Smashwords as a self-publishing platform

One of the most amazing things about the Internet is the range of professional options for publishing that it gives to authors. While just ten years ago it was not only difficult but largely looked down upon for an author to publish his or her own work, these days there are an overwhelming range of options for any author to choose from.

One that I want to highlight is called Smashwords. The story behind this site is compelling and tells you everything you need to know about whether you can trust them and why they do what they do.

Smashwords is a simple eBook distribution platform. According to their About Page, founder Mark Coker and his wife, Lesleyann, had their own novel that they were shopping around in 2002. After a few unsuccessful years of trying, Coker decided to create his own platform. As he says,  

"I ultimately came to the conclusion that the publishing industry is ill-equipped to serve all authors.  They're unable to take a risk on every author.  They acquire books based on perceived commercial potential, but ultimately they don't know which books will sell well. I created Smashwords so I could take a risk on every author, and so we could let readers decide which books are worth reading."

That's a powerful mission statement, and his company lives it out.

Smashwords is extremely simple to use. Authors with a manuscript can upload it to their site and publish it as an eBook, then have Smashwords handle the distribution to all of the major eBook distributors like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and others.

If you're a DIY author, you can do the layout and design yourself, or you can contact Mark's own list of designers and layout professionals who are familiar with his system to do those tasks at very affordable rates.

There are many companies out there who offer similar services. What I like about Smashwords is that they do it in order to empower authors who have something to say and a manuscript they believe in. The most powerful thing about self-publishing in my opinion is that authors are all doing it for deeply personal reasons.

It's amazing to have the opportunity to publish and distribute through a company that came into being for an equally deep and personal reason. Have any of you used Smashwords or another service to publish or distribute your eBook?

Image courtesy of Screenshot via Smashwords