Download note:
Please put authors [@] closed-circle [dot] net on your “safe” or “trusted” list. When we tested this process, our spam filter tried to throw us away! Excuse the strange notation: it’s an anti-spammer measure. And note: the e-mail giving you the download should arrive nearly instantaneously! If you do not see it immediately, immediately check your spam filter for an e-mail from ‘authors’ at-symbol ‘closed-circle.’
Mini or Full: which do I want?
NOTE: As of our October releases:
…we have discontinued the Full option. It’s time consuming for us and virtually all modern readers can read one of the Big Three. If you’d still like a file in one of the other formats, you can download Calibre and run the conversion, which involves adding the epub file to Calibre, punching the conversion button and choosing the file type you’d like it converted to. For perfect viewing, you might have to tweak the file in other ways, but for just reading the book in a desired format, this is all we do. (As I say…I usually tweak some of the formats a bit…one of them wants to center everything, so I go in with Sigil and take out all the “align=center” commands in the CSS file, or I need to take out extra line breaks in the txt file…things like that…but those don’t prevent the file from working in a given reader.
If you find this daunting, don’t worry and don’t think you’re alone. We have many readers who have never opened a zip file before. That’s cool! We’ll work with you until you have your book. In this case, if you really need a book in a format other than .mobi, .epub or .pdf, let us know and we’ll help get you one.
Our files are DRM free. Theoretically, you could download one file and convert it to whichever format you want with a free software like Calibre. Nice as this sounds, the conversions aren’t hassle free. We’ve taken that hassle out for you, done the conversions and made them all pretty. If you have several devices that use different formats, you might want to download the “Full” package. By far the most common file types are Mobi/prc (Kindle), ebook (Nook), and pdf (just about anything). These are the three available in the “Mini” download.
EPUB or MOBI: do not try to unzip an ePub or Mobi file. They are not ‘zipped,’ and are ready to use as-is. Move them directly to your Device. If you wish to read them on your computer, first install a reader software such as Calibre (free download) for ePub or Kindle Previewer (from Amazon, free download) as the software to open a .mobi file. Once you have done that, forever and ever after, just clicking on any ePub or Mobi file will bring up that reader-software with your book displayed.
FULL: A zipfile of about 5-10 MB with .epub, .fb2, .lit, .lrf, mobi/generic (.prc), .pdb, .pdf, .pmlz, .rb, .rtf, .txt (and sometimes HTML.)
MINI: A zipfile of roughly 3-5 megabyte file with .mobi/.prc), .epub and .pdf only. (Calibre can convert any of those 3 into all the other formats, but you might need to do some massaging of the file afterward.)
Once you buy a book, you have 48 hours to download it before that link expires.We suggest downloading it twice, in case of a glitch. Please note: this is not a hard and fast time limit. Should you have any problems, we’ll work with you until we get you your files if we have to burn a CD and send them snail mail, so if you have any problems, contact us.
After downloading, please store this download zip file on disc as well as on your computer. It’s yours. Losing it is the same as losing a book. If you should have any trouble with the file(s), go to the FAQ on this site. Store a safety backup somewhere apart from your computer. That will be your recourse if you have a hard disk disaster. Remember: losing that file is the same as losing a book. You have a right to make as many personal copies as you like: do. Loan it to anybody in your household. All perfectly fine with us. Just—if your good buddy borrows it and likes it…don’t give him/her a copy, OK? Tell your good buddy go buy a copy of his own: your faithful writers need the income in order to keep writing.
SHOULD YOU HAVE TROUBLE WITH PAYPAL: we will accept checks (US) or International Money Orders MADE OUT TO THE WRITER—(NOT TO CLOSED CIRCLE, WHICH HAS NO BANK ACCOUNT!!!) Send checks to our Post Office Box, which is ‘CLOSED CIRCLE, BOX 18656, SPOKANE WA, 99228, USA——–You must of course include your e-mail address, so we can e-mail you the download link.
If you are a regular on our blogs (Wave, Face, and The Captain) tell us you’re sending a check or money order, and we’ll trust you and get you a link by return e-mail.
HOW TO OPEN YOUR DOWNLOADS:
1. Before you download your file, PLAN where you want it to go. Whatever you choose for your Ebook Folder, we suggest you be consistent: these are big files, and having them scattered at random all through your directory is not a Good Thing—a big file, and once unzipped, a lot of little files. Eventually I recommend storing your megafile on DVD, and getting it off your disk. But first—select the file format(s) useful to you, and place those files neatly in something like a MY EBOOKS folder, maybe under the author’s name, as you build your library. [I suggest that folder be in your MY DOCUMENTS folder, as that is the way Windows likes to do things—and at least it narrows the possibilities.]
