Please keep in mind - anything I say in my first impressions is only an impression before actually committing to anything -including the upload of the actual manuscript. Results will be reported on down the line. I'm still in the process of deciding on things.
Smashwords is purely an eBook publisher with an impressive reach, covering Amazon, B&N, Apple and a plethora of other retailers, including their own store. They don't seem to offer any paid services, sans a few DYI books (as far as I saw at least, I am fairly drugged on cold meds these days), but they offer a ton of free guides to publishing, videos and free literature. A good portion is meant for preparing your book for a Smashwords release, but they also do tips for marketing and the non-sense surrounding it.
As such, even if one would not want to publish and E-book, browsing through the free material Smashwords has to offer would not hurt, just to get a feel of for the industry. Personally, I feel that the owner overestimates the future growth of eBooks just a bit, but there's no denying that it's a rapidly growing market worth getting into sooner rather than later.
It's also worth noting that Smashwords apparently keeps a pool of artists one can commission for covers. As I'm not looking for one as of the moment, I have no made use of this service, but it's great to have a go to place when in need of a cover.
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