How to Upload Your Book to Ibooks

When it comes to selling ebooks, many view Apple Books as Amazon's main competitor. And that hunch is backed upwardly by the numbers. A 2015 analysis by the (at present defunct) Author Earnings website showed that Apple Books' market place share in the U.s.a. was bigger than that of Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google Play combined.

It's still nether x% of the total United states ebook marketplace, which feels minor when compared to Amazon's +lxxx%. Just with the rise of Kindle Unlimited, which has lured many authors into Amazon exclusivity, it may exist easier for authors to become a big chunk of Apple'due south ten% than a small-scale chunk of Amazon'southward 83%.

That is, if you play your cards correct. And that'south exactly what nosotros'll show yous how to exercise in this post.

How to publish your volume on Apple tree Books

The first thing to know nearly Apple Books is that they are "aggregator agnostic." What that means is that they really don't intendance whether you publish your volume directly to Apple Books using their tools (and the steps beneath), or whether you lot send your book to them through an aggregator like Draft2Digital.

They also don't give authors any "straight" marketing privileges or options. So all in all, we recommend distributing to Apple Books through Draft2Digital to start with. This will make the whole procedure easier, and let you to get your book on a bunch of other retailers and library distributors at the same fourth dimension.

That said, going through Draft2Digital will toll you a modest percentage of royalties (15%). Then if you're confident your book will sell a lot on Apple tree and want to avert that aggregator fee, use these steps to publish your volume to Apple Books directly!

Stride 1: Create your iTunes Connect Account

To create your iTunes Connect account, head here: https://authors.apple.com/epub-upload and select "Create account."

Annotation: if y'all already accept an iTunes Connect account, head straight to step three.

Now, Apple volition inquire you for an Apple ID. If you lot're an existing Apple customer, that's basically the email address and password you prepare on your first purchase/registration.

If you're not an existing Apple tree customer, you'll have to create your Apple ID. To practice so, just head hither and fill in the form. Once registered, make sure to fill up in the "Payment & Shipping" section, otherwise you won't be able to use that Apple ID to create your iTunes Connect account.

One time you've connected your Apple ID, yous'll exist prompted to accept iTunes Connect's terms and conditions. Apple lets yous choose between "individual" and "organisation" for the business relationship. You lot should only select "individual" if you lot aren't registered every bit a company, or if you are a sole proprietor.

iTunes Connect will ship you an e-mail to verify your address, and y'all'll finally be able to log in to your iTunes Connect account.

Footstep 2: Enter your banking and tax data

At present, iTunes Connect is non what you'll use to publish your books. Instead, information technology's where you'll provide all your business and tax information. To do so, click on "View & Concur to terms" and follow the steps.

Next, set up your taxation and banking information. Apple'south interface for the banking data is a fleck clunky, so make sure you enter your IBAN and other account numbers without spacing, otherwise you'll get an error.

More than importantly, make sure you lot enter all your personal details as they appear on your tax records, as Apple will exist checking that information with the IRS.

The process tin can accept a couple of days, and you'll receive an e-mail if you've been approved, or if Apple requires whatever boosted information. You don't need to wait for that to continue the publishing process, though.

Footstep 3: Upload your volume

For this, you'll need to quit iTunes Connect and instead go back to that initial URL: https://authors.apple.com/epub-upload, and this time, select the choice to "Sign in to iTunes Connect."

If you're setting up a pre-order, select that option then upload:

Your cover file (JPEG or PNG). You tin can learn more about recommended cover dimensions hither;
A sample file (EPUB). This is a sample of your volume that will be made available to readers on the store (similar to the "wait-inside" feature on Amazon).

If you lot're looking to publish the book right away (no pre-order), and so you'll also demand to upload the EPUB file for your full book.

If you lot don't have that EPUB file still, you can create it easily (and for free!) using our Reedsy Book Editor. We've worked with Apple Books to make sure that all Reedsy-produced EPUB files are fully compatible with their publishing portal (and await great on Apple devices).

Pace 4: Enter your metadata

This scrap volition exist pretty easy if y'all're already published a volume elsewhere. Yous'll have to enter:

The book'southward title, subtitle, and series title (where applicable);
The author'south (and whatever other contributor'south) proper name;
The blurb (or book description).

If you haven't written your blurb withal, you lot'll observe some helpful tips in this article on Amazon book descriptions. The advice applies just every bit well to Apple Books, especially considering you can also apply html formatting there.

Step 5: Cull your categories

While Amazon KDP only lets you choose two categories, you can select up to 3 when submitting your volume on Apple Books. Apple will utilize these categories to know where to "identify" your volume on the store, and so yous'll want to brand certain that:

You lot cull three distinct categories (to maximize your visibility);
You only choice categories that are fully relevant to your volume. To double cheque, you can become to the Apple Books store (if you have an Apple tree device) and check each category you're because, to come across what kind of books are in there;
If relevant, try to have at least ii dissimilar "Primary discipline categories." If your volume is in a subcategory, information technology'll automatically show up in the parent one. Then by listing your volume in two subcategories that have a different parent category, you lot'll be in four unlike categories (two sub and two parent).

Afterwards that, you'll merely have to enter the publisher proper name, enter the ISBN (optional), and the publication date, and you'll be able to upload your book to Apple Books.

Once that's done, you can leave the "publishing portal," but the full process is not quite finished withal.

