# Sell Your Books Directly in the iBook store



## David Derrico (Nov 18, 2009)

I haven't seen this mentioned yet (my apologies if there's another thread), but authors can now publish their books directly to Apple's iBook Store, without using an "Apple-Approved Aggregator," like Smashwords or Lulu.

Obviously, the benefit is full control and the full 70% royalties (Smashwords gives 85% of the 70%, so 60% total). But, you need your own ISBN and need to create your own ePub file.

I haven't been a fan of paying hundreds of dollars for ISBNs, and I used Smashwords' free ISBN service. However, they own this ISBN, and I assume they wouldn't let me use it to bypass them and publish with Apple directly. I wonder if their $9.95 ISBN option (which put the ISBN in your name) WOULD allow you to take that ISBN with you, or if it is still tied to Smashwords?

On the one hand, I am very grateful to Smashwords and the service they offer, and don't want to make an "end run" around them. On the other hand, it's better for me to go directly through Apple (more control of the ePub input file, control over changes and not waiting for Smashwords to "ship," probably quicker sales/royalty reporting, and the full 70% royalty). The same issue will arise this summer when B&N starts allowing publishing directly as well.

Anyone have any thoughts or info on this?


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

That's fantastic news!  I'm going to try this out over the weekend.


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## easyread (Apr 2, 2010)

Unless you're selling in large numbers, probably best to stick with Smashwords. They take care of all the hassle for you with the current crop of ebook sellers and probably many to come in the future as well.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Ha!  They force you to own a Mac to use this!


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## David Derrico (Nov 18, 2009)

DArenson said:


> Ha! They force you to own a Mac to use this!


Maybe I should offer to do this for people on my Mac and take 10%?


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## Debra L Martin (Apr 8, 2010)

Apple is very sneaky....I have to say I've been on MACs my entire career and I love them, but that doesn't help all the PC authors out there.

I'm actually going to stay with Smashwords anyway.  I have already checked and all of my books are in the iBookstore so the only hassle for me is waiting to see when the royalties will be paid out.  I can wait - it's not like we're talking millions here.....


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

I uploaded my book to Smashwords nearly two months ago, and it still hasn't been shipped to iBookstore.  I feel like I lose some control with Smashwords; the books sort of enter a black hole.  With Amazon's DTP, I love having full control at my fingertips; you're skipping the middle man.  If this new Apple service is similar to DTP, I'm going to start using it.  I'll first have to find a Mac somewhere!


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

Wonderful! I am going to look into this next week. There are cheaper (than the $125 per ISBN) options available.... have you seen these option:

http://www.isbn-us.com/isbnnumbers.htm?gclid=CNbH--iZ86ECFUTF3AodkEPcmg


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## David Derrico (Nov 18, 2009)

I Rose said:


> Wonderful! I am going to look into this next week. There are cheaper (than the $125 per ISBN) options available.... have you seen these option:
> 
> http://www.isbn-us.com/isbnnumbers.htm?gclid=CNbH--iZ86ECFUTF3AodkEPcmg


I was going to say, I wish there was a service that bought ISBNs in blocks of 1,000 for $1 each, and re-sold them to indie authors for like $2 or $5 or so. But, I think you might still run into problems that way. Sometimes, when you use an ISBN, the publisher name has to match; in other words, you have to prove that you own rights to the ISBN, so I don't know if services like this would work.

Also, $55 for an ISBN they bought in bulk for $1 seems a bit steep.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

If there are any other Canadians here, you can get a Canadian ISBN for free.


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## jonfmerz (Mar 30, 2009)

Told ya this was coming!  

I'm stoked about this - can't wait to get started!


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

jonfmerz said:


> Told ya this was coming!
> I'm stoked about this - can't wait to get started!


We're living through a book revolution; the greatest since Gutenberg.


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## Barbara Morgenroth (May 14, 2010)

Quick explanation of ISBNs. Whoever buys them from Bowker is the publisher. You can't reassign them. There's no middleman seller thing--you buy it from Joe and you're the publisher of record. No. It doesn't work like that. Joe's the publisher in the records. That might not bother you. I bought a block of 10 and let someone use 2. She designated the books as her imprint, my company didn't appear in her book, but if someone looks up that ISBN, I'm the owner/publisher. Forever.

Bowker has it all explained on the site. It's a mess but that's how it is for now.
http://www.bowker.com/index.php/supportfaq-isbn

I hope Amazon using the ASIN breaks this monopoly Bowker has, at least for ebooks.

Robin


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## jonfmerz (Mar 30, 2009)

I actually bought a block of ten a few years back and only ever used one for a martial arts book I published in limited format...after being on the phone with Bowker for thrity minutes of hold time, I got everything activated again (forgot my old username and my email's changed since then, lol) so now I've got nine ready to go.  Thrilled to get started...


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## jonfmerz (Mar 30, 2009)

Just completed the application form, which they have to review.  I'll let you know how the process goes...


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## jonfmerz (Mar 30, 2009)

Jeez, that was quick - 5 minute approval process...sweet.


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## TC Beacham (Nov 23, 2009)

Hmm - I like the idea of having control over changes but really appreciate all Mark Coker has done.

That said, I'm still waiting for sale #1 at B&N - they just added categories after months - and I still don't know if both books ever made it to the ibookstore.

Not sure what to do at this point, but I agree that we're witnessing a sea change - and it's gonna be great for indie authors!


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## Herc- The Reluctant Geek (Feb 10, 2010)

This only works for US residents. So for everyone outside the US, Smashwords is still the way to go.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

As an Indie author, that is, an Indie publisher, unless you have ample cash and resource (staff etc), using the FREE extensions to the expanded distribution via Smashword and for POD at CreateSpace makes the most sense. Those sales are the outer banks, right now - Amazon still my main distributor and marketing partner, but until the other distributors get up to snuff (they have a long way to go), I'm casting my lot with Smashwords. I've been with them for some time. My novel


Spoiler



Bobby's Trace


 was the 98th novel up on their list. I believe they have 15,000 plus now - so my loyalty to Coker and crew remains.

