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By Mark Coker, Smashwords

1. TWO NEW EPISODES OF SMART AUTHOR PODCAST: BOOK PROMOTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Two new episodes have been released of the Smart Author Podcast, all part of Mark Coker’s advance serialization of the forthcoming 2018 edition of the Smashwords Book Marketing Guide.

Here’s a quick summary:

Episode 13 – Book promotion Learn 25 ebook promotion tips. The tips are grouped in logical order to roughly correspond to the different stages of a book’s marketing, from pre-launch to launch to post-launch. These tips can be implemented in any order at any stage of an author’s publishing journey. This is part four of Mark Coker’s six-part serialization of the Smashwords Book Marketing Guide. (Read more at the Smashwords blog)
Episode 14 – Social media strategies for authors – Mark shares social media strategies for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to help you forge a healthier, more productive relationship with these popular social media platforms. This is part five in Mark’s six-part marketing series. (Read more at the Smashwords blog)
Listen and subscribe now at Apple Podcasts or visit the Smart Author home page for a complete list of multiple listening options, including the ability to listen now over your web browser.

2. SECURITY UPDATE – CONTROLLING YOUR ACCOUNT’S LOGIN CREDENTIALS
On January 9 we alerted Smashwords authors and publishers via this Smashwords Author/Publisher Alert that the security team at Smashwords had detected multiple attempts by cybercriminals to log in to Smashwords author accounts using stolen email/password combinations.

We mentioned how two Smashwords authors were victimized, and how, working with PayPal we were able to recover one of the author’s lost earnings.

We’re pleased to report that the other affected author has also now been made whole. Thank you PayPal!

As we mentioned in the last email, Smashwords was not hacked. We shared this notification with authors out of an abundance of caution because we care about your security. We want you to know the simple steps you can take not only to protect your account access at Smashwords, but to protect yourself everywhere.

If you’re using the same password at Smashwords that you’ve been using elsewhere, you should update your Smashwords password today.

If you didn’t update your password following our last notification, here’s how to do it now:

Visit the Smashwords site, click “Sign Out” at the bottom of the page
Click “Sign In” at the top of the page
Rather than entering your email address and password, click the “Forgot Your Password?” link
Enter your email address (goodlifeguide@cox.net) into the form
We’ll send you an email with a link you can click to select a new, more secure password
We’ve also taken three additional steps to protect our authors, publishers, and other users:

On January 8, we added a new feature at Smashwords that will automatically notify you whenever your password is changed (either manually via your Account page, or by the password reset feature described above).
On January 16, we added a new feature at Smashwords that will automatically notify you whenever any changes are made to your payment settings page. We send you an email to your main email address, as well as to your your prior PayPal email address and your new PayPal email address (when applicable). In this way, you’ll be alerted to any unauthorized access to your payment settings!
On January 19, we updated the Smashwords Terms of Service to remind all current and future Smashwords authors and publishers about their responsibility to use a unique and secure password at Smashwords. It includes the same security best practices tips we shared with you in our January 9 alert.
We’ve posted another short note at Smashwords Site Updates about these changes.

3. HELPFUL RESOURCES
How to publish and distribute ebooks with Smashwords
Frequently asked questions
Smashwords Site Updates
Smashwords blog (subscribe today via the email option!)
How to Publish ebooks (4-part presentation)
Smart Author Podcast
Smashwords Video Workshops
Create or update your Smashwords Interview (self-interviews)
Smashwords Series Manager (Manage series metadata)
Smashwords Coupon Manager (Create custom coupon codes)
Connect with fellow Smashwords readers and authors at Facebook
Mark’s List – Low cost cover designers and ebook formatters
Thank you for publishing and distributing with Smashwords.

Best wishes,

The Smashwords Team