Stride 6: Set up your territorial pricing

To finish publishing your volume on Apple tree Books, yous'll have to go back to iTunes Connect. You should now see your volume in the "My books" section there. If you don't, wait 24 hours and come up dorsum, equally it tin can take up to a 24-hour interval for the book to be uploaded there.

Click on the volume cover, then on "Rights & Pricing" and "Add New Countries or Regions." There, you'll be able to set up your volume's price and customize it for each country. To do so:

1. Tick the DRM costless box (DRM is useless);
2. Prepare your release date;
3. Choose your base currency;
4. Ignore the "listing cost";
5. Enter your price in the "suggested Apple Books price" field;
6. Select all the countries yous want to publish your book in (y'all can use "select all").

Apple will use your suggested toll and base of operations currency to auto-generate "bonny" prices for all countries and regions, based on their data. For case, if you select 4.99 USD, Apple volition price your book at $4.99 in the US and most of South America, 6.99 CAD in Canada, £iv.99 in the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, and €5.99 in near of Europe.

That said, y'all can also customize the cost for each country if you lot prefer.

Once that'due south done, your volume will automatically go live in each country shop you selected, at the toll you selected, on your release date.

Of course, publishing the book on Apple Books is just the first, like shooting fish in a barrel step. The hard part is getting it to sell. For that purpose, here are some essential marketing tips for selling more on Apple.

Marketing tips to sell more on Apple Books

Apple Books is probably the main not-Amazon retailer where y'all can make a lot of money if y'all manage to build a solid audience. We personally know several authors at Reedsy who earn a full-time living writing, and make most of their income from Apple Books.

Just like all other "broad" retailers, though, it more often than not takes a lot more time to get established on Apple Books. So our outset tip for marketing your ebook is to be patient! Don't jump into Amazon exclusivity after a few months considering you lot're frustrated by your results on Apple tree. Almost writers who build their careers on Apple Books do so over several years.

That said, the Apple Books store has several specificities that make for great opportunities downwards the line.

Try higher prices

While there'south no official statistic to confirm this, it'south common knowledge that Apple Books readers are less sensitive to cost elasticity. After all, most Apple Books readers own Apple devices, and those aren't exactly cheap. Substantially, this means that you can get traction for a $5 or $six book more hands on Apple than on Amazon.

Even ameliorate, Apple tree is one of the but retailers who don't price-match. So while information technology'due south not super off-white to their readers, you lot tin try pricing your volume a bit higher on Apple Books than you exercise on Amazon, Google Play, Kobo, or Barnes & Noble.

Leverage "free start-in-series"

Another tidbit of common knowledge: while permafree showtime-in-series don't work every bit well as they previously did on Amazon (due to Amazon splitting up their complimentary and paid bestseller lists), they still work extremely well on Apple. If y'all have a series and you're using Apple Books, make certain to try making Book One free.

Note: this is a strategy that too works very well on Google Play .

Publish sectional mega box sets

Yous probably know that Amazon but pays you 35% royalties on books priced above $9.99. Well, Apple doesn't take that upper limit: you even so earn lxx% royalties on sales at $10.99, $19.99, or fifty-fifty $24.99. This makes Apple Books a perfect identify to sell sectional box sets.

You might not sell a lot of them, simply each sale volition be worth a good dinner. More importantly, the Apple Books team tends to reward exclusivity a lot: if they meet that your box set is only available on Apple, and is doing well, they'll be all the more tempted to requite it more visibility on the store.

Leverage pre orders

Possibly the best advantage of Apple Books when compared to Amazon is this clandestine weapon: pre-orders. If you lot go a pre-order sale on Amazon, information technology counts (towards bestseller rankings and popularity lists) equally one auction at the fourth dimension of the preorder. At present, on Apple Books, it counts as one sale at the time of the pre-order — and then every bit another sale on launch twenty-four hours.

This ways that if you manage to get 500 pre-orders on Apple Books, your volume will shoot to the top of the ranks on launch mean solar day (and attract the attention of the merchandising team).

Sign upward to the Apple tree Books affiliate program

The first thing y'all should practice if you're serious about driving sales to Apple Books is to sign upward to the iTunes affiliate program. Apple Books allows authors to place chapter codes anywhere, including on websites and within advertizing spheres (while Amazon Affiliates doesn't allow you lot to employ their links on ads).

Using affiliate links in your communications and ads will allow you lot to:

Track your sales and conversion rates more effectively, and
Earn 7% more on your sales (that's the affiliate percentage).

Send traffic through ads

The neat affair most the iTunes chapter program is that they're fine with you lot using affiliate links in online ads. Then you should definitely take advantage of that, especially because it's pretty easy to target Apple Books readers on Facebook and BookBub:

On Facebook, you tin can select "iBooks" as an "interest" — or "iPhone 6, vii … X owners" as "behaviours." This mode, you tin can narrow down your usual audience and achieve readers who are more likely to buy on Apple Books.
On BookBub, you can just enter your Apple Books affiliate link, and BookBub will automatically only target readers who they've identified as Apple Books buyers.

If you use these tips, you should be able to gradually build a fanbase on Apple Books — a fanbase set up to pay for higher-priced books, and which won't be lured abroad by free books or subscription programs. And if you want more marketing tips like these to grow your sales on all retailers, you lot tin can sign up to our weekly marketing newsletter here. The tips you'll detect at that place are fully exclusive to its subscribers, so you won't find them anywhere else!

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Source: https://blog.reedsy.com/how-to-publish-on-apple-books/