Joe Wikert : Tell us about Smashwords.
Mark Coker: Smashwords is a digital self-publishing site, kind of a hybrid publisher/online bookstore. We allow anyone anywhere to become a published ebook author simply by uploading their finished manuscript in Microsoft Word format, and then we automatically convert it into multiple DRM-free ebook formats.
JW: What was the impetus behind you founding the site?
MC: The idea grew out my own experience as an author. My wife and I co-wrote a novel a few years back, and despite being repped by one of the most respected literary agencies in Manhattan, no publisher would take the book. I found it frustrating that a publisher could stand between an author and their potential audience, especially in today's age where print on demand and the Internet are such forces for disintermediation.
JW: There are quite a few self-publishing outfits that handle the print side. Smashwords looks like a great approach for self-publishing in the e-book world. Is that how you've positioned the service?
MC: Yes, digital self publishing is our focus. We provide a platform for authors and even traditional publishers to publish and promote their books in digital form.
JW: What if someone wants to do both types of self-publishing, print and e-book? Are the rights set up so that authors can easily do both?
MC: Our publishing contract is non-exclusive, so we leave it to the author or the rights-holder to determine how and where they publish their book. I think in the future, most authors will become more independent-minded, and will begin to insist on controlling more and more of the rights for their works. This trend presents both a threat and an opportunity to publishers. Publishers who serve their authors the best will flourish.
JW: What's the financial model for an author considering Smashwords?
MC: I think most people agree that the traditional print publishing model fails to adequately compensate many authors. I blogged about this the other day. With Smashwords, we re trying to take a more author-centric approach. We give authors or publishers 85% of the net proceeds from each sale.
So the formula for the author's share = (sales price - transaction fee) * .85. By offering authors and content owners a bigger slice of the pie, we allow them to price their product lower yet still make higher per-unit margins than through print publishing. Lower prices increase consumer demand, and higher demand plus higher per-unit profits create a wonderfully disruptive win-win situation for consumers and content owners alike. The biggest challenge facing digital publishers is how to increase adoption rates for digital books. I'm confident digital books are destined to go mainstream with multi-billion dollar sales levels, yet clearly this is several years off.
So the formula for the author's share = (sales price - transaction fee) * .85. By offering authors and content owners a bigger slice of the pie, we allow them to price their product lower yet still make higher per-unit margins than through print publishing. Lower prices increase consumer demand, and higher demand plus higher per-unit profits create a wonderfully disruptive win-win situation for consumers and content owners alike. The biggest challenge facing digital publishers is how to increase adoption rates for digital books. I'm confident digital books are destined to go mainstream with multi-billion dollar sales levels, yet clearly this is several years off.
JW: When an author publishes with Smashwords their content will be available in a variety of formats, including Amazon's Kindle. What are all the formats you offer and are authors able to pick and choose from this list, limiting their content to certain formats?
MC: Currently we offer Mobipocket, Palm PDB, .rtf, .txt, PDF, and two different online readers (HTML and Javascript). Authors decide which formats they want. PDF and .rtf are good if enjoyment of the book requires rigid adherence to a strict page layout. The other formats are best for straight form narrative. Our Smashwords Style Guide helps authors prep their work for optimal conversion.
JW: Authors can set their own pricing as well as determine how much of the content is freely readable before a customer has to pay. What's the upper limit on that free access feature?
MC: The upper limit for free access is 100% free, which we support. From a sampling perspective, the author or rights holder can set their sampling rate from 0% to 99%. If they set it at 60%, for example, as I did with my own book, the first 60% of the book's content is available for free online viewing through our online readers. Sampling is a critically important marketing technique, yet few authors or publishers take proper advantage of it in the digital realm. The thought process here is that we as authors or publishers are competing for the time and attention of our readers. If we earn their time and attention, the revenue will come. If a reader invests several hours to read the first 60% of your 300 page novel, odds are they'll want to buy the book to finish it.
Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts -
No comments:
Post a Comment