What is the process and timeline for this service?
After purchasing the Smashwords E-Book Formatting service, you will e-mail your final manuscript for your e-book to us. If you've already published your title with Wordclay, we can typically arrange to use the final version of your book, but this is something that we will determine on a case-by-case basis. Contact us for details about your book if interested.
Once we receive your final document, we will finish formatting your book typically within 10 to 15 business days. We'll send you the finished, formatted version of your book for use on Smashwords via e-mail as soon as it is complete.
Back to top How is e-book formatting different from print formatting?
E-books require different formatting than print books. In print, you only have to think about the final printed copy. In e-books, there is not only the aesthetics to consider, but also technical details about file size, line length and other rules that may affect the way your text is displayed. Additionally, e-books will be viewed in multiple formats, so optimization across platforms is key.
Out book-layout specialists will format your book according to the best practices recommended in the official Smashwords Style Guide.
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What will my e-book look like?
Your e-book will appear differently depending on the e-book reading device on which it is being viewed. If you've already published your book with Wordclay, it will look different that the print version. E-books look best when created in plain text with simple layouts, so the simplification of a published book's layout is likely.
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What are the formats that you consider when optimizing the layout of my e-book?
When optimizing the layout of your e-book for publishing through Smashwords, following the Smashwords Style Guide, we prepare your e-book include the following formats currently available through Smashwords:
- Online Reading (HTML)
- Online Reading (JavaScript)
- Kindle (.mobi)
- Epub (open industry format, good for Stanza reader (used in smart phones), others)
- PDF (good for highly formatted books, or for home printing)
- RTF (readable on most word processors)
- LRF (for Sony Reader)
- Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices)
- Plain Text (flexible, but lacks much formatting)
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What happens after you format my book for Smashwords?
Once we format your e-book for optimal results at Smashwords, it is the author's responsibility to register and upload your book to Smashwords, a trusted and independent Wordclay partner. Registration and publishing with Smashwords is free. You can learn more about Smashwords on their Web site.
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What royalty rates does Smashwords pay?
For all e-book sales, Smashwords offers royalties of up to 85 percent of the
net proceeds from the sale of their works. Net proceeds to author is the sales price minus PayPal payment processing fees, multiplied by 0.85 (or, Net = (Sales Price - PayPal Fees)*0.85). See the Smashwords Terms of Service for additional information.
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Where will my book be sold?
The book will be available for sale in the Smashwords online bookstore. The book will also be available for sampling and purchase via Stanza, the most popular e-reading application for the iPhone and iPod Touch (downloaded over 1.5 million times). Smashwords is adding more distributors in the months ahead.
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Will I sell a lot of e-books?
E-books are the fastest growing segment of the book publishing industry, yet their sales are still dwarfed by print books,
still only representing less than one percent of overall book sales. So, keep your sales expectations realistic. It's tough to sell any book, e-book or otherwise. The bestselling e-book authors, and printed book authors, are those who actively promote their books. Remember, you can also use your e-book to market your print on demand book published through Wordclay.
Back to top If Smashwords is free, why do I pay Wordclay?
Wordclay provides professional e-book formatting so your book will look its very best on Smashwords. If you do not wish to pay for professional formatting, you can try to do it on your own by carefully studying and following the Smashwords Style Guide.
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