What’s the name of the merged company?

Draft2Digital is the name of the publishing platform, which houses all publishing and distribution functions. Smashwords will remain as the brand for the Smashwords store.

When did the acquisition complete?

The acquisition closed on March 1, 2022, after which the work of integrating the two companies began.

What does the combined company look like?

The combined company employs over thirty-five remote positions in several locations across the United States and Canada, and maintains its corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Why are the companies merging?

The decision to merge came down to a simple question: Can we drive greater success for our authors, publishers, and sales channels by working together, or by working apart as competitors?

To answer this question, we considered:

• Both companies share common roots, missions, and values
• Both companies were founded by writers to empower writers to become professional publishers
• Both companies prioritize building free and powerful self-serve tools for authors
• We’ve both built sophisticated distribution systems that help booksellers and libraries efficiently stock, merchandise, and sell indie books
• Both companies have built profitable businesses
• We each built our successful businesses not by selling services to authors, but by helping authors and publishers publish, distribute, and market with greater efficiency and success

All of this led to our decision to merge both companies. The resources we once invested in building duplicate systems can now be redeployed to do more for all authors.

What does the acquisition mean for existing store and library partners?

As the leading distributors of independently published ebooks, both companies have always worked in close partnership with major ebook retailers and library platforms to help them list, promote, and profit from the amazing diversity of indie books. We help our authors succeed by helping our sales partners succeed!

Is the new Draft2Digital looking to expand its distribution network to new sales partners?

We are always looking for more sales channels to offer for book distribution. As a distributor, we’re always looking to support promising new booksellers and bookselling models. Given the size of our catalog, we can give new sales partners the critical mass they need to build businesses around our authors’ books. Draft2Digital has rigorous qualification procedures to ensure that new sales partners meet our high standards and requirements.

Potential sales partners can connect with our Draft2Digital Business Development team.

What happens to the staff at both companies?

Because we merged two successful companies, there was no need to reduce our workforce. All Smashwords employees, including founder Mark Coker, have joined the D2D team, and the D2D team will remain intact.

Kris Austin, co-founder of Draft2Digital, will serve as CEO of the combined company, and Mark Coker has joined the senior management team as Chief Strategy Officer and board member.

What have you been working on since the merge?

All publishing and distribution systems for Smashwords distribution have been integrated into the Draft2Digital website. As of 2025, the final Smashwords accounts are slated for migration to the Draft2Digital system.

As a result, authors have gained big benefits:

• New sales partners and book edition types were made available to Smashwords authors.
• D2D authors and publishers are able to list and sell their books in the Smashwords Store.
• D2D authors gained access to exclusive book marketing tools from Smashwords, including Smashwords Coupons, the patent-pending Smashwords Presales tool, and the Smashwords super sales that take place annually in the Smashwords Store.
• The Smashwords publishing platform has been merged into Draft2Digital’s, with the goal of preserving the best capabilities of each.

When did Smashwords account migrations begin?

Starting in late November of 2023, Smashwords accounts with live books began migrating into Draft2Digital’s distribution management.

Has the acquisition or account merging affected my books in distribution?

There have been no changes to books already distributed, unless requested. We are in close and consistent contact with our sales channel partners to minimize any impact on book listings, listing web addresses, and reviews.

Each company previously distributed to sales outlets not reached by the other. What happened after the merger?

Authors and publishers are able to opt-in to any and all sales and library partners previously offered through Smashwords. All sales channel options are now offered through Draft2Digital, the distribution arm of the combined company.

What did I gain by having my account migrate from Smashwords to Draft2Digital? Couldn’t you have just left my account alone?

Maintaining two separate systems is surprisingly time consuming. By collapsing all publishing into the Draft2Digital system, we are freeing up Smashwords developers to make improvements to the Smashwords store and sale events. Meanwhile, Smashwords authors and publishers have gained access to:

• Simpler publishing tools; tools for automated end-matter
• Books2Read Universal Book Links (UBLs), Author Pages, Book Tabs, and Reading Lists
• D2D Print for POD paperbacks
• D2D Payment Splitting for co-authors and collaborations
• New payment options, including direct bank deposits

What are the erotic fiction policies of the combined company?

Each retailer, subscription service, or library platform has its own content policies. Draft2Digital has adopted the Smashwords erotic fiction policies for all sales channels.

A few years ago, Smashwords introduced a certification system that allows erotic fiction publishers to self-certify the presence (or lack thereof) of various facets of erotica that are generally recognized as “taboo.” This more granular categorization provides retailers and libraries with the confidence they need to know that the erotic literature they're selling doesn’t violate their policies.

The Smashwords Erotic Fiction Certification System has been made available to all Draft2Digital authors as a part of the ebook creation process.

Will the erotica policies change in the Smashwords Store?

No changes have been made to the policies documented at https://www.smashwords.com/about/tos, nor have there been any changes in the last four years. We do not anticipate making any changes to this policy in the forseeable future, either. Smashwords has a long history of supporting the erotic fiction community.

The current policies on permitted, discouraged, and forbidden erotica categories remain in effect. The Smashwords store has a more permissive approach to taboo erotica than most ebook stores. The Smashwords store also allows customers unprecedented control over the types of erotica, if any, that will show in their search results.