Site of Interest: smashwords

This weeks site of interest is http://www.smashwords.com/





Smashwords is an ebook publishing and distribution platform for ebook authors, publishers and readers. We offer multi-format, DRM-free ebooks, ready for immediate sampling and purchase, and readable on any e-reading device.



For readers, Smashwords provides an opportunity to discover new voices in all categories and genres of the written word. Once you register, the site offers useful tools for search, discovery and personal library-building, and each week we add new features based on feedback from members.

At Smashwords, our authors and publishers have complete control over the sampling, pricing and marketing of their written works.

Smashwords is ideal for publishing novels, short fiction, poetry, personal memoirs, monographs, non-fiction, research reports, essays, or other written forms that haven’t even been invented yet.

It's free to publish and distribute with Smashwords.

Smashwords also has a partnership with NANOWRIMO.

About the Smashwords/NaNoWriMo Promotion
Smashwords is opening up the Smashwords platform to allow all NaNoWriMo participants to publish, share, track and promote their works-in-progress.
All NaNo books will receive promotion via:

1. A special catalog hosted at Smashwords.com
2. A special catalog in the native catalog of Stanza, the #1 most downloaded (2.5 million +) e-reading app on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
3. A special catalog in the native catalog of Aldiko, the #1 most popular e-reading app for Android phones
4. Promotion in the Smashwords blog, on Twitter, and elsewhere!

How to list your book as a NaNoWriMo title at Smashwords:

1. Sign up for free with Smashwords (if you're not already a member) http://www.smashwords.com/signup
   Between November 1 (12:00am PST) and November 30 (11:59pm PST), publish your NaNoWriMo novel: http://www.smashwords.com/upload/nanowrimo
   
2. You can set the price of your book to FREE (recommended if you want to get the most readership), or you can set a price let readers pick their own price if you want friends, fans and family to financially support your month of writing madness. Free is better! If you do charge people to read your book, we suggest you donate your proceeds during November directly to NaNoWrimo to support their great program.
   
3. During that same time period, whenever you feel like it, upload a new revision of your novel by going to your Dashboard and clicking "Upload new version" next to the title: http://www.smashwords.com/dashboard
   And yes! readers will always be able to fetch the latest version!
   A dynamic display of a bar graph and other statistics on your book's public info page will help you and your fans follow your progress.
   
4. Please note: Our word count may not match the official NaNoWriMo one!
   Send your friends, fans and family to Smashwords to read your novel, other NaNoWriMo novels, and to discover thousands of other great ebooks! http://www.smashwords.com/
5. If you write 50,000 or more words by November 30th, you'll see "Goal reached!" (If you finish after November, we'll show your latest progress, but also point out that you eventually did reach the goal.)
   
   
6. REMEMBER: Smashwords is providing a fun way to publish (and sell, if you want) your new novel. You still need to sign up for NaNoWriMo and submit your book there, too, to participate in the offical contest! http://www.nanowrimo.org/user/register

How to Promote your NaNoWriMo title at Smashwords:

1. Use the social media links on your book page to share your book with friends, fans and family
2. Encourage your friends, fans and family to share your work in progress with friends, using the social media links
3. Celebrate your Nano entry by posting links to your Nano book at Smashwords, so fans can download your work-in-progress, readable in multiple DRM-free ebook formats!
4. Review our free ebook, The Smashwords Book Marketing Guide, for additional marketing tips.  Smart book marketing begins before you release your finished book, so star now!

The Details

• Since you cannot begin your novel until NaNoWriMo starts, you cannot add your book to Smashwords until then, either. (In other words, your book must have a "published" date at Smashwords within the month of November, or it won't be listed on this page.)
• The book must be within the Fiction category at Smashwords.
• During the month of November, whenever you upload a new revision of your work, its NaNoWriMo word count will be updated automatically.
• Your book's participation in NaNoWriMo will be listed on the book's info page at Smashwords, along with the latest word count we saw during November.
• Even after NaNoWriMo is over, please keep updating your book at Smashwords. And when you finish your novel, remember to uncheck the Work in Progress setting for your book!
• PLEASE NOTE: Smashwords does not send your book or word counts to the official NaNoWriMo site! To officially participate in the contest, be sure to sign up at NaNoWriMo.org and update your book there, too!
  Click here to register at NaNoWriMo.org >

After NaNoWriMo is Over
How to Publish Your Finished Book on Smashwords
When you finish writing your novel, and after you get it properly edited and proof-read (ALL books need many revisions and edits before they're truly ready to publish), and after you have carefully formatted it per the requirements of the Smashwords Style Guide, you can return to your Smashwords Dashboard, upload the finished version, and uncheck the "Word in Progress" setting to make it 'live' on Smashwords and eligible for free, Premium distribution to major online retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Sony, and others to be announced soon. Learn more about how Smashwords can distibute your book on our Distribution Information Page.

Whilst on site be sure to download your free copy of the 'Smashwords Book Marketing Guide'
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/305

For more details on how to publish with smashwords visit http://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwords