# Newbie Question: Transferring Ebooks to Kindle



## Arylkin (Apr 2, 2009)

*Let me preface this by saying I haven't gotten my Kindle 2 yet (I should get it Monday), so sorry if this is a stupid question...*

I have a bunch of ebooks saved on my computer in all sorts of formats that the kindle is supposed to be ok with (html, lit, txt, etc).

I was under the impression I could just transfer the ebooks to my kindle via USB, but now I'm reading stuff that says I have to email it to amazon first to get into "kindle format". Is this really the case? I have to email everything to amazon and have them send it back before I can access it on my kindle? That seems really kind of annoying and time consuming.

So- if that really is what I have to do, is there any way of doing it in a bulk sort of way, like putting a bunch of ebooks in a .rar or .zip file and emailing a bunch at once to amazon?

I would really appreciate any information you could give me (I searched through the forum and couldn't find an exact answer to my question).

Thanks so much!!


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I think if they are not protected files you can just move them to the Kindle. . .be sure you put them in the proper folder.  Or you can send them to your Kindle directly. . . they have to be attachments and, as far as I know, you can have more than one attachment per e-mail.  If they are protected files, your kindle will not be able to read them.  If you try to send them through Amazon they won't go through. . . .

Ann


----------



## Arylkin (Apr 2, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I think if they are not protected files you can just move them to the Kindle. . .be sure you put them in the proper folder. Or you can send them to your Kindle directly. . . they have to be attachments and, as far as I know, you can have more than one attachment per e-mail. If they are protected files, your kindle will not be able to read them. If you try to send them through Amazon they won't go through. . . .
> 
> Ann


Thanks so much Ann!! I am VERY relieved! None of them are protected, so that's good. Is the name of the folder "books" or are books transferred from a computer considered "personal documents"?


----------



## Nix Cadavre (Apr 3, 2009)

Well, first there's the issue of format. The Kindle doesn't natively handle .PDF files. You'll need to convert those. Yes, you can have Amazon convert them, and for a 10 cent fee they'll send it to your Kindle wirelessly. You don't have to have them send it, and that will save you the fee.

However, they aren't the only ones who can convert it. I'm a fan of a program called Calibre (PC or Mac). It works great at converting your PDF books and files into MOBI format, which is very Kindle-friendly (the AZW Kindle format is just a form of MOBI anyway). The great thing about Calibre, is that it _will_ do those bulk conversions you asked about, and Amazon doesn't have to be part of the process at all.

That way you can use the USB connection, as you'd hoped.

Oh, and Calibre is free donationware. If you like it, toss the guy a donation.

Calibre also works a lot like an "iTunes for books" in that it will tag your books with metadata, and can even seek the metadata and cover art automatically if you enter the ISBN of the book. It's great at managing your book collection.

So the short answer is: No, you don't have to rely on Amazon to convert your books. You can do it yourself, in bulk, and use the USB cable to transfer them to the Kindle.


----------



## Arylkin (Apr 2, 2009)

Nix Cadavre said:


> Well, first there's the issue of format. The Kindle doesn't natively handle .PDF files. You'll need to convert those. Yes, you can have Amazon convert them, and for a 10 cent fee they'll send it to your Kindle wirelessly. You don't have to have them send it, and that will save you the fee.
> 
> However, they aren't the only ones who can convert it. I'm a fan of a program called Calibre (PC or Mac). It works great at converting your PDF books and files into MOBI format, which is very Kindle-friendly (the AZW Kindle format is just a form of MOBI anyway). The great thing about Calibre, is that it _will_ do those bulk conversions you asked about, and Amazon doesn't have to be part of the process at all.
> 
> ...


Fantastic! Calibre sounds great- I'll have to download it since I do have a bunch of PDFs to convert.

Thank you so much!


----------



## akpak (Mar 5, 2009)

I'm on the Mac, so I use Stanza to convert my non-Kindle stuff to Kindle format. Then I just copy them on to the Kindle when it's connected to my computer. Easy as pie!

Welcome to Kindle ownership!


----------



## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

Arylkin said:


> *Let me preface this by saying I haven't gotten my Kindle 2 yet (I should get it Monday), so sorry if this is a stupid question...*
> 
> I have a bunch of ebooks saved on my computer in all sorts of formats that the kindle is supposed to be ok with (html, lit, txt, etc).
> 
> ...


You can't just transfer pdf, lit, and html to the Kindle and have them work. Assuming they are not protected files, you can use a free program named Mobipocket Creator to convert them to a .prc file and then transfer them via USB cable to my Kindle. Before finalizing the conversion with this program, I can check the metadata to make sure the author is listed Last Name, First Name. It drives me nuts if it's not listed correctly on my Home screen.

If you download MobiPocket Creator, make sure you get the Pro version.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Arylkin said:


> Is the name of the folder "books" or are books transferred from a computer considered "personal documents"?


I think it's called 'documents' but I'm not completely sure because, to be honest, I have only once moved a book via USB. That was right after I got the Kindle just to see how it worked. Since then, anything I send. . .even non-Amazon content. . .I've done by e-mailing it. (For the record, I've never, yet, been charged the 10 cents per.)

I will second the comments about using a third party converter though. If I have a 'book' that I send to Amazon, it lists the title as whatever the file name is and my e-mail address as the author. So if it's a real book, and not just a personal list or something, I convert it (I use MobiCreator Pro) and make sure the Title and Author 'metadata' is correct and then send the resulting file via whispernet/Kindle e-mail.

