smashwords.com or Draft2Digital.com.
If you have all of the above, you can hit Publish after agreeing to the Smashwords publishing agreement.
You can pursue this avenue if you’re thinking about writing books. The best part is that once you publish the book, leave it to circulate in the different online stores that Smashwords ships to for years. Don’t unpublish it because then the book loses momentum. You can publish Fiction or Non-Fiction books. Don’t forget to market the books offline and online.
This charming group kicks off our Poetry Week with a song called Uliza Kiatu(Ask My Shoes). The best part of this song is the play on words, it makes you smile, chuckle and laugh, so effortlessly, that by the end of the song, you want to hit repeat and listen again.
The lyrics are a lament by a man of the struggles he faces dating a young woman who expects the best, and so much more than he can afford. Yet he does those impossible things, while he faces challenges unknown to her. Love makes you do crazy things. Here’s a look at the lyrics from H_ART the Band’s Uliza Kiatu. Courtesy of Kasablanker
Verse 1
Why is love, makes you do crazy things
Ask my shoes, uliza kiatu
And what I went through to buy you those rings
Ask my shoes, uliza kiatu
Masaibu ninayoyapitia, kukupeleka dinner
Uliza kiatu
Na gatheri ninavyokatafuna, eti ndo ukule burger, pizza
Uliza kiatu
Chorus
Ask my shoes, ask my shoes
Uliza kiatu, uliza kiatu
Verse 2
Nimekopa nikupe, kumbe wewe ndo kupe
Nang’ang’ana ndo tule, juhudi zangu bure
I heard that love should always make us strong
But how I feel like think that they were wrong
Ask me why
Bridge
Nasema taxi nilipe, rent mi nikupe
Nywele zisongwe Mombasa si twende
Mapenzi nikupe, mpaka we uridhike
Nasema taxi nilipe, rent mi nikupe
Nywele zisongwe Mombasa si twende
Mapenzi nikupe, mpaka we uridhike
Chorus
Ask my shoes, ask my shoes
Uliza kiatu, uliza kiatu
Ask my shoes, ask my shoes
Uliza kiatu, uliza kiatu
Spoken Word
Kitendawili, kitendawili [tega]
Nilimwonyesha mapenzi akanionyesha mfuko
Alisema doh ya salon ni thao tu
Na kwa mfuko nilikuwa na mbao juu
Alisema anaenda PE
Akirudi nilimpata akimeza P2
[alikutega]
So niko stuck katikati
Kama stick ya mshikaki
Nampenda huyu mshikaji
But kiatu tu ndo inajua stori
Yaani vile, mi humchocha nimemflash bahati mbaya
Ju niko na deni ya bob, Collymore
Yaani vile mi hukanyanga matope kabla nifike kwa lami
Na ile stress mi hupitia kabla nimbongeshe kilami
Yaani vile, mi humpandisha taxi
Then naenda kudandia gari ya moshi
Yaani vile, mi humhustlia hadi kiatu yangu inaanza kutoa moshi
Yaani vile, mi humuita baby
Juu najua nikimuita Njeri
Hiyo r inaeza geuka l
Na hiyo moment naeza kuwa nimeispoil
Yaani vile, nimetarmac hadi
Timber yangu inaeza geuka Sunder
Yaani vile, yaani ka ni kukokwa nimekopa
Yaani ka nikuokoka nimeokoka
Yaani ka ni tisa nimepigana tu
Ndo niivishe hiyo figure yake namba nane
Na hata usiku nipate umenichorea nane
Toa moja, saba
Vile nimesag mpaka toja
Nikamdanganya eti mi naishingi Umoja
Nikwamwonyesha mpaka mi si mwana vi-oja
Eti nawork mahakamani kusolve vitimbi za dunia
Bila shaka mashtaka
Yaani vile hata vile dunia ikasimama tutasimama pamoja
Yaani vile, ka mapenzi ni nywele basi we ulinisetia nati
Yaani vile ka mapenzi ni kikohozi
Basi bila shaka niko na TB, niko na fever juu ananiumiza
I discovered H_ART the Band through an appearance on a local television station. They were doing a live performance and it was hard not to stop and listen. They’re energetic, and engaging. I love guitars and the band plays very well, which is always a plus for me. They’re going far, and I hope to hear more from them as we go.
Follow them below to get news on their latest events:
Stories and Book Talk 