We’re excited to see you getting started with Apple Books.
iTunes Connect is your home base for managing your account and content. It houses all the tools, guides, and reports you’ll need while working with Apple Books.
This guide features instructions to help ensure your account is set up correctly, guidelines to you help you create and submit your work, and suggestions for marketing your content and maximizing your presence on Apple Books.
Explore Resources and Help to find more videos, tools, FAQs, and guides to fine-tune your skills.
Can’t find the answer to your question? Contact us.
Get Started
Sign up for free and get your book in front of millions of readers.
Here’s what you need:
An Apple ID
Digital rights to your books
Legal authority to sign documents on behalf of yourself or your company
Create an iTunes Connect account for Apple Books. Use or create an Apple ID with a valid credit card on file.
Choose your publisher type. Select Individual if you’re representing yourself or if you’re a sole proprietor. Select Organization if you’re registered as a company or organization.
Check your email. We’ll send you a link to verify your email address. Click the link and sign in to iTunes Connect.
Complete your agreement. In iTunes Connect, go to Agreements, Tax, and Banking. Select “View and Agree to Terms.” Then you need to decide if you want to sell books or simply offer them for free.
If you want to sell your books, you need to provide some additional details. We’ll need a few days to verify your information. You’ll receive an email when we’re ready to proceed or if we discover any issues.
To sell your books and receive payments from Apple, a Legal user must complete the Paid Books agreement by completing the forms that correspond with choosing to “Offer Books for Free and Sell Your Books.” After Apple verifies the information provided, an Admin, Finance or Legal user must provide contact, tax, and banking information. Learn more about user roles.
Your legal entity name displays in the Agreements, Tax, and Banking section of iTunes Connect. This is also the default seller name that displays on Apple Books.
If you’d like to sell books under a fictitious name or Doing Business As (DBA), first complete your contact, tax, and banking information in Agreements, Tax, and Banking. When you’re done, submit a request for a DBA/Pen name. You need to show proof of the desired name (such as a DBA/fictitious business name certificate or license, or IRS tax document).
Upgrade your account
If you’ve been offering books for free and want to add the option to sell your books, simply request and complete a Paid Books agreement in Agreements, Tax, and Banking.
Contact Information
Apple requires you to provide contact information for following categories: Senior Management, Finance, Technical, Legal, and Marketing. You need to choose a contact for each role, however, the same person can be assigned multiple roles. Apple Books may contact these individuals regarding promotional opportunities or issues affecting their area of interest.
Verify whether the contact you want to delete is in use this page.
If they are, replace them with a new or existing contact.
If they’re not, return to the previous page.
Select the Contacts tab.
Select the contact you’d like to delete and confirm you want to delete them.
Tax Information
Overview
iTunes Connect lists the required tax forms and allows you to submit most forms electronically.
You will be presented with a set of questions which directs you to the forms that are appropriate for your situation. If you selected the wrong form or need to make a change, let us know.
Agreements, Tax, and Banking won't show changes to tax forms sent to Apple. You will continue to see the tax information that you originally provided online, but all submitted changes to tax information are processed. We will notify you if there is a question or concern about a request to change your form.
To meet the requirements of the Paid Books agreement, all partners must complete a U.S. tax form.
If you are based in the United States, you are prompted to complete a W-9 form. If you are based outside the United States, the W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, or W-8ECI may be required, but you will be prompted to complete a series of questions to direct you to the most appropriate tax form and any applicable certification. If your tax form is not available in iTunes Connect, contact us.
The U.S tax form section displays a field for a tax identification number. For an individual, this is either a Social Security Number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). For a business entity, the taxpayer identification number is the Employer Identification Number (EIN). For more information about tax identification numbers, see the Internal Revenue Service website.
Click “Set Up Tax, Banking, and Contact Info” or Paid Books.
Under Tax Forms, click Complete U.S. Tax Forms and follow the instructions.
Tip: Use the downloadable instructions and tip sheets near the top of the page to help you provide the right information for your W9, W-8BEN, or W-8BEN-E.
Verify the information you entered is correct and complete, and click Submit.
Keep in mind that you will continue to see the information you originally provided in iTunes Connect even after we have your updated information on file. We will notify you if there is a question or concern with an updated form.
1099 Tax Forms
U.S. based individuals or entities that meet the following requirements for each Apple legal entities sold in are issued Form 1099-K:
Had at least $20,000 in unadjusted gross sales (the total amount of your sales, unadjusted for Apple’s commissions, fees, refunds, and other adjustments)
More than 200 transactions in a calendar year
If you meet these requirements, your form will be mailed by January 31 of the following year.
Keep in mind Apple will not send a U.S. 1099-MISC tax form. Sales on Apple Books are between you and the customer. You are the seller of copyrighted works, and we make payments to you for products or goods, which are specifically exempt from reporting on Form 1099-MISC. This is true even though the payments may be reportable on Form 1099-K and may be taxable income to you.
Australia Tax Forms
If you are based in Australia or registered for Australian GST, you are required to complete Australian tax information. Although you may not be required to register for goods and services tax (GST) with the Australian government, Apple requires that Australia-based publishers have a GST registration to sell books.
To meet Apple’s tax requirements, you need an electronic copy of your GST registration and evidence of your Australian Business Number (ABN). The evidence can be screenshots or PDF files of the ABN registration. Collect the current details with enough information to associate this ABN with the legal entity name you’ve given Apple and the historical details to show that you’re registered for the GST.
Click “Set Up Tax, Banking, and Contacts Info” or Paid Books.
Under Tax Forms, click Complete Australian Tax Forms.
Upload the file or files with ABN and GST registration evidence.
Enter your ABN.
Verify that the information you entered is correct and complete, and click Submit.
Click Done.
After you submit this page, you won’t be able to make any changes in iTunes Connect. The Tax tab of Agreements, Tax, and Banking shows your active tax forms. If you ever need to change your tax information, contact us.
Canada Tax Forms
Canadian tax information is required if you are based in Canada or registered for GST/QST in Canada.
Click “Set Up Tax, Banking, and Contacts Info” or Paid Books.