The ISBN from Smashwords on the eBooks they distribute make that edition a Smashword Publication (just as the ISBN's on CreateSpace make those POD editions a CrateSpace publication). These do not belong to you. They do not have exclusive rights to your work (either eBook or paper), but they own that ISBN and you cannot use it anywhere else for any other purpose.

Ed Patterson


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## Barbara Morgenroth (May 14, 2010)

Hi Ed.  I just wanted to take the Smashwords/ISBN issue a step further for clarification for those confused by all this.  

2. FREE ISBN - This option is available only to books after they have been accepted into the Smashwords Premium Catalog. If you choose, Smashwords will apply an ISBN to your book at no cost to you (Smashwords pays for the ISBN as a service to you). This FREE ISBN is available to all Smashwords authors and publishers, anywhere in the world. The ISBN will register Smashwords as your publisher and will list you as the author. Whether Smashwords or you are listed as the publisher has no legal implication over ownership of your book or copyright. At Smashwords, you always control the publishing of your book.


3. PREMIUM ISBN - This option is available only to books after they have been accepted into the Smashwords Premium Catalog. For $9.95, Smashwords will issue you an ISBN that registers you, the author or publisher, as the Publisher in the ISBN record. Smashwords will be listed as a distributor. For your convenience, we will debit the $9.95 from your accrued royalties so you do not have to pay out of pocket in advance. If you haven't earned enough royalties to cover the cost, your account will show a negative balance until you sell more books. The Premium ISBN is currently NOT available to authors of free books. We will add this option in the future.

Robin


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Robin O'Neill said:


> Hi Ed. I just wanted to take the Smashwords/ISBN issue a step further for clarification for those confused by all this.
> 
> 2. FREE ISBN - This option is available only to books after they have been accepted into the Smashwords Premium Catalog. If you choose, Smashwords will apply an ISBN to your book at no cost to you (Smashwords pays for the ISBN as a service to you). This FREE ISBN is available to all Smashwords authors and publishers, anywhere in the world. The ISBN will register Smashwords as your publisher and will list you as the author. Whether Smashwords or you are listed as the publisher has no legal implication over ownership of your book or copyright. At Smashwords, you always control the publishing of your book.
> 
> ...


And this is a deal. The only deal better is CreateSpace's POD Free ISBN.

Ed Patterson


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

I've been trying to get this to work all evening... keeps crashing or timing out.  Won't even let me log in.  I give up... I'll try again tomorrow, or opt back in on Smashwords.


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## MinaVE (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks for posting this. Doesn't work for me though (having no US tax ID). Will wait until they open it up to world, sticking with Smashwords for now. 

Unless you all have the best experience with it, and then maybe I'll re-evaluate and make my US-based sister my publisher.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

For all us non-Americans, we can apply for something called an International Tax Identification Number, which the IRS can give you.  I'm not sure if iBookstore accepts this, though.


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

David Derrico said:


> I was going to say, I wish there was a service that bought ISBNs in blocks of 1,000 for $1 each, and re-sold them to indie authors for like $2 or $5 or so. But, I think you might still run into problems that way. Sometimes, when you use an ISBN, the publisher name has to match; in other words, you have to prove that you own rights to the ISBN, so I don't know if services like this would work.
> 
> Also, $55 for an ISBN they bought in bulk for $1 seems a bit steep.


I actually bought a block of 10 ISBNs when I was setting up everything for 33 A.D. I still have 8 left. I'm sticking with Smashwords, though. I'm not going to go out and buy a MAC just so I can do this.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

sibelhodge said:


> If you don't have an iPad, how can you tell if your books are really on iBook store?
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> Sibel xx


Sibel, both your books are in the iBook store. 

For those who don't have devices to check the store, you can ask here (wasn't there thread somewhere about this?).


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## John Hamilton (May 6, 2010)

sibelhodge said:


> If you don't have an iPad, how can you tell if your books are really on iBook store?
> 
> Also, does anyone know where you can get your ebooks formatted into ePub for a reasonable price?
> 
> ...


Adobe InDesign directly exports to ePub, which is what I plan to do.


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## Joe Chiappetta (May 20, 2010)

Can someone with an iPad check and see if my sci-fi novel, Star Chosen, made it to their store yet? 
ePub ISBN: 978-0-9644323-3-8

Paperback ISBN: ISBN 978-0-9644323-2-1 

Thanks, Joe Chiappetta


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

John Hamilton said:


> Adobe InDesign directly exports to ePub, which is what I plan to do.


Good to know about InDesign. Finally a use for that PageMaker wannabee. 

Ed Patterson


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Joe Chiappetta said:


> Can someone with an iPad check and see if my sci-fi novel, Star Chosen, made it to their store yet?
> ePub ISBN: 978-0-9644323-3-8
> 
> Paperback ISBN: ISBN 978-0-9644323-2-1
> ...


The only book of yours I see is Silly Daddy in Space, Joe.

Betsy


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## John Hamilton (May 6, 2010)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Good to know about InDesign. Finally a use for that PageMaker wannabee.
> 
> Ed Patterson


Ha! Good ol' PageMaker. I started in the business with v. 1.0. My, how times have changed.


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## scottnicholson (Jan 31, 2010)

It's worth the $9.95 to get your own ISBN through Smashwords so you can transfer it if necessary. If you use theirs, or Amazon's assigned ISBN, you can't transfer them--in other words, opt out of those channels and take your ebooks with you.

If you plan to publish 10 or more books, you make as well buy your own block from Bowker.

