Smashwords...My Rant.

Well, it is one month later, and my little test has some interesting results.

My conclusion is that Smashwords is not all it's cracked up to be. Let me be clear, for this test, I gave Five Times Vengeance the same amount of promotion that I did when on Amazon.....not too much.

I thought that with all the other retailers that Smashwords shipped to, it would be a given that I'd sell a few more copies. Not so. Amazon still sold more of FTV than all the other retailers (half a dozen) at Smashwords.

I mean, FTV could be the next Lord of the Rings (which it isn't) but no one will know if they don't even know it exists. But that is a burden that falls solely on me. And I feel it should't. Yes, you heard right. I feel that it should fall primarily on either Amazon or Smashwords to promote my book. Allow me to explain.

How often do you see R.A. Salvatore or Stephen King or John Grisham promoting? Look a little further down the line and you'll see Walmart and B&N promoting their book...after all, they're the ones that are going to make the money.

But wait, Amazon and Smashwords DO promote books, and if you do your research, you'll see they only promote the "popular" ones. They give tons of time to books that are selling like hotcakes. Why? Because the more books they sell, the more money they make. Huh. What a concept. Precisely my point.

Perhaps they should begin featuring books by first-time authors. Perhaps they should spotlight these authors instead of bending over backwards for long established indie authors who do not need any help getting the word out there about their books.

Also, even in my short time in the self publishing arena, I've come to know it is rampant with immoral behavior. And the behavior I speak of is paid-for, solicited reviews. DAMN that makes me mad. You know what I'm talking about. Some book that has 147 - 5 star reviews, 67 - 4 star reviews, 5 - 3 star reviews, and zero 1 or 2 star reviews. And the 5 star reviews are like, "The best book I've read this year. I can't wait for the sequel. Read this book immediately." And when I read a sample, it was pure garbage. Pure, unadulterated crapola. It was then that I knew (from extensive research) that the author either got all their Facebook friends to give 5 star reviews, or paid for 5 star reviews. And because of all those 5 star reviews, Amazon and SW then feature the book, leaving us morally upstanding authors in the dark.

If I were to start a self publishing website like Smashwords (which I just might do...seriously) I'd feature new authors, totally scrap the corrupt reviewing system, and really focus on promoting.

Whew! End of Rant.