Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Promotes Self-Published Titles with New 'Breakout Books' Section

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,489
30,727



Apple today introduced a new section of the iBookstore, featuring books that have been independently author-published to the iBookstore. Entitled "Breakout Books," the curated collection highlights titles that have earned four and five star reviews.
Find the next reading sensation with this hand-picked collection of books from emerging talents. All are independently published directly to the iBookstore and have earned high ratings from customers like you. Check back regularly - new titles are added as they begin taking off.
Click to expand...
Apple's content rival Amazon has long promoted books that are published via its Kindle Direct Publishing platform. Apple has carried and highlighted popular self-published books for quite some time, but the new section serves to put the indie titles further into the limelight.

breakoutbooks.jpg

The featured books are organized into four categories: Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mysteries & Thrillers, and More to Explore. There are 70 books in the section.

According to The New York Times, price is a major incentive for the promotion, as most of the books in the featured section retail for far below the cost of a traditional publishing house book. The majority of the titles are priced at $6.99 or less, making them more affordable than the average book.

eBook self-publishing and distribution platform Smashwords is where many of the featured titles originated. The site uploads submitted content to Apple, and founder Mark Coker says the relationship has been mutually beneficial, with many titles hitting Apple's best seller lists in a short period of time.
Although the iBookstore has always carried and supported self-published ebooks, today's launch signifies an escalated commitment on the part of Apple, whose iBookstore currently sells books in 50 countries. The iBookstore first piloted the Breakout Books feature in their Australian store and has since implemented similar features in Canada and the U.K.

In the process, Apple is helping to shape a brighter, more democratized future for book publishing. More writers will have the freedom to publish and more readers will have the freedom to discover and enjoy a greater diversity of high-quality books than ever before.
Click to expand...
Apple's "Breakout Books" section will remain featured at the top of the iTunes store for two weeks or more, after which it will be removed to a less prominent spot in the iBookstore.

Article Link: Apple Promotes Self-Published Titles with New 'Breakout Books' Section
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/02/05/apple-promotes-self-published-titles-with-new-breakout-books-section/
Chupa Chupa

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
Riiiiight. So depiction of topless man and women making out is OK for Apple iBook store promo but nearly banned 500px over the mere possibility of seeing same IF one looked for it. Oh Apple, you slay me with your obtuse moral code. But I think I figured it out: it comes down to profit margins.
 
N

NorEaster

macrumors regular
Feb 14, 2012
239
23
Chupa Chupa said:
Riiiiight. So depiction of topless man and women making out is OK for Apple iBook store promo but nearly banned 500px over the mere possibility of seeing same IF one looked for it. Oh Apple, you slay me with your obtuse moral code. But I think I figured it out: it comes down to profit margins.
Click to expand...

+1 for this post. I completely agree. It's a hypocritical move by Apple. Furthermore, if I had children and they had an iDevice, they could easily launch iBooks, got to the Bookstore, and see these titles. While this scenario wouldn't bother me as a parent, I can't see how Apple would be OK with promoting these titles (with this kind of cover art) while banning 500px.
 
nuckinfutz

nuckinfutz

macrumors 603
Jul 3, 2002
5,539
399
Middle Earth
Chupa Chupa said:
Riiiiight. So depiction of topless man and women making out is OK for Apple iBook store promo but nearly banned 500px over the mere possibility of seeing same IF one looked for it. Oh Apple, you slay me with your obtuse moral code. But I think I figured it out: it comes down to profit margins.
Click to expand...

QFT

I don't waste my time reading soft core
 
C

cirus

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2011
582
0
I would use apple books but don't for two reasons.

They are not accessible via itunes and must use ipad, iphone (i dont have one only a pc).

I was not getting an iphone with a 3.5 inch screen to read books on (I got a new phone in june) considering I read a lot of books on my phone.

Apple, if you open up ibooks for itunes/pc version i will gladly pay you for books.
 
nagromme

nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
Chupa Chupa said:
Riiiiight. So depiction of topless man and women making out is OK for Apple iBook store promo but nearly banned 500px over the mere possibility of seeing same IF one looked for it. Oh Apple, you slay me with your obtuse moral code. But I think I figured it out: it comes down to profit margins.
Click to expand...

Nah, it's US culture. We hate it when anything distracts us from non-stop glorified violence.
 
S

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
chupa chupa said:
riiiiight. So depiction of topless man and women making out is ok for apple ibook store promo but nearly banned 500px over the mere possibility of seeing same if one looked for it. Oh apple, you slay me with your obtuse moral code. But i think i figured it out: It comes down to profit margins.
Click to expand...

noreaster said:
+1 for this post. I completely agree. It's a hypocritical move by apple. Furthermore, if i had children and they had an idevice, they could easily launch ibooks, got to the bookstore, and see these titles. While this scenario wouldn't bother me as a parent, i can't see how apple would be ok with promoting these titles (with this kind of cover art) while banning 500px.
Click to expand...

nuckinfutz said:
qft

i don't waste my time reading soft core
Click to expand...

word.
 