2. unzip the file: it should yield a number of book-sized files in formats such as .epub (Calibre, Sony), .prc (Kindle), .pdf (Adobe reader), and so on. Later Windows all have built-in unzippers, but If you don’t have a zip/unzip program, jzip and 7zip are both good…and free…downloadable programs.
3. So—now you’re organized, and ready to read. For a dedicated reader, consult your device directions for getting a file from the computer to your reader. OF the formats we offer, one should work. If not—let us know and we’ll try to help. Generally, a dedicated reader like Kindle or Nook will attach to your computer through the USB port. The reader will show up in you Windows Explorer (not to be confused with Windows Internet Explorer 😉 ) under “computer” like any USB device (external harddrive, external DVD drive…etc.) It should actually call it “Kindle” or “Nook”. it will be a folder and within that folder will be several others, one of which should be “documents” or something similar. Open that up and you should see all the .prc or .epub files of your Amazon or B/N purchases. Just copy and paste the appropriate file from our unzipped folder into that device folder, turn on the device and check the menu. It should show up just like any other book.
4. For reading on a PC or MAC: download the several reader softwares we offer. Calibre works well for the Mac: on my blog site I have particular downloads for various Mac OS types. MobiReader is very good for the PC. And you probably already have the ability to read .pdf files. There are also epub reader addons for Firefox, Kindle for PC, Adobe Digital Editions…All free, all with different qualities. You might try several and see which you like. Calibre has good library organization skills, but I’m not fond of the look of the reader. Kindle for PC links to your Amazon account just like the Kindle, and has the advantage of using your default browser making searching for books infinitely more pleasant. Adobe Digital Editions is FUTSY. I have to make more adjustments to my epub files to accommodate that program….
5. For Calibre: go to your Ebook folder, double-click on the .epub version. Calibre should load (be patient: it’s big) the title of your chosen e-pub book into the white ‘BOOK TITLE Display Area’. The trick is, you must highlight that book title. THEN with it highlighted, click VIEW on the overhead menu: a new window will pop up, with your book in the Reader Window.
IF: no Book Title appears in the white ‘Book Title Display Area,’ you can go get your file. Just click ADD BOOK, and a SELECT BOOKS window will come up, offering you the usual Windows choices of Recent Documents, Desktop, My Documents, and Network Places. Remember WHERE your books are: go to that place, select your .epub version as in any Windows operation, and click on it. It should now load into that “Display Area” so you can highlight it and then choose VIEW, etc.
Should you convert e-books using Calibre, it will have its own idea about where to put your e-books,controllable in a line up at the top of the ‘Conversion’ utility: be sure to target the ‘save’ where YOU want it to go, or you’ll spend the next half hour trying to find where it put it.
6. For the Mobireader software: go to your ebook folder, click on the .prc file, and you should have the reader load itself WITH your book in the Reader Window.
For Adobe Reader: again, click on the .pdf version, and you should have Adobe Reader come up with your book ready to read.
1) getting a ‘mini’ file. These are .zip files and need to be unzipped: to do this– Step one: download to a computer. Step two: click on the file. [Your computer likely has an unzip program already, and it will respond by breaking open the .zip file and revealing files in all our formats…mobi,.epub, and .pdf. If you do not have an ‘unzip utility’ on your computer, look at winzip.com and jzip.com, and download a free utility. Once it is on your computer, it will work whenever you click on a .zip file.]
2) getting a file onto a device:
A) To read via your computer: choose .pdf. Click on the file. Your computer should have an Adobe pdf reader that responds to this and opens the file. If it doesn’t, download this free reader: http://www.adobe.com/products/reader.html; other options: calibre.com (uses .epub); and the Kindle for PC download from Amazon (uses .mobi) (both are free).
B)Kindle. Open the zip on your computer as above to get the .mobi file. Plug the Kindle’s USB into your computer. Your computer will find the device as a drive: open your My Computer’ screen and just drag the .mobi file onto your Kindle and drop. It will now open like any other book.
D) C) Nook. Simplest choice: the .epub file, and this method gets the color covers.
1. Download and install Calibre from http://calibre-ebook.com/
2. Start the program, then add the .epub file you downloaded from Closed Circle into Calibre by using the drop down menu on the “Add Books” icon.
