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

[MacRumors]

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.

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.

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.

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

[topmounter]

Steamy

[iMacFarlane]

Great. Can I read them on my MBP yet?

[M-O]

judging from the screen shot, chicks love to read.

[nazaar]

looks like mild porn

[JAQ]

Originally Posted by nazaar

looks like mild porn

Yup. Apple's walking away from a bonanza by not accepting hardcore porn. It's a popular genre.

[Chupa Chupa]

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.

[NorEaster]

Originally Posted by Chupa Chupa

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.

+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]

Originally Posted by Chupa Chupa

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.

QFT

I don't waste my time reading soft core

[TouchMint.com]

Pretty good stuff here. Now if they would do something like this for apps that would be super sweet!

[nagromme]

Originally Posted by Chupa Chupa

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.

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

[jinkoh]

Folks, it's the Romance section

And as an aspiring writer, this is awesome to see. I've never seen anything like this on Amazon..

Plug, lol
http://dailyaliment.net

[Chupa Chupa]

Originally Posted by nagromme

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

Not sure I understand. The conundrum is why Apple is OK w/ explicitly promoting a soft core-ish book cover in its bookstore but almost gets away with banning a photo app because it hosts same -- and then does require it to censor such. Your mention to violence and US culture is a bit of a non sequitur.

[jessica.]

Originally Posted by Chupa Chupa

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.

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.

[JHankwitz]

Originally Posted by Chupa Chupa

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.

Quite a vivid imagination. You visualize all that at the sight of a bare female back? WOW! Someone needs to learn the difference between art, erotica, and porn.

[japanime]

When I read this announcement, I immediately launched iBooks to check it out.

Unfortunately, as I suspected would be the case, the "Breakout" section offers no love to comics.

The iBookstore still doesn't even have a proper "manga" section at all, despite the genre being one of the leading sellers among graphic novels.

[Chupa Chupa]

Originally Posted by JHankwitz

Quite a vivid imagination. You visualize all that at the sight of a bare female back? WOW! Someone needs to learn the difference between art, erotica, and porn.

Imagine? I described the actual book cover on the iTune's book promo:

Go read my original post again for context and stop trying to be argumentative. If you have a valid point, OK, but you haven't done anything yet except make an ad hominem attack.

[HMI]

Originally Posted by topmounter

Steamy

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!

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!

[topmounter]

Originally Posted by HMI

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!

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!

Don't worry, we have enough hypocrisy that it doesn't seem hypocritical at all.

[apple-win]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

...
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]

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
It looks like this "Breakout Book" section is for ladies only

[Fresh Pie]

Originally Posted by apple-win

It looks like this "Breakout Book" section is for ladies only

Oh no! How will us men ever find a spot in this matriarchal tech-culture?

[Vizin]

.

[apple-win]

Originally Posted by Vizin

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.

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?

[Avicdar]

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.

[apple-win]

Originally Posted by Avicdar

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.

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

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