Apple is often admired — and not just by fanbois — for the beauty of its products. But what is often overlooked is the cleverness with which it creates ecosystems in which everything works together. Your MacBook Pro works effortlessly with your iPhone, iPod and iPad. And Apple's services — such as Mobile Me — make it easy to share data across devices, put images on the web … and so it goes on.

This integration is a great selling point. It's the basis of the so-called 'halo effect' in which people who are not habitual Apple users become seduced by one device — the iPhone or iPad perhaps — and find themselves longing for other Apple products because they work together so well.

A small, largely unheralded update to iWork has given us another example.

The iWork suite is Apple's cut-price office package. It contains Pages word processor and page layout software, the Numbers spreadsheet and the Keynote presentation package. This isn't a guide to using Pages: if you want to know how to wring every last bit of capability out of this package, I suggest you pay regular visits to I Work in Pages where Alexander Anichkin demonstrates the full versatility of this software.

Export to ePub

Apple recently issued a minor update which mostly affected Pages. Version 9.0.4 of iWork included a number of bug fixes — plus (and you'd be forgiven for not having noticed this) the ability to export a document directly to the ePub e-book format. And it just so happens that ePub is the format Apple has adopted for iBooks — so if you want to get your publications into the iBookstore, they'll have to be in ePub format.

As ePub is fast becoming the de facto standard for e-books, and is the focus of the work we're doing at WebVivant Press (not least because we publish via the iBookstore among other channels) I decided to check out how good a job Pages does when creating ePub files.

Best practice

Apple has produced a short document, 'ePub best practices for Pages' (ZIP file) that contains a number of predefined paragraph styles, such as Title, Subtitle, Author, Chapter Title etc. There are about 15 that will be of interest to e-book producers. That's a little skimpy, but you can always define your own.

As we’ve discussed before, working with paragraph styles is the key to creating successful e-book files.

As suggested in the Apple guide, I deleted the text in its sample document and saved the file as a template. I then opened a new document using this template and pasted in the text from my novel, Lady Caine. I reformatted the text using just a few of these basic styles. The bulk of the book used just Chapter Title and Body styles. I named the file 'Lady Caine - basic styles', then exported it as an ePub document.

Here's how it looked in Adobe Digital Editions:

The first thing to notice is that the e-book has a table of contents. That tells me that Pages has cleverly split the text into separate files, one per chapter. It does this based on the table of contents set-up in your Pages document. This is very smart and makes for more standards-compliant ePub files.

The ePub unzipped

I unzipped the .epub file and checked the file hierarchy (right), which confirmed my suspicions about the separate chapter files.

Here's the OPF file (named epb.opf in this case):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<package unique-identifier="BookId" version="2.0" xmlns="http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf">
    <metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:opf="http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf">
        <dc:title>Lady Caine - basic styles</dc:title>
        <dc:creator opf:role="aut">Steve Mansfield-Devine</dc:creator>
        <dc:contributor opf:role="bkp">Pages v4.0.4</dc:contributor>
        <dc:date>2010-08-28</dc:date>
        <dc:subject>Fiction &amp; Literature</dc:subject>
        <dc:identifier id="BookId">07CBB607-5854-4D85-9905-9303471CA34E</dc:identifier>
        <dc:language>en</dc:language>
    </metadata>
    <manifest>
        <item id="cover" href="cover.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-1" href="chapter-1.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-2" href="chapter-2.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-3" href="chapter-3.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-4" href="chapter-4.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-5" href="chapter-5.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-6" href="chapter-6.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-7" href="chapter-7.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-8" href="chapter-8.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-9" href="chapter-9.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-10" href="chapter-10.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-11" href="chapter-11.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-12" href="chapter-12.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="chapter-13" href="chapter-13.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
        <item id="stylesheet" href="css/book.css" media-type="text/css"/>
        <item id="ncx" href="epb.ncx" media-type="application/x-dtbncx+xml"/>
    </manifest>
    <spine toc="ncx">
        <itemref idref="cover" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-1" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-2" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-3" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-4" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-5" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-6" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-7" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-8" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-9" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-10" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-11" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-12" linear="yes"/>
        <itemref idref="chapter-13" linear="yes"/>
    </spine>
    <guide>
        <reference type="text" title="Title Page" href="cover.xhtml"/>
    </guide>
</package>

A few observations.

