Happy Sunday, WG2E-Land!
This past week, I received my Quarter 2 Royalties from Smashwords, which basically includes earnings accumulated through April and part of May 2012.
When I took a quick snapshot of how my 2012 earnings from Smashwords compared to my 2011 earnings, I was over the moon thrilled with the HUGE growth. Check this out:
2011 Smashwords Royalties
Quarter 1 (paid Feb. 2011) = 0
Quarter 2 (paid April 2011) = $26.67
Quarter 3 (paid July 2011) = $38.73
Quarter 4 (paid Oct. 2011) = $63.46
2012 Smashwords Royalties
Quarter 1 = $1764.48
Quarter 2 = $2170.26
Quarter 3 = $1823.70
Quarter 4 = due Oct. 2012
Wow, right?!
And, I expect Quarter 4 2012 to be my best Smashwords pay period yet because my Boxed Set is finally available in their premium catalog too! 
Now then…to what do I attribute this kind of A-mazing growth?
1. No Exclusivity
I have kept my Ebooks available on all platforms from the get-go. No KDP Select. No Nook First.
2. The First One is On Me (my Ridin’ the Free-Way Experiment)
In September 2011, I used Smashwords to take the book that started it all for me – Bootscootin’ Blahniks, which is also the first book in my series – FREE on all platforms. And, more important than that, I’ve left it FREE and plan to forever. In D. D. Scott-ville, the “first one is on me.” It wasn’t till I went FREE on Smashwords, and all the Smashwords channels (like Nook, Apple iTunes, Kobo, Sony and Diesel) matched that FREE offering, that my sales took off across all these channels.
3. I’ve stayed with Smashwords (but only for the channels I can’t upload to directly)
So, that means, yes, once Nook’s Pubit came out, I began using it instead of going through Smashwords to get there. But, for the books I’d already used the Smashwords to Nook connection for, I kept them there, because I did not want to lose the fabulous momentum I was getting there nor the fabulous reviews. And yes, I’m now using Kobo Writing Life too. Smashwords only distributes for me to Apple iTunes, Sony, and Diesel, plus their new platforms too because I can’t get there directly.
4. I’ve kept my prices at Bargain Book levels (between Free and $2.99).
That makes me very attractive to the Apple and Sony Crowds who are used to paying more for everything, except the Apple iTunes music lovers (who love books too and who are used to downloading music for around a buck per single).
All of these kudos for Smashwords considered, I do detest their reporting system and am very disappointed to have received word that they’re not continuing with their move to do direct deposit payments. The whole PayPal thing, which means you then have to transfer to your bank (another 3 to 5 day waiting period) is nuts. Plus, they’re getting further and further behind when it comes to posting sales numbers (for example, I haven’t gotten any Barnes and Noble numbers since May 31st). I know that may not be totally their fault (in other words, perhaps Barnes and Noble is jerking them around), but they’re going to have to find a solution.
Despite the downsides, though, my goal has always been to reach readers on all platforms. And for now, Smashwords is the only way to maintain that goal. And, the extra $600+ per month ain’t bad either!!!
It’s Your Turn, WG2E-Land: How are y’all doing on Smashwords?
The Best of The WG2E and Smashwords Wishes — D. D. Scott
Great entry, Dee-Dee. Seeing the contrast between your 2011 earnings and your 2012 earnings is truly inspirational for a mud dog bottom-paddler such as myself…
Wait a minute. That sounds a lot dirtier and less corn-fed than I had intended. I really ought to have more coffee before I try commenting on blogs and such.
Toddles off to brew coffee…
I’m toddling and brewing too, Steve! Cheers!!!
And this is exactly why I thought posting this comparison would be sooo helpful…we’re all starting in the same place, with just a few sales and just a few dollars made. BUT…it’s totally possible to blow the roof off those numbers in a relatively short period of time! Yayyy!!!
d.d., big congrats on your sales progress, that’s fantastic and encouraging
re your going direct with kobo, do you have isbn #’s, or just going with who they can distribute to without one?
thanks so much
You don’t need an ISBN to go direct with Kobo, Adan.
And for Smashwords, I always purchase their $9.95 ISBN…that way, the book stays in my name for the registered ISBN owner and doesn’t have Smashwords in that capacity. If you go with their Free ISBN’s, they (Smashwords) are listed as the registered party.
I’m sooo tickled my progress has encouraged you too! U Go, my friend!!!
good to know, thanks d.d.
and yes, the encouragement is very real 
U betchya, Adan!
What a great idea to give your first book away free–forever! I have enjoyed KDP Select and in 3 days had 24,000 downloads which turned into 800 sales within two weeks at $2.99, so I will use that again. It’s an exciting time to be a writer and finally be able to make our own choices.
It is the most exciting time to be a writer, Patrice! And Go, Girl, Go!!!
My “first one is on me” is working beyond my wildest expectations, and I would highly recommend it!
Hopefully my sales and numbers will have gone up more by November, one year on from when I put my first ebook up there. I did the ‘first one on me’ like DD for my first ebook, and the number of downloads went up and up. They still are, but only one every other day now. By November I hope to have at least 3 more ebooks out by myself and epublisher.
Well done, Julie!
And every book you add, the more visibility you’ve got and the more readers know they can count on you to keep on crankin’ ‘em out!
I get a sense from all our superfab RG2E Readers that they luv to become vested in an author, meaning they want to see that the author has books coming out on a regular basis featuring the characters from that author that they’ve come to know and love.
Thanks so much for that, DD. I shall definitely continue with my Angel series. Currently working on no 3. I liked, and still do as a reader, reading series and collect all the ones in those.
Have just gone on to SW to find out my yearly sales/downloads. I sold more this year than I did last year. Last year I only sold 1 ebook but this year it was loads more, with more sold at BN. So, I guess you are right. The more ebooks you have out there, the more visibility you get and more readers. Must get cracking on the book.
Atta Girl, Julie!!! U got it, my friend…get cracking on the next book!!! And congrats on your 2012 sales increase!!! WooHooo!!!
This is great news. Congratulations, D.D. I recently opted out of Kobo and I am getting all of my books loaded on Kobo’s Writing Life. The future for indie authors is looking great.
Wavin’ atchya, Theresa! Thanks bunches for the sweet shout-out, my friend!
I’ve just started using Kobo’s Writing Life too for all my new releases, and wow is it ever super user-friendly!
This is one case where I might go ahead and pull out of Smashwords channel distribution for all my previous books too instead of leaving them in Smashwords distribution to Kobo. I’ve never gotten much visibility on Kobo via Smashwords and don’t see many Smashwords distributed books in any of Kobo’s promotions.
Thanks for sharing,D.D. I have also seen good growth at SW (not quite like yours, though). I totally agree with you on their reporting system–I hate it except for seeing what I’ve sold directly on SW. However, you’re still ahead of me on what you’re able to decipher. How do you know what your Q3-2012 balance is? For the life of me I cannot figure out how to read their reports. Do you do your own manual figuring to get totals from the Quarterly mapping report, or is there a way to see the totals somewhere that I just can’t find? I basically just take whatever amount they pay me each quarter with no real idea of how much I’ve sold of what title and where. It’s a bit frustrating.
I do my own manual figuring too, Stacey, but here’s how you find the Smashwords reports you need (and yeah, it ain’t easy to find on there):
Go to your Dashboard. On the left sidebar, click on Sales & Payment Report. Choose the year you want right at the top of the page where it says Choose a Year. It takes a few seconds, but your totals will then appear on the left sidebar.
I don’t use those Quarterly Mapping Reports and find them useless. What I do is download the sales and payment report as a spreadsheet, which is an option that appears after you choose the year you want.
And U Go, Girl, on great Smashwords growth!!!
d.d., i had never seen that and saw details for the year! wow, thank you
Congrats on your Smashwords sales, D.D.! I sell more on Smashwords than on B&N. Not sure why. And it is still less than Amazon, but I basically like Smashwords. There is still sense of a human being behind the company, and I like that. Thanks for the tip on figuring their numbers.
U betchya, Alicia! It took me forever to figure out how and where to find their reports…so I’m glad to pay the scoop forward!
Smashwords is still, by far, my lowest channel(s), but every sale counts and every spot you can find readers counts too!!!
And I agree with you in that I do enjoy learning from and hanging with Smashwords Founder Mark Coker.
Thanks bunches for the shout-out!
I’m so glad to hear that Smashwords is a worthwhile outlet. I met Mark Coker last year and liked him a lot. About to take a couple of books out of KDP Select so this info is very timely.
D.D.–On another subject, I’ve been trying to reach you via FB DM and email, but I’m somehow I’m not getting through. Trying to find out if Martini Madness is still on for fall and what the deadline/wordcount guidelines are. I’d really appreciate a note to annerallen dot allen at gmail dot com. Thanks a bunch!
Mark is terrific for sure, Anne! And there is a wonderful Ereading Community who looks to Smashwords to find Ebooks! We Ebook Gift from RG2E, by request, for Smashwords readers almost every day!
I did get your messages too, but am behind on getting everyone answered. Yes, the Martini Madness WG2E Anthology is a go and it will release around Thanksgiving Weekend. There’s no word count…but, generally speaking, the stories are coming in anywhere from 2,000 words to 16,000 words.
