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Hi Nile Daughter! Nice to see you here! It is a pain that more Kindle ebooks are available in the US than in Europe, and I am guessing that even less may be available where you live...... Furthermore, we currently have no button to push to tell Amazon that we want the book in the Kindle format. Someone has said that amazon is working on making that button available everywhere. Now it only exists for those living in the UK or the US! I ger frustrated too, but I still love the Kindle! I really am hoping more books become available, and I do realize that the problem is not Amazon, but the publishers. I certainly wish Amazon would quickly instate a button so we can express our desire to purchase Kindle books that are lacking!I do not know about travelling..... Maybe if one visits the US one could buy a ton of ebooks? Only I am not planning to go there in the near future! I wonder if they would work when you returned home?
I think it depends on where you live according to your Amazon account. A friend bought theirs when he lived in the US and downloaded some books that are only available there, and he still has access to them now he's moved to the UK. Similarly, I live in the UK and have access to the UK catalogue wherever I travel. HTH.
Hi Chissie :) Do you like it ? is it efficient for you even though you can not buy books ?
I am not abroad, a friend got it for me from Canada, I have not even receive it yet but I was checking available books to buy. I hope Amazon can solve this problem cause I am frustrated too:(
Hi Rachel ,
I see , I remember a resident American was living here (Egypt) , she said it was easier for her to get kindle edition books than buy paper editions here (she did not trust mail) , that is why I thought of getting it in the first place . may be she did change her USA address in her Amazon account? I guess that was the only way !
Rachael, you say: "I think it depends on where you live according to your Amazon account. A friend bought theirs when he lived in the US and downloaded some books that are only available there, and he still has access to them now he's moved to the UK." Has your friend told Amazon that he has moved to the UK? If your friend still is registered in the US that would maybe explain why he still has access. When one travels you still have access to the ebooks you have purchased! What I am wondering is if one could registered the Kindle with someone living in the US, is it possible to (1)use a European credit card,
(2)keep a European email address and
(3)will the Whispernet downloads function correctly?
I find the whole thing rather annoying. I don't think it should be necessary to figure out how to make it work. I need the Kindle books due to poor vision.
Yes, Nile Daughter, I am very frustrated! Still there are books I want to read, although I immensely dislike having to eliminate books from my lists simply b/c they do not exist in the Kindle format. And I want that button so that Amazon can show the publishers there is a demand for Kindle books in Europe and elsewhere in the world too. Grrr.
I DO adore reading on the Kindle. It functions superbly. It has a great instruction book in the ereader. Amazon does a great job of organizing the books via "Manage my Kindle".
YAY, Freda! The more that complain, the more Amazon maybe will listen. I have the same probblem living in Belgium. You have to live in the UK ro buy books from Amazon's UK office. TRhey told me that themselves. I suggest that everyone living outside of the US sends a message to Amazon requesting that we want a button to push that will tell the publisher we want to buy a given book in the Kindle format. I did that today. My message was taken seriously. If many of us do it, maybe something will change. We need that button. We need more books made available to European customers.
I was also told to write directly to the publishers. I have. they do not even reply! We need Amazon to help us get the message across to the publishers. I told Amazon that too.
Remember, everyone, it's not Amazon's decision whether Kindle books are available in different countries. It has to do with publishing contracts and rights. Publishers are used to purchasing the rights only for their country, and authors usually sell international rights independently or through their agents. For most of the books that are out now, the publishers only have ebook rights for their country. That means that books published in the US cannot legally be sold outside the US (or in some cases outside English-speaking countries--it depends on the contract).In these cases it might be the author that has the European or international ebook rights. Or there might be a publisher in your country that has the distribution rights.
Ebooks are a relatively new medium. Publishers were not prepared for the spike in demand. I have read that publishers are now asking for world ebook rights in publishing contracts, so within the next year or two, most ebooks should start to be available throughout the world.
In the meantime, international users might want to focus on indie/self-published books. Since the author controls all rights on those, they're more likely to be available worldwide.
(I can't explain Amazon's apparent reluctance to let non-US Kindle owners buy games, however. That's just weird.)
Chrissie wrote: " What I am wondering is if one could registered the Kindle with someone living in the US, is it possible to (1)use a European credit card,
(2)keep a European email address and
(3)will the Whispernet downloads function correctly?..."
Chissie,
If you ever finds an answer to your question , please let me know ! I am really curious how did that American lady got her e-books downloaded to her kindle in Cairo ?! I am glad you like the kindle , that is encouraging !
Clare-Dragonfly wrote: " Ebooks are a relatively new medium. Publishers were not prepared for the spike in demand. I have read that publishers are now asking for world ebook rights in publishing contracts, so within the next year or two, most ebooks should start to be available throughout the world...."
I guess that explains it , well…we will be waiting !
Clare-Dragonfly wrote: " In the meantime, international users might want to focus on indie/self-published books. Since the author controls all rights on those, they're more likely to be available worldwide...."
Thanks for the note , I do not know much about (indie/self-published) , are most of them paranormal fiction and for young adults ?
Nile Daughter, I will. May I ask that you send a message to Amazon rquesting that button "tell publisher we want this book" for those of us who do not live in the US?! We need it.I feel all of us living outside the US should do this. It just takes a few seconds. Amazon has to be told with force that we want it too.
