Good new for erotica authors on Smashwords

[Buzzboy]

This will most definitely interfere with my creative process.

and my sales.

 

[lovecraft68]

Well, he's been more restrictive than Amazon for 13 or 14 months. Stories that he wants to be changed go through at Amazon with no issues. So, I'm not all that impressed with his interpretations. Though, he just doesn't generally alow wide distribution rather than not allowing it. Still, I'm not happy with him. If it goes through at amazon, how can he turn it down?

Ah, well I never select amazon as a distributer and won't. I list my own books there.

D2D was royally fucked by amazon years ago, had their account banned with no reason give, they finally got it back but they are super paranoid now. All my taboo stuff will only go on the SW site, the stuff that goes on premium under the original sw does not go to amazon.

But thanks, because I'll have to check and see if I need to start making sure they don't do it.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

So, necro-ing this one, sorry.

I had my "invitation to migrate" from Smashwords to Draft2Digital pop up on the Smashwords dashboard today.

Has anyone done this, yet? I'm cautious enough by temperament to read "early adopter" as "guinea pig," so I'd sure like to get feedback on this where I can.

I should probably log in, do that, and hopefull change my pen name. I would've figured by now, you pretty much had to do something like that.

 

[Ada Stuart]

Well, he's been more restrictive than Amazon for 13 or 14 months. Stories that he wants to be changed go through at Amazon with no issues. So, I'm not all that impressed with his interpretations. Though, he just doesn't generally alow wide distribution rather than not allowing it. Still, I'm not happy with him. If it goes through at amazon, how can he turn it down?

In my experience, Amazon doesn't vet your story before they accept it. Of course, they claim they do, but that's probably just checking the format and whatever they do.

So, they might accept your story at first, only to send you an email years later, telling you it's been blocked. And if you get several of those emails (because you have published a lot of similar titles) they will eventually close your account completely.

So, having the story rejected by Smashwords is a clear sign that you should be careful putting it on Amazon.

I made that mistake and now I'm losing a ton of money since Amazon was 75% of my income, so I guess I have to hold on to that day job

 

[MillieDynamite]

I've never had one sent back. One story has been there for four or five years and been rejected by SW twice years apart. I'm sorry, there was nothing the story that is a violation of the rules.

In my experience, Amazon doesn't vet your story before they accept it. Of course, they claim they do, but that's probably just checking the format and whatever they do.

So, they might accept your story at first, only to send you an email years later, telling you it's been blocked. And if you get several of those emails (because you have published a lot of similar titles) they will eventually close your account completely.

So, having the story rejected by Smashwords is a clear sign that you should be careful putting it on Amazon.

I made that mistake and now I'm losing a ton of money since Amazon was 75% of my income, so I guess I have to hold on to that day job

 

[Codoc24]

I started using D2D in August 2023 and have not had any problems. I actually like it better than Amazon. They aren't such sticklers about what they will and won't accept. Amazon banned one of my books in July 2023. It was a pretty tame story. Couldn't believe they blocked it. I removed one scene where a woman was having her tits fondled against her will, and Amazon approved it after that. I like D2D because it will distribute to B&N, Apple, Smashwords, Kobo and a few others. I have been a little surprised at how many sales I have made through Apple. If Amazon wasn't the big kid on the block, I wouldn't even bother with them. The others have a better royalty for the author than Amazon does. I would encourage anyone to give D2D a shot with at least one book to see if you like it or not.

 

[lovecraft68]

I started using D2D in August 2023 and have not had any problems. I actually like it better than Amazon. They aren't such sticklers about what they will and won't accept. Amazon banned one of my books in July 2023. It was a pretty tame story. Couldn't believe they blocked it. I removed one scene where a woman was having her tits fondled against her will, and Amazon approved it after that. I like D2D because it will distribute to B&N, Apple, Smashwords, Kobo and a few others. I have been a little surprised at how many sales I have made through Apple. If Amazon wasn't the big kid on the block, I wouldn't even bother with them. The others have a better royalty for the author than Amazon does. I would encourage anyone to give D2D a shot with at least one book to see if you like it or not.

