Smashwords

Smashwords, Inc., based in Los Gatos, California, is a platform for self-publishing e-books. The company, founded by Mark Coker, began public operation in 2008 and was acquired by Draft2Digital, LLC in 2022. Authors and independent publishers upload their manuscripts as electronic files to the service, which converts them into multiple e-book formats for various devices. Once published, the books are made available for sale online at a price set by the author or independent publisher.

From the Wikipedia article “Smashwords”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Large trade publishers generally accept manuscripts only through literary agents, while many independent and small presses accept direct submissions during reading periods. Before submitting anywhere, read the publisher's current guidelines, study recent books on its list, and never pay a reading or publishing fee to a traditional publisher.