Smashwords Makes Self-Publishing/Distributing an eBook Free and Fast
The two major points that follow.
1) Smashwords, a publisher/distributor of eBooks that's available to anyone (self-publishers) now has a deal to distribute on the Apple iPad.
2) Smashwords will soon issue ISBN's for all of its titles.
Smashwords, a site where writers can publish their own e-books, said today it has signed a distribution deal with Apple to put its books into the iPad iBookstore. Mark Coker, chief executive of Smashwords, said in an email to authors that his company has been working on the deal ever since the iPad was announced. And, yes, this means that unpublished authors can sell their work on the Apple iPad at virtually no cost.
[Snip]
[The author of the article discusses writing a book and having it distruted by Smashwords.] It was a very easy process. I took a Microsoft Word file and uploaded it to the Smashwords site, set the price, and decided where I wanted the book published. Smashwords published it in nine formats and began distributing the book over a number of weeks to sites such as Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Stanza (on the iPhone), Aldiko and others.
Smashwords is an ebook publishing and distribution platform for ebook authors, publishers and readers. We offer multi-format, DRM-free ebooks, ready for immediate sampling and purchase, and readable on any e-reading device.
Directly below the definition is a lengthy Q&A with the CEO of the company, Mark Coker. He answers questions about the company and electronic publishing in general.
Will libraries be collecting this type of content and making it available to their users? What format(s) would material be collected in?
Here's the Smashwords Top 100, as you'll see many of the titles can also be read online (with an eReader) and finally, their catalog. It's updated daily.
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