The Dual Interface Confusion — iTunes Connect and Apple Books for Authors

Apple has two separate interfaces that indie authors need to understand. Authors.apple.com is the newer, public-facing landing page with information about the program. The actual publishing portal — where you upload files, manage your catalog, and view reporting — is still accessed through iTunes Connect at authors.apple.com/epub-upload.

This split creates confusion for new authors who land on authors.apple.com, explore the site, and can't find where to actually upload a book. The publishing portal is effectively iTunes Connect with a Books-specific interface — it's the same system Apple uses for app developers and music distributors, adapted for books.

💡 TIP: Bookmark the direct publishing portal URL: authors.apple.com/epub-upload — this takes you directly to the iTunes Connect sign-in for book publishing, bypassing the marketing site that doesn't have the actual upload function.

Setting Up Your Apple Books Publisher Account

To publish directly on Apple Books, you need an Apple ID (your existing Apple account works) and an iTunes Connect account specifically for book publishing.

• Go to authors.apple.com/epub-upload and click 'Create account'

• Sign in with your Apple ID (create one at appleid.apple.com if needed)

• Accept the iTunes Connect Terms and Conditions

• Choose 'Individual' or 'Organization' for your account type — most indie authors choose Individual

• Complete your payment information — Apple requires bank account details before you can publish (they need a payment destination before allowing book sales)

• Complete the tax interview — similar to KDP's tax interview; US authors provide SSN or EIN, non-US authors provide equivalent tax identification

Apple's account approval for new publishers sometimes takes several days. Budget time for this step before you need to publish a title.

Uploading an Ebook — The Approval Timeline

Apple Books is the slowest major ebook retailer to approve new submissions. First-time submissions from new accounts can take up to two weeks to go live. Subsequent submissions from established accounts typically take 1–3 business days.

File requirements for Apple Books: EPUB format only (Apple does not accept Word or other formats), EPUB 2 or EPUB 3, maximum file size 2 GB (in practice, well-formatted novel-length ebooks are well under 50 MB).

Cover image requirements

Apple Books has specific cover requirements: minimum 1400 x 1400 pixels, maximum 10,000 x 10,000 pixels, JPG or PNG format, RGB colour mode. The cover image is uploaded separately from the EPUB file, not embedded within it (unlike some other platforms).

⚠️ WARNING: If your book has been submitted and is 'Processing' for more than two weeks without going live or receiving a rejection, contact Apple Books support through the Help link in iTunes Connect. Occasionally submissions get stuck in processing without notification — support can identify and unstick them.

Pricing — The Tier System

Apple Books does not let you enter arbitrary prices. Instead, it uses a tier system — a set of fixed price points for each currency. You select a tier number, and Apple shows you the corresponding price in every currency market simultaneously.

This means: if you want to price your book at $3.99 USD, you select the tier that corresponds to $3.99 and accept that the Australian dollar, British pound, and Euro equivalents are set by Apple's tier table (not by exact currency conversion). The tier prices are reasonable approximations of fair local pricing, but they are not exact conversions.

💡 TIP: Apple's pricing tiers are available to view in your iTunes Connect account under the Pricing section. Before setting your initial price, review the tier table to see the exact price in every major market you care about. If the USD tier that hits $3.99 produces a UK price you're not happy with, you can sometimes adjust individual market prices independently in 'Custom Price' mode.

The Reporting Dashboard

Apple Books reporting has significantly improved in recent years. The Sales and Trends report (in iTunes Connect > Sales and Trends) shows: daily/weekly/monthly unit sales by title, proceeds by title, and breakdowns by country. You can switch between units and proceeds views and filter by date range.

Reports can be downloaded as flat text files for spreadsheet analysis. Apple's reporting updates daily with the previous day's data.

Payment timing: Apple pays approximately 30–45 days after the end of the month in which sales occurred. Minimum payment threshold is $150 (or local equivalent) for direct deposit — smaller balances roll over to the next month.

📋 NOTE: Apple reports proceeds in the currency of each sales market. If you sell books in the UK, Japan, and Australia, you may receive payments in GBP, JPY, and AUD in addition to USD — or Apple may convert everything to your primary currency. Check your payment settings in iTunes Connect to configure currency preferences.

How ScribeCount Helps

Apple Books is one of the platforms where ScribeCount's consolidation value is most apparent — Apple's own reporting interface, while improved, requires navigating iTunes Connect to find relevant data. ScribeCount pulls Apple Books data directly and presents it alongside your other platform sales in the unified dashboard. Apple's 30–45 day payment lag means the data in ScribeCount's Historical view often provides a clearer long-term picture of your Apple income than Apple's own dashboard does.

✅ BOTTOM LINE: Use authors.apple.com/epub-upload (not the marketing site) to access the publishing portal. Approval takes up to 2 weeks for first submissions. Pricing uses a fixed tier system — check the tier table before setting prices. Reports are in iTunes Connect > Sales and Trends. Payment arrives 30–45 days after month-end, minimum $150 threshold.