Getting EPUB Versions of my Books Outside of North America

If you live in the United States, or Canada, this post isn’t for you.

And, if you read your books in hard cover, paperback, or on a Kindle, it isn't for you either.

But, if you don't fit into either category, please read on.

Recently, I’ve been receiving a number of emails from folks who’d like to read my books on their Nooks, Sony Readers, or similar devices – and are unable to download the necessary EPUB versions in the countries in which they live.

So I thought I’d register two solutions here on our blog.

And then I can simply send them the link when they write.

One way to go is to download Calibre:

http://calibre-ebook.com/

It’s free.

And, if Kindle files aren’t DRM protected, you can use the software to convert them to EPUB files.

My books are available everywhere on Kindle.

And they’re not DRM protected outside of North America.

What’s DRM?

Digital Rights Management. It’s an encryption system some publishers apply to eBook files to prevent people from pirating them.

Didn’t know that?

Then you’re probably no more technically-savvy than I am.

And, for folks like you, I have another solution:

If you download a Kindle copy of one of my books, and forward me Amazon’s email confirmation of your purchase, I’ll send you an EPUB copy of that same book.

And not only that. I’ll include, as an incentive for taking the trouble, an EPUB copy of one of my other books for free.

The offer holds good for the individual titles, but not for this one:

The Essential Silva is a collection of my first three titles, gathered together into one volume, and only available outside of North America.

But, if you buy that one, I’ll send you the other two titles currently in print.

And then you’ll have the complete set.

For copyright reasons, the “international” versions on Kindle have different covers from the North American ones.

But they’re identical in terms of content.

Want to see how they all look?

Go here, to the page where my very talented cover designer, Peter Ratcliffe, displays his work:

http://www.peterratcliffe.com/Peter_Ratcliff_1./Books.html

From left to right, across the top, are all of the “international” covers Peter has done for me.

Perfect Hatred, the one with the photograph of one of the waterfalls at Iguaçu, is a book that won’t be launched in North America until December of 2012.

But it will be available in many other places much earlier.

And I will extend my exchange offer to that one, as well, when it comes out.

The email address to which you should send your proofs of purchase is this one:

Leighton@leightongage.com

There’s no time limit on the offer.

Leighton - Sunday