What's DRM? Why would I want to remove DRM from my ebooks? So how can I remove DRM from my ebooks? I've downloaded the tools archive. Now what? That's a big complicated ReadMe file! Isn't there a quick guide? I use Windows. I've unzipped the tools, but what are all the different files, and how do I use them? I have installed the calibre plugin, but my books still have DRM. When I try to view or convert my books, calibre says they have DRM. Macintosh Windows I have installed the calibre plugin, and the book is not already in calibre, but the DRM does not get removed.
I have installed the calibre plugin, and the book is not already in calibre, but the DRM does not get removed. It is a Kindle book. My Kindle book has imported and the DRM has been removed, but all the pictures are gone.
My Kindle book has imported, but it's showing up as an AZW4 format. Do the tools work on books from Kobo? I registered Adobe Digital Editions 3. The DRM wasn't removed and the log says "Failed to decrypt with error: Cannot decode library or rented ebooks. How do I do that?
General Questions Once the DRM has been removed, is there any trace of my personal identity left in the ebook? Are the tools open source? How can I be sure they are safe and not a trojan horse? What ebooks do these tools work on? Why don't the tools work with Kindle for iOS ebooks?
Why don't the tools work with Kindle for Android ebooks? Why don't the tools work on books from the Apple iBooks Store? Raw Blame. Open with Desktop View raw View blame. Providing free open source tools to remove DRM from your ebooks. The tools don't work on all ebooks. For example, they don't work on any ebooks from Apple's iBooks store. You must own the ebook - the tools won't work on library ebooks or rented ebooks or books from a friend.
You must not use these tools to give your ebooks to a hundred of your closest friends. Or to a million strangers. Authors need to sell books to be able to write more books. Don't be mean to the authors. ADE 3. While major ebook stores aren't using the new scheme yet, using ADE 2. Where can I get the latest version of these free DRM removal tools? For more information, please see the Smashwords Terms of Service agreement. Retailers have cracked down on some categories of erotica.
What are the guidelines to ensure maximum distribution of my erotic works? Please note that these are guidelines only. Smashwords and every Smashwords retailer maintains the right to carry or remove titles for any reason or combination of reasons. Every retailer struggles with grey areas, and since erotic fiction runs a spectrum, no retailer can fully delineate the boundaries of acceptability because every work is different, and boundaries may shift over time.
Authors who try to push the boundaries of grey are the ones who will invariably face the most scrutiny, and are the most likely to see retailers penalize their entire list. At Smashwords, we support legal erotic fiction and want to help our authors maintain maximum distribution. Unfortunately, the small number of erotic authors and publishers who pushed the line too far have resulted in a general trend toward increased crackdowns against legal erotic fiction at some retailers.
Here are our tips to maintain maximum distribution: First, carefully review the Smashwords Terms of Service. If your book doesn't meet the Smashwords ToS, it won't meet retailer requirements. However, the Smashwords ToS is more permissive than the standards set by some retailers which means that books that might be acceptable to Smashwords' Premium Catalog requirements will not be acceptable to all Smashwords retailers.
For example, not all Smashwords retailers will take erotic fiction where the primary theme is incest or pseudo-incest. These retailers don't want incest, PI, or bestiality. They don't want books where the dominant theme is rape, sexual violence, non-consent or gang bang with unwilling participants. None Smashwords included want extreme taboo erotica.
Barely legal characters who recently turned 18 years of age , while generally allowed at most retailers, will always receive special scrutiny. Similar to the Smashwords Terms of Service, no characters can be under the age of If characters are just 18 or barely over, the book's description should explicitly state that all characters are 18 or over, and the book must remain true to this claim.
Authors who try to push the lines of acceptability will invariably receive extra scrutiny for their entire list, and risk having all their books removed from Smashwords retailers, and from Smashwords as well. Most stores accept mainstream erotica, but they don't want erotica that pushes the line.
When you upload erotic fiction, Smashwords will present you a supplemental questionaire which asks about the absence or present of certain taboo themes. You must answer the questionaire honestly, otherwise you risk immediate account termination. What are examples of pushing the line?
