I like using Smashwords. The people are helpful. The books are distributed as promised. I publish there under my pen name: Anna Drake. It’s nice to meet fellow Smashword authors.

I have known Mark Coker, the owner of Smashwords for a while. I saw him at NINC a few weeks ago and had time to talk to him. He is one of the most intelligent guys I know. And a very big believer in self publishing–one who is not afraid to take on the big guys in public. Look for much more to come from him in the future.
I just released two novels through smashword–just so you know that I believe in him and his company.

i have just published my first novel on Smashwords on 12/11/2010 and approved for distribution on 12/18/2010. the ebook, Call Off the Dogs, is historical fiction novel based on a CIA undercover character who uncovers another shooter in the Assassination of President Kennedy. the ebook has already been published on Amazon but i am excited about the opportunity with Smashwords. In the first week i had 18 sample downloads with the marketing use starting. i just found this group through a post about Melissa Buell joining. i am also a consultant in the ebook industry. http://www.hbspub.com

Henry Baum is the Featured Author at Smashwords Books Reviewed now, talking about the American Book of the Dead, his life as a writer, and the hope of a grateful nation.
Check it out;
http://smashwordsreviewed.blogspot.com

Everyone should read my feature on Jason McIntyre, who has the Number 1 Bestseller at Smashwords.com for the past 90 days. He actually sells more at Smashwords.com than at Amazon.com and the other sites. He gave terrific answers to my questions, like, how the hell did you do this? and shows the importance of the local market in Indie book sales.
Take a look and tell me what you think:
http://smashwordsreviewed.blogspot.com

I know I’ve been guilty of having those typos slip by, but I also find them in stuff from Project Gutenberg and books in general. Sometimes a reader will send me corrections and I appreciate it, but I tend to fix them up on Feedbooks before Smashwords, because it seems every time I upload a new version of the same document to Smashwords, the meatgrinder rules have changed and I end up going through more iterations. It does seem to me that people are less forgiving of errors in FREE books than in books they’ve paid for, and that cracks me up. When I come across them in other people’s books, I just let it go, especially when it is easy to figure out what they meant.

By the way, Neil, I’ve been paraphrasing your ”pond freezing over” metaphor. I do think this is a rare, wild interval of upheaval in the world of publishing that will likley settle out soon, no doubt in favor of the mondo corporations.

On another topic that came up here earlier – about recurring Smashwords visibility – my own experience has been that when one of my books is displayed on a popular website, with a link to Smashwords, then downloads occur. Otherwise, not so much. It’s a giant haystack getting bigger all the time, even though we all consider ourselves to be needles rather than bits of straw :}

Sites like Neil’s where indie books are reviewed seem to be the best way for us needles to get found – they are doing a tremendous service.

Now at Smashwords Books Reviewed, my post is Why You’re Not Getting Reviewed. This article lists the things that discourage me from spending time on promoting someone else’s writing. One of the main thing is a lack of marketing effort by the writer. I don’t intend to be the only one who has ever read your book, is my point. Please check out the blog and see what you think.
”If you want the winds of change to blow around you
And you’re the only other person who knows
Don’t tell me
I’m just a singer in a rock’n’roll band”
Now I understand what the Moody Blues were saying.
http://smashwords.reviewed.blogspot.com

I’m working on finding the Smashwords authors with sufficient expertise to help us all learn to market our books, via Smashwords.com, in a more effective way. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.