Self-publishing giant Smashwords has formed a distribution agreement with Gardners Books, the largest wholesaler of books in the U.K.
Through the partnership, self-published authors on Smashwords will be able to distribute their books through book retailers and in libraries. Under the agreement, Smashwords will deliver about 230,000 titles to 400 e-book stores powered by Gardners in 32 countries, as well as 2,000 public libraries in the U.K. The company will begin distributing the titles on Oct. 22. Authors will earn 60 percent of list for retail purchases and 45 percent list from library purchases. Here is more from the Smashwords blog:
Gardners clients and their customers will gain access to many of the world’s bestselling indie authors, including numerous New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. The Smashwords catalog features a diverse range of fiction and non-fiction titles, and is especially strong in popular genre fiction including romance, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy and science fiction.