Under Tax Forms, click Complete Canadian Tax Forms.
Complete the appropriate information:
GST/HST Form 506: Add your Business Number and RT number. Both are optional.
Quebec Form FP-2506-V: Add your Business Number, RT, Quebec Enterprise Number (NEQ), Identification Number, and TQ to Quebec Form FP-2506-V. All fields are optional.
Verify that the information you entered is correct and complete, and click Submit.
After you submit this page, you won’t be able to make any changes in iTunes Connect. The Tax tab of Agreements, Tax, and Banking Overview shows your active tax forms. If you ever need to change your tax information, contact us.
Your certification will complete Part 4 of the Quebec Form FP-2506-V, or part D of GST/HST Form 506. Apple will complete Part 5 or Part E respectively, and make the form available for you to download for your records.
If you’re registered in Canada, but based elsewhere, send either of the following forms to Apple via contact us:
GST506
Quebec Form FP 2506-V
Brazil Tax Forms
Brazilian tax information is required if you are based in Brazil. You must provide either a CNPJ, a 14-digit number issued to companies or organizations, or a CPF, an 11-digit number issued to individuals. If you are based outside of Brazil and have a CPF or CNPJ, this field is optional. If you are based outside of Brazil or the United States you also have the option to provide a local tax ID, a tax processing number issued to you by the tax authority in your country or region of residence. If you are based in the United States, you won't need to provide your U.S tax ID again, because you've already provided this information in the U.S Tax forms section.
If you are based outside of Brazil and your country or region of residence has tax treaty agreement with Brazil, you may also upload your tax residency certificate. If you don’t provide a certificate, your sales in Brazil may be subject to the applicable withholding tax at the standard rate. If your country is blacklisted under the Brazilian legislation, no reduced rate of withholding is available. Contact your tax authority if you have questions regarding how to obtain a tax residency certificate.
Your withholding tax rate won’t be reduced until your tax residency certificate is received and reviewed for applicable treaty benefits between Brazil and your country or region of residence. You can start selling content in Brazil (assuming you’ve submitted all required banking and tax information), but payments are be subject to the applicable withholding tax at the standard rate until your residency certificate is reviewed and tax rate benefits are confirmed.
Click “Set Up Tax, Banking, and Contacts Info” or Paid Books.
Under Tax Forms, click Complete Brazilian Tax Forms.
Enter your Brazil Tax ID, Local ID, or upload your Tax Residency Certificate.
Verify that the information you entered is correct and complete, and click Submit.
After you submit this page, you won’t be able to make any changes in iTunes Connect. The Tax tab of Agreements, Tax, and Banking shows your active tax forms. If you ever need to change your tax information, contact us.
Ireland Tax Forms
Apple Distribution International has exporter status under Irish VAT law and is entitled to purchase from entities based in Ireland with no charge of Irish VAT. The current Apple Distribution International authorization from the Revenue Commissioners in this regard is available to you:
To receive payments from Apple, you need to enter electronic banking information.
The information you provide should apply to your own bank (not for an intermediary or correspondent bank), and should have its own routing number.
You may be required to provide additional documentation to receive payments in certain countries or regions. If an Apple banking partner needs more documentation, they'll reach out to you directly. If you'd like us to verify that it is a legitimate request from an Apple banking partner before sending them your documents, contact us. Note that Apple may also request additional information or documentation.
Processing of your banking information does not complete until you have submitted the required tax forms for your paid agreement.
Click “Set Up Tax, Banking, and Contacts Info” or Paid Books.
Under Bank Accounts, click Add Bank Account.
Fill in the required fields:
Name. Enter a nickname for your bank.
Bank Country. Select the country where your bank is based.
Bank Account Currency. Choose the primary currency of the bank account.
Routing Number. Enter your bank’s routing number or look up your bank by clicking the link. You can search by your bank name, city, or postal code in order to find and and select your bank. Not all branch locations are available in iTunes Connect. Select a branch using your bank code for your account if you don’t see your branch location listed.
IBAN. Enter your IBAN if applicable. An International Bank Account Number (IBAN) is used for payments to bank accounts in Europe and certain other countries.
Account Number. Enter the bank account for the legal entity or individual responsible for the Paid Books agreement.
Account Holder Name. Enter the name on your bank account held at your financial institution. The name should be entered exactly as it appears on your bank account or your payment may be rejected.
Account Holder Type. Choose whether the account belongs to an Individual or a Corporation.
Account Type. Choose whether your bank account is a Checking or Savings.
Depending on the country of your bank, additional fields may be required.
Select the box to confirm you certify the information provided is correct.
Banking information can be edited at any time, unless we’re still processing previous changes you made. You can edit your current account, replace it with a new account, or replace it with an account you've used previously. Allow 24 hours for changes to be processed.
Hover over the account you want to delete and click the red delete button
Select Delete to confirm.
See also
Frequently Asked Questions
Users and Roles
A user is anyone who has access to iTunes Connect. Users are assigned different roles which determine what features they can access. Depending on your role, you may not see all the sections of iTunes Connect.
For example, if you signed up for the account, you’re automatically designated as a user with Admin and Legal roles, and you can access everything within iTunes Connect.
If you’d like to have other people work on your books account, you need to invite them as new users. Each person should access iTunes Connect with their own Apple ID. It’s strongly recommended to add more than one person to your account.
Role
Permissions
Sections
Admin
Has access to all features of iTunes Connect.
Agreements, Tax, and Banking My Books, Tickets, Sales and Trends, Payments and Financial Reports, Users and Roles, Resources and Help
Read Only: Agreements
Legal
Assigned to the person who signed up for the program. This person is responsible for entering into legal agreements with Apple.
Can be assigned to additional users, but only by someone with the Legal role.
Agreements, Tax, and Banking, Sales and Trends, Resources and Help
Read Only: My Books, Users and Roles
Finance
Manages financial information, including downloading reports and uploading tax forms.
Agreements, Tax, and Banking, Sales and Trends, Payments and Financial Reports, Resources and Help
Read Only: Agreements, Users and Roles
Sales
Analyzes sales, downloads, can download promo codes.
