“Once we saw the possibilities in iBooks we immediately queried Apple for information on how an individual could participate and over a month ago they had no answer, but today they do,” Martin reports. “Apple sent us an e-mail today with details on how someone could sign up to sell their own books in the iBookstore. “
Martin reports, “Once you are established, Apple’s online agreement allows you to sell your book in the iBookstore in several countries. If you don’t feel like your selling your book in every country available, you can set which countries it’ll be available in and the price for each of the titles.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Publishing houses, please move along. There’s nothing to see here. Music cartels, please ignore, too – Hey, look, over there, money!
So, can budding musicians publish their songs on iTunes?
You know, this is the REAL Apple revolution. First, almost anyone can publish software (APPS) now books. With Garageband et al music would be a natural.
Just a thought.
While this is absolutely nothing less than a revolution in publishing, there is likely to be not thousands but millions of people who will want to self-publish, which brings up the question of: how will anyone find anything?
There is no question that there are a lot of very talented yet unknown authors out there who can’t get published because a VERY small group of idiots working in publishing houses don’t see the potential of their works. By allowing self-publishing, Apple may change everything so long as the good authors aren’t drowned out by the flood of mediocre ones…
indie Musicians have to go through an aggregator, such as TuneCore, but it’s pretty cheap and easy.
“So, can budding musicians publish their songs on iTunes?”
iTunes has supported this for years.
Interesting. I have been using Smashwords.
There are dozens of self-publishing venues already running. The main problem is in getting noticed. The same Problem that indie musicians have on iTunes. My album has been up ther since 2006 — anybody ever heard if it?
Indie music on iTunes: yes it can happen quite easily. I use CD Baby for my stuff and they publish quite readily to iTunes just like this: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sunrise-at-basin-harbor/id317658771
I too see the great potential in this development. But -sorry for being the devil’s advocate here- how will minimal quality standards be ensured? I know: eventual sales volume and ratings will guide future shoppers, but we’ve seen what total freedom of publishing on the web sometimes leads to…
And… how do you choose which books to read today? Probably based on reputation, I would imagine. Or based on accolades ( No.1 New York Times Best Seller ) What this will do is add a whole layer of discoverability to these authors.
Oops… I misread your comment. You will also find there are people who have followers but not published. J.C. Hutchins is one that I think did a podcast for a long time before getting published. Scott Sigler as well.
Motivation to finish and self-publish my masters thesis.
Lulu should jump right on this
This will be Big as so many individual stories will appear! Economic contribution to USA. Yes, there will a lot of bad taste and extreme also:-( but most of them are just that.
So, Apple you are doing it again and again!!
iFreedom!
Ballmers new novel: Developers, developers, developers. The end.
@ vanfruniken :
“how will minimal quality standards be ensured?”
For whose benefit do those so-called minimum standards need to be ensured? And do you mean literary standards, grammatical/language standards, or decency standards?
Sounds like just a justification for the existence of Big Publishing.
Sell your own apps, books, pod casts, (teaching notes and tests, hardware accessories, songs, artwork, …) a Walmart in the clouds! iFleeMarket?
so anyone know of any good software for the mac to convert either a word or pages document to epub?
@ MadMac,
Nice music, just bought the album.
Did you have any part in making it?
@PhxDoc
Try calibre
http://calibre-ebook.com/
Works for me – quite well.
This is pretty exciting for us writers!
Go Apple!
I’ve self-published four science fiction novels, have maybe two hundred readers. Developed those by sending the books to my customers as gifts.
As has been implied above, you can throw a ton of money at promotion; any self-publishing outfit will gladly fan that fire.
I welcome any new way to promote, but wonder how to get noticed.
@ The Other Steve
Thank you very much! It was all me (and my Mac). Made with my MacBook Pro and Final Cut.
Looks like a stellar move for the freedom of expression here . . . one which most naysayers will happily ignore. The only thing the WinAmaGoog fanboys write about is Apple’s careful governance of content in the iTunes app store: no porn, no ranting, no raving, etc. As for this? Just watch: nothing said, nothing mentioned.
Just the silent smell of FEAR.
This is not my idea, but, I am not sure where I read it. Maybe Macomb Gladwell.
Publishers were necessary because of the high level of capital infrastructure needed to create the media and distribute it. This is no longer necessary.
Because of the high level of investment necessary to publish and distribute a book, publishers were very selective. They tried to predict those which would sell the most. A line was drawn.
Now, with electronic publishing, the economics are different. It is cheaper to publish. The line still exists, but, it has been moved way lower. There will be more to choose from.
The issue of getting noticed will remain. A book will not have to be noticed and purchased by nearly as many people to break even.
The world will be a better place.
Storyist, a Mac word processor with emphasis on scriptwriting and novels can produce ePub files as well.
I wrote an email to Apple after getting the ‘right’ address from their phone operators. I got a boilerplate response saying they were too busy and would get round to responding someday, dunno when…
I wrote to Steve Jobs asking what was the difference between app writers and book writers? Both write creative work. Both are in demand. Why not allow book authors to be treated like app devs?
No reply. I didn’t really expect one. But maybe the man took it on board. I’m sure many others must have approached Apple on this.
I’m 80% through writing a book for the iBookStore. I went ahead with it hoping that there would be a change of heart at Apple. Phew, thank God. Nearly 80,000 words later, this great, great news comes through. Funny thing is, what might have been the tough part for me (getting a US tax ID quickly) is actually not a problem. When I registered with a US broker to invest in Apple, I had to get my US tax credentials sorted out first.
Now, how the hell do I get an ISBN? Does Library of Congress or whomever have an office out here in Alpha Centauri? I’d rather not have to travel to sort this out!
Life is good with Apple.
Suddenly, my arse is not toast!
PS
As to the worries expressed about the quality consciousness of self-publishers, it is a valid point. I’m lucky to have written a book before with the involvement of a publishing manager, proof-readers, illustrators etc. i learned a lot from them. 20 years later I can create world-class graphics, tables etc from my Macs. I do the first proofing myself when I do the first cut, to borrow an expression. Then I send it to respected wordsmith friends and to a editor/journalist for proofing, relevance (not going off-topic), ease of reading and comprehension tests and more. Finally, when all is done, I will take a day or two off and read it through again, slowly, somewhere quiet and distraction free.
Some things I’ve learned over the years:
1 – I write for an imaginary person named Abdul Fiona MacWong. Be like Apple and Steve Jobs – never forget who you’re writing for. Think about it. This is a trick I learned from a writing teacher.
2 – I still find I proof-read better if I read from hard-copy. I just seem to catch errors that often slip past my eye when I do this on-screen.
3 – Plan the structure and work it hard for a good amount of time. When you’re happy with it, do a detailed outline to at least three levels … chapter/topic/sub-topic.
4 – Start writing as fast as you can and without worrying too much about typos etc. Correct your errors when you cannot write (it happens). If you get stuck, move to another part of the outline and get going there. You’ll find the thought that brings you back to clear the earlier block.
5 – Keep your research going even as you write, especially with non-fiction.
6 – Get enough sleep and exercise a bit, daily – even just a walk.
7 – Write to engage and impress yourself in meaningful ways.