The other day, Lulu, a self-publish platform had a blog post that spelled out exactly how to get your e-Book published in the iBookstore. Lulu has been selected as an Apple certified aggregator. That being said, here are the in’s-and-out’s:
- ISBNs. Apple requires ISBNs on eBooks. Lulu can assign one for free.
- ePub. An ePub file is required for submission to the iBookstore. You can create yourown, or have Lulu create one for you through our conversion service . See the next point for an important note about the ePub file.
- Validation. Apple has a strict file validation process. All files submitted must passePubCheck 1.0.5. If you create your own ePub file, you must verify that it will pass. Lulu can only guarantee validation for ePub files created through our conversion service . From now through April 15, we are offering a 50 percent discount on that service. To take advantage, enter code: SVCEPUBBLOG.
- Pricing. All eBooks planned for iBookstore distribution must have retail pricing that complies with Apple’s guidelines. We will automatically price Lulu eBooks submitted to the iBookstore to meet these guidelines. The creator revenue that you receive per sale will be 80 percent of the profit after deducting Apple’s share. On a $9.99 book, for example, you will receive $5.60 .
- Content. Apple could decline to list an eBook in the iBookstore if it determines the book violates the company’s policies on inappropriate content. We have submitted hundreds of titles and, so far, have had only one rejected.
You need to turn your book into an ePub file, which Lulu can do for a few hundred dollars depending on the size of your book. Once your book is ready to go, it has to pass the review process. Once in the iBookstore, apple deducts 30% of your sales, Lulu will deduct 20% of the remainder. Simple as that.
If the iBookstore is not your best option, the other option is an iPad app. A lot of publications are turning toward the iPad as a new form for people to digest their digital print publications.
If you are interested in helping your magazine enter onto the iPad, or have any questions about eBook publishing using the iBookstore, feel free to email hire@jumpfox.com.
If you haven’t seen the numbers for the Android App Marketplace, let me spare you the time — they are disappointing, highly. I can’t speak for myself, because I haven’t bothered to push anything paid into the app marketplace, but why would anyone, especially after the Larva Labs post about how their top selling app was making a total of $64 a day!
That being said, the credit to the iPhone’s success is definitely iTunes. You have credit card info already on file, and you’r offering tons of multimedia options to your customers means they are already downloading and buying things all the time anyway.
Obviously with 81+ million iPhone/iPod/iPad devices, and over half the smart-phone ads from AdMob being served to the iPhone, it only makes since that developers on the Apple platform make more money. But, according to AdMob’s Mobile Metrics, Android is catching up. Increasing their ad delivery by 22%, growing from 2% in Feb. ‘09 to 24% in Feb ‘10; thats still less than half the iPhone’s 50% ad delivery rate. (This growth is highly due to the Motorola Droid – FYI.)
The smartest move for Google right now? Buy DoubleTwist. It’s already been touted as “iTunes for Android“, which may seem like a joke due to Google’s web presence, which is pathetic.
DoubleTwist has the makings of a very good courting to Android customer – it has music from Amazon, it tossed DMCA out the window, and gives you a very sleek interface to do everything with. Obviously the only glitch right now is that you can’t actually download Android apps in DoubleTwist just yet; which Google could easily fix if they acquired DoubleTwist.