iTunes jumps on the assetless pre-order train.

Hi Lesli,

We’ve added a few features and updates to iBooks recently:

• Set Up Pre-Orders Without Assets
• Updates to Link Maker
• Multi-Touch Book Samples Required

Set Up Pre-Orders Without Assets

You can now offer your book for pre-order even if your book file or cover art isn’t ready yet.

To set up a pre-order without assets:

1. Open the latest version of iTunes Producer, available in Resources and Help.
2. Enter the book’s metadata in the Details pane.
3. Go to the Price pane.
4. Fill in the Pre-Order Start Date and Sales Start Date fields, as well as the rights and pricing details.
5. Choose Save from the File menu.
6. Click Submit.

Never submit dummy, placeholder, or incomplete files. We can’t use these files and if you submit them, we won’t be able to make your book available for pre-order on the iBooks Store.

When your book files and cover art are ready, here’s how to complete your book:

1. Find your pre-order in iTunes Producer by providing the title or the book’s Apple ID in the Search iTunes Connect field.
2. Drag cover art or screenshots to the Details pane.
3. Drag the book and any updated book samples to the Files pane.
4. Click Submit.

You can make your book available for pre-order up to one year before its sales start date. However, you have to submit all final book files at least 10 business days before your sales start date. This gives us enough time for review, so your book will be available to customers as planned. If you don’t submit your files on time, we may not be able to make your books available for pre-order without assets in the future.

If you need help or have questions, let us know.

Updates to Link Maker

We’ve updated Link Maker with new features to make it more powerful:

• Flexible. Links and badges on Link Maker will try to find your book in your customer’s territory. If your book isn’t available in their territory, we’ll try to find another territory that the user can see.
• Smart. Paste any iBooks Store link into Link Maker and we’ll take you to your book’s details where you can get a badge, banner, or text link for your book.
• Mobile. You can use Link Maker on any mobile device.

Multi-Touch Book Samples Required

Starting July 8, 2015, you’ll need to include a book sample when you deliver a Multi-Touch book. We do require book samples, if you have a Paid Books agreement, even if your book is free. However, if you only have a Free Books agreement, samples are optional.

You don’t need to do anything else if you already used iBooks Author to create a book sample based on a single chapter of your book. If you want to use certain pages and chapters to create your own book sample instead, follow the steps in our support article.

Have any questions? Let us know.

The iBooks team