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How To Publish Your Book On iTunes

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Greg Habstritt

We get a LOT of people asking how we were able to publish a book in the iTunes store, so this video’s going to show you exactly how to do it.

Getting your written material published through a massive distribution system like iTunes is one of the most powerful, yet least used marketing strategies that I know.

Whether you’re looking to sell your book, or to publish it and distribute it for free as “content marketing”, this is a fantastic marketing strategy that very few people are using.

And after watching this video, you’ll know exactly how easy it really is to do (and for free!)

Make sure to read the important notes below the video after you watch it!

By the way, if you’d like to download my version of Think and Grow Rich (for free), you can do so at this link:

Free copy of Think And Grow Rich on iTunes

Important Notes:

Matt mentions that Apple PAGES is the only way to export EPUB format – and at the time when we shot this video, this was the case. However, now there are a handful of Apple approved iBookstore Aggregators that can handle this now (links below)
As you’d guess, Apple wants you to be using a Mac to create a book for their platform, and it’s definitely a LOT easier if you have a Mac. However, even if you don’t have a MAC, there are still ways to create and upload your book. Go to this FAQ on Apple’s website for more information on doing this, and for any support or help you need.
We cannot provide any kind of support or technical assistance for you — if you have any technical questions or need support, PLEASE go to the Apple site and post your questions there (NOT here)!

Here are some important links for you to get started. You should also note that there are a TON of free resources, websites and blogs that discuss some of the technical requirements and details around publishing books using the ePUB format. In addition to the important links below, you can also do a Google search for terms such as “ePUB”, “iBook publishing”, etc.

iBookstore Aggregators:

https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa/wa/displayAggregators?ccTypeId=

iTunes Download Link:

https://apple.com/itunes/download

iTunes Connect Account:

https://itunesconnect.apple.com

So, what are YOU going to publish first? Leave a comment and let me know what you got from this video!

Araxykd

Amazing and thank you for the tutorial !
Thank you again
David Lowrey

How were you able to use Think and Grow Rich? Thanks the tutorial was awesome.

http://www.facebook.com/sirlutz Matthew Lutz

Think And Grow Rich is now a public domain work – The intellectual property rights have expired, thus Greg was able to re-publish it

Damien Rufus

I looked for the link to download iTunes producer in my iTunes connect account and it wasn’t there? Any suggestions?

http://www.facebook.com/sirlutz Matthew Lutz

Hey Damien – this is where the link should be: http://screencast.com/t/7ahQdPAIhSAU

If you still don’t see it there, I would suggest contacting Apple.

Kit

This is such valuable information, well narrated and demonstrated. Thank you so much for your generosity!
Grogan Paul

I could right an ebook.
Curious

I’m wondering whether the isbn you enter is for the print version or whether you need a unique one for the iBookstore edition.

http://SimpleWealth.com Greg Habstritt

You would need a different ISBN number if you are publishing a new version through iTunes. Every published work needs a unique ISBN for each format.

http://www.facebook.com/irina.belska Irina Belska

Thanks for valuable info. I’m wondering in video is title “The Authority Formula”, but I don’t see it in a member area.

http://www.SimpleWealth.com Greg Habstritt

Hi Irina – we decided to publish this on my blog instead of the membership site, as we had a lot of requests for this information.

Hamant Keval

Hi Greg,

Great post and very detailed video on publishing content to I tunes. I am fairly new to Apple and Macs as I just recently took the jump over to Macs from Windows ( although I still use windows ) – - I realised that you can only download the iTunes connect once you sign a new agreement with iTunes connect even though I had an account for my iTunes store.
The apple site says that they need an EIS number and that anyone including non US residents can apply for one – but when I looked over the site it says that you need to be a US resident, so looks like I’ll have to ring them.

I did however check out Lulu as I have an account there and I am assuming that you can also publish it through them, but do you know – if you publish it through any of the aggregators – that the content would be available through i-tunes exactly as if you were to publish it yourself through iTunes connect?
While I was searching and researching – I came across a site that I received a membership some time ago and realised that you can also publish content through them on the iTunes store – be it through apps rather than the store itself – the site is called http://www.slingitapp.com

Many thanks of the insights.

Hamant
Mason Ramm

Hi Greg,

Great share I always wanted to know how to do this…

Greg, one thing you unfortunately did not mention on your video was what an ISBN is and where or how one can get an ISBN inorder to complete the submission form?

Please could you reply with this info, many thanks.