Scott


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

This new service from Apple is a pain.  NO WHERE near as friendly as DTP.  I spent a LONG time downloading/installing/configuring an iTunes app, filling out my info in various places (both in my browser and in my iTunes application), reading and signing contracts, creating various user accounts, downloading several manuals in PDF form, and navigating a labyrinth of requirements before I could even sign in.  The web application was often slow and occasionally would hang.  I had to do all this to just reach the stage where I can download the proper app and get started (the Publisher app).  That's the third app you need here, after the web app and the iTunes app.

Oh, and if you're not American, it's even more complicated, with very vague instructions on tax requirements, but with very clear warnings that you can only fill these out once, and if you make a mistake your account is messed up forever.

And once you complete all this initial work, you're blocked if you're a PC user.  Apple will only let you upload books into iBookstore if you use a Mac; authors on PCs are, apparently, banned from iBookstore!  I think that's ridiculous.  I might borrow a Macbook from a friend, but at this point I'm getting rather frustrated with the whole process, and am considering going back to Smashwords.

When using DTP, I never read any manuals, never did any research online, never looked for info in communities, never hit any brick walls.  I simply went to the DTP website, and within a few minutes my book was uploaded.  A day later, I was selling copies in the Kindle store.  Why is iTunes Connect such a pain?

Of course, it probably didn't help that I was doing all this while multitasking with a couple other tasks, but still, I find the whole process way too complicated compared to the simplicity of DTP and Smashwords.


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## TC Beacham (Nov 23, 2009)

DArenson said:


> And once you complete all this initial work, you're blocked if you're a PC user. Apple will only let you upload books into iBookstore if you use a Mac; authors on PCs are, apparently, banned from iBookstore! I think that's ridiculous. I might borrow a Macbook from a friend, but at this point I'm getting rather frustrated with the whole process, and am considering going back to Smashwords.


Thanks for your description of the process! The thing that annoys me about using Smashwords for B&N and ibookstore is that I can't change my description (Smashwords only allows a few words so you're stuck with that) and I have no control over search words, etc.

If you have to use a Mac for uploading, I wonder if anything you do to tweak your listing must also be done on a Mac.


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## David Derrico (Nov 18, 2009)

Just a note that I (as a Mac user) find it super annoying that I have to keep a PC laptop around just to be able to use MobiPocket Creator to format my books properly for the Kindle.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

I was kind of excited until I hit the point where you have to have a Mac... dangit.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I went out to the burger store and got a Big Mac, but that didn't help me any. It's Smashwords for me.

"It's Smashwords for me,
'Cause I have a PC."

Ed Patterson


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## Joe Chiappetta (May 20, 2010)

Can someone post a link to where the full instructions on how to directly get into iBookstore are? I get that I have to have a Mac. But where are all the details? I am already on Smashwords, but I am talking about direct access.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

David Derrico said:


> Just a note that I (as a Mac user) find it super annoying that I have to keep a PC laptop around just to be able to use MobiPocket Creator to format my books properly for the Kindle.


Well... Steve Jobs is notorious for insisting that everyone use only Apple products. Hence you need iTunes to listen to music on your iPod. Hence Flash (developed by Adobe) is banned from websites running in iPads. Hence you need to use Apple technology to develop apps for Apple's app store. These examples have their own business logic. But it becomes silly when authors -- who are not really Apple's target consumers, but artists seeking to sell their work -- must own Macs to upload their novels to iBookstore. Amazon will let you use a Mac to upload books; you might be unable to use MobiPocket, but there are other solutions out there. For MobiPocket, I don't think the lack of Mac support was an issue of principle; probably just laziness.


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## David Derrico (Nov 18, 2009)

DArenson said:


> Well... Steve Jobs is notorious for insisting that everyone use only Apple products. Hence you need iTunes to listen to music on your iPod. Hence Flash (developed by Adobe) is banned from websites running in iPads. Hence you need to use Apple technology to develop apps for Apple's app store. These examples have their own business logic. But it becomes silly when authors -- who are not really Apple's target consumers, but artists seeking to sell their work -- must own Macs to upload their novels to iBookstore. Amazon will let you use a Mac to upload books; you might be unable to use MobiPocket, but there are other solutions out there. For MobiPocket, I don't think the lack of Mac support was an issue of principle; probably just laziness.


Oh, I'm sure it is. And I'm not justifying the Mac-only thing. I'm sure it's irksome (I'd expect a PC solution pretty soon, by the way). But I also find what you say about Apple as pretty ironic &#8230; as a long-time Mac fan (not necessarily iEverything, just Macs, really), people used to accuse Microsoft of the EXACT same anti-competitive practices people now accuse Apple of. Good thing I just like the computers, I'm not a zealot and had no illusions that Apple the Company cared about me or doing the right thing.  Just funny how it came full circle. "Welcome our new overlords, same as our old overlords."

PS: *IF* I wanted to play devil's advocate, I could say that "Apple will let you use a content aggregator (like Smashwords) to upload books; you might be unable to upload directly, but there are other solutions out there." Luckily, I don't feel like playing devil's advocate, so I only say it tongue-in-cheek.


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

DArenson said:


> Well... Steve Jobs is notorious for insisting that everyone use only Apple products. Hence you need iTunes to listen to music on your iPod. Hence Flash (developed by Adobe) is banned from websites running in iPads. Hence you need to use Apple technology to develop apps for Apple's app store. These examples have their own business logic. * But it becomes silly when authors -- who are not really Apple's target consumers, but artists seeking to sell their work -- must own Macs to upload their novels to iBookstore.* Amazon will let you use a Mac to upload books; you might be unable to use MobiPocket, but there are other solutions out there. For MobiPocket, I don't think the lack of Mac support was an issue of principle; probably just laziness.


Agreed. I just bought a new, and I LOVE Windows 7. I'm not buying a Mac just so I can do this. Smashwords works just fine.

