Yesterday, Apple opened up the ability for individuals to submit their books to the iBookstore within the United States. Previously, aspiring authors have been able to work with third-party agggregators with whom Apple has deals, such as Lulu, Smashwords, and Ingram, these firms handling a lot of the overhead and performing tasks such as acquiring an ISBN for your book and making sure the ePub file checks out. Apple has now added e-books as an option to iTunes Connect, albeit the company does warn users that they may get paid faster by using one of those aggregators, as it doesn’t pay out until the sales meet earning thresholds in various regions.
Per Macworld UK, users will need to provide some information before your book hits the digital presses. Besides an Apple ID, you’ll need an ISBN for your book as well as a Tax ID from the IRS (also known as an Employer Identification Number).
Once your application has been approved, Apple says you can submit as many books as you want to the iBookstore. Of course, you’ll still need to create an ePub version of your title, then validate it, and finally submit it to the store for sale.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available and if you’ve ever published a work on your own and have anything to say about it, please let us know in the comments.