My Books, Sales and Trends, Resources and Help
Read Only: Users and Roles
Technical
Can manage all aspects of a book, such as pricing, metadata, delivery, tickets, and more.
My Books, Tickets, Resources and Help
Read Only: Users and Roles
Read Only
Can view book and ticket details, but is unable to make any changes.
Resources and Help
Read Only: My Books, Tickets, Users and Roles
Add Users
Users with the Admin role can add new users.
Go to Users and Roles.
Click the plus icon + next to the number of users at the top left.
Enter the user’s first name, last name, and email address.
Click Next.
Select an access level for the user by selecting one or more roles.
Click Next.
Select the notifications the user should receive by type and territory.
Click Save.
The new user receives an invitation with a link to activate their account for iTunes Connect.
Edit Users and Roles
You can edit your personal user details (such as your name or email address) but you cannot edit your own role.
Users with the Admin role can edit the roles and notifications for other users, but they cannot modify names or email addresses of individual users
Go to Users and Roles.
Select the User’s Apple ID.
Make your edits in the Roles or Notifications tabs.
Click Save.
Delete Users
Go to Users and Roles.
Select the User’s Apple ID.
Click Delete User.
Confirm you want to delete the user and data associated with the account.
Opt-In to Notifications
Users can opt in to receive email notifications for events that happen in various areas of iTunes Connect. Users with the Admin role can edit the notifications for other users.
We strongly recommend opting into all notifications that are relevant to your user role.
The following notifications are available:
Book Statuses. Receive an email when a book you’ve submitted first becomes available on Apple Books.
Agreements. Receive an email with agreement status updates (for example, agreement expiration warnings) or if more information is needed.
Payments. Receive an email if payments to your bank are returned.
Financial Reports. Receive an email if financial reports are available to download.
Content. Receive an email if a book you’ve submitted receives a ticket during review, or if you haven't submitted your book's assets (like the book file or a sample) 14, 7, and 2 days before the release date.
Tools
After you set up your account, you’re ready for the next step. Below you’ll find information on all the tools we offer to help you create and publish your best work.
iBooks Author is a macOS app that allows users to create beautiful textbooks — and just about any other kind of book — for iPad, iPhone, and Mac. With galleries, video, interactive diagrams, 3D objects, mathematical expressions, and more, these books bring content to life in ways the printed page never could. Preview your book on your iOS device or Mac at any time. Then submit your finished work to Apple Books in a few simple steps.
Keynote 6.0 or later (required for importing presentations created in Keynote 6.0+)
Pages 5.0 or later (required for importing documents created in Pages 5.0+)
iBooks for iOS 4.3 or later (required for previewing on an iOS device)
iBooks for Mac 1.3 or later (required for previewing on Mac)
iTunes Producer 2.9 or later (required for book publishing)
Network Connection (required for book publishing)
iTunes Producer
UseiTunes Producer to submit new and updated books as well as set up pre-orders on Apple Books. Add your book details, pricing, and assets (like cover art and book files) to the app. iTunes Producer checks to see if your book file meets delivery requirements and then sends the book to Apple.
You can also use iTunes Producer to update the book’s metadata, pricing, or assets after a book has been submitted.
Note: System Requirements
Mac with OS X 10.10 or later
At least 20 GB of available hard disk space
A broadband Internet connection with an upload speed of 1 Mbps or faster
Pages
Pages is a powerful word processor that lets you create stunning documents. You can create a book, then publish it directly to Apple Books. You can customize your book during the publishing process: add a cover, set your price or offer it for free, add tags to specify age groups or subjects, set up a pre-order, customize availability by date and country, and more. You can also update a book you already submitted.
System Requirements for Pages on your Apple device:
macOS High Sierra or later and Pages 7.3 or later on your Mac
iOS 11 or later and Pages 4.3 or later on your iOS device
System Requirements for Pages online at iCloud.com:
Safari 9 or later, or Google Chrome 50 or later for your Mac
Internet Explorer 11 or later, or Google Chrome 50 or later for your Windows PC
Create
Book Package Basics
Overview
Digital books are composed of different kinds of files which are bundled together to create a package. Most book packages contain assets, metadata, and cover art. You send the package to Apple, and we review it.
We have standards to ensure that our customers enjoy a safe and engaging experience on Apple Books, and publishers have a great opportunity to be successful. As you begin to format your book, be sure that it complies with our Apple Books Formatting Guidelines and Apple Books Asset Guide.
Book Files
Also known as book assets, these are the files which contain your work (text, images, interactivity, and so forth).
Apple accepts two different types of books, EPUBs and Multi-Touch books.
EPUBs
An EPUB (.epub) file is a universal eBook standard. While it helps to have some technical know-how when working with EPUBs, there are a number of tools available to create and deliver book files in EPUB format to Apple Books. You can create EPUBs with Pages, iBooks Author, or other third-party tools.
Multi-Touch books (.ibooks) are created in iBooks Author and are specifically designed for Apple devices.
They provide tons of possibilities to interact with the reader: photo galleries, videos, interactive diagrams, 3D objects, and quizzes, to name a few. Multi-Touch books are designed to create immersive and memorable experiences with textbooks, cookbooks, history books, and picture books in ways print texts never could.
However you choose to create your book, avoid common mistakes by following these best practices.
Keep your files small. The larger the file, the longer it takes to download. Keep your file size as small as possible without reducing its quality or interactivity. Ideally, books should be under 1GB, but we allow up to 2GB on Apple Books. You can check file size using Finder on your Mac, or using Windows Explorer on your PC.
Be mindful of image resolution. While the external cover art file should have the highest resolution possible, images inside your asset files shouldn't be more than 4 million pixels.
Tip: Multiply an image's height by its width to see its total pixel count.
Make your books accessible. If your book contains images, widgets, or diagrams, include accessibility descriptions for VoiceOver users.
Samples are smaller versions of your asset files. You can make a sample of your book available to customers before your official release date.
Apple Books automatically creates samples for all books (except Read Aloud and Multi-Touch books). The percentage of content used for the sample is determined by how the book is formatted.