With the K2, I think it's supposed to put documents you send in a separate folder, which might make a difference in your decision to move via USB or send it by e-mail.

Ann


----------



## pile of monkeys (Apr 1, 2009)

I use Stanza to convert .pdfs and other documents. It gives you the option to export directly into Kindle format, and is a very quick process. I save all the converted documents in a "Kindle" file on my desktop, then transfer via USB to the "Documents" folder on my Kindle. I haven't had any problems yet. Have fun with your Kindle!


----------



## Arylkin (Apr 2, 2009)

DD said:


> You can't just transfer pdf, lit, and html to the Kindle and have them work. Assuming they are not protected files, you can use a free program named Mobipocket Creator to convert them to a .prc file and then transfer them via USB cable to my Kindle. Before finalizing the conversion with this program, I can check the metadata to make sure the author is listed Last Name, First Name. It drives me nuts if it's not listed correctly on my Home screen.
> 
> If you download MobiPocket Creator, make sure you get the Pro version.


Is there an option to convert it to .prc in mobipocket, because I don't see it. I converted a PDF file and it turned into a folder with the following files in it: .html, .opf, .pdf, .xml. Do I need to convert it in a different way?



pile of monkeys said:


> I use Stanza to convert .pdfs and other documents. It gives you the option to export directly into Kindle format, and is a very quick process. I save all the converted documents in a "Kindle" file on my desktop, then transfer via USB to the "Documents" folder on my Kindle. I haven't had any problems yet. Have fun with your Kindle!


I looked at Stanza, and it says for iphone. Is there a different version I need to find?


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

With mobipocket it's a two step process.  You import the pdf and then convert it and it shows up as prc.  I think the command is 'build' once you've imported it. . . .there's a thread here somewhere, I think, with step-by-step. . .. if I can find it I'll post the link.

Ann


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

DD said:


> It drives me nuts if it's not listed correctly on my Home screen.


Me, too. Apparently many people don't care though. The world is indeed a strange place.  

Mike


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

O.K.  couldn't find a step-by-step so I made one.  This is for converting using Mobipocket Creator.

1.  Open the program and click the proper import algorithm. . . .right side, top bunch of links.
2.  Browse to find the original document you want to convert.
3.  Click Import
4.  Select the publication
5.  Click 'metadata' in the menu list at left. . . here you can make the Title what you want it and list an author as well.  Note it's set up so you list the author as last name, first name.  You can add a cover image if you want of play with the table of contents as well.  I haven't ever messed with any of that.
6.  Be sure to scroll down and click 'update' when you're finished with the metadata
7.  Select the publication by clicking and then click the build icon along the top, looks like a couple of gears.
8.  Select compression and encryption and click build.
9.  When it's done it'll ask if you want to preview it or open the folder where it's stored.  If you open the folder you'll see the .prc file which you can then move to your Kindle via USB or e-mail.

Hope this helps. . . . .

Ann


----------



## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

Arylkin said:


> Is there an option to convert it to .prc in mobipocket, because I don't see it. I converted a PDF file and it turned into a folder with the following files in it: .html, .opf, .pdf, .xml. Do I need to convert it in a different way?
> 
> I looked at Stanza, and it says for iphone. Is there a different version I need to find?


Ann is right. You import your pdf first. Creator calls it a 'publication'. Adjust the metadata if you want by clicking 'Metadata' on the left. Make sure the Title and the Author are right and the author appear as Last Name, First Name. Then click "Build". It will create a file on your hardrive that contains the .prc file. Just drag that ,prc to your Kindle 'documents' folder.

Edit: Actually, just saw Ann's instructions. They are perfect and much more complete. That should work for you. Let us know.


----------



## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

jmiked said:


> Me, too. Apparently many people don't care though. The world is indeed a strange place.
> 
> Mike


You're right. Sometimes, I've gotten weird numeric and symbol titles though. So, now I always check them.


----------



## Nix Cadavre (Apr 3, 2009)

akjak said:


> I'm on the Mac, so I use Stanza to convert my non-Kindle stuff to Kindle format. Then I just copy them on to the Kindle when it's connected to my computer. Easy as pie!


I'm on Mac, too. Calibre OS X works great. I do have Stanza installed, but I prefer Calibre. Stanza doesn't do bulk conversions, and it's terrible at handling metadata right now.


----------



## Nix Cadavre (Apr 3, 2009)

pile of monkeys said:


> I use Stanza to convert .pdfs and other documents. It gives you the option to export directly into Kindle format, and is a very quick process. I save all the converted documents in a "Kindle" file on my desktop, then transfer via USB to the "Documents" folder on my Kindle. I haven't had any problems yet. Have fun with your Kindle!


Be aware that the "Kindle format" (AZW) is just an altered Mobipocket format (MOBI). Calibre will convert to mobi, and the Kindle handles it pretty much the same way it handles an azw file. (Of course, if the source document is weirdly-formatted, then the mobi file will share that quality.)


----------



## Arylkin (Apr 2, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Hope this helps. . . . .
> 
> Ann


Ann- thanks so much for typing that out! I really appreciate it!!


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Happy to help. . . .and now I'm going to move the whole thread over to Tips & Tricks where it maybe fits a little better.

Ann


----------

