Installing Calibre on Your Computer
You have several different ways to create MOBI and EPUB files. The software that I recommend is Calibre. It’s free, and it has versions for Windows, OS X, and Linux. You can find the Calibre website at
You don’t have to complete every stage involved in the creation of an e-book by yourself. There are plenty of companies and individual experts who can convert your Word document into a MOBI and/or EPUB file for you. I recommend giving Calibre a try on your own, but if you get stuck or simply prefer to outsource this step of the e-book creation process, look online for help. You can normally expect to pay around $50 to $100 for manuscript conversion from Word to MOBI / EPUB, but note that the price will depend on the length and complexity of your manuscript.
For simplicity’s sake, I assume that you’re using Windows. (The Calibre site has instructions for Mac OS X and Linux users also.) To download and install Calibre, follow these steps:
1. Go to http://calibre-ebook.com/download
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2. Click the Windows icon.
3. Click the Download Calibre link.
4. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the file and then click Save.
5. After the download is complete, double-click the downloaded file, and click Run to install the software on your computer.
6. Select the check box to accept the terms of agreement and then click Install.
7. During the installation process, leave the default options selected on each screen, whenever you are offered a choice.
8. When the installation is finished, click Finish.
Calibre is also used by readers who want to convert and store e-books they’ve purchased, so certain options relate to reading rather than to the file creation process.