Apple-Generated Samples
To ensure that your sample is the correct size, be sure your EPUB is created according to our specifications:
If you use Pages or iBooks Author to create your book, you can specify the chapter or page-range you want to display as your sample during the publishing workflow within the app.
If you don't want the sample to be cut automatically, you can create a separate, custom EPUB file and deliver it for use as the sample on Apple Books. The file formats for the sample and complete book must be the same. For example, if your book is an EPUB file (.epub), the custom sample must also be an EPUB file.
Metadata is the information that describes your book. Some things, like the book title and author name, you probably already know. Others, like description and subject category, should be carefully considered from the perspective of a customer. Providing good metadata for your book helps ensure it appears in relevant user searches.
Some fields are required, but you should provide additional metadata if it applies:
The series name, if the book was published as part of a series.
Series Number
The order in which the book displays in the series, if the book is part of a series that should be read in a particular order. You can only use numeric values, such as 3.
Display Text
In a book series, Apple Books displays “Book” by default, if you prefer to display your series as “Volume”, “Prequel,” or “Novella” indicate that here.
Author Name
The author of the book. You can add multiple authors by clicking + or remove an author by clicking - next to the author’s name. Only authors designated as Primary appear on the store.
✓
Contributor Role
If other people contributed to your book, you can add them by clicking + and modifying the Author role to their appropriate role. Only contributors designated as Primary appear on the store.
Description
Write a detailed description of the book to display on Apple Books.
Use Rich Text Format (RTF) to format your text instead of HTML tags. For example, use the Command-B keyboard shortcut to make highlighted text appear in bold. Or, copy and paste pre-formatted text into the description. If you enter text that is not UTF-8 encoded, you may see incorrect symbols in your book description.
Must contain at least 50 characters.
✓
Subject Category
The subject category you choose determines where your book displays on Apple Books.
Apple Books supports BISAC, BIC, and other commonly used codes to categorize books. You need to provide a main subject and a secondary subject from at least one of these systems that best describes the general content of your book.
✓
Interest Age (In Years)
Intended audience for your book.
Interest Age is required for books intended for children and teenagers.
Contains Explicit Content
If your book contains sexually explicit content, set this field to Yes. Customers with parental restrictions enabled won’t be able to view or download the book.
Publisher
Name of the person or publisher that released the book.
✓
Original Publication Date
The date your book was published originally. If it hasn’t been published before, enter the date you intend to publish your book. This is not the same as the release date.
✓
Book Language
The primary language in which your book was written.
✓
Print Length
Total number of pages in the book.
Vendor ID
A unique and permanent number to identify this book. If this book has an ISBN, the Vendor ID should match the ISBN.
✓
ISBN
An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a 13-digit number that uniquely identifies your book in an international book community or marketplace. The ISBN identifies one, unique title—or a particular publisher’s unique edition of a title.
The ISBN must be provided with the initial book submission; it cannot be added later.
Cover Art Requirements
We’ve always been encouraged not to judge a book by its cover, but truthfully, enticing cover art makes a reader more likely to purchase your book.
Cover art isn't required. Apple Books generates a basic cover art image if you don't provide one, but we highly recommend that you supply your own.
Cover art must be in PNG or JPEG format, RGB colorspace, and at least 1400 pixels on its shortest side. For an average paperback book, this could be 1400 (width) x 1873 (height) pixels, since these books are generally taller than they're wide.
If you’re not using iBooks Author or Pages to create your book, you will also need to create in-book cover art. This is the image that displays when a reader opens your book. In-book cover art should comply with our requirements for interior images.
Screenshots are optional, but if you have a book with a lot of images or interactive content, it’s a good idea to provide them. This give readers a quick look at what's inside your book without downloading a sample.
Our Book Review team reviews every book submitted to Apple. To ensure that process goes as quickly and smoothly as possible, make sure your book complies with our Formatting Guidelines. Use this list to check for common issues:
What to Test
How to Test
General
Confirm the text, images, and enhanced elements (such as audio, video, 3D objects, and widgets) appear as you intended.
Table of Contents
Review the table of contents. Consider adding art to make it more attractive.
Converting Print Elements to Digital
Make sure any design elements used in the print version of your book are not confusing or out of place in the digital version.
Book File Size
Keep the file size down where you can. There is a 2 GB limit on files submitted to Apple Books. To check file size as you go, export a sample chapter to Apple Books and note its size. If the file size is large, consider resizing long videos, or making large assets smaller.
Screenshots of Your Book
Screenshots are optional, but recommended for books with lots of illustrations.
Blank Pages
Make sure your book doesn’t contain any unintentional blank pages.
Intro Media
Verify that the intro media is working. Does the book open as expected?
Placeholder Images and Text
Get rid of any template placeholder images (book cover, chapter, and section openers) or placeholder text such as “Lorem ipsum.”
Legible Text Within Assets and Apps
Make sure the text inside illustrations, maps, graphs, and widgets is legible. Avoid tiny fonts. Use font sizes that can be read by most customers.
Don’t use font colors that are too similar to the background color.
Working Glossary Terms
If you have a glossary, make sure all terms have definitions.
Links
Check every link in your book. Do they go where they should?
Quiz Content
If you have quiz questions, make sure they have correct answers.
Image Quality
Take a look at the quality of your images. Does the resolution look good when pinched, or when it displays in full screen? A best practice is to resize, crop, and rotate images to the size and rotation you need before importing them into your book creation tool.
Images Display Fullscreen
Check your images. If images are not displayed in full screen, adding a title or caption may fix the issue.
Audio Visual Elements
Make sure both audio and video files can be heard and speech can be understood even on low volume.
Accessibility: VoiceOver and Closed Captioning
Test your book’s accessibility with VoiceOver and closed captioning on. A best practice is to include accessibility descriptions—especially for image descriptions—and add closed captioning to videos.
Video Guidelines
Follow best practices for video creation, encoding, and compression. Video guidelines are included in the Apple Books Asset Guide.
User Interface Ease, Usability
Test and develop your book with the reader in mind. Make usability a top priority.
