New Catalog Reports, Versioning for all books, and more

Sep 27, 2013 10:55 GMT  ·  By

Book authors selling their works in the iBooks Store are being offered some new features and benefits as part of a new rollout from Apple.

In a letter sent to iBooks authors this week, Apple reveals that writers and publishers will be able to take advantage of new Catalog Reports, Versioning for all books, updated documentation, increased pixel limit for book images, how-tos and tips & tricks, Thanksgiving deliveries, and more.

Regarding Versioning, Apple tells authors, “Customers can now be notified when a new version of your books is available on iBooks. Any book redeliveries that include the What’s New in Version description are considered new book versions.”

In other words, Apple will be treating new iBook submissions just like apps (complete with a changelog).

Publishers will be required to update the book file before delivery and provide details of what has changed via iTunes Producer. Version numbers are not mandatory if the initial release didn’t carry one.

“After a new version is available on iBooks, customers who have previously purchased the book will see the option to update it from the Purchased section of the iBooks Store.”