Apple has just launched a publishing portal called Apple Books for Authors. It provides a huge resource for authors who are looking to self-publish or publishing companies to submit content. There are instructional videos, recommended apps for recording an audiobook or to writing an ebook. Once you have your content ready for submission there is a giant guide on how to setup an account and upload your content.
You can view Apple Books for Authors as an information portal. It has instructions on all aspects of ebook creation from bestselling authors, some are videos and authors outline their own personal workflow. You can get a sense on how the sales reporting system works and how to market your book effectively. If you are looking to submit an audiobook, Apple provides a list of international distribution partners for Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States.
If you are looking to submit an ebook directly to the Apple Book Store, there is a new publishing tool that is now available. All you need to do is login to iTunes Connect, or register a new one. You can upload all of the metadata and the book and get selling right away.
This new information system and the EPUB upload tool is very different than how Apple used to do things. In the past, you had to find a distributor such as Smashwords or Draft2digital, or have an Apple computer, such as an iMac, Macbook Air, or the Macbook Pro.
One of the great things about the Apple Books app for iOS is that it is basically the only way you can buy audiobooks and ebooks from major publishers/self-publishers on the iPhone or iPad. Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and a slew of other big name retailers do not sell ebooks, because Apple requires a cut of every sale, and ebooks are a small margin business. So Apple Books is basically the only game in town if you like to read books on your iDevice and Apple Books for Authors will help you submit your content.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.