Here are the most common we see: 1. Barely legal erotica that is really targeted at readers who desire underage erotic fiction. Excessive profanity or sexually explicit language in book descriptions. Keep book descriptions PG Cover images where the models appear underage. Cover images with floppy bits exposed or over-exposed. Book titles with profanity. Books that are truly erotic but are misclassified in non-erotic categories.
Erotic fiction that contains illustrated or photographic images of nudity or people involved in sexual situations.
Erotic fiction should use words to paint pictures in the reader's imagination, not images. If it contains images, we consider it pornography, and pornography is never allowed at Smashwords or Smashwords retailers. Bottom line, act professional and don't push the line.
Can I mail you my book on CD so you can upload it for me? Smashwords is a self-serve publishing service, so you must upload your book from your Internet browser. Can I publish under a pen name but be paid to my real name? Sign in, click Account, then click Edit Account Information. If you plan to use a pen name, be sure when you sign for your Smashwords account that you choose a "screen name" that matches your pen name, because the screen name becomes part of your permanent web address for your author page.
You can locate your author page's link and screen name by clicking "Profile". Can I publish under multiple pen names? Currently, we only support one pen name per account, unless you upgrade to a Publisher account. However, if you only publish two others as a publisher, such as books written by your pen name and by your real name, then you won't achieve the anonymity that is the primary motivation for some authors to write under a pen name. If the anonymity is not important, then upgrade to Publisher.
If the anonymity is important, then the current solution is to open up a second Smashwords account attached to a different email address since each account must be tied to a unique email address.
How do I credit multiple authors for a single book? Smashwords is alpha testing alpha is pre-beta a new feature that allows multiple authors to be linked to a single book. It's not yet a self-serve option.
Here's how to take advantage of it: 1. Publish your book in the account of the person who will control the book and receive payments. At the time you publish, you'll only credit the book to one author, though be sure to include all the author names in the book description, the cover image and inside the book's front matter.
Please contact us to send our support team the hyperlinks to the author pages of all the authors you want attached to the book so their name appears in the "written by" metadata. It's important to provide the link to their author page, because some authors have multiple accounts. Please also specify which author is the primary author. At most retailers, this is the author that will appear first in the list of co-authors. Choose the bestselling or best well known author because this can improve discovery if it's the first author the reader sees it won't make a huge difference, but every incremental advantage helps.
Smashwords will link each of the authors to the book's "written by" metadata and will then transmit this data in our regular metadata shipments to retailers.
I see my book in my Dashboard, I see my book page, and the status says published, yet it's not appearing in search results Click to any Smashwords web page and then in the upper right hand corner, check your Filter settings. If your book is categorizes as erotica and you have an erotica filter activated, it will block erotica titles from appearing in search results. Will you read my book and tell me what you think of it? Sorry, we can't do this. For feedback on a book you're planning to publish, consider joining a local writer's club or critique group.
Also consider working with beta readers prior to publication. Beta readers are test readers who provide feedback in advance of publication. Beta readers help you publish a better, reader-pleasing book! To learn how to work with beta readers, listen to Episode 5 of the Smart Author Podcast this link also includes a full written transcript.
What was Operation Ebook Drop? Operation Ebook Drop was a free, volunteer initiative that allowed Smashwords authors to donate free ebooks to coalition and peacekeeping troops.
The initiative was created by Smashwords author Ed Patterson and was supported by Smashwords. The initiative was first discussed in the Operation Ebook Drop post at the Smashwords blog. We wish to express our thanks for everyone who participated, and especially our thanks to Ed for his volunteer effort.
What is DRM, and do you have it? DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, and it refers to schemes in which a digital book is copy-protected, or limited to reading on only certain devices. Books on Smashwords do not contain DRM. However, these works are still the property of the copyright holder, and most are only licensed for the personal use of the purchaser.
At Smashwords, we give the author the freedom to specify their licensing statement see Smashwords License Statement below, which is the most common version used by our authors. How big of a threat is piracy? Smashwords is in the business of selling books. It's the only way we make income. We don't like pirates. If someone steals your book, you don't make income and neither do we. So you might be surprised to learn we don't lose sleep over the fear of piracy. We believe obscurity is a bigger threat to authors than piracy.
There are three types of piracy that concern authors: 1. The criminal takes your book and tries to sell it for profit. They might slap their own name on it, or they might try to sell it in your name yes, this happens!