Layout and Orientations
Test your book in both portrait and landscape orientations (unless you’ve disabled one of the orientations).
Be mindful of unnecessary white space in the body and sidebar. If images aren’t displaying in portrait, adding a caption or title may fix the issue.
Device and User Compatibility
Test with as many users and on as many devices as possible.
Taps and Clicks
If an item looks like it can be tapped or clicked, users should be able to do so.
Widgets
If you included widgets, make sure they work. Try every widget on each page.
As a best practice, refrain from having too many widgets on a single page to avoid slow performance.
3D Objects
If you included 3D objects, make sure they spin on the intended axis.
Publish
Prepare to Submit Your Book
Think you’re ready to send your book to Apple? Make sure you’ve done everything on this list:
Check your agreement.
In order to publish your book to Apple Books, you need an active Free or Paid Books Agreement. Go to Agreements, Tax, and Banking Overview in iTunes Connect and make sure your agreement status is active and there aren’t any pending steps in the Action column.
Book validation is a final check to clear your files of any problems that may arise during the submission process. If you created your book in iBooks Author or Pages, it automatically goes through validations during the publishing workflow.
If you created an EPUB in another book creation app, it’s a good idea to use validator like EPUB Validator or a similar tool to make sure your files are free of issues. Learn more about book validation.
Submit your book.
Finally, choose how to get your book to Apple. If you created your book in iBooks Author or Pages, use the publishing workflow within the app to ensure we receive all required information and your books pass through Apple validations. Learn more about publishing with Pages or iBooks Author.
Use iTunes Producer to submit new and updated books as well as set up pre-orders on Apple Books. Add your book details, pricing, and assets (like cover art and book files) to the app. iTunes Producer checks to see if your book file meets delivery requirements and then sends the book to Apple.
You can also use iTunes Producer to update the book’s metadata, pricing, or assets after a book has been submitted.
System Requirements
A Mac with OS X 10.10 or later
At least 20 GB of available hard disk space
A broadband Internet connection with an upload speed of 1 Mbps or faster
Submit Your Book
iTunes Producer contains up to three panes: Details, Price, and Files.
Helpful tips are listed below, but robust step-by-step instructions are available in iTunes Producer Help.
Details
Not every metadata field is required, but you should supply all the information that applies to your book. You can also add cover art and screenshots to this pane.
If you have a Free Books agreement, you won’t see the Price pane. After it’s been submitted and reviewed, your book is automatically made available worldwide. You can make changes to the book’s availability in iTunes Connect. Learn more about setting territory rights for free books.
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, which refers to various access control mechanisms that prevent unauthorized distribution of digital content.
Select the checkbox if you do not want to apply DRM to your book.
Release Date
The date your book should be available on Apple Books. If left blank, the book goes on the store as soon as it’s approved by our Book Review team.
Pre-Order Start Date
The date your book should be available for pre-order on Apple Books. The pre-order start date should be at least 2 days before the release date. Learn more about pre-orders.
Publication Type
Choose between Digital Only, New Release, or Other. If you select New Release or Other, you must provide a physical list price.
Additional details about new releases are available in your Paid Books agreement in iTunes Connect.
✓
Currency
The base currency used to calculate all other prices.
✓
Physical List Price
The price of any physical copies of your book in the currency you selected.
iBooks Store Price
The price of your book on Apple Books.
✓
Regions
Select All from the menu if you want to sell your book worldwide. If you only want to sell in specific territories or regions, select them individually. Or select additional regions from the menu.
✓
Currencies
iTunes Producer uses the information you provide to determine the closest available price tier in the currencies for the territories you selected. Existing foreign exchange rates are used and, for any territory where Apple collects tax for the sale of books, any customer inclusive tax is applied.
You can edit the price in any territory individually to ensure prices are consistent with how you’d like to price your book in that territory.
You can drag and drop your book and sample files to the Files pane.
If you're setting up a pre-order, assets are not required, but they are required before your book is released for sale. You should submit all assets as early as possible and at least ten business days prior to the release date.
Select “Available during pre-order” if your sample is ready, and you want customers to be able to download it during the pre-order period.
Pre-orders are a fantastic way to get readers excited about your upcoming book. Plus, you can start building sales before you’ve even finished writing it.
To set up a pre-order, you only need to provide metadata and pricing information. You can add assets like cover art, a sample file, and a book file when they're ready. Never send incomplete or dummy files.
Of course, you must provide the final book file before the release date. We recommend submitting it at least 10 business days before you want it to be available on Apple Books.
Enter the book’s metadata in the Details pane. If your cover art isn’t ready, leave the Cover Art section blank.
Enter the book’s territory rights and pricing in the Price pane. Provide a pre-order start date to make your pre-order available on a certain day. The pre-order start date must be at least two days before the release date. Otherwise, your book is automatically available for pre-order after it's been approved by our Book Review team.
If your book file is not ready and you don’t want to offer a sneak peek (or custom sample file) during the pre-order period, leave the Files pane blank.
Click Submit.
If you’re using promo codes to market your book, and you provide your book files with your pre-order submission, customers are able to download the book after it's been approved by Book Review. Even if that’s before the official release date. Learn more about promo codes.
Update a pre-order
Any updates to pre-order start dates or price tiers should be made in iTunes Connect.
On the book detail page, click Rights and Pricing.
Click Edit Territories and Pricing.
Enter the new pre-order start date or price changes in the appropriate fields.
Select the territories where the pre-order updates should be available, or click Select All.
Click Continue.
Review your changes and click Confirm.
Opt out of pre-orders
If you’re not interested in pre-orders, you can de-select “Cleared for Sale” in iTunes Producer. Just remember to update your clearances in iTunes Connect before your release date.
You can enter metadata and pricing for multiple books by using the Book File Import Template. Keep in mind, you're still required to add asset files and submit the book packages individually.
Open the Book File Import Template
Sign in to iTunes Producer.
From the File menu, choose Open Book File Import Template.
Open the “BookFileImportTemplate.txt” with an application such as Microsoft Excel so that it’s easier to enter the information.
In the file, rows 2 and 3 show examples of how metadata and pricing information should be entered. Be sure to delete these two example rows when you’re done entering your book’s metadata and pricing information.