Best regards,
Mason
http://www.LittleKnownMoneyMakers.com

http://www.SimpleWealth.com Greg Habstritt

Here’s an article on obtaining an ISBN. If you do a Google search, you’ll find lots of resources as well. http://www.ehow.com/how_4488351_get-isbn-number-book.html
Imex

Apple does a great job at explaining all that, including relevant links. I was quite surprised how seamless they made the process. But, then look at the interface they designed! User experience is a great strong suit with them.

http://www.SpeciesSpace.com Paloma

Cool Video…I have to figure out first how to do it with a Windows laptop but I have a few things I can publish…
Top50ceo

When I go to the https://itunesconnect.apple.com
insert my Id and password I get the following message in red: Apple ID does not have permission to access iTunes Connect. “HELP”

Nickolove

You need to set up a separate account for iTunes Connect.

http://www.SimpleWealth.com Greg Habstritt

No, you don’t. You can use your Apple ID assuming you have one that you use with iTunes.

Imex

Actally, I couldn’t use my existing Apple ID. I had to set up a separate iTunes Connect account. I got the same red text message as top50ceo: Apple ID does not have permission to access iTunes Connect.

Anonymous

Hi, Greg – Very useful video. As a fellow Canadian and Calgarian, I would like to know what you have learned re getting the US Tax Id. I got the pdf file us_ss4 from the iTunes Connect sign-up page, but it is just a bit overwhelming! What category of “Do I need an EIN?” did you consider yourself?

http://www.SimpleWealth.com Greg Habstritt

I have a US corporation through which we operate in the US, so this was a non-issue for me. You can apply for an International Tax ID Number through the IRS for free, and that might be one approach you could take.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Robin-Leone/1605426437 Robin Leone

This was an excellent video – thank you! The only link I would add is for the ISBN organization. http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp
Gayle

Greg, Thank you for the video. Really great info. I am in Australia, though and I am a bit confused about the US Tax ID. Can you help? Or are there any Aussies out there who can help?
Gayle

http://www.facebook.com/sirlutz Matthew Lutz

Hey Gayle, I would suggest sending an email to Apple’s support as they will be able to address the signup issues / Tax information easier than we can

Gayle

Thanks Matthew, I’ll give it a go. Cheers

http://www.facebook.com/sirlutz Matthew Lutz

Hey Gayle, I would suggest sending an email to Apple’s support as they will be able to address the signup issues / Tax information easier than we can

http://www.facebook.com/hrvoje.livnjak Hrvoje Livnjak

is it possible to do it all without the mac and all of the tools mentioned here? as i have pc, and itunes acc but no mac. but for sure i can convert files from word to epub etc. possible?

please let me know.

Regards,
Hrvoje

http://www.SimpleWealth.com Greg Habstritt

They purposely want to make it easy for Mac people (and not easy for non-Mac people). You can use of the services to help you do it. If you want to do it yourself, I believe that you have to have a Mac to actually submit it for processing. I would check their FAQ and research there to find out what options you’ve got.

Evelyn

Can you tell me what program you use for the 3D graphics of your Think and Grow Rich book cover. Thansk
Beuna

Thanks for the info! My book is on Amazon and B&N so my next plan is iTunes.
ISBN – since paperbacks and hardcovers have unique ISBNs I would expect you would need a separate one for an ebook.
You can get on for $5: http://www.epubbud.com/isbn.php
This site helps you create an interactive book: http://www.talespring.com/
Gareth

Hi Guys,

Great video – I had decided to now re-release my books electronically and so had produced the e pub files, but was looking to see how to get them on iTunes, which is exactly what you described so well.

Cheers

Gareth

Sydney Australia
Carolyn

This has been extremely informative. I thank you. I will publish a children’s book that I wrote. “I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me!”
Mike

How long does it take to get an iTunes Connect account approved? I have waited more than a month.
http://www.facebook.com/thomasbeyer2000 Thomas Beyer

good stuff, Greg. Any way to get around the US ITN or ETN application for itunes connect account ?

http://SimpleWealth.com Greg Habstritt

At this point not that I know of. But it’s free and not that big of a hassle to get an international tax ID.

http://twitter.com/Peer_Resources Peer Resources

Great video with step-by-step instructions. One thing that is important for PAGES users to know, however, is that ePub documents can only be created if PAGES users are using WordProcessing and NOT Layout.

It might also be helpful to have an ePub formatting tips link for people who want to get a better idea of what they can do in PAGES WordProcessing to have better control over ePub output.