| eBooks are sold in Apple’s App Store via two | | | | steps, the ebooks are to be launched as individual |
| main channels. First, an ebook sold as an individual | | | | Apps appearing in App Store. The authors are getting |
| App (the short form of “application”). It has | | | | 70% of the revenue directly from Apple without |
| its own application icon on the iPhone screen. | | | | being shared by any other party. |
| Alternatively, some ebooks are sold through ebook | | | | Self publishers should note a number of crucial points |
| reader applications. Buyers have to login into the | | | | from the design of the book cover to the flow of |
| particular reader in order to find the ebook to buy. | | | | information in the book. Tightly organized contents |
| For selling an ebook as an App via App Store, Apple | | | | differ bestsellers from the others. Check out to find |
| gives out 70% (fixed) of the revenue to the | | | | out the resources. |
| publisher. For an ebook selling at $9.99, the publisher | | | | If you are interested in publishing your ebook, it is an |
| gets $6.99 for each copy sold. | | | | estimate of the cash flow to you. For example, the |
| The revenue sharing ratios of | | | | marked price of your ebook is $9.99. You get $6.99 |
| selling-via-ebook-readers vary. They can be 50% (or | | | | for each copy sold. If you sell 30 copies everyday, |
| less). Some writers and authors rely on those ebook | | | | you get $6291 monthly. Remember there were 45 |
| readers to publish their books because they can | | | | million iPhones and 3 million iPod Touch sold by the |
| leave the format conversion and programming works | | | | end of 2009. Thirty 30 sales per day is a very |
| to the ebook readers’ developers. Their books | | | | conservative estimation. 30 sales means 0.0000625% |
| will not appear in the App Store but in the ebook | | | | (or 1 in every 1.6 million) of the users buying from |
| readers’ web pages. If an iPhone user has not | | | | you. Your sales can easily exceed that number. |
| installed the ebook reader, he/she will no notice the | | | | Putting up 2 ebooks can easily give you $12,000 per |
| existence of the published ebook. | | | | month. If your book attract enough readers and |
| The format conversion and programming works | | | | being put up in the “Top Paid” list, you may |
| deter a large number of authors from the first option | | | | be selling over 2,500 copies per day. For the same |
| though it gives significantly higher return. | | | | $9.99 ebook, you are making at least $17,475 per |
| M&R Selected is now providing an ebook conversion | | | | day. I leave the calculation to you. Just check out the |
| service to individual authors to publish ebooks on | | | | “Books” category in the App Store, you can |
| iPhone and iPod Touch platforms at In three simple | | | | see many people are making it everyday. |