# Anyone know how I download my OWN book from Amazon? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102 "2015-04-08T07:07:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102/1 "2015-04-08T07:07:25Z")
Okay, I’m taking baby steps. I uploaded my book to Amazon for Kindle e-publishing. I’d like to see what it looks like on my own Kindle, to read it over for errors, formatting, etc. Does the Table of Contents work? Does anyone know how the author himself gloms a copy of his own damn book without paying for it? I could buy a copy, just like I hope a million other people will do…but it seems really dumb. I could set the price to zero, download a copy, and then set the price back to 99 cents. But that’s goofy! Anyone have experience? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102/2 "2015-04-08T07:51:32Z")
Did you do the Preview Your Book step? > [@](#): > > To upload your book content file: > > ``` > Click the "Browse" button. > Navigate to the folder on your computer containing your book content file. > Select the file you want to upload and click "Open." > We'll start converting your file to the Kindle format. > > ``` > > You’ll see a confirmation message when your file upload and conversion are complete. > > Important: You can only upload from a laptop or desktop computer. Kindles and other devices are not supported for uploading book content. > > Note: If you’re importing a file from your CreateSpace account, keep in mind that you won’t be able to update your book metadata (description, etc.) while it is importing. > > The next step, “Preview Your Book,” allows you to view your converted book file. You can choose the “Online Previewer” or “Downloadable Previewer” to see an approximation of how your content will look on various Kindle devices. The online previewer is quicker and easier and emulates how most books will appear on Kindle devices and apps, iPad, and iPhone. [https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=AT1K7B0DRETM0](https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=AT1K7B0DRETM0) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102/3 "2015-04-08T09:35:35Z")
I usually buy my own book once, just to make sure I’m getting exactly what readers get, but the previewer works as well. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102/4 "2015-04-08T11:57:12Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Okay, I’m taking baby steps. I uploaded my book to Amazon for Kindle e-publishing. > > I’d like to see what it looks like on my own Kindle, to read it over for errors, formatting, etc. Does the Table of Contents work? > > Does anyone know how the author himself gloms a copy of his own damn book without paying for it? I could buy a copy, just like I hope a million other people will do…but it seems really dumb. > > I could set the price to zero, download a copy, and then set the price back to 99 cents. But that’s goofy! Anyone have experience? I don’t know. I’ve bought my e-book editions of my own books (two are only available as e-books) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102/5 "2015-04-08T21:14:06Z")
The previewer would help some, but I really need a copy to read on a Kindle, so I can take my time and scan for typos, formatting errors, and the like. I didn’t want to buy a copy – why pay Amazon 66 cents? And I will probably need to do it more than once. Already, a reader has found a typo that wasn’t in the uploaded file: it seems to be an artifact of the upload/conversion process. I guess I’ll drop the price to zero, download a copy, and put the price back up. Weird, but not the weirdest thing in the world. I guess Amazon could complain that I’m stealing from them…but they ought to have a “downloader” option as well as a “preview” option. Strange business! ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102/6 "2015-04-08T21:28:38Z")
Very very close to the previewer there will be a link to download a .mobi file of your book. This is what your Kindle uses. Download it, connect your Kindle to your computer via cable, and put the .mobi file in your Kindle’s Documents folder. Voila, the book will show up. PS: Good luck getting Amazon to let you drop the price to zero. I WISH they allowed that. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102/7 "2015-04-08T23:43:27Z")
**Sattua** : Thank you! I never saw that option, but I’ll look for it. I thought Amazon sold .azw files. On the other hand, I checked the option not to use DRM, so maybe there’s no difference. If I were just to use another mobi converter, will I get pretty much the same thing? I thought there was an option for books to be put up for free, just as there is a “public domain” option. But there’s a lot about this game I don’t comprehend yet! ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102/8 "2015-04-09T00:17:51Z")
Ah. I do use drm, so that might be the file type difference. Still, I think they should provide you with a downloadable, Kindle-readable version of your book. I have used two other .mobi converters. One is [draft2digital.com](http://draft2digital.com), which imposes their own stylesheet on your document, so their stuff does not come out the same. The other is the free software Calibre. It comes pre-set to impose its own stylesheet on your document, so it automatically produces things that look different from Amazon too . . . it might be possible to fiddle with its settings so they’re the same as Amazon, but lemme tell you brother, I don’t have enough hours in my day for that. And no, sadly Amazon does not allow you to set a book’s price to 0. The only way to make that happen is to list it on another place that does, and have your friends harass Amazon to price-match. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102/9 "2015-04-09T00:21:26Z")
I just went out and got Calibre, and it produces a .mobi file that my Kindle can read. I guess I’ll just sit back and trust that the result is close enough to what Amazon is vending. Anyway, it lets me go out on a typo hunt in comfort and ease! Interesting that Amazon doesn’t permit zero pricing. I thought that was a classic marketing gambit: mark the price to zero for a month to try to entice readers to try it out. This is sometimes used for the first book in a series. Thank you for your advice! In any case…I’m havin’ fun! ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-i-download-my-own-book-from-amazon/717102/10 "2015-04-09T01:03:56Z")
Yeah. I spent almost a year in KDP Select because they give you five “giveaway” days every quarter. Now I am dropping out of it in order to publish everywhere else (via Draft2Digital), including places that allow zero pricing, so I can force Amazon to make the first installments of my series free. I really hope that jump-starts sales, because if it doesn’t I’m going to have to start querying agents and loooooord I don’t want to play that game.