Apple Books or BooksOasis for Indie Authors

Summary

Apple Books pays 70% on every ebook at any price, costs nothing to join and comes preinstalled on hundreds of millions of iPhones, iPads and Macs. BooksOasis is an independent bookstore with a flat listing plan that pays you the entire ebook price and also sells paperbacks and hardcovers. Apple gives you reach among Apple device owners. BooksOasis gives you a higher payout per sale and a home for every format. They do not conflict, so wide authors can use both.

Apple Books and BooksOasis Explained

Apple Books is Apple's ebook and audiobook store, built into its devices. Independent authors can publish directly through Apple Books for Authors, a web-based portal, or reach Apple through a distributor. Apple pays a royalty on each sale and does not charge to publish.

BooksOasis is a bookstore for independent authors and small presses, open to readers on any device through the web and its reading app. Authors pay a flat plan to list books, with no commission. Ebooks earn the full price; print editions earn the price minus printing and a handling fee of 30% of the printing cost, with shipping paid by the reader.

Comparison

Earnings Per Ebook

Apple's royalty is simple: 70% of the price on every ebook, with no price bands and no delivery charges. A $2.99 ebook and a $24.99 boxed set earn the same rate, which makes Apple attractive for premium-priced collections and nonfiction.

BooksOasis pays 100% of the price, so the difference per sale is the 30% Apple keeps. On a $4.99 ebook, that is about $3.49 from Apple and $4.99 from BooksOasis.

BooksOasis's plan fee is the other side of the calculation. On Starter, at $29.99 a year, the extra $1.50 per $4.99 sale covers the plan after about 20 sales. Below that, Apple's free model costs less. Above it, the direct store earns more.

How You Publish

Apple once required a Mac to publish directly. Today, Apple Books for Authors works in a web browser, and it accepts both EPUB files and Word documents. You can also reach Apple through an aggregator if you prefer one dashboard for several stores, though going direct keeps the full 70%.

On BooksOasis, you create a book, add editions and upload an EPUB for the ebook, plus a print-ready interior PDF and cover for print. Each book needs at least three genres and three keywords, and every submission gets a short review before it goes live. The dashboard shows the exact cover size and spine width once your interior is uploaded.

If you already produce a clean EPUB, the same file can usually serve both stores. Test it in Apple Books on an iPhone or iPad before you publish, because every reading app displays files a little differently.

Readers and Visibility

Apple's reach comes from its devices. The Books app is already on every iPhone, iPad and Mac, so readers can buy with a tap using the payment method they already have. Apple's editors run featured collections and seasonal promotions, and indie books do appear in them.

BooksOasis works on any device, including Android phones and Windows computers, through its website and reading app. Its audience is smaller, but the store is built around independent books: genre shelves, series pages, new releases and sale banners. Promotional prices you schedule show the regular price crossed out and can appear in those banners.

As with most direct stores, the biggest payoff comes from readers you send yourself. Apple brings browsing traffic; a BooksOasis link in your newsletter or back matter turns your existing readers into full-price sales.

Pre-Orders and Launches

Apple Books supports pre-orders up to a year ahead for paid books. Pre-orders count toward a book's sales on release day, which can help it appear in Apple's charts, and they give you a buy link to share during your launch campaign.

BooksOasis focuses on books that are ready to buy. For launches, you can schedule an introductory sale price with start and end dates and send readers to the book page from day one. Once a book has been bought, its release date cannot be moved later, so set dates carefully.

Print and Audio

Apple Books sells ebooks and audiobooks but no print books. It offers digital narration for eligible ebooks, which can turn a book into an audiobook without hiring a narrator, and it accepts professionally narrated audiobooks through approved partners.

BooksOasis covers print instead. A single book page can hold ebook, paperback and hardcover editions, each with its own price, in five common trim sizes. An ISBN is optional for every format, and one account can run unlimited pen names and imprints. So the two complement each other: Apple for ebooks and audio among Apple users, BooksOasis for ebooks and print sold directly.

Which Books Do Well Where

Because Apple pays the same 70% at every price, it suits books that carry a higher price: boxed sets, omnibus editions, long reference works and professional nonfiction. Kindle's royalty falls to 35% above $12.99, so a $19.99 collection earns far more per copy on Apple than on Amazon.

BooksOasis suits books that sell in several formats. A memoir, a cookbook-style guide or a gift-friendly nonfiction title may sell as many paperbacks or hardcovers as ebooks, and listing all three editions on one page lets readers choose. Series also work well, since a series page groups every volume together for readers who want to start at book one.

Short ebooks priced at $0.99 earn little anywhere, but the difference between 69 cents and 99 cents per copy adds up during a promotion. If you run a discount to launch a series, sending your own readers to a store that pays the full price makes each promotional sale count for more.

Getting the Most From Each Store

• On Apple, write a description that works on a phone screen: a strong first two lines, short paragraphs and no walls of text.
• On Apple, choose categories carefully, since Apple's browsing relies on them.
• On BooksOasis, use all your genre and keyword slots, because the store's search looks at titles, series, keywords and genres.
• On BooksOasis, add both print editions if you have them, so one page serves every reader.
• On both, use the same cover, title and series names so readers instantly recognize your books wherever they find them.

A Simple Plan for Both

1. Publish your ebook on Apple Books for Authors to keep the full 70% royalty.
2. Set up a pre-order on Apple for your next release to build launch momentum.
3. List the book on BooksOasis with ebook, paperback and hardcover editions.
4. Schedule a launch sale on BooksOasis and share the link with your newsletter.
5. Use a universal book link on your website so readers can choose their preferred store.

If managing several store accounts feels like too much, our comparison of Draft2Digital and BooksOasis shows how a distributor can handle Apple and other retailers while you keep a direct store.

Deciding

Frequently Asked Questions