First, it has created an appropriate 'creator' entry, presumably because I used the Author paragraph style for my name.

Pages has also created a unique identifier, which is important, although I would want to hack this to use the ISBN instead. The date given is the date the file was created and I'd want to change this to the official publication date. And I'd want to add publisher details.

In fact, I'd probably want to make a number of changes to this file, just to ensure it matches our standard approach to ePub packages. For example, even though I entered a number of keywords into Pages' 'info' panel, the software didn't create any keyword entries in the metadata section.

So I'd end up unzipping the ePub file, making the changes and zipping it up again, as described in this earlier post. But that's only because I'm being picky.

The acid test

Now for the real test. I ran the ePub file through epubcheck 1.0.3. It passed with no errors reported.

I had less success adding a cover image to the start of the file. There is an option, when exporting, to use the first page as the cover image. Inserting a JPEG or PNG file on to the first page led to the creation of a relevant entry in the epb.opf file — but it was empty. Even exporting the sample file from Apple failed to produce a cover image when viewed in Adobe Digital Editions. I'll need to investigate this further, but it's not a big deal for us. We send cover images separately when supplying to the iBookstore and other e-book channels.

Quick and easy

To sum up, creating a standards-compliant ePub file from Pages is now very simple. While I might be picky about metadata, the ePub files output by Pages are well-formed and will be accepted without quibbling by the Apple iBookstore — which is rather the point.

Adding Pages to the publishing ecosystem created by the iBooks app, the iBookstore, the iPad and the iPhone means that Apple now has the entire process covered, from writing the book, through digital file creation, distribution and sales to reading on a mobile device. And the whole thing is relatively effortless.

My first thought when I saw the Apple iPad and its iBooks app was, 'how do I get on it?'. That question has now been answered: Apple has opened up the iBookstore to everyone. But to take advantage of the opportunity, you need to be prepared.

First, sign up with Apple iTunes Connect. I get the impression that the sign-up process has been designed deliberately to put off casual wannabes. It's fairly detailed and demanding. For example, if you're not a US resident, you'll need an IRS ITIN - I explain here how we got ours.

Next, you'll need your book in ePub format. And you have to make sure it passes epubcheck with flying colours. I covered a lot of this in my three-part post about fixing InDesign CS3's ePub issues.

Apple wants a separate cover image, not one embedded in the ePub file, so have a hi-res version ready.

Your book also needs an ISBN. For Make Do & Cook and Lady Caine, we decided to create iBookstore editions with their own ISBNs.

You'll be asked to enter various metadata, including a book description. You'll also be asked about the print version of the book (price, number of pages). If you don't have a print version, you need to guess at what it would be like. Strange.

The iTunes Connect website provides forms for uploading the files. But Mac users have a better option. You can download the iTunes Producer software which holds your hand as you go through the various stages of providing information for your book (metadata, pricing, territories, etc) and ensures that all the ducks are in a row before you upload. I highly recommend using this as it helps you understand what information you'll need to have at hand.

Once uploaded, the book needs to be approved. This took about 48 hours for our titles. We then sold our first e-book within a few hours, before we'd even had time to announce that the iPad editions were available.

Well, it's here. After months of hysteria and hype (not unconnected) Apple has launched its overgrown iPhone, the iPad tablet computer. And it's going to be a game-changer. But that's not because it's a revolutionary piece of hardware: in fact, in many ways it's only a step-change, and while it's undoubtedly sexy, as you'd expect from Apple, some may find it a little limited in functionality compared to, say, a laptop computer. No, the real significance is the way it changes the way we consume, the way we interact with media including the web and, more importantly, books.

For self-publishers, it is likely to herald a very important shift in the publishing ecosphere. As expected, the iPad comes with an e-book reader application, iBooks. Also, as expected, Apple is backing this with an online store. Five publishers were signed up to this by the time of the launch - Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan and Hachett. (Random House held back, as it did with the Kindle.)

What matters to the self-publisher, of course, is the ability of individuals to get on the virtual bookshelves alongside the big players. Amazon already makes that possible for the Kindle through its Digital Text Platform (DTP). Making your book available for the Kindle is as easy as uploading a Word file. If Apple does the same with iBooks, this will be great news for self-publishers. Why?

