Are You Missing Out on Sales?

Regular readers will know that with one exception, my titles are not exclusive to the Kindle. The exception is The Handshaker, which is enrolled in the KDP Select program until the end of April. A condition of Select is that the title must be exclusive to Amazon.

For all my other works, whether self-published or through Crooked {Cat} Publishing, they are also available from iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Diesel, Scrollmotion, via Smashwords.

"Why do you bother?" some have asked. "Everyone knows the Kindle is the big seller."

Is it?

Yesterday, I checked my first quarter sales on Smashwords. I've sold just 20 less books on there than I have on the Kindle.

That result, which doesn't surprise me, is slightly biased. The Handshaker is only available through Amazon. If I eliminate it from the reports, I've actually sold more through Smashwords than I have Amazon.

The situation becomes more intriguing when I narrow down the sales. If I look at my Sanford 3rd Age Club Mysteries, the titles I push the most, I find that I've sold TWICE as many on Smashwords as I have on the Kindle.

I'm not knocking the Kindle. The Amazon platform has opened up a marketplace that no sane author can afford to be without. It is brilliant. Upload is easy and quick, finding books is simple thanks to their ASIN cataloguing system, and contrary to many opinions, I've always found their support to be top drawer.

But last year, the Kindle accounted for only 50% of my sales. The rest were made through Smashwords. And the reason is clear; Smashwords carry an author's work in ALL formats, including pdf and online reading. My titles are available through Amazon but only for the Kindle. Check out my storefront on Smashwords, and you can download for the Nook, Kobo, pdf, iPad/Phone, every possible variation. In addition, once a work has gone through the Smashwords vetting process, it can be found on the iTunes, Barnes & Noble, etc. sites.

I don't sell many from the actual Smashwords site. Most of them come through these others sites, and the sales are even more surprising because I don't particularly publicise them, whereas I push my Kindle links like hell.

My cosy crimes appear to do well in countries like Canada and Australia, and Great Britain doesn't do too baldy, either, which indicates that there as many people using reading devices alternative to the Kindle.

I don't give advice… well I do but I usually charge for it (I'm a Yorkshireman, what would you expect) but in this instance, I'll give you a spot of advice for free, and it's based on personal experience.

Ignore Smashwords at your peril.

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All my titles, published or self-published, can be found on my Amazon page and for reading devices other than the Kindle, they can be found on my Smashwords storefront.