Itza map!

So, guys, I quite recently noticed a new button popping up on my Smashwords dashboard… It looks a little something (or exactly like) this:

And then, lo and behold, when I click it, something quite like this appears on my computerized LED screen face:

And, well, look at that! A nifty lil’ sales map, just as promised, comes into view!

Okay, but, now, seriously… I’m actually really excited about this feature, and I’m also kind of surprised that we’re just now getting it in, um, 2019?

This reminds me of my days back on grand ol’ Wattpad. Remember, there used to be that ‘demographics’ tab for each story you’d publish there with a map of all the countries where it was read… Well, actually, I just went back to the website for the first time in over a year to grab a screenshot of it, but then everything was so different and moved around that I couldn’t find it, if it even still exists. I did find, though, that 2.5k notifications were waiting for me!

(And we’ll have to revisit my views on the state of that certain website in another post.)

Well, point in case, we had reader maps on Wattpad since, like, 2010. And now, I suppose Smashwords is, I guess, catching up 9 years later?

And we all know 9 years is actually 90 in technology time.

But, really, I’m glad we got this nice lil’ feature to play around with now. Even though it seems… dare I say it, but incomplete and/or glitchy?

Well, I mean, my ‘sales map’ has not changed since the day I first jumped at it, and I check my Smashwords site about 3 or 4 times each week. And, since I check fairly often, I know that I’m getting a lot more downloads on my books than the mere 11 that have been shown on this map for about a month now. I mean, disclaimer, the map page does say it only shows sale locations when that information is available. But, seriously, of all the sales information I get elsewhere on the site, none of it is available to apply to the demographics map?

Okay, I feel like I’m ranting more than raving at this point, and my purpose here was, actually, to somewhat rave about this thing. I mean, I love visuals, okay, and even though this seems like such a minuscule new feature, I AM GENUINELY HAPPY IT IS NOW IN EXISTENCE.

I just… kind of wish it would serve the purpose it was invented for more fully…

But, some good has come of this! Because of the few countries listed on this map, I now officially know that my books have reached every continent on Earth! Besides Antartica, though, which will have to be our next goal, I suppose…

Also, I guess this map does show more demographic information than the sales reports that I check/download from time to time. I mean, before, I could only guess where my books were being downloaded by the currency they were purchased in (even the freebies show 0.00 USD, EUR, JPY, etc.). Now, though, I literally have a picture that highlights the region they were downloaded in.

If only it would show me all of them, though…

Oh my gosh, okay, I’ll stop, now.

Have any of you used this new “feature”? Or did you completely ignore its existence before today?

Let me know!

–Kari