Mark Coker founded Smashwords in 2008 to change the way books are published, marketed and sold.
Mark is co-author along with his wife, Lesleyann, of Boob Tube, a novel that explores the behind-the-scenes world of daytime television soap operas. It was Mark's experience trying to get Boob Tube published that inspired him to start Smashwords. He believes Smashwords holds the promise to make publishing more enriching for authors, readers and publishers. Mark is also the author of The Smashwords Style Guide (how to format an ebook), The Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (how to market any book) and The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success (best practices of the most commercially successful ebook authors).
In the six years since its launch, Smashwords has grown to become the leading ebook distributor serving indie authors, small presses and literary agents. Over 80,000 authors from around the world publish and distribute nearly 300,000 books at Smashwords.
In June 2010, The Wall Street Journal named Mark one of the "Eight Stars of Self-Publishing." In March 2012, MediaBistro named Mark one of the "Five Ebook Experts to Watch." In June 2012, Forbes profiled Mark in feature story titled, Apple's Biggest (Unknown) Supplier of E-Books. In both 2013 and 2014, Forbes Magazine named Smashwords one of America's Top 100 Most Promising Companies.
