Smashwords to D2D–Things you need to know

Hi everyone. A while ago, I published my ebooks on Smashwords and its extended network. Smashwords have since merged with D2D. Here are some things you need to know about the Smashwords to D2D changes: 

• If you want to use D2D’s easy ebook to print tool, they need you to upload your ebook from an  MS Word document and use their formatting tool.
• D2D has a separate print formatting tool once you click on ‘Create Print Book’. 
• So, yes, that’s a LOT of formatting required if you go that route. If you’re comfortable with current publishing standards and requirements and feel confident with interior book design, then their requirements and tools are great. However, if you’re not, and you use a book formatter, you’ll need to let them know which size PDF that D2D asks you to upload. [Me being me these days, I may have missed a bleed option or something 🤪. If that’s the case, I’ll add to this post once I’ve summoned the energy to give it another go 😊.]
• If, as I did, you uploaded ePubs–mine transferred automatically from Smashwords–then you will need to upload your own pre-formatted PDF. Which is where I’ve hit a problem. It seems the size requirements differ from Amazon KDP’s. I’ll need to look into it further. [Again, it could be me overlooking one small thing.]
• THE BIGGIE: Outside the US, you have to now earn $20 before they will pay out. Which for many indie authors is a lot and will take time. 

HUGE NEWS! I’VE JUST PASSED OVER 100,000 SITE VIEWS!!! 🤩🤩🤩

In Summary:

I love the expanded distribution options with D2D (and the now no-longer Smashwords), which has more reach than I’ve had with KDP.

I don’t love the fact that they don’t like working with the industry standard ePubs, which most platforms now require you to upload. Using a Word document is usually messy and needs a lot of work to get the formatting correct. On the positive side, D2D’s formatting tool makes this much easier than it otherwise would be!

I don’t love that I now have to wait until my earnings reach a whole $20 before I see any payment.

Going Forward:

I’m doing much better and am back up to speed for the most part.

Which means I can get back into working and–hopefully–writing, but we’ll have to wait and see on the creative front.

In the immediate, I want to get print books up on D2D, and both the print and the eBooks are cheaper to buy via D2D than via KDP. This is due to Amazon’s new pricing and royalty pricing policies, which are not favourable to either the author or the reader. Sigh.

After I get that ‘little’ (haha) job sorted, I plan to knuckle down and get my non-fiction book finished. It’s more work than I’d anticipated despite having the blog posts from my Story Empire series on the subject.

My absolute next job, however–even before publishing my print books–is to update my Carrd links to reflect the move from Smashwords to D2D. Happily, you can still find my eBooks via the Smashwords link here: https://harmonykent.carrd.co/

At some point, I’ll have a link(s) for the extended distribution options on my Carrd too. 

Question:

With a book on words, broken down into separate chapters for A, B, C, and etc., would you like the lists within the chapters to be in alphabetical order or to have like with like words listed next to one another? I’m leaning toward making them alphabetical and would love your input. 

Thank you!

Your support and love over these last couple of years have been tremendous. I’ve barely been online, and yet here you are for me. I cannot express my gratitude for you all enough. For now, I’m staying offline for the most part, and will post when I have something for you. Right now, my time remains limited, and visiting lots of blogs regularly isn’t realistic no matter how much I want to visit. I will, though, make a point of visiting every single person who responds to my posts. That’s the best I can do for now, and we’ll see how things pan out later. My priority has to be getting my print books onto D2D and then finishing my long-awaited non-fiction book. I know you  understand, and I thank you.

As ever, hugs and warmest wishes from me! 🤗💖