That is, I think it does... Hmmm, any iPad owners out there know how my book looks on iPad?


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## daringnovelist (Apr 3, 2010)

DArenson said:


> Well... Steve Jobs is notorious for insisting that everyone use only Apple products. .... Hence Flash (developed by Adobe) is banned from websites running in iPads.


While a lot of what you say is true, this particular one is misleading.... Apple is insisting on an OPEN standard (HTML5) to replace Flash (which is proprietary). It is one of the good/bad things that the Arrogance of Jobs does to benefit the world: he forces the industry to move on from old tech whether anybody else wants to or not.

Yes, it is ironic, that the Think Different company is also forcing out the amateurs who could create apps in something easier like Flash, but that just forces companies like Adobe to innovate new tools to work with open standards rather than closed ones.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

daringnovelist said:


> While a lot of what you say is true, this particular one is misleading.... Apple is insisting on an OPEN standard (HTML5) to replace Flash (which is proprietary). It is one of the good/bad things that the Arrogance of Jobs does to benefit the world: he forces the industry to move on from old tech whether anybody else wants to or not.
> 
> Yes, it is ironic, that the Think Different company is also forcing out the amateurs who could create apps in something easier like Flash, but that just forces companies like Adobe to innovate new tools to work with open standards rather than closed ones.


Flash is closed standard, yes. But I don't agree that it's old technology, a dinosaur tool like Jobs claims. He pays lip service to the open standard principle, which sounds great, but the real reason is that he sees Adobe as a competitor. It's a bit ironic for Steve Jobs to praise open standards, with Apple generally being so closed.

And yes; Microsoft does very much the same, in its own way.  Perhaps the difference is that there are more PC users than Mac users, so that if something is available for Mac only, there are more people out there who get annoyed.


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## daringnovelist (Apr 3, 2010)

DArenson said:


> It's a bit ironic for Steve Jobs to praise open standards, with Apple generally being so closed.





daringnovelist said:


> Yes, it is ironic, that the Think Different company is also forcing out the amateurs who could create apps in something easier like Flash ....


All this irony raises the spectre of the Spider Robinson quote.

If a burglar commits burglary, and a glutton commits gluttony, then God must be an iron. (Obviously Jobs is an iron. He is worshipped, too....)


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## EliseBell (May 20, 2010)

I do in fact own a macbook pro, and this is still the largest pain in nether regions ever. I started trying to submit my book for the iBookstore yesterday. Yes it is in Smashwords premium catalog but I have a feeling my 'target demographic' would be able to purchase my book so much easier than through Smashwords. Teens don't have credit cards, but what they do have is parents who buy them the Apple Itunes gift card thingies. (technical term  ) or have accounts that they allow their teenagers ten songs a month or however many. You get the point.

I am flabbergasted by the epub format I can't seem to figure out what the heck it is that I am doing wrong. InDesign is nearly $200 dollars so that is out of the question. Does anyone know of a book/ebook/site.. whatever that has an 'I was born yesterday style' instructions for epub I pretty much need my hand held with this. Which is annoying cause up to know I have done all my formatting myself and had no issues. 

It's a huge pain but a necessary evil for me.


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## daringnovelist (Apr 3, 2010)

epub has all sorts of little hooks in it for various readers. You cannot make an ePub for Stanza with any application except for Stanza. And Stanza, of course, is the reader of choice for iPhone. (However, the converter is free, and works like a charm. http://www.lexcycle.com/desktop )

I'm currently content to go through Smashwords to the iBookstore, but I'll change my mind if the advantages are there. (Like, does iBookstore allow more than 400 freaking characters for the book description? While short descriptions are good, I do consider that to be the biggest drawback to using Smashwords for other vendors.)


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## EliseBell (May 20, 2010)

Just completed the long and aggravated process of of getting my ebook on Itunes. The first thing I would like to say is that

I am an idiot. (gonna go through this start to finish just in case anyone wants to know what it entails  and why this was a day long blonde moment) 

Okay, yesterday I decided to put my book on the iBooks store. So I installed 10.5 on my laptop I don't know why I hadn't done it previously since we also own two desktop iMacs that have that operating system. Then I got an ISBN number for the book. I started my account at iTunes. Upon entering my credit card information I put in my security code on my card and it tells me it's an invalid code... repeatedly even though it was correct. After an hour of forum search I found out that apparently they do not take 'debit' cards even with the Visa logo. Ugh. Okay so I need a true credit card. I put all of that information in and it gives me my account to log in with. After logging in you have to enter all the information for your book, the ISBN title you have to put in your social security number (tax id) and a myriad of other info to set up the account. It goes to Apple for approval. They approved it about 20 minutes later. THey give you two pdf instruction books and you download the iTunes Producer. Sign contracts. Put in a bank account select territories to sell it in, enter information etc. It's just tedious. 

YES You get more then a 400 word description. I know mine was much longer. Which was a big plus. 

About the epub formating, it was stupid frustrating. Mostly because I was being stupid. I took my word document and attempted to use Calibre to reformat it in epub. Nope. I took the html mark up I had from the Kindle DTP and Calibre converted it to .epub. I attempted to load it to the apple store and got a ton of errors, none of which I even knew what they were. *frustration* So I read more information and it tells me a lot of times epub doesn't support the active table of contents (which I love) And that I need to delete the table of contents entirely cause it will 'automatically create one' when you reformat it and use your chapter titles. (It didn't) This would of just been a text table of contents anyway, not linked liked all the other formats. I also had to remove all my hyperlinks and go through my original document and manually delete them then retype all my chapter, or in my case section, headings. After doing all that I figured okay this has to fix the errors. Convert in Calibre... nope. Still tons of errors.  Then I have a moment of sanity apparently cause I realized i had put my book on Smashwords and it auto converted to epub. Wish I would of liked to have thought of about 14 hours ago! I realize that I can't just use the straight version from smash because it has hyperlinks and I don't want to update the book I have up there. So I just put it like I'm making another book and uploaded the document minus cover pic, minus active table of of contents and without all the hyperlnks. They reformat it. I download it and what do you know it works perfectly in the iTunes Producer. My book is now uploaded. After much tedium and much idiocy. 

