If you don’t have a Mac and you don’t want to fiddle around with MacinCloud, you’ll have to use a distributor to get your eBook into Apple’s iBookstore. Here are 8 distributors to choose from:
Smashwords – You’ll have to format your Word file in accordance with Smashwords’ style guide, or upload an ePub file that passes ePub validation. There are no upfront charges. You give Smashwords a cut of each sale.
eBookIt – You can either upload a valid ePub file (free), or have eBookIt do the formatting for you ($149, $249 if working from a PDF). eBookIt takes a cut of each sale.
BookBaby – You’ll have to pay at least $99, even if you have a valid ePub file. BookBaby doesn’t take a cut of each sale, but after the first year, you’ll pay a $19 annual cataloguing fee per title.
lulu – No upfront charges; lulu takes a cut of each sale. If you don’t have an ePub file, it offers formatting services (for a fee).
XinXii –Like Smashwords, there are no upfront charges and XinXii converts your Word file to an ePub file. It takes a cut of each sale.
Draft2Digital – Currently in beta, a writer created this service because he wasn’t satisfied with Smashwords’ distribution. You can read more about it in this thread at KindleBoards. No upfront charges. Draft2Digital will convert your Word file to an ePub file. As usual, it’ll take a cut of each sale.
Pigeon Labs – Charges an upfront fee of $99 and takes a cut of each sale. No formatting services. You’ll have to upload a valid ePub file, or a file created with iBooks Author.
Fast Pencil – Unique, in that you can upload your document and use Fast Pencil’s tools to create a file that can be distributed. It’ll cost you $249 per book, and after three years, you’ll have to pay a $49 annual cataloguing fee per title.
And that concludes the list. With so many choices, you shouldn’t have a problem distributing your eBook to the Apple iBookstore.
Any other distributors? Any distributor kudos/horror stories to report? Leave a comment and let us know.
8 Ways to Get Your Book into the Apple iBookstore is a post from: Self-Publishing Adventure