Cheers, my friend!!!
Oh, I’ll need your story no later than October 15th.
Thanks, D. D. Will do! Thanksgiving is a great time to launch.
Hi D.D. – Congrats on the sales.
I use Smashwords for everything but Kindle and Nook. I haven’t gone direct with either Apple or Kobo. Working full time at a day job I just don’t have the energy to upload and track sales at all these different sites.
My Smashwords payments for 2 quarters so far – Q1 $ 105 – which I used to pay for the photos/music for my new release book trailer and Q2 186.00 – which paid for 3 sets (hero and heroine) of Romance Trading Cards for my 3 books. Plan to use my Smashwords money for fun stuff like that.
In that way I can pay the ‘vendor’ through Paypal and not have to bother depositing in my bank account.
Of course if I start making the big bucks (LOL) on Smashwords then will rethink that…
Excellent scoop, Liz, and thanks sooo very much for sharing with us!!! Go, Girl, Go!!!
And isn’t that fun when your PayPal Income pays your epublishing empire expenses?! I luuuvvv that!!!
Liz, please do tell about the Romance Trading Cards! I’m not a romance writer, but I could picture something like trading cards for some of my fantasy characters. I’d love to know more about this.
Me too, Forrest…I’d luuuvvv to hear about those cards…
Very inspiring post, D. D.. My smashwords experience is in the nascent stages, with only a couple of novellas, an “e-chapbook”, and a couple of free short stories up. I’ve provided a coupon for a couple of these on my blog, good for the month of July, and have seen a big uptick in downloads of these free (for July) works. Still have a long way to go, though, to get sales where I want them to be! Well, as they say, keep plugging along!
It is all about continuing to “plug along,” Forrest! Exactly that!!!
And each book you add to your cyber shelf gets you another fabulous shot at being discovered by readers!!!
Well done!!!
Great post, DD! I also love Smashwords’ coupons–they’re great for giveaways and working with reviewers. I’m also excited to see them forming new partnerships with Baker and Taylor and others. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of those. Like you, I wish things were speedier, but if it wasn’t for Smashwords, I’d have no way to get into Apple, Sony, or Diesel, and until recently, Kobo. Smashwords also gives a great royalty rate on direct sales!
Thanks again for posting your numbers–my Smashwords numbers right now resemble your 2011 numbers (I just started this year), so I’m hoping my 2013 looks more like your 2012!
Cheers to your 2013 looking like my 2012 and beyond, my friend!!!
And yes, that’s exactly why Smashwords is still a very viable player…because we don’t have any other way to get to Sony and Apple, Diesel and more…at least for now…
But, if they hope to stay viable, they are going to have to do something with their reporting system.
I’m confused. On the right hand bar of this site, it says that most of your Smashwords sales have been in single-digits, unless I’m reading it wrong. How does that translate to thousands of dollars, unless you’re including your Amazon sales in there?
Those are for Smashwords sales themselves, India…I also use Smashwords to distribute to Kobo, Apple, Sony, Diesel and for Nook (just for Bootscootin’, Stompin’ and Muse…prior to PubIt coming along). So, all of those sales come from Smashwords too!
I guess my pen name hasn’t sold anything except at Smashwords since my report hasn’t updated. I don’t remember when the books went into the premium catalog since the date changes if you upload a new version. I don’t like the quarterly report either, so thanks for explaining about the Year report instead. I’m hoping my next quarterly report will have something more than $2.45 on it.
I don’t mind the payment going through Paypal. I have the Paypal debit card so I can still spend the money in the account on whatever I need or use an ATM to withdraw cash or I can leave it there to pay someone for editing or cover art.
Glad to see you’re going direct to Kobo for new stuff. I’m planning to do the same thing.
Wavin’ atchya, Christina!
It took me, as you can see from above, over a full year to get any kind of traction and sales on Smashwords. And my first quarter, I got nothing as in zero, not even a penny.
So hang in there, my friend. It can be done!!!
D.D. I am encouraged by your growth on SW, congratulations!! What would you advise for an author like me with only two books? I’ve had only a few books sold via SW… the majority are through Amazon and BN.com. Both books are also on Kobo, SW, iTunes Connect, and Booktango. I keep prices generally between 99 and 2.99 and have not signed up for any exclusive programs.
whaddayathink?
For me, Lauren, I didn’t hit a great stride on Smashwords till I put that first one for FREE on there, then everything started selling across all platforms.
When will your third book be out? If it’s within a couple months (perhaps three at most), I’d consider dropping your first one to Free now.