Selling on iBooks from Canada

[Psymon]

Yikes! This morning I thought I'd start the process of setting up an account with Apple to sell my first epub on the iBooks store, but being from Canada sure complicates matters! I still need to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS to do so, which I can't apply for online, I have to phone them. I've been phoning and phoning and phoning the NON-toll-free number continuously all morning, and just keep getting a busy signal. :/

Anyway, this really sounds so much more complicated -- I read somewhere that I might even have to file US tax returns each year, to boot! -- than I thought it was going to be.

Is there anyone else from Canada out there who has done this? I'm considering trying to do this through some third-party site, where they would handle all the headaches and just send me a cheque once in a while (assuming my book sells at all -- ha ha). I wouldn't know where to begin for that either, nor if those kinds of services would skim so much off the top that whatever nickels and dimes I might make get reduced to mere pennies.

I'd love to hear anyone else's experiences and advice on the best way to sell on the iBooks store when you're in Canada!

Thanks so much in advance!

[mtrahan]

I'm from Canada and I work for a couple publishers who sell their ePub on iBookstore. We use a third-party aggregator to sell books through various bookstores and there's pretty much nothing special we have to do to get them on Apple iBookstore. I'm sure it will varies from an aggregator to another, but I would suggest taking a look at those if you want to simplify the whole process.

Unfortunately, I don't have one to recommend, as in Quebec there is one that all publishers use—made by a company called De Marque, here is a link—but I have no idea if you need to be a registered publisher (or part of the "publisher's association") to sell through their service.

I'm sorry I can't be of much help, but I thought I would share my limited experience.

Good luck, and let me know if you have more questions about this particular aggregator.

[HarryT]

Moved to the Writers' forum, since this is about selling books, rather than creating them.

[VydorScope]

Draft2Digitial or Smashwords can easily get you into Apple. Most people seem to go that route instead of direct.

[Suzanna]

I go direct with iTunes.

After getting my EIN (perhaps the IRS are backlogged because of the recent gov't shutdown) I set up my publisher account and waited for approval from Apple. Your tax withholding amount will be 0% and no, you will not need to submit a US income tax return if you get all your tax information set up ahead of time. This isn't really an issue with Apple because they won't let you sell your books until your tax info is complete and they've approved your publisher account. (If you start selling books in the US before getting your withholding amount down to 0 and the retailer withholds 30% of your royalties for taxes - which can happen with Amazon - you'll need to file an income tax form to get that money back.)

I don't actually upload my own books because I don't have a Mac, but I use Amy Atwell from Author EMS to upload my books for me. Apple allows you to assign a technical person to do the uploading for you, and that person doesn't see any of the financial stuff on your account. They're strictly your tech support. But once Amy uploads my book for me ($30 the first time because she has some setup to do, $20 for each book after that) I have complete control of my Apple account and can set my prices in the different countries.

The only caveat I have ... I didn't think I was going to need a GST number so didn't fill out that Canada GST form. And I just recently realized the discrepancy between what Apple was paying me and what I'd earned (which is now up to $600) was from sales made in Canada. Apple withholds the royalties for books sold in Canada if you don't fill out that form. So I took a deep breath and printed out the paperwork ... and wouldn't you know that form was for me to grant Apple the permission to record sales tax with *their* GST number. So I've since filled it out and am now waiting for Apple to pay my Canadian royalties (just did that last month.)

If you can swing it, I recommend going direct. It's always preferable to have direct control of your titles and to see daily reports of your sales.

[Psymon]

Thank you, Suzanna, for a very informative response (and also my thanks to the other that replied as well)!

I am currently in the process of setting up my account with iTunes Connect -- that is, I got my EIN number earlier this week, then put in my application with Apple, but I keep getting emails from them saying that they (Apple) can't verify my EIN and to resubmit. I did check online via a website somewhere and my EIN is indeed "valid", so I'm not sure what the problem is -- but I read elsewhere that that's apparently not unusual, and that I should just call Apple to push the thing through and get my approval (which I'll do next week, if I get another "rejection letter" from them again).

So from the looks of it, I guess I'll be going the direct route -- as you suggested is best, if one is able! What I did find rather surprising -- and a bit disheartening -- though, is that apparently I'll need a GST number. Ugh! I used to have one many years ago when I was doing web design, and it was such a pain, but I wasn't actually making that much money from that work and then later discovered that if one's income is under $40,000/year (or something) that you don't actually need a GST number.

But I gather from what you're saying that Apple pretty much insists upon it?

*sigh*... I'm really not looking forward to all this extra accounting I'm going to do (for what may be little more than just a few extra dollars a month or something -- or however it is that it works). :/

Originally Posted by Suzanna

I go direct with iTunes.

After getting my EIN (perhaps the IRS are backlogged because of the recent gov't shutdown) I set up my publisher account and waited for approval from Apple. Your tax withholding amount will be 0% and no, you will not need to submit a US income tax return if you get all your tax information set up ahead of time. This isn't really an issue with Apple because they won't let you sell your books until your tax info is complete and they've approved your publisher account. (If you start selling books in the US before getting your withholding amount down to 0 and the retailer withholds 30% of your royalties for taxes - which can happen with Amazon - you'll need to file an income tax form to get that money back.)

