In March, these two ebook publishing and distribution services will merge under the Draft2Digital name. The idea is to combine the best parts of each company so as to offer a superior service for authors.

I watched a livestreamed Q&A session on YouTube today. I understand it was recorded so may be viewed after the fact on the D2D YouTube channel.

Just for information: I have published ebooks with Smashwords since 2010. I have never used D2D, but I’m excited by this development. Here are some points I gleaned from the hour-long session. Note that I may have misunderstood some details.

• Royalty payments to authors will be via the D2D system, so include way more options besides PayPal.
• One of the things that persuaded Mark Coker of Smashwords to be in favour of the merger is the fact that book sales on D2D are bigger than on Smashwords, even though D2D has fewer books available.
• D2D authors will be able to take advantage of selling their books in an improved version of the Smashwords Store.
• Smashwords authors will be able to use D2D’s superior formatting tools. They have a template-based system that’s largely automated. It includes automatic inclusion of back-matter as specified by the author. Those who love Smashwords’ Meatgrinder will still be able to use it, though (I think).
• A really exciting option at D2D: Ebook conversion to POD print book, including creation of print covers from ebook cover images. Anyone who has ever struggled with print book formatting (that would be me!) should be delighted! I think this one is still in beta. More info at: Draft2Digital.com/PrintBeta/
• One of the D2D presenters (Kris Austin or Kevin Tumlinson) said their POD process is the easiest of all and superior to Amazon KDP. In addition, their distribution network is broader than KDP’s Expanded Distribution.
• It sounds like a lot of details still need to be worked out, but on the whole this looks like a positive development for indie publishers. As Mark Coker said, it’s based on the premise that authors should be at the centre of the publishing universe. Also, consider that these companies’ sole focus is publishing and selling books and only books, not a zillion other products.

More info HERE