It's very rare. Readers upload your book to underground bulletin boards or torrent sites so that other readers can download your book for free. Ebook buyers sharing your book with their friends. The first item can cause an author great grief, but it's extremely rare, probably less than one in 2, books affected, and the pirates are usually detected before they've had a chance to earn money on their theft because loyal fans report the book.
The second category of swashbuckling black hat pirates stealing and reading your book for free is probably the worst fear of some authors, yet it's important to remember that readers who go out of their way to knowingly steal and download pirated ebooks are not the readers who'd typically purchase your books anyway, so they don't really represent a lost sale.
The third category is more common, but most progressive authors view book sharing among fans as "accidental" piracy, and view it as beneficial marketing.
There are many who argue that illegal piracy of your work actually benefits your overall sales. This fascinating video of author Neil Gaima n might cause you to reconsider how you feel about piracy. He speaks about his own evolving views on piracy.
We know of other best-selling authors such as Paulo Coelho who deliberately encourage illegal piracy of their works by uploading their books to pirate sites. They do it for the same reasons cited by Neil Gaiman - they believe it spurs sales.
Don't let the fear of piracy paralyze your efforts to reach readers. Most readers are honest and want to support you. You can reduce the risk of piracy by making your book easier to purchase than it is to steal.
Maximize your distribution, offer your book at a fair price, and use the recommended "Smashwords Edition License Statement" as described in the Smashwords Style Guide. The license statement provide honest readers a polite reminder of their ethical obligation to support the author. What is Smashwords' stance on piracy and DRM?
Smashwords is a strong advocate for author's rights, and the right of authors and copyright owners to receive payment for their digitally published works. However, Smashwords does not publish works containing digital rights management schemes that limit the customer's ability to legally enjoy the author's work. Therefore, Smashwords cannot completely prevent illegal copying of an author's work. The reality of the matter is that even DRMed content is insecure.
When an author lists the work on Smashwords they are trusting the consumer to honor their legal copyright and abide by the licensing terms set by the author. Many ebook buyers refuse to purchase ebooks infected with DRM. Non-DRMed works often outsell DRMed works by leveraging the viral nature of uninhibited sampling and sharing which can dramatically increase your total audience and sales opportunities. At Smashwords, we remind customers at sign-up, at purchase and with purchase confirmations that our books are for their personal use and enjoyment only.
What can I do to reduce the risk of piracy? Piracy is often a symptom of unsatisfied demand: These readers want your book, but for some reason it's not available or affordable to them.
Most ebooks are read on dedicated e-reading devices Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo Reader and multi-function devices iPad, iPhone, smartphones, tablets , and most of these device manufacturers operate their own ebook stores which are closely tethered to their devices.
For customers, it's easier to purchase and read an ebook from the device-maker's own bookstore than it is to search out a pirated copy. There are several steps you can take to encourage legal purchases and discourage piracy.
First, price your ebook less than printed equivalents, price them fairly much lower than print , and maximize the distribution of your books. By pricing low and maximizing distribution to as many stores as possible, you make your book more available and more accessible to more readers. It politely reminds readers of their moral and ethical obligation to support the author. What is the Smashwords License Statement, and how does it combat piracy?
Following the copyright notice above, we recommend you insert the Smashwords License Statement. Unlike traditional copyright statements that warn readers not to copy the book, or that threaten legal action or fines, the Smashwords License Statement offers a kinder, gentler reminder to the reader that they have a legal and moral obligation to compensate the author for their hard work.
It's our belief at Smashwords that the biggest form of piracy is not on underground file sharing torrent sites, it's well-intentioned sharing. If you place the Smashwords License Statement in your book, it acts as a trojan horse. If your book is shared, the recipient is politely reminded of their obligation to return to Smashwords and purchase their own copy. Here's the statement, which you'll also find in the Smashwords Style Guide :. Smashwords License Statement This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Smashwords distributes to Scribd, which in the past has been used by readers to upload and illegally share pirated books. What does this mean for Smashwords authors? Scribd is one of the world's largest publishing platforms for user-generated content. When a site such as Scribd makes it easy for the community to upload anything, there's a risk that unauthorized content is uploaded. It's something every social publishing platform - Youtube, Amazon and Smashwords included - must struggle with.