Tips for completing the Book File Import Template
To avoid overwhelming your computer screen, we suggest adding no more than 50 books at a time.
The identifiers in columns B, C, and X cannot contain decimal places. For example, “9786005000214” not “9.786E+12”. You can edit the decimal places in Microsoft Excel by clicking Cells in the Format menu and then clicking Number.
For every author listed in column T, specify that author’s information in columns U to W. Separate each with a semicolon (;) and no space. See row 3 for an example.
For every territory in column AA, specify that territory's information in columns AB to AI. Separate each with a semicolon (;) and no space. See row 3 for an example.
Leave columns AJ to AZ blank if you do not want to specify audience information.
Import the Book File Import Template to iTunes Producer
Save the Book File Import Template in the Tab Delimited Text (.txt) format.
In iTunes Producer, click Import and select the file. iTunes Producer opens a new book package window for each book in the Book File Import Template.
Verify that the information is correct in the "Details and Price" panes. Add the cover art and screenshots (optional) in the Details pane. Add the book file in the Files pane. Repeat this step for each book.
Click Save from the File menu and click Submit.
Manage
Utilize My Books
My Books Overview
Use My Books to check the status of your books, update metadata, change prices for upcoming promotions, and request catalog reports.
Find Your Book in My Books
In My Books, you can see the last ten books that were submitted or updated in the Recent Activity section. To search for a specific book or multiple books, use the Search section below.
Search
You can search your catalog by author, Apple ID, Publisher, or by status (for example: select the On the Store status to view a list your titles on Apple Books).
Search for multiple books at once by entering their Apple IDs or ISBNs. Be sure to use a comma to separate each number.
The search results show all books matching your search criteria. To get more information on a book, click the title.
Check Store Status
To quickly check the status of your book, look at the status light under your book.
Status Light
Status
What It Means
Not on Store
This book is not available on Apple Books for one or more reasons. Click See Details and a frame will display at the boom of the page providing additional information.
Ready for Store
The book has passed review and will be available for sale on the scheduled release date.
On Store
The book has passed review and is ready for release.
You can also view the store status by requesting a Books Catalog Report. This report lists all the titles you submitted to Apple and notes the store status for each territory. Learn more about catalog reports.
Check Review Status
Every book goes through a review process before it’s available on Apple Books. This includes updates made to a book. To check the review status of your book, click the book title to get to the book detail page. Then check the review status in the Summary section.
Review Status
What It Means
Waiting for Review
The book is pending review. No further action is required from you at this time.
Reviewed
The book passed review.
Not Applicable
This book does not need to be reviewed.
View Catalog Reports
Catalog Reports are a fantastic resource and a valuable tool to help ensure that things are going smoothly with your books. They provide a quick and easy way to check the status of your books, verify what series information you provided, see if assets are missing for your pre-orders, and get a list of any tickets that need to be addressed.
To request a catalog report:
In My Books, click Catalog Reports, found on the top right side of the page.
Click Request New Reports.
Select the report you want to generate and click Request New Reports.
When the report is ready, we send you an email. Alternatively, go back to Catalog Reports in My Books and click the Available for download link.
There are four types of catalog reports:
Book includes the Apple ID, Vendor ID, metadata, release date, and store status for all books that have been delivered into your account.
Book Pre-Order includes details of pre-order books, such as the release date and the assets that are still required in order for the complete book to release.
Book Pricing includes countries, clearances, and pricing information for all books delivered into the account.
Ticket includes details of tickets that have been issued on your books=, such as the ticket status and reason.
Reports can be requested once per day and are available for 30 days. The file you download is a tab-delimited .txt file.
View and Edit Book Details
After you click a book's title, either from the Recent Activity section or from search results, you are directed to the book detail page. The book detail page contains three sections: Summary, Metadata, and Assets.
Summary
At the top of the page is the Summary section, where you find the book’s Apple ID, store status and a link to update the book's rights and pricing.
Metadata
The next section is Metadata, where you can view the book's current details. Admin or Technical users can update:
Title
Subtitle
Description
Category Scheme
Category
If the book contains explicit content
If the Pre-Order Preview (also known as the sample file) should be available during the pre-order period
For Description updates, you need to use HTML tags. Learn more about updating a description in iTunes Connect.
Inbound Metadata Tickets
After you click Submit, an inbound metadata ticket is generated and the updates are reviewed by Book Review. You should see the updated metadata on Apple Books within 24 hours of approval.
If we need you to make changes, or if the edits you've requested don't adhere to the Apple Books Formatting Guidelines, Book Review returns the ticket in the Your Action Needed state for you to fix or in the Denied state.
Assets
The last section on the book detail page is Assets. Here you can view which files have been delivered.
If assets haven’t been delivered, it’s noted under Book and Sample, and you’ll see Apple-generated cover art under Cover Art.
Otherwise, you see the assets and the date they were submitted. Additionally, by clicking View Details, you can see what embedded content is within that file.
Update Your Sample
While you cannot submit updates to your files within iTunes Connect, you can:
Hide the sample during the pre-order period
Every book on Apple Books must have a sample when it is available for purchase. However, you're not required to offer a sample during the pre-order period.
To hide your sample during pre-order:
1. On your book detail page, click Edit next to Metadata.
2. Select Pre-Order Preview Unavailable.
3. Click Submit. The update should be visible on Apple Books within 24 hours.
Change a custom sample to an Apple-generated sample
If the full book file has been delivered, you can replace an existing sample with an auto-generated book sample:
1. On your book detail page, scroll to the Assets section.
2. Under Preview click View Details.
3. Click Remove Publisher Preview to confirm your request.
The update should be visible on Apple Books within 24 hours.
Manage Rights and Pricing
If you submitted your book through Pages, you need to add rights and pricing information in iTunes Connect, so your book can be made available on Apple Books.
You should use iTunes Connect to make updates to the price of your book or the territories where it's available. You can set up promotional pricing (also known as interval pricing) and manage Digital Rights Management (DRM) settings.
