People who actively use Kindle devices may have seen the announcement that, on Feb. 26, users will no longer be able to download purchased ebooks onto their computer using USB. Why does it matter?
Some users prefer to have offline copies of all their ebooks in the event that Amazon removes books from its store, remotely deletes them from Kindles, or edits and uploads new versions. As The Verge notes, this change is a reminder that you don’t actually own most ebooks you purchase. They are licensed.
This change does not affect users’ ability to manually copy documents, including ebooks, to their Kindles using the Send to Kindle feature.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
