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Sunday, May 30, 2010

Apple Offers Self-Publishing!


The Apple iBookstore is offering self-publishing...All you need is an ISBN, a taxpayer ID and your book must be in ePUb format...Seems they could have made it simpler, and I feel they could have easy enough.

Being able to set your own price (if I understand the announcement right), of which you get to keep 70%, is a highlight!

From Jimmy Peterson of TopNews.com:

Now, the authors can now self-publish their titles in the US iBookstore through Apple.

The procedure is not so simple as that of uploading a Word file but is also not very complex

According to Ars Technica, a secure ISBN number is enough and the book must be in ePUB format

The machine have OS X 10.5 or better to encode the e-book. For publishing the book iTunes account and a US tax ID is also required.

Apple created the controversy in the US market as its iBookstore shifted terms for e-book selling to the so-called "agency model by which the publisher once settling the price can enjoy 70 per cent of the sales, leaving 30 per cent for the retailer

Out of six major US publishers only five of them signed up the iBookstore at the iPad's unveiling in April.

UK may also get this self-publishing model from Apple very soon.

According to Apple's terms, no other e-book retailer can reduce its own charging and price on the iBookstore will match the lowest price being offered in market.

One of the publishing house's executive quoted to the Financial Times: "We are not absolutely sure the agency model is either legal or ideal for our authors and us."

John's Note: What in the hell would be illegal about the agency model? Is it illegal for the creator, or who s/he gives rights to, to price their own work?

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