Some months ago, the Smashwords Draft2digital merger hit the internet and the publishing space. Our team at KDP College is presenting an update on the merger of these publishing giants.
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Smashwords Draft2digital merger: What is it all about
The Smashwords Draft2digital merger is about the business alliance that happened between the two self-publishing companies some months ago. Both companies decided to pitch business tents together to give more value to their customers.
Smashwords blazed the trail some years ago in the ebook publishing industry. It became a go-to online company for many authors who use its website to self-publish their ebooks and get them distributed worldwide across many online channels, stores, and libraries.
Draft2digital, on the other hand, came into the scene some years after Smashwords hit the internet space. Draft2digital, on its part, has helped lots of authors to publish their ebooks and paperback books and get them distributed across many online channels like Smashwords.
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Smashwords Draft2digital merger: Underground work in progress
The KDP College team have been monitoring event and news about the different phases of this merger. Most importantly, we want to get information across to authors about how this new development can help them achieve more as authors in terms of the following:
- Publish more books
- Sell more books
- Get their books distributed across more channels
- Gain access to online tools that will make online Publishing easier for authors
At KDP College, we are confident that the Smashwords Draft2digital merger will help authors in many ways. The merger of these giant publishing companies will help authors publish and sell more books.
Remaining phases of merger integration
The Smashwords Draft2digital merger integrated has been divided into three phases according to a recent release by the Draft2digital team.
Phase 1 of the merger integration
These are the following activities under phase 1:
- Authors of Draft2Digital (D2D) will gain distribution into the Smashwords Store, just as they distribute to other retailers.
- D2D will also roll out their support for the Smashwords Erotica Certification System to D2D authors.
- At the end of Phase I, D2D authors are expected to be selling in the Smashwords Store, but they will not yet have access to all the unique and exciting bells and whistles Smashwords has to offer.
Phase II of the integration
The following are the activities under phase 2 of the merger integration:
D2D authors will have access to the same tools Smashwords authors have access to over the years. They will be able to use tools like:
- Smashwords Coupons
- Self-serve merchandising,
- Smashwords Interviews
- The ability to enroll in site-wide sales (such as the Summer/Winter Sale going on now!), and
- The ability to run exclusive early releases with Smashwords Presales.
Phase III of the Smashwords Draft2digital merger integration
The following are the activities under phase 3 of the Smashwords Draft2digital merger integration:
After D2D authors have access to the same Smashwords Store tools as current Smashwords authors, the migration of current Smashwords author accounts into Draft2digital will begin.
What happened after these Phases
According to the news release, “After these three phases are done, the integration will be complete! And from there, it’s all about innovating and improving, and building new tools and services to power up your publishing business.”
FAQ of the Draft2digital Smashwords merger
Question:
Should I continue uploading new titles to Smashwords, or should I start uploading straight to Draft2Digital?
Answer:
It depends. If the Smashwords Store is an important sales channel for you, and if you regularly utilize our awesome tools for coupons and self-serve merchandising, then it’s probably best to continue uploading to Smashwords, as you always do.
But if you want to start experimenting with Draft2Digital’s tools and distribution, or if you want to sign up for the D2D Print beta (more on that below), you can open a Draft2Digital account anytime.
We have just presented above the remaining three phases of the Smashwords Draft2digital merger integration.
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