A

apple-win

macrumors regular
Dec 4, 2012
226
0
MacRumors said:
...
According to The New York Times, price is a major incentive for the promotion, as most of the books in the featured section retail for far below the cost of a traditional publishing house book. The majority of the titles are priced at $6.99 or less, making them more affordable than the average book.
...
[/url]
Click to expand...

I would rather watch soap opera on TV, it is colour, it has audio and it is free.
I think people can buy a stack of XXX VCDs for $6.99.

How come there is no computer books, engineering books in the "Breakout Book" section :confused:
It looks like this "Breakout Book" section is for ladies only :mad:
 
HMI

HMI

Contributor
May 23, 2012
838
319
topmounter said:
Steamy :eek:
Click to expand...

A bit hypocritical, isn't it!

Porn isn't allowed (which I think is good), but then they allow and promote all the romance books (emotional porn for women). Not cool! :mad:

It makes me sick how women condemn porn vehemently, but then go and devour a bunch of these nasty books as if there is nothing wrong with how they portray men unrealistically, and how much the books create discontent for the real men in their lives.

A bunch of double-standards we have!

America really needs to address these double-standards soon! It's ridiculous!
 
Last edited:
GoCubsGo

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,741
153
Chupa Chupa said:
Riiiiight. So depiction of topless man and women making out is OK for Apple iBook store promo but nearly banned 500px over the mere possibility of seeing same IF one looked for it. Oh Apple, you slay me with your obtuse moral code. But I think I figured it out: it comes down to profit margins.
Click to expand...

Probably gotta let that go. Apple, like most companies, runs on double standards no doubt.

I for one love the idea of being able to self-publish. I'm going to write a book.
 
Kaibelf

Kaibelf

Suspended
Apr 29, 2009
2,445
7,444
Silicon Valley, CA
apple-win said:
I would rather watch soap opera on TV, it is colour, it has audio and it is free.
I think people can buy a stack of XXX VCDs for $6.99.

How come there is no computer books, engineering books in the "Breakout Book" section :confused:
It looks like this "Breakout Book" section is for ladies only :mad:
Click to expand...

Not everyone chooses to sit in front of an idiot box for all of their entertainment. But thank you for your riveting story.
 
A

apple-win

macrumors regular
Dec 4, 2012
226
0
Vizin said:
Women can't read engineering books? Men can't read romance novels?

Apple's simply reacting to market demand here. YOU are the one enforcing gender stereotypes.
Click to expand...

Market demands hard-core XXX porn. Women like hard-core porns too. How come Apple does not set up a "Porn Materials" section for adults?
 
A

Avicdar

macrumors regular
Oct 11, 2004
188
0
Toronto
Nudity in iBooks

I wonder if I were to create a photography book (say, on studio lighting) whether nudity from my portfolio would be allowed to demonstrate the lighting concepts.

I could write such a book and have thought about it.

Does the iBookstore have any photo related or other types of books that actually do contain nudity? I don't mean porn, obviously. :)
 
A

apple-win

macrumors regular
Dec 4, 2012
226
0
Avicdar said:
I wonder if I were to create a photography book (say, on studio lighting) whether nudity from my portfolio would be allowed to demonstrate the lighting concepts.

I could write such a book and have thought about it.

Does the iBookstore have any photo related or other types of books that actually do contain nudity? I don't mean porn, obviously. :)
Click to expand...

I don't think you are allowed to published nudity in iBooks.

But you can use statue of Venus in your photographic book.
 
HMI

HMI

Contributor
May 23, 2012
838
319
apple-win said:
It looks like this "Breakout Book" section is for ladies only :mad:
Click to expand...

It's a self-fulfilling prophesy!

"Women buy more books", so publishers market to women and ignore men altogether, then women definitely buy more books, and men have less options available to them. Many publishers now are afraid to publish books aimed at men because they think it won't sell, because they are so used to marketing only to women that they don't even realize they've ignored men altogether for a long time.

Just look at any mall now. 90% of anything at a mall is for women, but that didn't used to be so polarized and unbalanced a couple of decades ago. Now men have to go to the far back corner to find some things from a limited stock with less options available to choose from.

I've noticed the same thing about new cars. More and more of the new car models that men may have chosen in the past are now released with mostly colors that women might choose.

Society has been trying to write men out of the picture for a long time. It's really sad!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom