- You will receive files in both kindle and epub format which you can add to whatever device you please. In contrast, if you buy something from Amazon or BN, you can only view or share it on devices which support that platform.
- Our agreement with Amazon or Barnes and Noble prevents this site from selling ebooks here at a lower price than Amazon or Barnes and Noble. However, if you buy direct, you can buy bundles of more than one ebook at a discounted price.
- You get basically a lifetime guarantee on the files (if you lose them, for example). Personville can’t promise to produce ebooks in all future ebook formats, but most reading systems from now on should support epub.
- Buying direct brings more profits to the author and publisher. Basically, if you buy from Amazon/BN, we make about 70%/65% royalties of purchase price. If you buy direct, the royalties for author/publisher jumps up to about 90% – even though you the consumer pays the same price!
- Occasionally we give discount codes on our mailing list and on other types of promotions. Amazon and BN currently do not have a way to allow publishers to offer discount coupon codes.
- The ebooks bought here do not use digital-rights-management (DRM).
Personville uses Paypal (the world’s largest payment system) and e-junkie, a leading shopping cart provider. Please note that you don’t need to have a paypal account to sign in; you can just pay with a normal credit card in the normal way. All ebook sales are final. If you feel that for some reason the circumstances deserve a refund (such as you ordered the wrong item, or you accidentally ordered multiple items), you can contact Robert Nagle idiotprogrammer@gmail.com .
After you make your payment, you will receive an email containing a receipt, download URL and basic instructions (which are reprinted below). The downloaded file will be a zip file. After you unzip this file, you should have a directory containing at least 3 files: the ebook in .epub format, the ebook in .mobi format (for Kindles).
How do I Get the Ebook Files from the Zip File?
On Windows 7, you need to extract the files from the compressed folder (which is the zip file). Right click the file, select Extract All (this video explains). On other operating systems, you may need to use a special utility to extract all the contents. (I use and recommend Izarc Free). If you experience problems, try downloading & extracting more than once. If all else fails, email me at idiotprogrammer @ gmail.com and I will be happy to send the single ebook file as an email attachment.
How Do I Load The Ebook Onto My Device?
Here are some common ways to load the ebook onto your device.
- USE CALIBRE SOFTWARE to transfer the ebook file from your computer to your device using USB. Calibre works great with all the major devices and is easy to use. You do not need to do any further conversions with Calibre; just click Add File. Connect your ebook device via USB to your computer and wait until it appears in Calibre. Then right-click on the ebook after you have added it to your PC library, choose Send to Device –> Send to Main Memory (or alternately, Send to Storage Card – if you have one). Choose “Eject Device” and then you will see the title on your device’s screen. I highly recommend this method over the others.
- DOWNLOAD THE FILE ONTO YOUR COMPUTER AND USE THE DEVICE’S PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE TO LOAD IT. On ipad/ipod that is the iTunes software. Open itunes, Add the file to your computer’s directory of content and then sync it to the ipad on the next time you connect the device to it.
- FROM YOUR WEB BROWSER. Tablet users can usually send the ebook as an attachment to an email on a web-based email. FOR ANDROID/IPAD TABLETS: Email yourself the ebook file (not the ZIP file) as an attachment, and open the attachment from your email client or website on the device itself. Note: With some devices (like the Nook Touch), you cannot add the epub file directly from the device’s browser; you must use some other method like Calibre to do it via USB. Other methods include: using dropbox to create a web URL.
- VIA EMAIL (Kindle only). All Kindle users have a kindle.com email address associated to their Amazon account which allows emailing ebooks directly to the Kindle.See this for instructions and here on the Amazon.com website. The main catch is that if you do it with 3g, you have to pay $0.15 per Megabyte, and the Matthews books are usually less than half a megabyte, so the cost is about 7 or 8 cents. With Wifi, you can email it for free if you send it to [name]@kindle.com or [name]@free.kindle.com.
Which Format Should I Choose?
Generally, if you are able, you should use the epub version of the ebook if you can. (That is not possible for Kindle owners though; they should use the .mobi file instead).
