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in publishing the book. The list was selected from About.com 19 and CNET 20 website that contained<br />
lists of self-publishing services. Self-publishing services that do not offer distribution channels other<br />
than their own company’s online bookstore and do not support non-US authors are eliminated from<br />
the analysis. The main focus of the analysis is on formats, mode of payment and distribution<br />
channels.<br />
iBookstore<br />
Apple now allows independent authors to submit their own books to iBookstore by<br />
registering at iTunes Connect. However, non-US authors must obtain a US Tax ID, fill up the<br />
W-8BEN form and send it to Apple. Unfortunately, it will take up to 2 months for the book to be<br />
reviewed and if the book is rejected, the author has to resubmit again and wait for Apple’s<br />
notification. 21 The long waiting time and uncertainty put off many authors so publishing through an<br />
agent that sells to iBookstores is still preferred. ISBN is not required nor does Apple supply any. But<br />
an ISBN number is good to have to make your book appear more professional.<br />
CreateSpace<br />
CreateSpace is Amazon’s print-on-demand (books get printed only when an order is placed)<br />
service catering to individuals who want to sell hardcopy books on Amazon. An additional $25 can<br />
be paid to enroll into their “Expanded Distribution” plan that will help to distribute your books to<br />
bookstores (e.g. Barnes & Noble and Ingram), libraries and academic institutions. However book<br />
sizes must conform to its industry standard size. Documents can be submitted in Word doc, rtf or<br />
PDF format. The author can choose to have a free ISBN from CreateSpace but the ISBN can only be<br />
used with CreateSpace platform. Providing your own ISBN is possible but the book will not be<br />
distributed to libraries or academic institutions even when the Expanded Distribution plan is<br />
19 Peterson, Valerie. "Self-Publishing Services — A Round Up of Popular Self-Publishing Services."<br />
About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2013.<br />
.<br />
20 Carnoy, David. "How to self-publish an ebook." CNET. N.p., 1 June 2012. Web. 28 May 2013.<br />
.<br />
21 Hinkinson, Andrew S.. "Apple iBookstore: a Bureaucratic Hell for Non-US Authors." The Spicy<br />
Cauldron. N.p., 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 May 2013.<br />
.<br />
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