Preparing an e-book for Kindle

The Kindle is a revolutionary device that changes the reading habit of a lot of people, including me recently. Everything works flawlessly when you purchase a book from the Amazon store.

Not every book exists in the store, and sometimes you find the same book in a different vendor at a much cheaper price. The problem starts here. All the beauties of having a Kindle disappear in this situation.

In this post, I will help you prepare your books for Kindle. You can find step-by-step instructions for the most popular formats.

Instructions for KFX format

1. Install Kindle Previewer 3.

2. Install KFX Output by jhowell extension.

3. Add the book to Calibre using the Add books button.
   Note: Right now, the plugin only works for EPUB to KFX.

4. Click Convert book and convert it to KFX by selecting Output format: KFX.

5. Be sure you don’t have any mobi-asin tags. You are allowed to have tags of isbn, amazon, google, and goodreads.
   Note: Use the kindle version if you want to update your reading status at goodreads.com from Kindle UI.

6. Eject the devices from File Manager and enjoy the full integration with goodreads.com as if you have purchased through the Kindle store.

Instructions for AZW3 format

1. Get the book in any format you want. If you have a chance to get in.mobi format, prefer it. Because Amazon’s e-book format, AZW, is based onMobipocketformat.

2. Add the book to Calibre using the Add books button.

3. Click Convert book and convert it to AZW3 by selecting Output format: AZW3. Be sure to select AZW3, not AZW.

4. Click Edit metadata and remove all formats but AZW3.

5. Click Download metadata on the same window and download the necessary metadata.

6. Be sure you don't have any mobi-asin tags. You are allowed to have tags of isbn, amazon, google, and goodreads.
   Note: Use the kindle version if you want to update your reading status at goodreads.com from Kindle UI.

7. Install Quality Check plugin inside the Calibre application

8. Hit Quality Check > Fix > Fix ASIN for Kindle Fire.
   Don’t worry, this will work for PaperWhite as well.

9. Eject the devices from File Manager and enjoy the full integration with goodreads.com as if you have purchased through the Kindle store.

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindle_File_Format

2. https://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/amazon-has-developed-a-new-e-book-format-called-kfx

3. https://epubor.com/difference-between-kindle-content-azw-azw3-prc-mobi-topaz.html