Kindle Paperwhite for Dummies (24 page)

Checking Out Other Online Stores

As we mention earlier in this chapter, you don’t have to purchase e-books from Amazon. E-bookstores are popping up all over the Internet, and with the popularity of the Kindle family of e-readers, most of these stores sell Kindle-compatible content. Publishers may also sell content directly from their websites. Exploring different options allows you to find some hidden gems. Similarly, if you have specific reading preferences — romance or science fiction, for example — specialized stores may have more in-depth selections and greater availability of titles in your genre of interest. The following list is not exhaustive but is a sampling of what can be found at various online booksellers:

General indie (independently-published) e-books:
Smashwords (
www.smashwords.com
)

Romance:
All Romance eBooks (
www.allromanceebooks.com
)

Science fiction, speculative fiction, and paranormal romance:
Baen (
www.baen.com
)

Professional and academic subjects:
Taylor & Francis (
www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/html/index.asp
)

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender fiction:
Rainbow eBooks (
www.rainbowebooks.com/store/index.php
)

Horror and dark fiction:
Darkfuse (
www.darkfuse.com
)

Buying from an e-bookseller

In general, purchasing from an e-bookseller is a fairly straightforward process that involves the following steps:

1. Register for an account with the seller.

The seller usually requires your name, address, e-mail address, and information about preferred form of payment (credit card or PayPal are typical).

Some sites e-mail your Kindle purchases directly to your Kindle Paperwhite. If that’s the case with the seller, enter the information it needs when you register.

You can find your Kindle Paperwhite’s e-mail address in the Manage Your Kindle section of your Amazon account. You can also find it directly from your Kindle Paperwhite. Tap Menu⇒Settings⇒Device Options⇒Personalize Your Kindle. The Send-to-Kindle Email is the third item on the list that appears.

2. Add the e-bookseller to the approved list of senders who can deliver content to your Kindle Paperwhite.

To do this, on your computer:

a. Log in to your account at Amazon, choose the Manage Your Kindle option, and in the column on the left side of the page, click Personal Document Settings.

Your Kindle Approved e-mail list is in the middle of the page.

b. Add the partial e-mail address for the e-bookseller by clicking the Add a New Approved E-mail Address link.

Adding a partial e-mail address, such as
@ebookseller.com
, authorizes multiple senders from that account to send content to your Kindle Paperwhite.

Make sure to add your own e-mail address(es) to your Kindle Approved e-mail list so that you can send documents to your Kindle Paperwhite.

When you e-mail content to your Kindle Paperwhite, Amazon charges 15 cents per megabyte with a 3G wireless connection but has no charge for content delivered via Wi-Fi. Note that this fee applies to users in the United States. 3G wireless transfers are 99 cents per megabyte outside the United States.

If you set your maximum delivery charge to zero cents under Whispernet Delivery Options in your Personal Document Settings, Amazon will deliver e-mailed content only when you have a Wi-Fi connection.

3. Browse and identify e-books you want to buy and then add them to your shopping cart.

4. At the time of purchase, select the format for your e-book.

Ideally, you want to buy e-books with a PRC extension, the preferred format for the Kindle Paperwhite. If PRC isn’t available, look for MOBI. Other choices, not as desirable, are TXT or PDF.

Do not purchase e-books that are listed as secure Mobipocket or secure MOBI because they do not work on the Kindle Paperwhite!

5. Complete your purchase by either having the file e-mailed to your Kindle Paperwhite (if that’s an option through the site) or downloading the file to your computer.