3. Plug your Nook into a USB port on your computer using the USB cable that came with the device. Calibre will recognize the Nook, and add a button in the tool bar labeled “Device”. Then you can transfer by clicking on the drop down arrow on the “Device” icon.
E) iPhone >go here for instruction, with screenshots: Adding DRM-Free books to your iPad or iPhone
E) iPad: go here for instruction, with screenshots: Adding DRM-Free books to your iPad or iPhone
F) Nook Tablet: See: Nook instructions.
G) Android device. For my Android phone I’ve used two methods sucessfully:
[A] downloading to a PC and transferring to the phone from there (using drag-and-drop in Windows Explorer).
[B] downloading on the phone itself (i.e. if you use your phone to read the email containing the download link).
I use the free Aldiko Reader app on my Android phone, which seems really nice – you’ll find it in the Play store (there’s a paid version too but I’m not sure what the advantages are). For other readers the process of getting the book into the app once the file is on your phone may differ…
For [A] the process is:
1. Get the files onto your PC as explained in point 1) of the main post above
2. Connect the phone to the PC via USB cable, and ensure it’s connected in “Disk Drive” mode (not “Charge only”)
3. Locate the .epub file on your PC using Windows Explorer
4. Drag and drop (copy) the file to a suitable folder on your phone – I’d suggest the ‘download’ folder
5. Start the Aldiko app, tap ‘Files’ (you’ll see a list of folders on the phone), then tap whatever folder you copied the file into (e.g. the ‘download’ folder)
6. You should see your .epub file there – tap to select it, then tap the ‘Import to Aldiko’ button that appears
7. Use the Back button to get back to the main menu in Aldiko, and your book will be there!
And for [B]:
1. Download the ZIP file on your Android phone (note, on my phone all downloaded files are saved to the ‘download’ folder by default, but I’m not sure if this is the same on all Android devices)
2. Go to ‘Downloads’ (you can find it in the All Apps list)
3. Tap the ZIP file to open it (you’ll see all the files that are inside)
4. Select ‘Extract All’ from the phone’s Menu button (the button on the phone itself, just next to the actual touch screen) *For those who care to know such things, the unzipped files end up in the ‘download’ folder alongside the ZIP file, but it’s not apparent – you just have to trust that they’re there*
5. Start the Aldiko app, tap ‘Files’ (you’ll see a list of folders on the phone), then tap the ‘download’ folder
6. From there, depending on how the ZIP file is structured, just tap through the folders until you find the .epub file, tap to select it, then tap the ‘Import to Aldiko’ button that appears
7. Use the Back button to get back to the main menu in Aldiko, and your book will be there!
G) Kobo. The Kobo Touch reader should work like Nook with Calibre, though I haven’t tried it.
HOWEVER, it can also work like this:
1. Download the file from the Closed Circle purchase link as a .epub.
2. Plug in your Kobo Reader via the USB cable and allow it to be recognized as a USB drive. (Press Connect on the Kobo when it gives you the “computer connected” dialogue box.)
3. Copy the .epub file to the USB drive representing the Kobo.
4. Properly “eject” the Kobo reader so that the file is truly written.
5. Unplug the Kobo reader. It should automatically recognize the .epub and add it to the front page as a new library entry.
This I did on Linux for the new Deliberations I just bought nary a few minutes ago. It should work very similarly on Windows. I don’t know enough about Mac to say. I suspect this process would also work on Nook: they are very similar devices.
If you have trouble using the download, contact us and we will be happy to help. This is a new kind of software with a new selection of options: arrow keys to turn pages, (MSReader cleverly hides the page turning toggle UNDER the ‘voice’ control: x-out of that, and you can turn pages)—controls for page size (Calibre, Adobe); and controls to scale the font size up and down, for those of us who need larger print (Calibre). Explore. These softwares are forgiving.
7. For a Kindle: if you don’t have access to your USB cord, you have the option of emailing the file to yourself. First, go up to your Kindle account and list your own email as a safe or accepted email. Whatever Amazon calls it. Unzip the file as described above, then attach the .prc file to an email and send it to your Kindle account. I don’t know that a subject is necessary, but when we tested this, we just put the title of the book in as the subject. This should then download to your Kindle, the same way you receive other books.
As you can see, there are options galore. In this case, the first step is definitely the most confusing, but the more you play with the programs, the more you’ll find the one that best fits your reading style. Relax, have fun, enjoy!