Epub is the standard right now, so all ebook readers except Kindle should be able to read them easily. Epub3 (which was released in 2011) will probably become popular after 2012, but all Epub3 devices should be able to read .epub files adequately enough.
Older Kindle devices once required an older format called .mobi which allowed only primitive formatting. However, in November 2011 released an updated format which supported more complex formatting. This new format (called KF8) still uses the same file extension (.mobi) and is supported by any Kindle devices sold in 2010 or after. That includes: Kindle Keyboard (also known as Kindle 3 or K3), Kindle Touch and all versions of Kindle Fire. (More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle#Third_generation ).
Both Worker’s Writebook and Hanger Stout, Awake! have designs appropriate for the earlier Kindle devices. However, all Kindle ebooks published by Personville Press after Jan 1 2013 will support ONLY those Kindle devices which support the KF8 ebook standard. What this means: Personville will guarantee that new ebooks will look great in Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire. On devices older than 3 years old, formatting may have some inconsistencies with spacing or indenting, but should still be readable. Note that ebooks published after 2013 have been tested in the Kindle app for Android and iPad tablets, so everything should look fine there. Ebooks after 2013 have not been tested for iphone or other smaller devices, but it should look fine.
What If I Want To Have A Pdf File?
The epub file is a newer, more flexible and overall better format than PDF. Indeed, Adobe now has a Digital Editions program which is fully capable of reading .epub files directly as well as PDFs.
Personville Press has prepared a rough PDF version of current ebooks and would make this file available to you upon request. One of the problems is that PDFs are optimized for printing and so require a fixed layout format and design. This is totally different from epubs (which are designed specifically with flexibility in mind and for use by a variety of devices). If you require a PDF, contact Robert Nagle at idiotprogrammer@gmail.com and also (if you can) indicate the type of page dimensions you are looking for.
How Do These Ebooks Look On Cell Phones Such As The Iphone?
These ebooks haven’t been tested on mobile platforms, but they should be generally readable. The .epub was built precisely to allow for more flexible layouts. Hanger should look fine. Writebook probably has minor formatting inconsistencies on the cell phone which should not interfere terribly much with reading. Starting from 2013, all ebooks should look fine on iphone and cell phone devices.
What Kind Of Guarantees Are There For The Files?
I can’t guarantee that your ebook will look perfect on every device out there. Generally on the ipad, the Nook and the Kindle they should look fine. Generally, Personville Press guarantees that any device supporting epub files should be able to read these ebooks.
If you are experiencing any big problem, feel free to email me idiotprogrammer@gmail.com and I can try to resolve it for you. Or go to the Personville Press website.
How Big Are The Ebook Files?
You will receive a zip file containing 2 different files: the Kindle and the .epub. Ebooks before 2013 are about 300K, while ebooks published after 2013 are between 1-5MB.
How Can I Backup My Files? What If I Lose The Files Or My Device Is Stolen?
You can easily backup these ebook files by emailing them to yourself or using Dropbox for backup. As a courtesy, Personville Press will generally provide at no cost a replacement file if you lose or misplace the file.
Can I Share These Ebooks With Family Or Friends?
All of Personville Press’s ebooks are copyrighted and generally do not allow indiscriminate sharing. No one at Personville is going to come chasing after you if you share your ebooks or reprint small passages on your website. We only ask that you be judicious about it. Want to share with a small handful of friends or family members? We’re not going to complain. But if you want to email it to 100 people or put it on your website for tens of thousands of people to download, that’s probably a different story. These ebook prices are kept low enough to make it affordable for anyone’s budget. All Jack Matthews are lendable through Lendle, Booklending.com and Ebookfling. Personville Press enthusiastically supports these free services.
By the way, if you received a free copy of the ebook from someone, we encourage you to purchase a digital copy anyway later on. That’s a good way to show that you support this author and independent publishing.
Can I Share These Ebook Files With Students?
Generally, we encourage you NOT to do this. Instead, Personville Press will offer discounted rates for teachers wanting to purchase an ebook for students. These prices will be VERY reasonable. Check the Personville press website for more details. Or write me idiotprogrammer@gmail.com