I think it worked for the American visiting Cairo because her Kindle is registered in the US. You get it by G3 so where you happen to be is insignificant. There is info on the Amazon site about traveling.
Chrissie , OK ..I will check that :)
Nile daughter wrote: "Thanks for the note, I do not know much about (indie/self-published), are most of them paranormal fiction and for young adults?"Hmm, I don't think it's possible to say what "most" indie books are, because there's a huge variety. I think fiction is more likely to be self-published than nonfiction, but beyond that I don't know. Amanda Hocking is certainly one of the best-known indies, and she writes paranormal, but she's just one author.
I want to recommend some places to find indie books but I don't actually know of any! I guess the Kindle Boards (http://www.kindleboards.com/) is mostly indie authors so you could look at the ads and forums there.
Clare-Dragonfly wrote: "Nile daughter wrote: "Thanks for the note, I do not know much about (indie/self-published), are most of them paranormal fiction and for young adults?"Hmm, I don't think it's possible to say what ..."
Thanks again :) I will check it :)
Mod
Thank you for pointing this out! A lot of people keep harping on Amazon and other booksellers for not having ebooks available. It's not Amazon's fault, it's the publishers and authors. However, more and more publishers are requesting, if not requiring, worldwide English language rights. This allows them to publish the ebook in English anywhere in the world. Some are starting to request those rights for audiobook editions as well.
I just want to be very clear. I am NOT harping at Amazon. I merely want them to give us, their non-American customers, a method to voice out wish for an increased availability of Kindle books. We both pay more and have less available to us. Why is it wrong to request a button to tell publishers we want a given book?
@Nile daughter: Not all indie authors write YA/Paranormal. Just as with print publishing there is a wide genre catalogue of indie authors uploading their work. The early days of only "hobby" writers uploading their unedited, poorly formatted novellas, are well over. Since Amazon opened up its Direct Publishing operation to non-USA residents last year, authors like me - and Freda above - have been uploading our rights-reverted novels for a new audience. And we offer our ebooks across the world.But as you say, where to find them? This isn't just a reader's problem. Kindleboards.com has already been mentioned. Its Book Bazaar has a thread for each new novel, but more to the point there's "Official List of KB Authors by Genre" sticky thread at the top.
There are blogs dedicated to indie authored books, often spotlighting one or two per day, or offering interviews. Here's a quick selection that I know of - sorry they're not hyperlinks
http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/
http://spaldings-racket.blogspot.com
http://indiebooksblog.blogspot.com/
http://thefrugalereader.com/
You don't become a decent writer unless you read, so I expect many to be members of Goodreads as well. I haven't found my way round all the nooks and crannies yet, so perhaps someone will know the URL to a listing of authors on here, rather than just the asterisk against a title we happen to come across.
Oh... automatic hyperlinks! You learn something new on here every day.
Nile Daughter: Thank you for raising this question. I am a self-publishing author in the U.S., and would love to have others know about the number of self-published authors here and abroad. When I published through Amazon's Kindle Digital Publishing, I clicked on the option that indicates I hold rights to my works in all countries. So, theoretically, my novel can be sold through Amazon.com or through it's affiliates anywhere in the world. However, I noted that my novel has only sold in the U.S., not even in the UK where it is is listed on Amazon.co.uk. Still trying to figure this out. These comments have been enlightening. I wish you well in your attempt to purchase books through Amazon.
@ Mark: Trying desperately NOT to hijack this thread, but Kindle users in the UK are still short on the ground. It's a very new toy across here, and arrived in the middle of the recession. Those who have bought one seem to prefer either trusted Big Name authors or the out-of-copyright classics from the likes of Gutenburg. Also bear in mind that only UK readers can buy ebooks from Amazon UK, the rest of Europe has to buy thru the US site.
Linda: Thanks for the information. I hope they bring the cost of eReaders down to a price point that works for everyone, everywhere.
Mod
Amazon is offering a new cheaper version of the Kindle. You can get a Kindle for $114 now that has advertisements. By getting payment for advertisements, Amazon is able to offer this device much cheaper than the others.
@Ralph: I saw a text ad for it and winced. When I read a book, paper or digital, I don't want some *thing* to pop up and break my 'suspension of disbelief'when I pick up the device again after making myself a cuppa. I've not seen it advertised in the UK yet.@Mark: Kindles in the UK are £111 inc VAT (our national sales tax currently running at 20% - read it and weep!)
Linda, ads don't pop up and break your suspension of disbelief--unless your suspension of disbelief is broken every time you see Jane Austen or one of the other screensavers! That's the only place ads in this new version show up. There are also some pretty awesome-sounding special offers that I wish they would offer to all Kindle owners!
@Clare-Dragonfly - ah, I take it back then. I thought they'd be added in every time you switched off. If they are static ads, and in b&w, they won't even be noticeable.
Linda, the ads would appear instead of the screensavers that appear now, plus there is a small banner across the bottom of the Home page. Amazon has promised there will be no ads in your books, no interrupting your reading.
Most books I can not buy and they have this message:
(Due to copyright restrictions, certain Kindle Titles are not available everywhere. If the country or region displayed is incorrect)
how can poeple deal with that and How can poeple buy books during travelling ?