Apple’s iBooks is running a worldwide merchandising feature offering 100 box sets with most priced at 99c each, although some are just 49c.
Forty of the bundles are through self-publishing distributor Smashwords and the firm’s box sets include over 200 authors, with most of the bundles being created for the Apple marketing move.
The merchandising feature includes Contemporary Romance, Crime & Thrillers, Historical Romance, Paranormal, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, and Teen & Young Adult.
Smashwords says Apple plans to promote the feature in the US, Australia, UK, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.
Mark Coker, Smashwords founder believes box sets can be a significant audience-building tool for indie authors.
Multiple authors work together to produce and publish a book bundle bundle on a theme. Each author promotes the box set to their respective fan bases to amplify the overall reach.
Apple released iOS8, their new mobile operating system, this week, as well as the new iPhone 6. The iBooks app now comes preloaded on the home screen of users and Coker believes this move is ‘a game-changer’ which will drive millions of new readers to the iBooks store.
On the first day that iOS8 became available to users, Coker says Smashwords authors saw an 84% rise in downloads over the previous day.