You can add and update the following in iTunes Connect:
Field
Description
Pre-order Start Date
The date your book should be available for pre-order on Apple Books. The pre-order start date should be at least 2 days before the release date.
Release Date
The date your book should be available on Apple Books. If left blank, the book goes on the store as soon as it’s approved by our Book Review team.
Cleared For Sale
When set to Yes, this field indicates that your book can be made available on Apple Books in the designated territory on or after the release date.
When set to No, your book is not available on Apple Books in the designated territory.
DRM-Free
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, which refers to various access control mechanisms that prevent unauthorized distribution of digital content.
When set to Yes, DRM is not applied to your book.
VPP-Enabled
Apple offers a Volume Purchase Program to make it easy for educational organizations and businesses to purchase large volumes of books or apps. Your books are opted into this program by default, so organizations have the opportunity to purchase your book.
When set to No, your books are not available on the Business or Education VPP stores.
Publication Type
Choose between Digital Only, New Release, or Other. If you select New Release or Other, you must provide a physical list price on the next screen.
Additional details about new releases are available in your Paid Books agreement in iTunes Connect.
Base Currency
The base currency used to calculate all other prices.
Suggested Apple Books Price
The price of your book on Apple Books.
Price Start Date
The date you want to begin offering your books at this price.
Price End Date
The date you want to stop offering your book at this price. Select No End Date if you are setting a permanent price for your book. You can add promotional price intervals later.
Regions
Select All from the menu if you want to sell your book worldwide. If you only want to sell in specific territories or regions, select them individually. Or select additional regions from the menu.
Physical List Price
The price of any physical copies of your book in the currency you selected.
Currencies
iTunes Connect uses the information you provide to determine the closest available price tier in the currencies for the territories you selected. Existing foreign exchange rates are used and, for any territory where Apple collects tax for the sale of books, any customer inclusive tax is applied.
You can edit the price in any territory individually to ensure prices are consistent with how you’d like to price your book in that territory.
On the book detail page, click Rights and Pricing.
Click Edit Territories and Pricing.
Update the Cleared for Sale field to No.
Select all the territories where you’d like to remove your book from sale or Select All.
Click Continue.
Review your changes and click Confirm.
To confirm that the change is in our system, verify that the green check is no longer in the Cleared For Sale column.
While the book is no longer visible on Apple Books, it is still be visible within My Books. For auditing reasons, books cannot be deleted from iTunes Connect.
To update pricing or set up price intervals
Price intervals allow you to change a book's price in advance. This can be particularly useful when you have a price promotion coming up for a specific time period. You can also permanently change the price of your book.
There is no limit to the number of intervals that can be set, but price changes can’t be made more than a year in advance.
On the book detail page, click Rights and Pricing.
Click Edit Territories and Pricing.
On the Edit Existing Territories page, select the appropriate currency from the Base Currency menu.
In the Suggested Apple Books Price field, enter the updated price.
Select the date in the Price Start Date field, or select Effective Now.
Select the date in the Price End Date field, or select No End Date.*
Under Apply to Existing Territories, select the territories where the updated pricing should be available, or click Select All.
Click Continue.
Review your changes and click Confirm.
To confirm that the price interval is in our system, verify the current and future prices on the Rights and Pricing page.
*If you note a Price End Date, the price reverts back to the original price on that date. For example, if your promotion runs from May 2 through May 8, set the Price Start Date for May 2 and the Price End Date for May 9. On May 9th, the price of the book reverts to its original price.
Series
When series information is submitted and approved, each book in the series links together on Apple Books.
Customers can quickly navigate to the next book, purchase it, and keep reading. Or they can pre-order the next book, so they get the next installment as soon as it's released.
Submit a series
It's crucial to provide accurate series metadata to ensure customers can find every book in your series. You can submit the following information:
Field
Description
Series Name
The series name, if the book was published as part of a series.
Series Number
The order in which the book displays in the series, if it's part of a series that should be read in a particular order. You can only use numeric values, such as 3.
Display Text
In a series, Apple Books displays “Book” by default, if you prefer to display your series as “Volume,” “Prequel,” or “Novella” indicate that here.
Make sure the series name matches exactly for all books. If your series should be read in a specific order, provide consecutive series numbers.
You can submit this metadata with your initial book submission. If your series meets our formatting guidelines, the series will appear on Apple Books after you have two or more books from the series available on the store.
Add a new book to an existing series
Each time you submit a new book to your series, enter your series metadata. Take care to enter the series name, including spaces and punctuation, exactly as it appears on Apple Books.
After your book is approved and available on Apple Books, the book will be automatically added to the series.
Update series info
To change your series name, numbers, or the display text for your books, first check whether your series is linked together on Apple Books.
If it is linked together, you'll need to contact us. Describe your updates and provide the following information for each book in your series:
Book Apple ID
Book Title
Sequence Number (if applicable)
Display Text (if applicable)
Check your series
You can always check your series on Apple Books to confirm that all of your books are linked together.
Additionally, catalog reports are a fantastic resource to see your approved books, series information, and other details. To review your series information, you'll need a Book report. Learn more about requesting and downloading catalog reports.
In a Book catalog report, the Series Name, Series Number, and Series Display Text columns show the series information Apple has on file. The Series Status column indicates whether the series has been approved by our review team.
Avoid common issues which can prevent your series from being available on Apple Books. Here are a few things you should verify:
Series Name matches exactly for each book in your series.
Series Numbers are correct and consecutive.
Series Display Text shows the correct terminology.
Series Status for any books is not in Pending or Not Processable. This indicates that your series has not yet been approved to appear on Apple Books.
At least two books from the series are available on Apple Books.
No books are missing from the series.
There are no duplicate books, including bundles.
If your series information looks correct in your Book catalog report, but isn’t displaying on Apple Books, contact us. Describe your situation and provide the following information for each book in your series:
Book Apple ID
Book Title
Sequence Number (if applicable)
Display Text (if applicable)
Tickets
All content is reviewed before it’s made available on Apple Books. If Book Review finds that the metadata or files submitted don't follow the Apple Books Formatting Guidelines, a ticket is opened against the book, and the book is not made available on Apple Books.