I'm going to bed. Hope my tale helps all of you.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

What's the best tool for creating ePubs?  I don't want to use my Smashwords one, since it has the Smashwords copy on the first page.  A friend will lend me her Macbook next weekend.


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## Joe Chiappetta (May 20, 2010)

I use Sigil. It is free, easy to use opensource software for making ePub eBook files.
http://code.google.com/p/sigil/


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## TC Beacham (Nov 23, 2009)

Anyone had success publishing directly to the ibookstore yet?

In addition to being able to post longer descriptions and to update information quickly, a big advantage to publishing directly is having control of keyword and category choices and changes. Don't know if anyone even finds my books on B&N - and it'll probably be the same at the ibookstore. What do y'all think about these issues? What has your experience been?


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## Ali Cooper (May 1, 2010)

I'd already paid for a batch of ISBNs, registered to my own imprint, Standing Stone Press, to publish my book in print.

So I assigned one to smashwords for shipping to Apple and others.

However, I just found the B&N site and my ebook is there with a different ISBN and with smashwords listed as the publisher. maybe they'll update it with mine.

I think it's generally easier for UK people to go via smashwords because they seem a bit more clued on currency/tax/payment.


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## AnnaM (Jul 15, 2009)

EliseBell,

THANK YOU for posting your experience. I spent a good part of last night trying to convert to epub with Calibre, getting lots of error messages, and then another cryptic message when I finally sent the file up to Apple. I finally gave up. It looks like I should use the Smashwords conversion. Thanks for your tips.

Anna


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## AnnaM (Jul 15, 2009)

Joe Chiappetta said:


> I use Sigil. It is free, easy to use opensource software for making ePub eBook files.
> http://code.google.com/p/sigil/


Joe, what are you using as your source format when converting using Sigil? A Word file? Will it accept HTML?

Last night I converted to epub using Calibre, and then used Sigil to edit the code (cleanup), but still got lots of errors. The user manual (online) for SIGIL wasn't very friendly.

Thanks.


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## Joe Chiappetta (May 20, 2010)

Anna,
Sigil does accept some HTML code. I actually write most of my books as plain text (TXT) file in Notepad and then format it directly in Sigil. 

If you can, past your book text into notepad to strip out out the extra formatting. Then copy the plain text and paste it into Sigil. Then add a little formating like your chapter headings and you should be good to go. Look at the file in code view (html) and make sure the title tag is in there. If not, add it. That's what I have done. Works great.


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## AnnaM (Jul 15, 2009)

Thanks Joe!  I thought about plopping plain text into the Sigl input after I read your post.  I'll try it!

Anna


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

I am hoping to upload mine today. What was your experience like, was it worth doing? Where do you go to promote yours? 


Imogen


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

merged new post with existing thread. . . . .


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> merged new post with existing thread. . . . .


Thanks, Ann!

I would be ever so grateful if someone with an iPad could check if my book is showing up in the iBook store. How long does it usually take?


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

I Rose said:


> Thanks, Ann!
> 
> I would be ever so grateful if someone with an iPad could check if my book is showing up in the iBook store. How long does it usually take?


There's a thread already for that, too. David Derrico started it.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Yep, here it is: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,22320.0.html


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

Thanks!!


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## EliseBell (May 20, 2010)

TC Beacham said:


> Anyone had success publishing directly to the ibookstore yet?
> 
> In addition to being able to post longer descriptions and to update information quickly, a big advantage to publishing directly is having control of keyword and category choices and changes. Don't know if anyone even finds my books on B&N - and it'll probably be the same at the ibookstore. What do y'all think about these issues? What has your experience been?


Yes I have mine in there now I will have to do the new ones soon but I'm waiting til I get them all done. So I can put my misery all into one day. You can check if your book is available in the iBooks Store by going to your iTunes Connect account. It says if it's pending or live. "You Need To Know" is live now.



AnnaM said:


> EliseBell,
> 
> THANK YOU for posting your experience. I spent a good part of last night trying to convert to epub with Calibre, getting lots of error messages, and then another cryptic message when I finally sent the file up to Apple. I finally gave up. It looks like I should use the Smashwords conversion. Thanks for your tips.
> 
> Anna


I'm glad it helped I was tearing my hair out that day. I felt pretty stupid not thinking of the Smashwords conversion. I hope .epub is going to fix some of their issues. I like my live table of content a lot. It's nice to just click to go to whichever chapter you are looking for. There are all kinds of other problems with it in my opinion as well. Apple needs to come up with something other then what looks like someone face rolling the keys for errors. It would be nice if it said "cannot accept hyperlinks" instead of dkfjlkhgaiojcioeuroapnvp (that was a cat roll, just rolled the cat on the keys) which is yes about what the errors look like that they give you. So it's impossible to fix something when you have no idea what the problem is. It's new I'm sure they'll polish it up eventually and make it easier on all of us.


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## Joe Chiappetta (May 20, 2010)

What do you mean by saying Apple cannot except hyperlinks? Does this mean that if I have hyperlinks in my eBook, that it will be rejected from iBookstore?


