Marquinius Posted January 22, 2012 Share #1 Posted January 22, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am not such a "ohhhh you should see this" , but this is actually a very interesting tool. Of course you will find a lot of pros and cons about it being Apple and that they want their usual 30%, but look at it from the perspective of ease of use, high quality and a direct link to actually selling your work. Apple - iBooks Author And when I gaze in my crystal ball, I foresee yet another typical change in how the world turns. New titles, low pricing, small batches, lots of people using it. Big publishers simply cannot cater for those typical small areas of interest. But with a smart tool and smart entry on the web, you suddenly will find that you can reach those one or two people that want to see your work. And if that's one or two in every city ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Hi Marquinius, Take a look here Publishing your own work became much easier: iBook Author. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
01af Posted January 22, 2012 Share #2 Posted January 22, 2012 When you're using iBooks Author to put together your book then you basically are giving it to Apple. Did you read the fine print of the license conditions? You cannot sell or distribute your work anywhere but through Apple—and Apple reserves the right to reject your work. Read more here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightwrangler Posted January 22, 2012 Share #3 Posted January 22, 2012 (edited) When you're using iBooks Author to put together your book then you basically are giving it to Apple. Not true. Restrictions are only valid if you like to SELL your book. Free distribution is not restricted, read section 2: "(i) if your Work is provided for free (at no charge), you may distribute the Work by any available means;" Export to PDF is always possible IMHO. Furthermore the restrictions are only attached to the software you use to make your book, NOT the content of your book! A fair enough deal for a freely available software. Nobody is forced to use it. Mike Edited January 22, 2012 by Royal_Corona 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted January 22, 2012 Share #4 Posted January 22, 2012 (edited) Not true. Restrictions are only valid if you like to SELL your book. So you plan to give away all your work that you're going to do with iBook Author? Fine, go ahead. Export to PDF is always possible IMHO. Sure it is. But you cannot sell your PDF documents ... except through Apple. Furthermore the restrictions are only attached to the software you use to make your book, NOT the content of your book! While you're not actually giving away your copyright, you do give away the right to publish your work for a profit. It's a license condition that does not affect what you can do with the software but what you can do with the output of the software. A fair enough deal for a freely available software. Nobody is forced to use it. More reading here. Edited January 22, 2012 by 01af Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted January 22, 2012 Okay, everybody cool down. The thing is that it is ALL true. Yes, Apple takes a big bite, no you're not giving away your rights, yes it is logical that you pay for the services Apple provides, no they don't charge you when you give your book away for free. I am sure that selling your book through a publisher is much handier, cheaper, has less restrictions And I'm sure that if you do it all by yourself and put it on your website, you will sell a lot of books. If you somehow get people to visit. The thing is that I am just happy that a new way for publishing is available. It will activate other suppliers (Apple is just that, nothing more) to find their own magical tool. Which will then have Apple think again and make something that is even smarter. After which ... on and on and on. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjh Posted January 23, 2012 Share #6 Posted January 23, 2012 Comparing to the print publishers I know, 70% for the author sounds like a good deal. But then again there are alternatives to iBooks and Apple and we are free to make our choice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share #7 Posted January 23, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Absolutely. Again, my point is NOT to promote Apple, but to show that things are changing and we get better grip on things. I can but hep that someone will challenge Apple and bring something that is smarter and handier. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted January 23, 2012 Share #8 Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) [...]And when I gaze in my crystal ball, I foresee yet another typical change in how the world turns. New titles, low pricing, small batches, lots of people using it. Big publishers simply cannot cater for those typical small areas of interest. But with a smart tool and smart entry on the web, you suddenly will find that you can reach those one or two people that want to see your work. And if that's one or two in every city ... I've studied e-books for a couple years, so will not get into some the big "gotchas", but just two: first note that the app locks you into Apple (to sell), and second do you see any mention of ISBN in the promotional material? I need to read the ULA. . Edited January 23, 2012 by pico Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjh Posted January 23, 2012 Share #9 Posted January 23, 2012 do you see any mention of ISBN in the promotional material? You need to provide an ISBN for your book if you want to sell it through Apple. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share #10 Posted January 23, 2012 Lock ... yep, I'm not saying it's perfect. But it's a start. And ISBN: yep, mentioned. Only for books you want to sell (which is kinda logical). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephan_w Posted January 23, 2012 Share #11 Posted January 23, 2012 Apple should make computers and maybe cellphones. They have to catch up. I'm not a friend of Apple, their policy is rigid and they are not a tecnology company, but a marketing company. btw, I wouldn't buy a computer or cellfphone produced by Amazon either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted January 23, 2012 Share #12 Posted January 23, 2012 Is anyone being forced to use this software? No. Didn't think so. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted January 23, 2012 Share #13 Posted January 23, 2012 If you want to reach the audience that buys through Apple's store, you have to use their format and, hence, their book making software. However, Apple just decided they can do without world wide standards. Your iBook will not work on devices expecting the EPUB standard if it's done with iBook Author. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.henry Posted January 23, 2012 Share #14 Posted January 23, 2012 Read through the original post and subsequent comments on this site. Quite and interesting conundrum. I was thinking last night it would be fun to play around with iBooks Author and create a photo book of recent work. But, now I'm not so sure. I've got nothing against Apple, but it seems like they have expanded EULA's to a new level here. If I'm reading it correctly (and maybe I'm not; I'm not a lawyer) if I use the software to create a book, even if that book isn't published, then I can't take the same content/formatting/layout/etc and attempt to publish the book somewhere else. Appears the EULA doesn't just apply to what you do within the program, but any content that comes out of it. Think about it in these terms: how many iPhone/iPad apps are now available on the Android OS? What if Apple said to programmers that if you use our development tools to develop an app, then you can only sell that app through us. No porting, no reworking the code for a different OS, nada. Or, what if all those authors who used MS Word to write their books agreed to a new Word EULA that said their work could only be published through a new Microsoft publishing service?? Again, it seems to me that is what Apple is saying here. Please, someone tell me I'm wrong. Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share #15 Posted January 24, 2012 It is becoming rather an interesting thread. As I read the Eula, indeed once you have a paid published iBook, you'll have to go through Apple any which way. But as I was planning on using their specific publishing in the first place, there is no problem. And why would I use iBook Author if I don't want to use Apple? There are more tools available. My point is that it is GOOD that competition is starting up, as, whatever people say, these Apple guys know one thing: make it good! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted January 24, 2012 Share #16 Posted January 24, 2012 It is becoming rather an interesting thread. As I read the Eula, indeed once you have a paid published iBook, you'll have to go through Apple any which way. But as I was planning on using their specific publishing in the first place, there is no problem. Is that any different than going through a traditional publisher - and I doubt that you'd get a 70% cut of the sale from a publisher? The problem will be getting a publisher to accept your book, and if excepted getting people to notice and buy it. Actually the later is still a problem with Apple, having a book in the store doesn't mean that it's going to be bought. If you wanted to make an electronic version of a book available - and get paid for it - how many options are there? There's always Kindle, but the layout options are pretty poor. Correction they've _very_ poor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted January 24, 2012 Share #17 Posted January 24, 2012 Please, someone tell me I'm wrong. Unfortunately, you are not wrong. To the contrary—you are one of the few who actually understand what's going on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share #18 Posted January 24, 2012 Unfortunately, you are not wrong. To the contrary—you are one of the few who actually understand what's going on. Sorry, but that's not reading any of the comments and stating your original issue (which I can follow, Apple being rather hard assed about property, patents and whatnot). In my view (and I summarize what I have found on the web and what's written by others in this thread, including myself), iBook Author is: - for creating an iBook - that can and must be uploaded via Apple - for which they ask 30% if you ask a fee for your iBook - where Apple then organizes all the publishing aspects, sales, etc. including their sales bandwidth - and where you keep all copyright to the content - and where you get paid 70% of the total fee for the iBook You want to make an iBook/EBook/Epub/whatever anywhichway other than with iBook, you're free to make, publish, sell, whatever you want. Nobody says you MUST use iBook Author/iTunes/Apple ... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted January 24, 2012 Share #19 Posted January 24, 2012 You need to provide an ISBN for your book if you want to sell it through Apple. Thank you for finding that, Michael. I did not look back myself until after I posted. ISBNs are not free, of course, and one cannot use the same ISBN he got for his paper book edition (if there is one). I also found this, "A U.S. Tax ID is required as part of the iTunes Connect sign-up and authentication process to sell books on the iBookstore. This requirement also applies to publishers outside the U.S." (for a seller's account with a book one intends to sell) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted January 24, 2012 Share #20 Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) You want to make an iBook/EBook/Epub/whatever anywhichway other than with iBook, you're free to make, publish, sell, whatever you want. Nobody says you MUST use iBook Author/iTunes/Apple ... To clarify from their iBook FAQ "Do you accept PDFs? No, the iBookstore accepts only EPUB files and Multi-Touch books." So, make the books in EPUB or Multi-Touch as you wish. You are constrained only by the tools you choose; at this times Multi-Touch is available for Apple platforms. EPUB format editors are plentiful and some are free. Edited January 24, 2012 by pico Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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