Dear Smashwords

I used to love you.

Really, I did.

I would come home from a hard day's work, and there you would be, waiting for me to upload my latest e-book. You were simple, uncomplicated. You were fun.

Then a few months ago, I noticed you began to change. "Growing pains," some might call it. "Overextending," was another word I've seen.

Whatever it is, it's getting to the point where soon you will no longer be meeting my needs, and Smashwords, at that point I will say goodbye.

Yes, it's fine and dandy that Smashwords has hooked up with all these different distributors and can make one's e-books available on a bunch of different sites.

The problem is what the writer has to put up with to get that distribution. There comes a point when enough is enough, and I'm rapidly nearing that point.

What are my complaints?

1.) It shouldn't take months for changes to appear on distributors' websites. Yes, I'm fully aware each distributor has their own different rules. Guess what? I don't care. I realize that sounds harsh, but with today's technology, there's no reason there couldn't be some consensus formed among distributors, perhaps one implemented by Smashwords. It needs to happen. I tend to have wandering eyes, and your competition doesn't seem to have this problem, though I realize they aren't distributing to others.

2.) The meatgrinder has become an utter pain. Once upon a time it was actually helpful, pointing out errors in formatting and the like. Nowadays, it's become a formatting Nazi. It shouldn't be that difficult. It doesn't need to be that difficult. If distributors want everything Smashwords has to offer, then they should be the ones bending, not Smashwords expecting all its submitters to have to meet more and more nonsensical guidelines. Don't get me wrong. Some guidelines are good, but it's gotten beyond that. And suggesting that all Smashwords submitters should just use Microsoft Word is an idiotic option, unless that is you're willing to give each of us the $150 it would cost to purchase Word. Sure, business costs money and those who are serious about publishing with Smashwords should be willing to fork out some dough, but again, your competition doesn't expect this.

3.) The customer service from Smashwords has been pretty good, but it still needs improvement. If it weren't for all the newfangled changes to the meatgrinder, this wouldn't concern me at all. But considering every little bitty thing that's now having to be formatted, there needs to be faster turnaround time on customer service. Instead of waiting for an e-mail response that can take days, if it ever appears, there needs to be at least one online representative available at all times, and it should be someone who knows what they're doing and not some intern working for free who's just going to tell everyone "we'll get back to you."

I've mentioned your competition, right? Guess what? More is coming. And once they're available, Smashwords isn't going to look so good.

My apologies if this hurts your feelings, but I've grown tired of waiting and waiting and waiting while you're busy expanding the e-book universe. If my sales were better, I'd rethink this. And one could say it's all my own fault for my sales not being better. But again, that's not a problem over at the competition where I sell as many e-books in a day as I do in a whole month with Smashwords.

So, I hate to say it: But I'm looking.

I'm not leaving you just yet. I'll give it a little more time to see how things work out. But I am exploring other options, and frankly, most of them are looking better than what you've got to offer.

P.S. While the distribution possibilities of Smashwords are quite impressive, taking into account the frustrations and the weeks and sometimes months it takes to actually get an e-book distributed, the possibilities will remain just that. Possibilities.

P.P.S. I realize there's a habit in the distribution world to look down upon product suppliers.  I have worked white collar jobs and in retail, so I've seen this kind of thing happen. I'm not accusing Smashwords of this kind of attitude, but I hope that's not what lies ahead. Yes, customers are customers. But in a way, so are suppliers. With all the changes and possibilities in today's publishing world, there are plenty of options, more of them every day. I desperately want Smashwords to be my main option. But right now, I'm not seeing it.