Barnes & Noble Press vs Smashwords
Barnes & Noble Press offers direct, free publishing to Nook ebook and print, but only distributes to Barnes & Noble. Smashwords, now integrated with Draft2Digital, charges a 10-15% commission but distributes to many retailers including Apple Books, Kobo, and Nook. The key trade-off is platform exclusivity versus distribution breadth. Both are free to start, but Smashwords takes a cut of sales.
Pick Barnes & Noble Press
Pick Barnes & Noble Press if you want to focus exclusively on the Barnes & Noble market, with free direct access to Nook and print, and no commission fees.
Pick Smashwords
Pick Smashwords if you need wide distribution across multiple retailers (except Amazon), and are willing to pay a 10-15% commission for that reach.
At a glance
| Barnes & Noble Press | Smashwords | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | 10–15% |
| Pricing model | Free | Paid |
| Free option | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Best for | Distribution & Publishing | Distribution & Publishing |
| AI features | No | No |
| Open source | No | No |
Barnes & Noble Press
press.barnesandnoble.com
Direct Nook ebook + print publishing.
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