Well, self-publishers have difficulty competing with mainstream publishers on three counts:

• Price. Print On Demand (POD) books are inevitably more expensive than conventionally printed copies because the POD service makes sure it gets a healthy profit long before you add your mark-up.
• Distribution. Getting into bookshops and other retail sites is hard work for the self-publisher. Few achieve it to any great extent.
• Promotion and marketing. Few self-publishers have the money and resources for this.

E-books remove the first obstacle. With no manufacturing costs, e-books allow self-publishers to sell at the same price as mainstream publishers - or even cheaper, given their lack of overheads.

Distribution through the Kindle store or the iBooks store is automatic. No difference there between the bigger and smaller players.

That leaves mainstream publishers with just the one advantage - marketing. And let's face it, few of them are doing much of that for anyone but their A-list authors.

A suitable platform 

There will be debates over the iPad's suitability as an e-book platform. Having a regular LCD screen, it's not as readable in sunlight as an e-ink display. It's somewhat harder on the eyes, too. But then the colour display offers greater potential. When books start to carry rich content, such as video, that will be important. Colour e-ink displays are on their way, but it may be a while before they can offer the vibrancy of the iPad's screen. Besides which, e-ink's emulation of paper probably matters more to older generations. Young people don't have the same relationship with paper we oldies have. Their relationship is with screens. Simulating paper may not be a high priority for them.

And you can't get away from the fact that the iPad gives you a lot more than just an e-reader. For the price differential between it and the Kindle, you get a device that does so much more. Over the past few years, convergence has been the key tecnological trend. People don't want lots of individual devices, each doing a single, separate job. Consumers are accustomed to cellphones that also take photos, shoot video and allow you to email, tweet and browse the web. With the iPhone, Apple proved the popularity of additional applications - the iPhone App Store has around 140,000 now (all of which run on the iPad). People want their technology to do more. They might be willing to trade a little readability for that functionality.

Perhaps the iPad could have had more - a camera, for example. But it has enough extra functionality to put a clear distance between it and dedicated e-book readers.

One-click shopping

So how is Apple with its iPad going to beat Amazon with its Kindle? The answer lies in the integration of the whole process of buying and reading. Amazon has done a pretty good job of making it easy to get books on to your Kindle. But Apple has made it even faster and easier.

They've done this sort of thing before. The revolution in music was not the MP3 format. That just changed the nature of piracy, from home-taping to filesharing. The real revolution was the iPod. And again, it wasn't the hardware that changed the music world forever, it was the iTunes Music Store and the fact that access to it is built right into the iTunes software. The software you use to manage and listen to your music is the same software you use to browse the shop and buy. It's seamlessly integrated, a single process of consumption.

And so it is with iBooks.The software presents you with a bookshelf. Tap on a book and start reading. Want something else? One more tap and the bookshelf flips over to reveal a bookshop, right there in your hand. Within a minute or two (depending on connection speed) you can be reading a new book - all using the same application on the same device.

If Apple manages to do for books what it did for music, there will be one other benefit for self-publishers (indeed, all publishers).

The music business moans constantly about piracy. And we all know it's rife. And yet, the iTunes/iPod experience proved that people are still willing to pay for music at a reasonable price. In spite of the filesharing and illegal copying, enough people are happy to pay a euro for a track, especially given the convenience that Apple provides.

Publishers are rightly worried that the move to e-books will result in the same kind of piracy the music business has suffered. But, using Apple's model, we may find that there is still a viable business model in the midst of this.

And here's where self-publishers might gain an advantage. Publishers, like music companies, have high overheads. That's why authors only get around 10% of the cover price in royalties. The rest not only goes on marketing and manufacturing, but staff, offices, lunches and the rest.

Self-publishing is a lean operation, capable of operating on much lower margins. That means self-publishers can drop prices and ride out the effects of piracy much more easily than the large publishers.

Standard format

Interestingly, Apple has adopted the ePub format for the iBooks platform. That's fast becoming the de facto standard. Most e-book readers support it. Sony had its own proprietary format, but has since switched to ePub. Which well-known reader doesn't support ePub? That's right. The Kindle. (It also has poor PDF support.)

Suddenly, Amazon looks a tad isolated, with a proprietary e-book format and a reader that looks positively last-century alongside the iPad. Amazon's belated attempt to launch apps for the Kindle seems desperate, and still leaves the Kindle pretty much a one-trick pony.