In December , Smashwords announced a distribution agreement with Scribd. You can read the news at the Smashwords blog. In addition to representing yet another important sales channel, the agreement has also significantly reduced the risk of piracy and unauthorized uploads at Scribd. Here's how: To protect the intellectual property of authors and publishers, Scribd developed and is continuing to enhance a Copyright Management System CMS.
Their CMS takes a digital fingerprint of all authorized uploads from Smashwords. Scribd uses the Smashwords version as the authorized version of record to prevent unauthorized uploads in the future.
Scribd also uses the digital fingerprint of your Smashwords edition of your book to trigger automated takedowns of previously uploaded unauthorized versions. If you ever discover an unauthorized version of your work at Scribd, visit the the Scribd DMCA takedown page and provide them a direct hyperlink to the offender's upload. What steps can I take to detect piracy?
Go to www. This will provide you an early warning system of where your book is being talked about, sold or distributed. Someone stole my book and uploaded it to Amazon or some other retailer.
What do I do? This is rare, but but we're aware of a least a dozen instances of this happening over the last few years at Amazon. If you find an unauthorized version of your book at Amazon, email copyright amazon. We've seen it happen at Apple Books too. But first, make sure it's not a copy you uploaded yourself long ago but forgot about, or that you authorized someone else to upload for you. Believe it or not, we're aware of more instances where authors accidentally demanded takedowns of authorized copies of their books than of instances where criminals were selling unauthorized versions!
If you follow our immediately preceding tips to detect piracy, there's a great chance you'll be able to detect and remove unauthorized copies of your book before the criminal is able to profit from it.
If you find a copy of your book for sale at a retailer whose name you don't recognize, first check out the list of authorized retailers served by Smashwords, which you'll find on the Smashwords Distribution Information page. Kobo, for example, powers the ebook stores of multiple retailers around the world. Gardners powers the ebook stores of hundreds of retailers. Also be aware that there are many websites out there that act as affiliate sites for Amazon or other retailers where they provide listings of thousands of books but direct customers to authorized retailers such as Amazon or the Smashwords store.
These sites are actually beneficial to you. There are also criminal sites out there, often operated out of China, that may be advertising your book for a ridiculously low price. Often, these sites don't sell books at all. Instead, what they're doing is stealing the credit card information of foolish readers who should have known better than to try to get your book at a cut rate price from a shady retailer.
Most websites, even the nefarious ones, have DMCA takedown links where you can request your book listing be removed from their site.
If you're ever in doubt, feel free to report the site to the Smashwords Support team and we'll investigate. What is copyright, and how do I protect it? As the author, you own your copyright, which gives you the right to allow others to make copies of your work.
Simply by publishing something, you are granted legal protection against people illegally copying your work though this legal protection alone doesn't protect you against piracy or illegal copying. If you want to go the extra mile, you can file online at the US government's copyright office for an official copyright.
Most authors don't do this, though such a filing can help bolster your case if you ever find a need to press legal action or seek damages against an infringer. Click here for the US Copyright Office. For a good overview of copyright, and your rights as an author, see this blog post by Victoria Strauss. Do I own my copyright if I publish with Smashwords? You own your copyright. When you publish with Smashwords, you grant Smashwords a non-exclusive right to publish, promote and distribute your book, as well as samples of your book.
Because the relationship is non-exclusive, you can publish and distribute via other services, if you wish. How do I get my book on Smashwords? Prior to uploading your book to Smashwords, you will prepare a formatted manuscript and obtain a professionally-designed ebook cover image. This section will provide basic background information on the preparation process, and will provide links to important resources.
How do I prepare my book for upload to Smashwords? You have three options for formatting your book as a Microsoft Word. The Style Guide teaches you how to professionally design your book to meet retailer and library requirements. We cannot distribute your book if it is not formatted to the Style Guide.
Do it yourself for free with a word processor - Most Smashwords authors and publishers prepare their manuscript by formatting it as a Microsoft Word. They follow the simple step-by-step instructions in the Smashwords Style Guide , the world's most popular ebook formatting guide over , downloads! Advantage : It's free, and if have the patience to carefully follow the step-by-step instructions in our our Style Guide, it's not difficult. Formatting can even be fun because this new skill will give you greater flexibility over the design and updating of your book.
