I ended my previous post (Publishing an Ebook Using Smashwords (2)) on a classic cliffhanger: click Publish.
So, then what happens?
It may take awhile for the famous meatgrinder to convert your file. You’ll probably see a screen that tells you that “Your book has been received and is #X in the queue”. Over time, the page will refresh and the queue number will go down until your publication is ready. I’ve never been higher than 14 in the queue and that conversion only took about 7 minutes.
You don’t have to sit and wait, you may upload another file or leave altogether, returning later to visit your “Dashboard” (on the blue toolbar) to determine the status of your uploaded file. You’ll receive an email from Smashwords letting you know your publication is online and offering marketing suggestions.
If you do hang around, you’ll eventually see a new title “Your book is converting” and the status of each listed format changes from “converting” to “complete”. Finally, a new page appears saying “Your book upload and conversion is complete”, and you are encouraged to review the publication and check for any conversion errors. You do so by clicking “Proceed to the New Page for your Work”.
You are now taken to your publication’s “home” page, which offers information like title, rating, category, publication date, description, categories, tags and available ebook reading formats. This is where you test your publication. If you are like me and lack a mobile reading device, you are only able to test/view a few of the formats, such as HTML, PDF, RTF and plain text. If you own a Kindle, other e-reading device, you may check other formats.
So, first off: test your new publication’s format by clicking VIEW beside “Online Reading (HTML)”.
You’ll be taken to a new page where you should see the first page of your spanking new publication! Click your way through it to make sure the conversion is successful. Pay CAREFUL attention to formatting issues like indents, bullets, spacing, etc. Reviewing page by page is a drag but essential, especially if you wish you and your publication to be taken seriously (not to mention purchased).
Now, have a quick look at another format like PDF or RTF to find similar or other formatting gremlins.
Reality is that you’ll probably have a few issues but making changes is easy. Go to your “Dashboard”. This is command central for your publication so spend some time getting introduced to the toolbar and reading this entire page. It contains a lot of information and offers a variety of options.
As an example, you’ll note that there is an opportunity to have your work listed with other distributors, like Barnes and Nobles and the Sony Store, or to create affiliates or sales coupons. More info in the How Smashwords Distributes E-books.
So, presuming you have a few changes to make to your newly launched publication, click “Settings”. This new page gives you an overview of this publication, from publication status to sales figures. Click “Operations” for modifications; you may upload a new version or a new cover and/or make changes to any/all of the information you previously provided. Just remember to click “Save” at the very bottom when you’re finished.
You may also unpublish your work but note: this doesn’t completely remove it. This is an interesting quirk of ALL digital publishing; once published, an e-book will remain available for download to anyone who purchased it.
Smashwords logo
Now, review the excellent tips in the Smashwords Book Marketing Guide and start selling.
Over the next few posts, I’ll review my exploits in ebook publishing on mobipocket.com, shortcovers.com, iTunes and the granddaddy of all, amazon.com.
Tags: ebook, Electronic / Digital Publishing, ereaders, kindle, smashwords, writing how to
I am not a gadget girl. I am not an early adopter. I am a dinosaur. I am in love with books. I like the feel of them, the smell of them, and I am a passionate supporter of independent booksellers. I am the last person in the world who would buy a Kindle. However, Amazon likes me. They gave me a Kindle 2 as a reward for services rendered. Well, who would turn that down?
Here’s the shocker… I LOVE it! I can’t even believe how much I love my Kindle. A friend of mine wrote a detailed critique of the first Kindle, and I have to say that the new design is a vast improvement. Aside from being slimmer and sleeker, there are plenty of places to hold the device comfortably without activating any functions. The screen is easy to read off of, and I honestly believe that I can read faster on a Kindle than I do with a traditional book. I’m not sure why. Faster page turns? What I can tell you is that it’s exceedingly comfortable and easy to read off the Kindle anywhere, but especially when you have limited space–like on public transportation. You can easily hold the Kindle and turn pages with a single hand.
The Kindle has several features that could best be described as… cool. My eyesight is fine, but I can choose the font size that suits me best. Likewise, I love the text-to-speech feature. A big frustration in my life is that I can’t work on my embroidery (I’m a dinosaur, remember?) and read at the same time. Now, I can have the Kindle read to me while I stitch. Yes, it’s sort of tinny and mechanical, but it’s still a really nice option to use occasionally. In addition to reading published books, I read a lot of unpublished manuscripts. It’s not uncommon to see me schlepping around 600 pages of loosely bound paper. The other day I had the amazing experience of forwarding an email with a manuscript attached to my dedicated Kindle address. Within seconds, the entire MS was in my Kindle, formatted and ready to go. Amazing! I can even make notes on the MS in the machine.
However, possibly the best thing about the Kindle is the fact that I can get internet access for free, almost anywhere. I use it to check my email all the time now. I wouldn’t want to write a novel on the keyboard, but it’s sufficient for brief communications. Now when I go away for the weekend, I can leave my laptop at home! It also works fine for basic internet surfing.
One last thing I was unaware of is how much free or nominally-priced content there is for the Kindle. I’ve got plenty to read, and I haven’t purchased one $9.99 book yet. My first Kindle “purchases” were all free public domain titles. Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle–how can you do better than that? I also read the Kindle Daily Post in the Kindle store religiously. You never know when you’ll be offered free content like a back-listed Lee Child novel or some contemporary fantasy. Other authors such as Boyd Morrison and J.A. Konrath are offering novels at prices ranging from $1 to $2 dollars, as a way to find new readers. One more favorite is the free Amazon Daily blog, which is like a fun, timely magazine with short articles that update constantly. The perfect entertainment for brief snatches of time.
No, I never would have bought a Kindle. And “real” books will still be a big part of my life, but I will never be without a Kindle again. This dinosaur is evolving.
Hey Victor,
What a delightful note, thanks! It’s fab to hear from actual Kindle users. I greatly appreciate your description of your evolution from dino to kindle lover. From your experiences, I can easily see why.
You’ve offered me some new insights on the gadget’s capabilities; I hadn’t really understood its communications capabilities. I especially enjoyed the thought of you mixing the old with the new: embroidering while being read to by a computer. How cool is that?
My best to you this holiday season; please keep in touch. I’d love to hear about your ongoing experiences. Cheers!