D2D doesn't allow taboo or non con, but when the merge is final they will have boxes to check off for it, so you can submit that material through them, but only to the SW store.

 

[TadOverdon]

Got an email from my new digital overlords, I did:

D2D Welcomes You to Migrate​

As of April 23, 2024, Draft2Digital follows exactly the same shipment policies to retailers for both mainstream erotica and erotica with taboo properties that Smashwords has followed since 2017.

Your account was previously excluded from migration to Draft2Digital because we weren't yet ready to migrate erotic content, but we're pleased to let you know that Draft2Digital is now ready to welcome you.

As of April 23, 2024, Draft2Digital follows exactly the same shipment policies to retailers for both mainstream erotica and erotica with taboo properties that Smashwords has followed since 2017.

Your account was previously excluded from migration to Draft2Digital because we weren't yet ready to migrate erotic content, but we're pleased to let you know that Draft2Digital is now ready to welcome you.

Got Spicy Books?​

We got you. After the merger with Smashwords in 2022, Draft2Digital added the ability to certify taboo facets, if any, of erotic materials in the same way that Smashwords has since certification was introduced in 2017. This certification process has allowed us to work with each individual retailer to deliver erotic content that they will allow per their unique policies, store capabilities, and audience preferences.


So what does this mean for you? Once your account is migrated to Draft2Digital, your published books with erotic certification will remain live at Smashwords, even if they have taboo facets applied.

Retailers that accept selections of taboo facets will continue to receive books with those facets as they have from Smashwords since 2017.

Vanilla Erotica?​

Mainstream erotica books that are certified to not contain any content that requires taboo facets will remain live at any retailers that accept them, including the Smashwords store.

Just Romance?​

If you have other books published that do not require certification based on their selected categories and BISACs, they will remain at the stores where you are used to seeing them. After migration, your books will be newly eligible for additional stores available only through Draft2Digital.

Pen Names​

Draft2Digital is very careful with your pen names. With your Draft2Digital account, you'll be able to choose different publishing author names for your different books, all from the same account. If your books target wildly different audiences, you can choose a different author and/or publisher name to make it easier to market your books to their preferred audiences.

BISACs and Categories​

We acknowledge that BISAC has historically provided insufficient support for the diversity of erotica. Draft2Digital has worked to map and include Smashwords Erotica categories in their Draft2Digital BISAC selector so that you will have the ability to continue to reach all Smashwords' specialized erotica categories, and your existing books will stay in those categories.

As always, books that are incorrectly categorized or incorrectly certified may be flagged by the moderation team at Draft2Digital which may affect your account status. The erotica certification system is built on trust between the author or publisher, the distributor, and our store partners. Intentional miscategorization of your books jeapordizes not only your account, but the willingness of our store partners to accept erotic content.

In 2012, Smashwords negotiated with Paypal to ensure that legal fiction could receive remuneration despite a growing culture of payment processors dropping these consumers. We remain committed to being a home for all indie authors who write legal fiction.

 

[CarmineBlancheJr]

On the surface, yet what was the first thing to blow up when lockdowns started?
Porn Hub.

I know several people that had "Covid Babies". And at least two of them said that PornHub was a big factor in getting things moving in the bedroom.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'll need to contact my publisher and see if they have migrated yet or not. Last I heard, they hadn't received any communications.

Got an email from my new digital overlords, I did:

 

[lovecraft68]

I'll need to contact my publisher and see if they have migrated yet or not. Last I heard, they hadn't received any communications.

I'm in the absolute last wave. If you have taboo or NC or Beastie content-so in other words anything you have to click the box for when publishing-you're referred to as a "complicated account."

I e-mailed Mark who explained that currently, D2D does not have those boxes to check and they will be installing them.

I am in no hurry. I anticipate nothing but headaches when we have to go through D2D, so are so in mortal fear of amazon they are going to be insane with the picking at blurbs and descriptions.

 

[CarmineBlancheJr]

I'm in the absolute last wave. If you have taboo or NC or Beastie content-so in other words anything you have to click the box for when publishing-you're referred to as a "complicated account."

