

Three Years of Smashwords and Draft2Digital
7 snips Apr 10, 2025
Kris Austin, CEO of Draft2Digital, and Mark Coker, former CEO of Smashwords, dive into the merger that transformed indie publishing. They explore lessons learned over three years and share future goals that empower authors. The discussion highlights exciting new features like pre-orders and thematic sales at the Smashwords store. They also talk about simplifying royalty splits for collaborative authors and their plans to integrate print books, enhancing the indie author experience while supporting local bookstores.
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Merger Motivation
- Draft2Digital and Smashwords merged to better serve indie authors by combining resources and reducing competition.
- Both companies shared similar values and goals, making the cultural integration smoother than anticipated.
Integration Challenges
- Integrating the two decade-old systems was a major technical challenge, taking longer than expected.
- The cultural blend was surprisingly easy, with both teams sharing similar values.
Embrace Print Publishing
- Authors should consider print publishing as it's easy and has little upfront cost with print-on-demand.
- D2D Print offers a simple solution for print distribution, and the market is growing.