Looks like Apple might be turning a new page. Good E-Reader is reporting that it has been told by sources that the Apple Media Event we recently heard about will be focused on launching a self-publishing platform for iBooks. If true, this is extremely interesting. If Apple really wants to make iBooks stand out from the Nooks and Kindles, throwing resources at exclusive and indie content would be a fascinating way to go about that.
From Good E-Reader:
Apple is going to be holding an exclusive event in New York city later this month to possibly launch a new program for their iBooks and Publishing platform. Sources close to the matter have told us that they intend on launching a new digital self-publishing platform to get peoples content into the iBookstore. This is a huge step forward for Apple to compete with Amazon (DTP) and Barnes and Noble (Pubit).
We’re a little skeptical that Apple would take this route, though. We’ve seen that they already have enough trouble moderating the App Store. It seems like a long shot that they’d sign up to be the gatekeepers for mountains of text. How would they maintain quality control if thousands of books are streaming in without going through the filter of a publishing company? It doesn’t sound very Apple-like to us.
There is the (faint) possibility that there would be little to no moderation process. Maybe anything that isn’t obviously spam or copyright infringement will just be allowed to go through? Having seen some of the awful hack jobs on the Kindle store, I certainly hope that Apple doesn’t go this route. Slapping together an ePub file from a Word document does not a good eBook make.
What do you all think about this rumor? Does it ring true to you? Sound off in the comment section of this post so we can get a discussion going. Of all the Apple rumors I have read, I think this is the one with the most potential for fruitful conversation. How, exactly, would you see self-publishing working in iBooks?
Source: Good E-Reader
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It's already possible to get a book on Apple if you have a mac. If you don't, you can go through smashwords. So...why? It's possible and interesting, but I'm not sure why they would bother.
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LikeI published directly to iBooks myself, as an independent author, after Smashwords's Meatgrinder-generated epub failed to render properly on iOS devices without modification. (Plug: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/night-is-shadow-cast-by-world/id490118958?mt=11) There was a wait from upload to publication which was characterized as a "quality-control" phase – are we talking about Apple simply eliminating this phase? In comparison, it took about three hours from upload to publication at Amazon's Kindle store.
Maybe there's going to be a print component, an area in which Apple has dallied via iPhoto. Get hard copies of your ebook?
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LikeThe point of it is that it is a direct platform. Smashwords is fine, but that isn't direct self-publishing platform. Same thing with CDBaby for iTunes, Smashwords is a publisher that is handling all of the heavy lifting. This would be a direct author-to-store solution. Very different, and it would also get a lot of publicity because it would be a baked-in solution.
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