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## EliseBell (May 20, 2010)

If you have links that are anchored within your document such as a table of content linked to your chapter titles they do not support them. However I believe you can put links to other websites. I'd check with their publishing guide. When you go to upload your file into apple from your .epub file it goes through a process and spits out a report at the end either saying it was accepted or a bunch of intelligible error numbers that mean nothing to anyone and then you have to start guessing at the problem. In my case it was the anchored  hyperlinks because they don't support the active table of content. So I won't say no it will be rejected for normal www.whateverhere.com links. It took me a while to get mine accepted into their system though because I had the hyperlinks in mine i had to go through and remove all the hyperlinks and bookmarks i Had so that it would take it. Forgive my atrocious typing I'm running on like 2 hours  of sleep in two days. Nap time.


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## Joe Chiappetta (May 20, 2010)

I see. So where is this iBookstore publishing guide? Does anyone have a link directly to it?


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

Here is the link:

https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa/wo/4.0.0.5.7.7.1


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## Nancy C. Johnson Author (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks for the link, Imogen

Wish I had more time to do all of this stuff!

And Elise, thanks also, for explaining problems that might arise.

Nancy


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

Nancy, I had the most aweful time trying to get my book ready for the iBook store (mainly beacuse I insisted on keping my moon images as chapter headings  )  A really nice member at MR helped me out. He is willing to help a few people out (with no charge) at the moment, so message me if you want his info.


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## TC Beacham (Nov 23, 2009)

Imogen Rose said:


> Nancy, I had the most aweful time trying to get my book ready for the iBook store (mainly beacuse I insisted on keping my moon images as chapter headings ) A really nice member at MR helped me pot. He is willing to help a few people out (with no charge) at the moment, so message me if you want his info.


Imogen Rose, did you manage to get your book in the store? I'm wondering if Apple gives authors an opportunity to add categories and search words to help shoppers find titles. Did you get to that?

TC


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

David McAfee said:


> Hmmm, any iPad owners out there know how my book looks on iPad?


It looks great on the Kindle app, but I went in and downloaded a sample from iBooks. Kind of odd - the entire book is in a red font. I did go into another book to see if I somehow set something up weird, but they are a regular black font. Let me know if you would like a screen shot.


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

TC Beacham said:


> Imogen Rose, did you manage to get your book in the store? I'm wondering if Apple gives authors an opportunity to add categories and search words to help shoppers find titles. Did you get to that?
> 
> TC


I did and it's live now. I don't have an iPad so I can't check for tags etc. I did enter one category, must look to see if I can enter search words.


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## TC Beacham (Nov 23, 2009)

Imogen Rose said:


> I did and it's live now. I don't have an iPad so I can't check for tags etc. I did enter one category, must look to see if I can enter search words.


Congratulations - and best of luck! 

You'll have to let us know if you can enter search words, etc.


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

TC Beacham said:


> Congratulations - and best of luck!
> 
> You'll have to let us know if you can enter search words, etc.


Thanks! I will do...


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

EKing said:


> It looks great on the Kindle app, but I went in and downloaded a sample from iBooks. Kind of odd - the entire book is in a red font. I did go into another book to see if I somehow set something up weird, but they are a regular black font. Let me know if you would like a screen shot.


Great. Red font. *sigh*


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

David McAfee said:


> Great. Red font. *sigh*


The cover looks great when you first go into the book. The red font combined with being back-lit is kind of brutal though.

Let me see if I can find another smashwords book out there in iBooks and see how the sample looks...

ETA: The other sample was standard black font.


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## TC Beacham (Nov 23, 2009)

Anyone else do this yet? 

What was your experience?

Are you happy with the tools in your account - keywords, etc. What search tools are available?

Thanks!
TC


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## Oldpilot (May 25, 2009)

dlmartin6 said:


> I have already checked and all of my books are in the iBookstore so the only hassle for me is waiting to see when the royalties will be paid out. I can wait - it's not like we're talking millions here.....


How do you check out the iBookstore if you don't own an iPad? I've tried to do it using iTunes and my iPhone, but no joy.

Apple is a very closed society. I don't like iTunes, for a lot of reasons. When I bought a Touch last year, I was so wowed by it that I seriously thought of buying a Mac, and a couple months ago I did sell the Touch and an old iPod and used the proceeds to pay for an iPhone and the first month's ATT bill. But this experience of trying to explore the iBookstore has cooled me on things Apple. I like a more open universe.


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

I have one and can check or there is another thread specific for checking in the iBooks store.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Try to be patient. Apparently the iBooks app and store will be available for iPhone when the next system software upgrade is available.


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## AnnaM (Jul 15, 2009)

I've successfully uploaded two books to the iBookstore, but the third (which I processed the same as the others) gets to the delivery step and I get one error message:

ERROR ITMS-9000: "unfinished element" at Book (MZItmspBookPackage)

I checked metadata and it looks good. Any ideas on why this is happening?

Thanks.


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## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

iTunes Producer generates an error log file which can give you more information as to what is happening, Anna. While your error message is very generic, it seems there is a structural error in your file.
Feel free to send me your error log and I'll take a closer look. You can get the error log when you click on a small button under the the error message when your submission fails.


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## AnnaM (Jul 15, 2009)

Thanks Guido. I got the epub file up to Apple (successfully) this evening. To thank you I just purchased _From a Watery Grave._ It looks great, and I can't wait to read it!


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## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

I am just happy that I was able to help.


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## JoeMitchell (Jun 6, 2010)

I'd love to publish directly to the ipad, but I don't have a mac, and it seems like they have some bugs left to work out of the system, like for example, needing a mac to upload.  I'll stick with smashwords for now.


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## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

Obviously you don't love it enough to switch to a "real" computer instead of using one of those Windoze toys.


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## Joseph Rhea (Nov 9, 2009)

EKing said:


> I have one and can check or there is another thread specific for checking in the iBooks store.


Hi Emily
Since I know you've read Cyberdrome, would you mind checking to see if it is in the iBookstore yet.
Thanks much!


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

Joseph Rhea said:


> Hi Emily
> Since I know you've read Cyberdrome, would you mind checking to see if it is in the iBookstore yet.
> Thanks much,
> Joe


Joe,

It is there and the sample looks really good. Did you want me to put a review out there for you?

