Prepare your book
Book assets
Book files, also known as book assets, contain your work, including text, images, interactivity, and so forth. Apple accepts EPUBs.
An EPUB (.epub) file is a universal ebook standard. While it helps to have some technical know-how when working with EPUBs, there are a number of tools available to create and deliver EPUB files to Apple Books. You can create EPUB files with Pages or other third-party tools, or work with an Apple-preferred partner.
Download our example EPUB to learn more about supported features.
Best practices for creating EPUB files
When creating your files, follow these best practices:
- Keep your files small. The larger the file, the longer it takes to download. Keep your file size as small as possible without reducing its quality or interactivity. Ideally, books should be under 1GB, but we allow up to 2GB on Apple Books. Books created and delivered via Pages must be under 1GB. You can check file size using Finder on your Mac or Windows Explorer on your PC.
- Be mindful of image resolution. While the external cover art file should have the highest resolution possible, images inside your asset files shouldn’t be more than 4 million pixels. Tip: Multiply an image’s height by its width to see its total pixel count.
- Make your books accessible. If your book contains images, widgets, or diagrams, include accessibility descriptions for VoiceOver users.
- Check our guidelines. Make sure your files comply with our Apple Books Formatting Guidelines and Apple Books Asset Guide, to offer the best possible customer experience.
Validate your EPUB file
All EPUB books submitted to Apple Books must pass the most recent version of EPUBCheck. Use one of the available EPUB validation tools to check your file. If you validate your EPUB file and get errors, review the explanation of errors from the developers of EPUBCheck.
Book samples
Samples are available for customers to download prior to purchasing your book. All books will have a preview available, however they are optional prior to the release date.
Apple Books automatically creates samples for all books except Read Aloud and Multi-Touch books. The percentage of content used for the sample is determined by how the book is formatted.
To ensure that your sample is the correct size, create your EPUB file according to our specifications:
If you don’t want the sample to be cut automatically, you can create a separate, custom EPUB file and deliver it for use as the sample on Apple Books.
Metadata
Metadata is the information that describes your book. Providing good metadata for your book helps ensure it appears in relevant user searches. Learn more about required metadata.
Cover art
Enticing cover art can make a reader more likely to purchase your book. Cover art isn’t required during a pre-order period. Apple Books generates a basic cover art image if you don’t provide one. You must deliver cover art prior to the release date.
Requirements
Cover art must be in PNG or JPEG format, RGB colorspace, and at least 1400 pixels on its shortest side.
If you’re not using Pages to create your book, you will also need to create in-book cover art. This is the image that displays when a reader opens your book. In-book cover art should comply with our requirements for interior images.
Creating your book package
If you need help creating your book package, you can work with one of our partners:
- Aggregators help format, deliver, and manage books. If you don’t know how to create digital books or if you need production help, consider working with an aggregator. They may also offer book status updates and sales reports, as well as marketing and operational help. If you sell any books, we pay the aggregator directly, and the aggregator pays you.
- Conversion houses specialize in converting books into files for Apple Books. If you prefer to manage your own books and account, but don’t know how to create books in the digital EPUB format, you may want to work with a conversion house. If you sell any books, we pay you directly.
- Delivery houses can deliver books that have already been formatted for Apple Books on your behalf. They don’t provide formatting services.
Find out more about Apple-preferred aggregators and conversion houses.