We encourage all authors and publishers to do their own formatting, if they're able. Disadvantage : If you're not proficient with word processing, or you don't own Microsoft Word or Open Office Writer a good, free word processor , an improperly formatted book will prevent or delay the distribution of your book. Hire someone to create a professionally formatted Word.
Advantages : The books formatted by formatters on "Mark's List" almost always get approved for the Premium Catalog on their first attempt.
This means faster distribution to retailers, and less formatting headache. A good choice if you don't have the time, patience or ability to implement the Style Guide on your own. Smashwords Direct - If you already have a professional-quality.
Be aware that Smashwords Direct is in beta, and there are limitations to its usage. Can I hire someone to upload my book for me? We do not recommend this.
It's really easy to upload and manage your own book at Smashwords! It's also important that you manage your own account so you can control the privacy of your sales and payment information. What file types do you accept? You can upload your book as a Microsoft Word.
We recommend you start with a Word. The advantage of Microsoft Word is that it's the most common word processor used by authors, and if you follow the suggestions in the Smashwords Style Guide , you'll get predictable, high- quality conversion results in multiple ebook formats.
If you upload only an EPUB, you won't benefit from multi-format conversion, which will limit the devices upon which your book can be read. A direct. If you're considering uploading an. Even if you have a prepared. Which versions of Microsoft Word work best with Smashwords? Any version will work.
Word , , and work very well, even though they're older. Over the years, Microsoft has added a lot of unnecessary gunk into Microsoft Word, so these older version have less gunk and are easier to use and more reliable. Word and later versions also work very well, though be sure to save and upload your file in the. In Word onward,. Should I upload my Word document as a. Please upload only a. If you're working with Word or later, Microsoft Word will automatically try to save your file as a.
Can I use Open Office? Yes, though if you have Microsoft Word we recommend Word. Save your files as Microsoft Word. The caveats? The Smashwords Style Guide provides limited instructions for Open Office, and we cannot support you if you have Open Office-specific questions because we're not Open Office experts. In other words, you're on your own to make sure your file conforms to the requirements in the Style Guide which reflect our retailers' requirements.
Although many Smashwords authors are successful with Open Office, please note that Open Office often introduces errant formatting into the files, especially with line spacing. In May, , we developed a workaround in Meatgrinder that enables us to auto-fix Open Office's bug that creates corrupted line spacing. This is good news for OO users. Can I upload my book as a PDF or. We require Word. Our Meatgrinder technology will automatically convert your. In the years since we launched Smashwords, we have continuously enhanced our Meatgrinder conversion technology.
Meatgrinder-produced books often rival or surpass the quality of expensive, custom-designed ebook files. Smashwords ebooks support reflowable narrative, images, linked Tables of Contents, hyperlinks and advanced styling. What is Smashwords Direct? Before you consider this option, please study our online documentation page for Smashwords Direct. View the original blog post announcing Smashwords Direct here. Do you require I have a professionally produced book cover? For inclusion in the Smashwords Premium catalog Smashwords books distributed to online retailers , book covers are required.
If you do not want your book distributed to major retailers and you only want to distribute it on Smashwords, then book covers are optional, but strongly recommended. Books uploaded without a cover image will not appear on the Smashwords home page as other newly published books do. Book covers are important to many readers because they're a visual representation of the book, and your most important advertising. A good book cover image adds to the reader's enjoyment of the book.
An ugly book cover, or no book cover, sends the message to the prospective reader that you're amateurish, lazy, or sloppy. You spent hundreds of hours or a lifetime writing your book, so don't skimp on the cover. We do not accept 3D covers like where the book appears tilted sideways, looks like a cube, or shadowed. See "Mark's List," our list of low-cost cover designers. What are the requirements for my cover image, and how do I create one? The new requirements, along with visual examples, can be found by clicking here to the Smashwords Blog.
Book covers must be uploaded as image files files that end with. The cover should show the front of your book only, not the back cover you use for print.
It must be two-dimensional, not 3D or pseudo-3D. Download and verify version 1. See instructions later in this post. Install the downloaded version 1.
Launch it and check that the option to automatically install updates is still turned off. Kindle may need to be registered by signing in to your Amazon account within the program.