I don't actually upload my own books because I don't have a Mac, but I use Amy Atwell from Author EMS to upload my books for me. Apple allows you to assign a technical person to do the uploading for you, and that person doesn't see any of the financial stuff on your account. They're strictly your tech support. But once Amy uploads my book for me ($30 the first time because she has some setup to do, $20 for each book after that) I have complete control of my Apple account and can set my prices in the different countries.

The only caveat I have ... I didn't think I was going to need a GST number so didn't fill out that Canada GST form. And I just recently realized the discrepancy between what Apple was paying me and what I'd earned (which is now up to $600) was from sales made in Canada. Apple withholds the royalties for books sold in Canada if you don't fill out that form. So I took a deep breath and printed out the paperwork ... and wouldn't you know that form was for me to grant Apple the permission to record sales tax with *their* GST number. So I've since filled it out and am now waiting for Apple to pay my Canadian royalties (just did that last month.)

If you can swing it, I recommend going direct. It's always preferable to have direct control of your titles and to see daily reports of your sales.

[Suzanna]

Originally Posted by Psymon

What I did find rather surprising -- and a bit disheartening -- though, is that apparently I'll need a GST number. Ugh! I used to have one many years ago when I was doing web design, and it was such a pain, but I wasn't actually making that much money from that work and then later discovered that if one's income is under $40,000/year (or something) that you don't actually need a GST number.

But I gather from what you're saying that Apple pretty much insists upon it?

*sigh*... I'm really not looking forward to all this extra accounting I'm going to do (for what may be little more than just a few extra dollars a month or something -- or however it is that it works). :/

No, what I'm saying is that my impression that I'd need a GST number was a mistaken one. If you download the Canadian GST paperwork from your iTunesConnect account and look at it, the GST number that's required is *Apple's* GST number. That paperwork is needed for you to grant Apple permission to collect and remit GST on your behalf. I was so relieved because I really didn't want to go through all the rigamarole of GST reporting if I absolutely didn't have to!

[Psymon]

Originally Posted by Suzanna

No, what I'm saying is that my impression that I'd need a GST number was a mistaken one. If you download the Canadian GST paperwork from your iTunesConnect account and look at it, the GST number that's required is *Apple's* GST number. That paperwork is needed for you to grant Apple permission to collect and remit GST on your behalf. I was so relieved because I really didn't want to go through all the rigamarole of GST reporting if I absolutely didn't have to!

Oh! I totally misunderstood. I don't have my iTunes Connect approval yet -- apparently my EIN hasn't gone through yet (even though the IRS gave me my number over the phone), but Apple said to just call them if my account isn't approved after a week or so.

I guess I'll get that GST paperwork once I get approved, then -- and then I just fill it in and send it off? That's a RELIEF! Back in the 1990s, when I was doing freelance web design, I had a GST number, for myself -- it was a total pain to keep track of (and put money aside for), and the quarterly reporting to CRA and everything. So glad I won't have to do that here, again!

[Suzanna]

Yes, it was a huge relief when I saw I wouldn't need a GST number myself. I mentioned it to another Canadian writer and she'd thought the same thing, so I figured I'd mention it here. I just saw GST and told myself I'd worry about it later. I didn't even look at the form itself. Won't be making that mistake again.

Good luck!

p.s. Oh, I forgot, there's another advantage to going direct. With an iTunes publisher account you get a discount for two iPods and two Mac computers per year.

[Psymon]

Originally Posted by Suzanna

Oh, I forgot, there's another advantage to going direct. With an iTunes publisher account you get a discount for two iPods and two Mac computers per year.

Wow! Now that's something to look forward to! You wouldn't happen to have a link with more info on that, would you?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Suzanna

p.s. Oh, I forgot, there's another advantage to going direct. With an iTunes publisher account you get a discount for two iPods and two Mac computers per year.

Slightly curious that it's a discount for an iPod. An iPad would be a much more reasonable choice for a publisher. I wonder how many people read books on an iPod?

[Suzanna]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Slightly curious that it's a discount for an iPod. An iPad would be a much more reasonable choice for a publisher. I wonder how many people read books on an iPod?

I think it's a general discount for all people who sell via iTunes, not just people who publish, but that's only a guess. Perhaps they figure a writer would be more interested in their new Macs. My DH used to be a Mac guy, but he switched over to PC years ago when the schools in Toronto stopped using Mac computers. I tried to get him to go for a Mac when he gets a new computer so that I can have a go at uploading my books directly myself, but he isn't interested.

Originally Posted by Psymon

Wow! Now that's something to look forward to! You wouldn't happen to have a link with more info on that, would you?

It doesn't come right out and tell you the discount amount. The exact wording they use on the iTunesConnect dashboard is:

You can purchase up to two Mac computers and two iPods per year at a discounted rate. Discounts are available in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

There are links to the three different stores, but I think you can only tell how much you're receiving as a discount by comparing the prices to the regular iTunes store. We bought two 32 GB iPods for our daughters' birthday (they're twins) and there was a $60 discount on each. Nothing to sneeze at! And the girls do split their digital reading between their Kobos and their iPods.

[Psymon]

Originally Posted by Suzanna

There are links to the three different stores, but I think you can only tell how much you're receiving as a discount by comparing the prices to the regular iTunes store. We bought two 32 GB iPods for our daughters' birthday (they're twins) and there was a $60 discount on each. Nothing to sneeze at!

Sounds good to me! I guess I'll find out more from Apple once my application is approved. Cheers!