How to Publish on Apple Books (2026 Step-by-Step Guide)
10 min read · Updated October 2026
Apple Books is preinstalled on every iPhone, iPad and Mac, which means millions of potential readers never have to download a thing. For authors who publish wide, it is often one of the strongest ebook stores outside Amazon, and its readers have a reputation for buying books at full price and following series. This guide walks through the whole process: the choice between going direct and using a distributor, what your files must look like, what you earn, how pre-orders work, and what actually helps readers find your book. Where a rule or figure can change, check Apple's current documentation before you submit.
Is Apple Books worth publishing on?
Apple Books sells ebooks and audiobooks to readers in many countries, through an app that already sits on their devices. That removes friction: a reader can see your book, tap buy and start reading in seconds. It is a meaningful market in English-speaking countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, and it is worth a look in other regions too.
The bigger reason is resilience. If your whole income sits with one retailer, a policy change or an account problem can hurt badly. Selling on Apple Books spreads that risk and lets you build a second stream of readers who may never have shopped on Amazon.
It is not right for everyone. If your ebook is enrolled in KDP Select, you cannot sell that ebook on Apple Books during the enrolment term. Authors who earn most of their income from Kindle Unlimited page reads should weigh that trade-off honestly before going wide. Our guide to KDP Select covers the maths.
Should you publish direct or use a distributor?
There are two routes. Going direct means you create your own account with Apple and upload your books yourself. Going through a distributor means a third party, such as Draft2Digital, PublishDrive or Smashwords-style aggregators, sends your book to Apple and to many other stores from one dashboard.
Direct publishing means you keep the full retailer share, control your own metadata and pricing, and deal with Apple yourself. The cost is setup time, plus managing each store separately. A distributor takes a cut of your royalty, but you upload once and often get access to smaller stores and library services that are awkward to reach alone.
A common approach is to go direct to the stores that matter most to you and use a distributor for the rest. Whichever you choose, do not upload the same book both ways to the same store, as this can cause duplicate or blocked listings. The Aggregator vs Direct Advisor can help you decide, and our guide to publishing wide explains the wider picture.
How do you publish directly on Apple Books, step by step?
The process runs through Apple's author tools, using an Apple Account. The exact screens change from time to time, so treat this as the shape of the process rather than a click-by-click script.
- Create or sign in to your Apple Account, then register for Apple Books for Authors and accept the terms.
- Complete your tax and banking details. Have your legal name or publisher name, tax number and bank details ready, because payment cannot start until this is done.
- Add a new book and enter the metadata: title, subtitle, series name and number, author name, description, language, categories and keywords.
- Upload your EPUB and your cover, then preview the book to check how it displays.
- Set your price for each territory, choose your release date or a pre-order date, and submit for review.
Apple reviews each submission, and files with errors are rejected with a message explaining why. Allow a few days, and longer if you have problems to fix. Keep the date of your planned launch flexible until the book has passed review.
What files and formats does Apple Books need?
Apple Books uses EPUB for ebooks, and it is fussy about quality. Run your file through a validator such as EPUBCheck before uploading, because many rejections come from small structural errors. Make sure the file has a working table of contents, consistent styles, embedded fonts only where you have the licence, and images that display properly.
Your cover is uploaded separately as an image, and Apple publishes minimum dimensions that can change, so check the current figures. Whatever the minimum, upload a high-resolution file, keep the title legible at thumbnail size, and make sure the cover shown matches the cover inside the book.
Apple does not require an ISBN for ebooks you publish directly, and it can assign its own identifier. You may still add your own if you want to be the named publisher, and our guide on whether you need an ISBN explains the trade-offs. If your formatting is the weak point, our guide to formatting for KDP covers the clean EPUB habits that carry over to every store. CruxOne can also export EPUB, which you can then upload yourself.
How much does Apple Books pay authors?
Apple has long paid authors 70% of the list price on ebooks sold through its store, with no delivery fee and no price band like the one Amazon uses for its 70% rate. That makes Apple simple to model. Confirm the current terms in your agreement, since retailers can change them.
Payments are made monthly, after a delay, once you pass the payment threshold for your currency. Exchange rates and local taxes affect what you see, and you will usually set prices per territory, so check that your converted prices look sensible and end in familiar numbers.
If you use a distributor, your royalty will be lower because the distributor takes a share. Use the Apple Books Royalty Calculator to estimate earnings at different prices, and our ebook pricing guide for how to choose the price itself.
How do pre-orders and discoverability work on Apple Books?
Pre-orders let readers buy before release, and Apple delivers the book automatically on launch day. They are useful because they give you a link to share early and let you build momentum. Rules on how far ahead you can set a pre-order, and whether you must upload a final file first, can change, so check the current guidance.
Discovery on Apple Books mixes algorithms with human curation. Apple editors feature books in collections and promotions, and a placement can lift sales sharply. You cannot buy a spot, but you can improve your chances with a polished cover, a clear description, accurate categories and a book that is ready on time. Apple has also invited authors to make themselves known to its teams, so look for a current contact or promotion route in your account.
Metadata does the quiet work in between. Choose the categories that readers in your genre actually browse, write the description for the reader rather than the algorithm, and keep series information tidy so books appear together. The Apple Books Keyword Generator can suggest search terms, and a good blurb makes every other step convert better.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to publish on Apple Books?
Yes, there is no upfront fee to publish directly. Apple keeps a share of each sale, and a distributor, if you use one, takes its own share too.
Do I need an ISBN for Apple Books?
No, Apple does not require an ISBN for ebooks published directly. You can add your own if you want to be listed as the publisher.
Can I sell on Apple Books and Amazon at the same time?
Yes, as long as your ebook is not enrolled in KDP Select, which requires Amazon exclusivity for the ebook during each enrolment term.
What file format does Apple Books accept for ebooks?
EPUB. Validate it before uploading, because structural errors are a common cause of rejection.
Do I need a Mac to publish on Apple Books?
Check Apple's current requirements, as the tools can change. Distributors let you publish to Apple Books from any computer with a browser.