Similarly, when you submit metadata updates for your book, an inbound metadata ticket is created and reviewed by our teams.
We strongly recommend that you review the Apple Books Formatting Guidelines to ensure the review process goes as quickly and smoothly as possible.
There are 6 different ticket statuses:
Status
What It Means
Approved
You addressed the issue, and we accepted the update.
Your Action Needed
This ticket needs to be addressed before the book can be on Apple Books.
In Review
You submitted updates, and Book Review is reviewing them.
Closed
The ticket was addressed.
Denied
You haven’t addressed the issue after multiple deliveries or we’re unable to accept the update. Contact us to address a ticket in the Denied state.
No Action Needed
The ticket hasn't been addressed, but clearances for the book have been removed. If the book is cleared for sale in the future, the ticket reverts back to Your Action Needed.
How to Know if a Ticket Was Opened
There are a few ways to know if a ticket was opened against your book:
A reply field. If you feel like the ticket was opened by mistake, use this field to clarify any possible confusion. If you have questions and need clarification on your ticket, reach out to us via Contact Us.
Submit Updates
Overview
There may be instances in which you need to update the content of your book. The easiest way to do so depends on how you created it. If you created your book in Pages or iBooks Author, you can make changes to your files and resubmit from within the app.
If you used another book creation tool, use it to make your changes and resubmit the book through iTunes Producer.
Submit Updates with iTunes Producer
Search for your book in the Search iTunes Connect field. Do not use Open Recent.
Make your updates.
For cover art, book file, or screenshot updates, select the file you’re updating and press Delete. Drag and drop the new file in to the field.
Confirm that the metadata and pricing panes reflect the correct information.
Save the changes.
Click Submit.
If you're updating the book file, you can enter text in the “What's New in This Version” field, found on the Details pane. What you enter here appears on Apple Books, so customers are informed on what updates were made.
Submit Updates to a Book Created with iBooks Author
Open iBooks Author and make the updates to your book.
Click Publish in the header, or choose Publish from the File menu.
Follow the instructions until you reach Add Version Info.
Select “This is an update to a previously published book” and click Continue.
Select the current version of the book you're updating and enter a new version number.
Version numbers should be a decimal-separated number. Be sure to:
List a maxim of two decimals, three components and four numbers per component. For example: 1111.1111.1111
Avoid initial zeros. We interpret 1.01 as 1.1.
Keep your versions in numerical order. We consider 1.10 as the next - or updated - version of its 1.9 predecessor.
Avoid letters, hyphens, underscores, or other invalid characters.
Publishing your book to Apple Books is a great first step toward bestseller status. We know you’re eager to distribute your title to as many eyes as possible, and the landscape is vast. How do you make your book stand out?
To learn more about creating an engaging, accurate and effective campaign:
Make it easy for your readers to find and purchase your book, by using links that take your fans directly to your book on Apple Books.
Link Maker
Link Maker helps you create a number of elements for your site to direct traffic to your book on Apple Books, such as:
Links using Auto Link Maker
Banners and Banner Builder
RSS using RSS Generator
Badges
You can link to us using approved badges. Using them correctly is an important part of being a partner, so carefully follow the guidelines.
To easily get code for your badge, go to the Apple Books Marketing Tools page. Look up your book, and quickly get access to links and badges.
The Affiliate Program
Through the Affiliate Program you can earn commissions on qualifying revenue. Link to iTunes content like books, audiobooks, music and movies. If the customer uses your link to make a purchase, you receive the commission on your book sale and any other purchases that customer makes!
When creating links to your books, include the affiliate token to track the transactions you generate with your marketing.
Learn more about the Affiliate Program and getting started. Additional information about the Affiliate program can be found here.
If you have any questions about the affiliate program, check out the FAQs, or reach out to us.
Get a link using Apple Books for macOS
The process below can also be used to get links to your author page or an approved series on your desktop:
On your computer, go to the book’s product page on Apple Books.
Right-click the book’s title.
Select Copy Link.
Paste the link where applicable (emails, newsletters, messages, etc.)
Get a link using Apple Books for iOS
On the book’s product page, tap the more (…) icon.
Tap Share Book.
Tap Copy.
Paste the URL to the desired location.
Create Your Own Link
A good system for keeping track of links, especially if you’ve got a large, unique catalog, is to create your own link per title. This link is based on the book’s ISBN or Apple ID. To create one:
Start with the base address: https://books.apple.com
Add a forward slash “/" and then the international two-character country or region code of the country you want to view. For example, “US” for the United States.
Add another forward slash and the word “book”.
Add another forward slash and the letters “id”.
Add the Apple ID of the book (you can find this on the book detail page in My Books).
Promo codes allow people to download your book from Apple Books at no cost. They are individual codes that can be distributed to bloggers, reviewers, and other PR or media contacts. This gives readers the opportunity to read your book and leave a rating and/or review - even while the book is a pre-order!
Every book is granted 250 promo codes.The Promo Codes button displays only for books with a status of On Store or Ready for Store in at least one territory. And promo codes can only be redeemed in territories where the book is available for sale.
Promo codes expire four weeks after they’re requested, so it’s important that the book file be in our system and that you distribute the codes as quickly as possible to the intended readers.
Required role: Admin, Legal, or Sales.
To Request Promo Codes
On the book’s detail page, click Promo Codes (found on the right side of the page).
Enter the number of promo codes you want to request and click Continue.
When the promo codes are ready, you receive an email with additional details.
To Distribute Promo Codes
Within the email you receive, click Download.
Send the promo code(s) to your recipient(s).
Note that a promo code can be used only once, so it’s highly recommended not to list a promo code on social media - only the first person to redeem it gets the book for free.
To Redeem Promo Codes on desktop
On Apple Books on desktop, click Redeem under Quick Links.
Enter the promo code and click Redeem.
The book should appear in your library shortly
To Redeem Promo Codes on iOS
Within Apple Books, go to your account.
Tap Redeem Gift Card or Code.
Tap “You can also enter your code manually.”
Enter the promo code and tap Redeem found in the top right corner of your screen.
