I have a Tip of Absolute Significance to share with you!
It's about the Kindle, and how to put files on it. I know, I know, when you choose a story from Amazon, they load it directly to your Kindle and you can read it. That's fine.
But suppose you get a story file from somewhere else? Like where? you may very well ask. Well, there are several places, actually.
First of all, there are Word files that you compose yourself on your computer. Kindle is designed to work best with .mobi files, but other Word documents can technically be read on the Kindle.
There are places online that offer free ebooks. Places like Project Gutenberg, or the Internet Archives. These, and probably other places, often offer several different ebook files to choose from; like pdfs, epubs, and .mobi files.
Then, of course, there are places where you can purchase ebooks. Like those fine folks who run DriveThru Fiction. Many, but not all, of these are also available in multiple formats.
Ok, so you got yourself a third-party .mobi file, pdf, or other .doc file and downloaded it to your computer; and now you want to put it on your Kindle. How do you do it?
I know of two different methods, and they are both pretty easy.
Wanna see it? I found a video on YouTube that explains it! My own explanation is below!
First of all, your Kindle almost certainly came with a USB cable. You use it to hook your Kindle up to your computer in order to charge it, right? Well, just like hooking up an external drive for extra storage, you can access the files on your Kindle.
So, click the Start button, it's usually in the bottom-left hand corner. You get the Start Menu, right? From here, you click on "Computer" and you get a screen that shows you what devices are currently hooked up to your computer and how much storage space is left on them, right? Of course you do!
One of the devices listed should be you Kindle, so click on it. Then it should show you a list of files. One of these files should be labelled "Documents". Found it? Good!
Okay, remember that third-party ebook you downloaded? Find it on you computer. It might be in your computer's Download file, unless you put it somewhere else. Now this important: do NOT just drag it over to the Kindle. Apparently, if you do, it MAY or MAY NOT work properly.
Instead, right click the ebook file and select COPY. Then open the Kindle Documents file and PASTE it there.
Now your ebook should be on your Kindle, ready to read! There may not be a cover image, that depends on what sort of file it actually was...and maybe who made it. But the STORY should be there, ready to read!
But make sure you SAFELY EJECT your Kindle before you unplug the wire! You know how to safely eject, right? Just like you would for an external drive or thumb drive or something? There should be a funny little icon on the bottom right of your screen, on the bottom toolbar, probably next to your battery guage and clock.
The icon probably looks like a USB plug with a little green circle containing a white check mark. Click that and it should give you the option to safely eject any external devices from your computer.
But perhaps you don't want to do it like that. That's okay, you have another alternative!
Did you know that you can just email a document file to your Kindle? It's true! Every Kindle device and every Kindle app get assigned an email address by Amazon. Here's a video I found on how to do that, and my own explanation follows below!
Open your Kindle to the main default screen and then open your settings. Click on "Account Information" and you should find a list of info including the email address assigned to that Kindle device.
Now, I don't want you to think that any idiot who gets a hold of your Kindle device email address can just fill your Kindle up with whatever crap they feel like it. No sir! Only an authorized email account, listed on Amazon can do that.
So go to Amazon, log in under your account. Go to "Manage Your Devices" and select the Kindle you want to send files to. Then you simply click on "Settings" and list any email address that you authorize to send files to your Kindle--make sure one of these approved emails is your own.
You only need to do this once, then you can email ebooks and documents to your Kindle. You simply address an email to your Kindle address, fill in the subject line (probably with the title of the book you're sending) and attach the file. You do NOT need any message. Just hit "Send" and wait a few minutes.
The ebook should download to your Kindle the next time you turn it on. It should also be available in your Kindle library so that you can send it to your other Kindle devices.
Now you can Transfer A Story! In fact, you should be able to get ebooks from everywhere and anywhere and load them onto your Kindle devices for you perusal and pleasure!
But if you are still having trouble, I suggest you go to Amazon.com/devicesupport and seek out help from the real pros!
Good Adventuring!
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