Why an Ebook Isn't Available on a Retailer's Website

If your ebook is not appearing on retailer websites like Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or other retailers, there are a few things you can check and correct before contacting support for assistance.

1)Is the status of your eBook showing as ‘Title Available’?

For an eBook to be distributed the status of the book must show ‘Title Available’. This can be reviewed by logging into your IngramSpark account, the status of the book will display beneath the title of your eBook.

2) Have you included pricing for all available markets?

Check to see that pricing has been added for each market, as shown in the image below.

NOTE: An ebook is distributed to the retailers after it is uploaded. There is no eproof process so you want to make sure it's right before you upload the files through your IngramSpark account. Ebook retailers do not recognize on-sale dates and will usually list the book as available for sale when it's received by them.

3) Check the agreements in your account

You can find the agreements in your account by clicking on the drop-down arrow in the top right corner of the account and then clicking on the link for PAPERWORK.

If an agreement is missing and you would like to add the ebook service, on the home page of your IngramSpark account, you can click on the "New Opportunity Available!" button to view the available agreements. 

After the agreement is processed the service will be added to your account and you can then add pricing.

4) If distribution services have been enabled and the correct agreement is in the paperwork section of your account, check the type of ebook it is.

In your account, the ebook will appear as either fixed layout (FLEPUB) or reflowable (EPUB). 

Front Cover: check the cover (JPEG) you have uploaded, our retailers will only accept the front cover image. If you have also uploaded the spine and back cover this may result in your book not being listed on a retailer’s web page. In these instances, a revised eBook cover file will need to be submitted through your account.

Fixed layout EPUBs are not reflowable and will only be available on Apple, Kobo, Libreka, eBooks.com, Baker & Taylor Blio, Bibliotheca, Bolinda, Hoopla, Mackin Education, Odilo, OverDrive, and Scribd. Barnes and Noble will accept fixed-layout EPUBs for children's books only.

If you need the ebook changed from Reflowable to a Fixed Format or vice versa you will submit a new file to make that change. IngramSpark is not able to do this for you. Once submitted it is recommended that you submit a request to let us know, we can then review your eBook and rebroadcast the information.

If the ebook is not appearing on Apple's iBookstore the problem could be the cover image is too large. The cover image is also inside the ebook, so both images need to be checked.

Apple requires the cover image and internal cover image to be less than 5.6 million pixels, each.  You can calculate image size in pixels by viewing the file properties and multiplying the Height times the Width.(Total pixels = length in pixels X width in pixels). This is an Apple requirement.

You can use the following validation site to confirm compliance https://www.pagina.gmbh/produkte/epub-checker/  You will have to download the app but it is supported by PC, Mac, and Linux. It may be possible to pass validation, but still, get rejected by IngramSpark or Apple.

Also, make sure there isn't a blank space in the file name. This can cause an error with Apple and cause the title to not be listed on their site.

5) If the ebook has had distribution enabled for at least 5 days and it's not appearing on a website (and not due to previously mentioned issues) you can request support to rebroadcast the information.

If you have any other questions, please contact the support team by submitting a request