As a reader, you’ve got a rapidly growing number of choices for eBook formats and devices like the Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, and Sony Reader, not to mention a hodgepodge of mobile devices like the iPhone and BlackBerry that can run a variety of reader applications. Some of these platforms (hardware or software), notably the Kindle and the Nook, have dedicated on-line stores to support them. There is, however, another retailer that offers a wide range of format choices and a rapidly expanding library of paid and free books: Smashwords.com.
Smashwords is something in between. They distribute to some of the major retailers, including Barnes and Noble, Apple, and – soon – the Kindle Store, but they also sell direct in all the major formats.
So why should you worry about Smashwords, rather than buying through the “big” retailers? For one, it gives you more choice in books. For another, you may find some gems on sale or even for free that you wouldn’t see from the major retailers (although, granted, there are quite a few places where you can get free books, although not necessarily in as wide an array of formats).
There’s also another good reason that I’ll mention from a purely selfish point of view as an author: Smashwords pays higher author/publisher royalties than almost all the other retailers. When you buy from them, even for books at the exact same, and often lower, price than at some of the major retailers, the author and/or publisher will get a larger cut of your moolah, which is a good thing (hey, we need to eat, you know)!
If you’d like, feel free to check out my novels on Smashwords to get an idea of what they have to offer.
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