Some users have reported being unable to sign in to their Amazon account within Kindle for PC once version 1. If that occurs go to the Amazon website and on the manage your content and devices page, and on the "Your Devices" tab locate "Kindle for PC" or Mac and deregister it using the " Wait a few minutes for it to take effect and try to sign in again. If all else fails then re-install and register again and start over with step 1. If asked if you want to update to the new version always reject it.
Choose "Skip this version". Re-download your books and import into calibre as before. See the end of this post for ways to prevent undesired updating of the Kindle app. For an alternate method that works with more recent versions of Kindle for PC see this post and this post.
It will not work if version 1. Perform the following steps: Exit the Kindle program. Open a command window PC or terminal window Mac. Cut and paste the appropriate command for your operating system to disable the renderer-test program.
Mac Note: If the chmod command fails with a permission error try again using sudo. After restarting the Kindle program any books previously downloaded in KFX format will no longer open. You will need to remove them from your device and re-download them. All future downloads will use the older Kindle formats instead of KFX although they will continue to be placed in one individual subdirectory per book. See the post by odamizu for additional instructions required when using Kindle for Mac 1.
Find a book you want to import into calibre and press the " Then select the name of your registered kindle device in the drop down menu and press the "Download" button. Import the downloaded file into calibre using the same procedure that you would use for a file from Kindle for PC. You will need to select the proper folder containing the downloaded file.
In addition, the owners of older e-ink Kindles running firmware prior to 5. See instructions later in this post for obtaining a copy. You will need to search online for the proper file name and download it from a third party site. The file name to search for each version is listed below.
Important: After downloading you should verify the SHA hash of the file in order to avoid malware. If the hash does not match, delete the downloaded file and try again from another site.
Do not install a file that has an incorrect hash! Run Epubor Ultimate, drag and drop the. As shown, not all books are encrypted. Decrypted word will show up to the right of those Kindle books with DRM protection after the decryption. And you can find DRM free files by clicking Decrypted or the book folder icon on the lower right corner of the software.
Hillary Lopez works for Epubor and writes articles about eBooks and eReaders. She explores the best method to help you read eBooks more freely and wants to share all she has got with you. I went searching myself for this this week and I found that method two and three did not work at least not for me.
I have not tried method one yet. I was disappointed when I saw a couple of months ago that the latest Kindle update had thwarted Epubor, but I optimistic that you'd crack that soon, which you have. I use Epubor mainly for academic books relevant to my work.
I listen to many of them commuting, walking etc. I don't hand the pdfs out, I don't upload them for pirating, all I need is to turn the books I spend money on to be in the format I can most easily actually read them. Method 1 is quite challenging, you need to enter the Kindle Serial Number in the DrDRM Plugin and some sort of key, but both didn't finally make it work for me.
Method 3 was brilliant, a bit of a nuissance that I had to download all my eBooks indivdually from the Amazon content page, but copying into Calibre, converting to ePub and uploading to my ReMarkable 2 worked like a flash.
Thanks for all the hints! First, download epubor ultimate and set-up and get a license to support the company! Second, download Kindle for PC win, i tried it with ver 1. Reason being, the tool will execute Kindle app in a peculiar method, and allow you to download the ebooks you purchased. It typically require seconds before it pauses and kindle app loads. Once kindle app is launched using the command prompt launch method, you can download the books you want to unlock DRM.
Then finally, launch epubor ultimate, go to kindle tab, and drag the books you want to free DRM. I spent hours figuring things out, i thought the old kindle app refresh auto-downgrade was related to my Win10, ran Virtualbox VM and nope, its not related to PC, rather its the Amazon sign-in page that has been 'changed'.
Thanks for the kindle. One thing I discovered is that this file assumes you've installed the Kindle PC program in an administrator account. If you install the Kindle PC program in a non-administrator account, which you should be using if you're on the web, the kindle.
It looks for a Kindle program that's not there. Once I installed everything in my administrator account, everything worked properly, but it means I have to log-in to that account if I want to use Epubor Ultimate to remove DRM from Kindle ebooks.
Most people run Windows from the account they set up when they first get their computers. That account is usually an Administrator account. Ideally they should create a non-administrator account and do everything from there. How to Deal with the New Kindle Update? Home Products Guide Support.
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