Dear Jane

eBook Reader Help Desk Day

eBook Reader Help Desk Day

Today I am hosting an ebook reader help desk day. Throughout the day, I’ll answer, to the best of my ability, any digital book related question whether it involves setting up the cloud, converting ebooks, working with Calibre, and the like. Ask anything. If I can’t answer it, I’ll try to point you in the(…)

The Bloated eBook File

In the past, I’ve advocated for various things to be included in the ebook file, mostly in an effort to convince publishers that digital format was something that readers actually did want. (yes, dear readers, we had to fight for books to be digitized in the not so distant past).  Some publishers (and self published(…)

Buying Books on the iThings Now that the Catalogs Are Gone

Buying Books on the iThings Now that the Catalogs Are Gone

As of today, all of the book apps that work on Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, iTouch = iThings)  have been stripped of the their in app catalogs and buy links.  The apps are not to mention why the catalogs or buy links have been removed and the apps cannot mention how to create an account(…)

Dear Jane: Is there any way around the whispersync charges on Amazon?

Dear Jane: Is there any way around the whispersync charges on Amazon?

Dear Jane is a column wherein you write in questions about ebooks and I try to find an answer. If you have a question, send it to jane at dearauthor dot com. Dear Jane: I’m a fairly new e-book convert. I first bought my Kindle to use when I travel, but now I find myself(…)

Best Mobile Reading Apps

Best Mobile Reading Apps

Last week I gave a round up of the reading apps for desktop systems but many of the readers use mobile devices to read and with the upcoming sale of the iPhone for Verizon and the numerous Android smartphones and tablets that are either for sale or hitting the market, mobile apps are becoming increasingly(…)

Dear Jane: What eBook Reading Apps Should I Use on the Laptop?

Dear Jane: What eBook Reading Apps Should I Use on the Laptop?

Dear Jane: I was wondering if it would be possible for you to do a write up about what devices can download from each of these companies and what apps you would need to use. I know that on the Borders site they ask you to download the free Borders eBook app but I’m not(…)

The value of ownership and ebooks

Last week we determined that ebook pricing was not based on the cost of ebooks, but rather the most that publishers thought readers would pay for ebooks in this market. What some argue is that with lower pricing there would be more purchases and thereby making up for loss of margin through volume of sales.(…)

Why do ebooks cost so much?

Dear Jane: Hi, I was wondering if y’all might know if any of the big publishers (Putnam in particular) have some sort of ebook deal with Amazon and B&N to exclude some of the smaller ebook retailers out there? I don’t remember you mentioning anything like this in your blog before. The reason I ask(…)

10 Tips for Your New eBook Reader

10 Tips for Your New eBook Reader

So you’ve got your new ebook reader. Now what? Here are ten tips I use with my eReaders, some lessons learned through painful experience: 1. Get a case or a screen protector. ($30 – $60) I admit I’m a clumsy person. I’ve dropped every electronic item in my possession at one point or another. I(…)

Digital Lending: How it works and who allows it

Digital Lending: How it works and who allows it

Kindle launched digital lending this last week. Note: I had both the nook and Kindle lending terms wrong so this post has been corrected to reflect the accurate terms Kindle 14 day lending period. The recipient has 7 days to accept the borrowed book and the 14 day lending period begins upon the acceptance. You(…)

How Do I Use My New Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony, or iPad?

How Do I Use My New Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony, or iPad?

I spent the last week fielding questions from my family members about how to use their new devices. I thought that there might be several people out there who previously were uninterested in ereading posts that might need a refresher course. 1. How expensive are the books? Generally speaking the price of books are equal(…)

How to Add a Plugin to Calibre

How to Add a Plugin to Calibre

Kovid Goyal is probably the most generous man of the ebook publishing era.   He has created, maintained and supported a software program called Calibre and distributes it for free.   Without Calibre, my enjoyment of ebooks would be greatly diminished.   This is primarily because I like to shop for ebooks at more than one place and(…)

Tips Reading Adobe ePub and PDF Books

Tips Reading Adobe ePub and PDF Books

After last week’s Harlequin ebook sale, I had a number of questions from readers who couldn’t actually read the ePub books that they had bought.   Adobe encryption is a frustrating animal because downloading your book is a two step process.   If your computer is set up for it, these two steps take place in the(…)

REVIEW: Nook Color, If you like color this is the device for you

REVIEW: Nook Color, If you like color this is the device for you

I think Angela James tweeted something to the effect that if the nookColor was your entrance into ereading, you wouldn’t be disappointed. The other reviewers of the nookColor are also right. If you view this as a ebook reader plus, you’ll be satisfied. If you were hoping to get a cheap Android tablet and don’t(…)