E


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## Joseph Rhea (Nov 9, 2009)

EKing said:


> Joe,
> 
> It is there and the sample looks really good. Did you want me to put a review out there for you?
> 
> E


Emily
Are you kidding? I would LOVE a review from you there.
You continue to be my hero!
Thank you so much!
Joe


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## Debra L Martin (Apr 8, 2010)

Guido Henkel said:


> Obviously you don't love it enough to switch to a "real" computer instead of using one of those Windoze toys.


Yeah, another MAC lover in the mix.


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## rcordiner (Jul 4, 2010)

Hi all

I'm in Australia and so I have no way of seeing if my book is on the iBookstore - as I can only see the Oz one which only has the free classics at this stage - can anyone tale a quick look please??


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## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

I posted the same info ion the other thread already, but here it is again.

"Treasure Lost" is in the iBookstore, but your other book, "Candy Wars," is not.


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## Joseph Rhea (Nov 9, 2009)

Has anyone looked into making an apple "app" of their book? This is different from having it listed in the iBookstore or using the Kindle app to read Kindle content. This is a stand-alone app of your book that would be available in the app store instead of the iBookstore. At least one KB author has done this already, but I forgot who it was...

Joe


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## keriah (Aug 4, 2010)

I am confused by some of the posts earlier in this thread. For example, the point about links needing to be removed. I just created an initial ePub (first couple of chapters) and put in one external hyperlink and a second link that is internal (to a reference in the Bibliography section). Both do seem to work -- but this is on an ePub that I load directly into iTunes and then 'drag' onto my iPad -- IOW, I've not yet gone through the full workflow of publishing to Apple. Before I add in all the rest of the links, I'd like to hear if there is an official statement about links ... supported, yes or no (or kinda, sorta). (I have also viewed the ePub file via Calibre and the links work there as well.)

Also, the ePub I've compiled _*does*_ have an active Table of Contents -- links from the TOC entries to the appropriate chapters/sections of the book. So the statement that an active TOC is missing from an iBookStore ePub is puzzling.

There was nothing from the validation step of the ePub file to indicate that either the links or the TOC was problematic. Is the Apple validation different from the validation from (say) Google?

Thanks!
Keri


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## Ali Cooper (May 1, 2010)

I'm not sure yet about publishing directly because I'm UK and the more US companies I deal with, the more tax hassles I potentially have to sort out.

I pulled from smashwords distribution to B&N because they'd got the publishing info and ISBN wrong but I see on iPad it's correct.


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## William Campbell (Feb 11, 2010)

keriah said:


> I am confused by some of the posts earlier in this thread. For example, the point about links needing to be removed.


I too fail to understand this "myth." I've uploaded two epubs with active TOC using links. No problems. However, I haven't looked at them via iBooks, so couldn't say for sure if they are working.

As for problems listed in this thread, I've had none of it. I wouldn't call the process childishly simple, but it was not so difficult that a little patience was the only requirement, after a careful study of the indicated instructions for the iTunes Producer software.

However, one thing does seem to be missing: a place to add tags, you know, for when iPad/iPhone users search by subject, genre, etc. Like how Amazon DTP, even Smashwords has. Doesn't iBooks have this sort of search feature? I would think so. Anyone know something about this? The iTunesConnect site doesn't appear very useful, either, other than seeing that your books are live, and sales activity. It sure would be nice to view the title's page in iBooks and be able to tweak it when things are awry, instead of having to either own an iPad or ask another to check on your behalf.

The iBooks app (free) is now available for iPhone, but every friend I've asked says their phone tells them they need a system update (3.5.something, not sure). Same story with a friend's iTouch I tried, which apparently cannot be updated (old hardware). How Apple sells more phones, I guess.


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## davidhburton (Mar 11, 2010)

Joe, I did the "book as an app" thing. It's ok, but not sure if it's worth it. I have it out for iphone and ipod in that format. Every once in awhile, they deposit chump change into my paypal account. 

As for uploading to Apple, if you don't have a Mac, I've seen OS/X run on VMWare ...


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## 25803 (Oct 24, 2010)

It's been nearly a year since someone posted in this thread, but I wonder if it still holds true.  Do you have to use a Mac to publish directly?

Thanks!


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

Yes.

You can use a PC to submit an application. You have to submit an ISBN number with the application. I submitted on Friday and was approved on Monday.

When the application is approved they send a link to download the software necessary to post the book. That software runs on Mac only.

After the book is live, you can use a PC to monitor sales.


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## 25803 (Oct 24, 2010)

Terrence OBrien said:


> Yes.
> 
> You can use a PC to submit an application. You have to submit an ISBN number with the application. I submitted on Friday and was approved on Monday.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much, Terrence! This helps me a lot!


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

One more thing. After a few months I got an email from Apple telling me I was now so important that they were giving me access to the online Apple VIP Store. Prices seems to be a flat 10% lower than the regular online store. Annual purchases are limited to a few desktops, laptops, iPads, and iPhones, but it's more than I would ever need.

So if I get a 10% discount, I wonder what James Patterson gets?


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## Zelah Meyer (Jun 15, 2011)

At the moment this is sounding such a nightmare for a UK based PC owner that, unless things change before I get around to publishing, I'll stick with Smashwords unless I ever have high enough sales that the 10% I lose in commission is enough to justify the purchase of a Mac that I would only use for uploading books (unless you can use an iPad to upload to the store?  I might get some business use out of one of them).


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

iPad doesn't work. You need a Mac with an op sys greater than some version number. I forget exactly what it is. I think the cut off is the Intel op sys, but Apple gives the number in their info page.

I did find the iPad very useful for reviewing the files before upload. I synched the iPad to the Mac and the book showed up in the iPad bookshelf where I read it with the iBook reader.

