If you are like me, the very though of using MS Word makes you cringe. I have commented many times before on the issues with this, as have many other bloggers. I prefer Pages from Apple - much simpler and very stable. I have had issues, however, in converting a basic Pages file into the proper formats for publishing through some of the online distributors. The ePUB export function makes an elegant book but can only be trusted to work with iBooks and the iPad.
I got turned on to Smashwords the other day, and successfully uploaded The Juno Letters to it with only a few modifications with the original publishing MS Word file I labored so long to create. The conversions look good - I was pleased.
I decided to publish my novelette "NOCK on Wood" only through Smashwords to see how it goes. The original file was in Pages, and formatted for PDF display, which had to be undone. I had some reworking to do to make it generic, but it was pretty simply in Pages.
I decided to send the exported Word format file type rather than try to make a native Word version. I expected the worst, but was very pleased to have Smashwords take the file without any corrections.
The conversions for ePub and mobi (Kindle) look very good. In addition, every known format except the Enhanced eBook for iBooks only is supported by Smashwords. Very cool. Their interface was the easiest of all the publishers I have used so far, and the support was excellent.
So, if you are a dedicated Mac fan - stay with Pages. Set your styles as Header 1, Header 2, Normal, etc. to maintain compatibility. But write away knowing you will not have to wrestle with Word over formatting, styles rewriting, and other horrors I have encountered.
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