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Smashwords eDelivery Updated With New Support for Email, Format Options

Smashwordssmashwords_logo updated their 4 month old ebook delivery service yesterday, and Kindle owners will be pleased.

When Smashwords eDelivery opened to the public in November, the service enabled Smashwords customers to automatically send their ebook purchases to their Dropbox account. They could only send Epub, PDF, and Kindle, and only to Dropbox (no Kindle support).

But thanks to the new update that has changed. Readers will now have the option of choosing which ebook format they wish to send; they can now choose from a wider variety of file formats (including txt, rtf, lrf, pdb).  That’s by no means every format available in the Smashwords ebookstore, but it’s still an improvement over the previous limited options.

Update: I was wrong. the eDelivery service lets you send any of the 7 file formats supported by Smashwords.

The service now also supports sending ebook samples, and they can now also automatically send their ebooks as email attachments. eDelivery had previously supported this during the beta test, but the feature was dropped when eDelivery was opened to the public. Apparently Amazon disapproved of the email delivery option because it was primarily focused on supporting the Kindle.

Luckily for us, that’s no longer true. The new ebook delivery option lets users send their ebooks to any email address, and it lets them send more than just Kindle format.

I can’t speak for anyone else but that is going to prove very useful to me; often times I like to email documents to myself and then download them to my tablet. Assuming I have Wifi access for my tablet, email is often more convenient than transferring a file over a USB cable, and it makes sure I have a readily accessible backup copy of the document in my main email account.

Smashwords launched in early 2008 with the goal of enabling indie authors, who had been shut out by the legacy publishing gatekeepers, to reach readers. It has since grown to be the largest indie ebook distributor, supporting 83 thousand authors and publishers who distribute 276 thousand titles to major and minor ebookstores, including Scribd, iBooks, Kobo, and more.

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Comments


nikolawannabe February 13, 2014 um 2:18 pm

Thanks for the awesome write-up. Quick correction – the 7 formats available in the format choice page selector are actually all of the formats we offer for download. Enjoy!

Nate Hoffelder February 13, 2014 um 3:15 pm

Oh. I was under the impression that you offered more. Did that change, or am I mistaken?

nikolawannabe February 13, 2014 um 4:02 pm

Nope, we have never offered any others (there aren’t really more to offer). Another correction…we don’t distribute to Google Play or Amazon (generally) at this time. You can see our list of retailers here: https://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwords

Nate Hoffelder February 13, 2014 um 4:10 pm

I blame the numerous errors on being constantly pulled away from my computer to go shovel snow (a good excuse, i think).


carmen webster buxton February 15, 2014 um 12:23 pm

This is a wonderful development! Glad Smashwords did this. Their directions don’t say anything about whitelisting the Smashwords email address, which I know I had to do for O’Reilly technical ebookstore. Does this mean Amazon has universally whitelisted Smashwords for all Kindles? If so, that’s amazing! I went ahead and added their email to my approved senders list and then changed my Smashwords delivery email address to my Kindle Paperwhite’s address, and it went just fine!

nikolawannabe February 15, 2014 um 10:56 pm

@Carmen Nope, no universal whitelisting. We just left off almost all references to Kindle in the hopes that would keep the banhammer from coming down again.


Smashwords: An Indie Author Guide February 1, 2016 um 11:05 pm

[…] Retailers include iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Overdrive, Scribd, Oyster, Baker & Taylor, and more. And no, at this time Smashwords does not distribute to Kindle (though for a brief time they delivered ebooks to Kindle), but fortunately KDP Publishing is fairly easy to navigate. On the plus side, Smashwords does distribute to libraries. Smashwords also delivers ebooks via Dropbox and email. […]


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