Why I Love Apple iBooks

Readers, you may have seen my announcements recently around the web that my September release, Autumn Allure, is available at a discounted pre-order price right now at Apple. For those of you who are Kindle-only readers, you might wonder, Why not Amazon? Why can't I buy it early there? Here's the reason:

Amazon is a Goliath. They pretty much hold a near-monopoly on the ebook market, and many/most readers go there first for their books, which is why many/most indie authors publish there first. A lot of authors choose to use their Kindle Unlimited program as well, which locks in a book to Amazon  for 90 days at a time. That means the book can't be sold anywhere else -- not Barnes and Noble, not Apple, not Kobo, not even on the author's own website. In exchange, Amazon (vaguely) promises better placement, marketing, author & sales ranking, and payment based on pages read.  Kindle Unlimited can be great for some authors. But if you think about it, savvy authors probably want their books available in as many markets as possible, right?

Enter Apple.

I've always tried to sell my books on all the major ebook retailers (although the Hometown Heroes series is enrolled for the summer in Kindle Unlimited, mostly as an experiment). The nice thing about Apple is, they really love their authors. They're constantly offering deals and marketing and promo, and one of the best options they have is pre-orders that can be set up to a year in advance (Amazon limits pre-orders to 90 days ahead of release). Even better, Apple pre-orders are what's called "assetless," meaning you don't have to have a cover or a release date or even a file when you upload to their site (you must have all those for Amazon).

You may recall that I did a short exclusive pre-order with Apple for Soldier of Love, and turns out, my sales there the first month after release were better than my sales at Amazon.

Plus, I have to say, all the Apple reps I've crossed paths with are just really nice people. 

So....if you're an iBooks reader, you can get Autumn Allure earlier than if you're a Kindle or Nook or Kobo reader. Not to worry! The $2.99 discount price will be available to all buyers on release day. But hey, if you ARE an iBooks readers, pat yourself on the book and then go ahead and pre-order Autumn Allure, knowing you're supporting a retailer that is good to its authors and preventing another company from cornering the market on all ebook sales. Remember, competition is healthy! 

​P.S.: Near the end of the summer, I'll be posting lots and lots of Autumn Allure excerpts here to tempt you.....so stay tuned!