"Complicated account". Story of my fucking life! HAHAHA

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

I started using D2D in August 2023 and have not had any problems. I actually like it better than Amazon. They aren't such sticklers about what they will and won't accept. Amazon banned one of my books in July 2023. It was a pretty tame story. Couldn't believe they blocked it. I removed one scene where a woman was having her tits fondled against her will, and Amazon approved it after that. I like D2D because it will distribute to B&N, Apple, Smashwords, Kobo and a few others. I have been a little surprised at how many sales I have made through Apple. If Amazon wasn't the big kid on the block, I wouldn't even bother with them. The others have a better royalty for the author than Amazon does. I would encourage anyone to give D2D a shot with at least one book to see if you like it or not.

Hi there! You could change the dates and a few other details in your post and it would be EXACTLY the same as my experience with Amazon who are fucking awful.

Their content guideline is one vague and verbose paragraph, and their content review process is literally kafkaesque. Amazon banned one of my books after seven months worth of decent sales, and the official explanation was "we reserve the right to decide if an ebook is in violation of our guidelines". This, they told me, may relate to either the content or the cover (they didn't bother to tell me which one it was). After that, I removed all my ebooks from KDP Select (which is massively overrated) so that I would no longer be tied to Amazon exclusivity and could publish on Smashwords. My sales literally quadrupled thanks to access to all the other retailers, and now Smashwords and the other retailers account for about half of my monthly royalties.

The only real criticism I have about Smashwords is that their website looks rather ugly which can be offputting for prospective users. The search function also isn't friendly to non-Latin keyword searches (whether that matters depends on whether you publish in other languages), so I think the merger with D2D and the transfer of author accounts will be great for authors publishing on Smashwords.

 

[TheLobster]

The only real criticism I have about Smashwords is that their website looks rather ugly which can be offputting for prospective users.

I cannot emphasize how true that is. I've only heard about Smashwords here, so I went to check out what the fuss was about. Immediately I was assaulted by absolutely awful mid-2000 era of web design that's frankly laughable in this day and age. It's not a great look at all if they cannot spare a dime to hire a student web developer who'd do better than this.

...Though I suppose it's still an improvement over late-90s style that still lingers in some parts of Literotica.

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

I cannot emphasize how true that is. I've only heard about Smashwords here, so I went to check out what the fuss was about. Immediately I was assaulted by absolutely awful mid-2000 era of web design that's frankly laughable in this day and age. It's not a great look at all if they cannot spare a dime to hire a student web developer who'd do better than this.

...Though I suppose it's still an improvement over late-90s style that still lingers in some parts of Literotica.

By contrast, their new owners at D2D have a pretty nice website. Here's hoping Smashwords gets a makeover once the merger is complete, because despite its hideous appearance, it's still a great ebook retailer that actually treats authors (especially erotica authors) with respect. I'll take them over Amazon any day.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I don't usually drift into the forbidden zone. Not sure if Mary has though, we use the same publisher.

I'm in the absolute last wave. If you have taboo or NC or Beastie content-so in other words anything you have to click the box for when publishing-you're referred to as a "complicated account."

I e-mailed Mark who explained that currently, D2D does not have those boxes to check and they will be installing them.

I am in no hurry. I anticipate nothing but headaches when we have to go through D2D, so are so in mortal fear of amazon they are going to be insane with the picking at blurbs and descriptions.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I started using D2D in August 2023 and have not had any problems. I actually like it better than Amazon. They aren't such sticklers about what they will and won't accept. Amazon banned one of my books in July 2023. It was a pretty tame story. Couldn't believe they blocked it. I removed one scene where a woman was having her tits fondled against her will, and Amazon approved it after that. I like D2D because it will distribute to B&N, Apple, Smashwords, Kobo and a few others. I have been a little surprised at how many sales I have made through Apple. If Amazon wasn't the big kid on the block, I wouldn't even bother with them. The others have a better royalty for the author than Amazon does. I would encourage anyone to give D2D a shot with at least one book to see if you like it or not.

Thx, good to know. I'm just getting my a into g and about to do my first thru D2D. Bit of a learning curve but seems way easier than Smashwords