The sad truth is I had been looking for an excuse to buy an iMac for a long time. So I jumped on this excuse before they opened things up to the PC. It worked. I love the iMac.


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## Zelah Meyer (Jun 15, 2011)

That's a shame, no justification for me to buy an iPad now! I've used my mum's Macs over the years while visiting her and I _hate_ them! I hate the one button mouse (though people say you can buy two button ones) and I really, really hate Safari! I find the system as a whole un-intuitive and I fear that I'm just not a Mac person! I like Apple for gadgets but not for computers!


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## William Campbell (Feb 11, 2010)

Content is submitted to the iBookstore using "iTunesProducer" software by Apple. This requires OS10.6 (Snow Leopard), which of course, also rules out any old PowerPC Macs. 10.6 only runs on newer Intel chip Macs.

The software provides a mean to enter the metadata, select a cover file and epub, and set territories and prices. Then hit the deliver button. It could all be done through a platform-free web page, but unfortunately, Apple doesn't see it that way. They're convinced access to iBooks should belong strictly to Mac users, whether buying or selling.

After the content is delivered and goes through the normal wait as the title is set up, after that, sales can checked through any web browser.

Whether this is better than using Smashwords depends on how you prepare your epubs. For those of us who hand-code them, this is the only way to have Apple sell our exact version of our epub. But if you use Calibre to make epubs from another format, you might as well save yourself the extra hassle and publish through Smashwords. That is how they create your epub anyway (using Calibre) though in most cases they can do it better since they have long tweaked the settings to get the best results across the various e-book retailers they distribute to.

By the way, on a Mac, Ctrl-click results in equivalent options to Windows' right-click of the two-button mouse. Been that way for a long time, I think at least since OS8, well over a decade now. And don't get me wrong -- I'm not a Mac snob. I use both daily and have for decades throughout my career in graphic arts. Both platforms are equally capable computers, though I would have to agree, it smacks of greedy business practice to force people into using a platform just for access to distribution. Thank goodness there is the Smashwords option.


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## MosesSiregarIII (Jul 15, 2010)

I haven't uploaded my epub to my iTunes/iBooks account yet because I'm using Smashwords to generate my epubs and I'm guessing that Apple is going to reject it. Has anyone had good or back luck getting Apple to accept an epub generated by Smashwords.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

_"They're convinced access to iBooks should belong strictly to Mac users, whether buying or selling."_

I thought about that, trying to find a rational explanation for limiting the upload to iTunesProducer. I subscribe to the notion that companies make conscious decisions like this for a reason. The mistakes they make are an entirely different matter.

The best explanation I could imagine is they are using it as a filtering mechanism. Both the Mac hardware and the ISBN will keep many things off Apple that will be on Amazon. Do deeper pockets mean better books? I doubt it, but it might keep a lot of bad books off iBooks.

In terms of reading only on Apple devices, that seems to be part of their overall philosophy going back to 1980. While Amazon and B&N make all the virtual platforms they can, Apple doesn't bother.

In any case, it's hard to argue with success. I note HP just dropped out of the tablet market after six weeks.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

_"I haven't uploaded my epub to my iTunes/iBooks account yet because I'm using Smashwords to generate my epubs and I'm guessing that Apple is going to reject it. Has anyone had good or back luck getting Apple to accept an epub generated by Smashwords."_

I didn't use SW, but did use the eBook template Apple provides in Pages. I used six styles in the PC version, and when I took it to Pages, I substituted the Pages eBook template styles for mine. For example, I had Pages highlight all my italics, then assigned them the Pages italic style. It took about five minutes for the whole book. Then it took another hour to convince myself it really did work right in only five minutes.

Pages exported an ePub, I dragged it to iTunes, synched my iPad, and reviewed the book in on the iPad using the iBooks reader. When I hit Upload in iTunesProducer, it took it the first time.


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## KR Jacobsen (Jul 19, 2011)

Apple are historically something of their own world. Yes, you can run Windows on a new Mac, yes Apple machines cost more, yes their gadgets are more restricted compared to others (iOS vs Android), but that's how they operate. Apple is a microcosm within the giant computer world, and this is how they've been successful. So long as Jobs is running the company, that's not going to change. Also, don't be fooled by them selling lots of "virtual" goods: they're a hardware company and that's where and how they make the majority of their money.

That said, it is rather ridiculous that you must have a Mac to upload to the store, but it is Apple, and it's how they operate. This may change in the future, but I'm not holding my breath. Seeing as how I have numerous Macs (among other things), it's not an issue for me, but I feel bad for others who don't have/want an Apple but might still want to go directly into Apple's store instead of using SW (or someone else).

I was kicking around the idea of offering to upload books for folks that want to sell directly, but I realize no one knows who I am and that's a lot of trust to place in a stranger. Also, I'm not sure I want that responsibility, especially if something were to go wrong beyond my control.

Just the same, it's Apple's (ridiculous?) requirement of ebooks passing epubcheck that made me click into this thread originally as I was struggling to get my ebook to pass. Turns out it was as simple as taking it from Calibre (which converted it from html created following Guido Henkel's guide) then running it through Sigil. Now it passes both epubcheck and JetWhatever (I forget the name, clearly). (Yes, I realize I could use Sigil to create the epub from the hmtl, but I had already created the epub with Calibre and was trying to fix it.)


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## Michael Kingswood (Feb 18, 2011)

MosesSiregarIII said:


> I haven't uploaded my epub to my iTunes/iBooks account yet because I'm using Smashwords to generate my epubs and I'm guessing that Apple is going to reject it. Has anyone had good or back luck getting Apple to accept an epub generated by Smashwords.


I had no problems at all getting my short stories up for sale on Apple through Smashwords. I've had some sales from itunes, too, so I'd say it works great.


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