Free Kindle books for reviewers
Most free advance copies are not Kindle store downloads. They arrive as an EPUB or a PDF, because the book is usually not on sale yet. Getting one onto a Kindle takes about a minute, and this page walks through it.
See the free shelfThe three formats you will see
EPUB
The common one. Reflows properly, respects your font size, and Amazon's own Send to Kindle accepts it. If you get a choice, take this.
Fixed layout, which is fine on a tablet and cramped on a six-inch Kindle. Send to Kindle can convert a PDF, and the result is readable but rarely pretty. Some authors send PDF because it is harder to redistribute.
MOBI
The old Kindle format. Amazon stopped accepting it for new documents, so if an author sends one you will want to convert it first with something like Calibre.
Getting it onto your Kindle
Open the file on the device or computer where you downloaded it.
Go to Amazon's Send to Kindle page, or use the Send to Kindle app, signed in with the same account as your Kindle.
Upload the EPUB or PDF and pick your device. It arrives in your library within a few minutes, filed under Documents rather than Books.
Read it. Your notes and highlights work exactly as they do in a purchased book.
Send to Kindle is Amazon's own feature and it is free. You do not need a third-party tool unless the file is a MOBI.
What this means for your review
A sideloaded document is invisible to the store. That has two consequences worth knowing before you start. Your review will not carry the Verified Purchase badge, because you did not buy the book. And your reading generates no Kindle Unlimited page reads, so the author earns nothing from the read itself.
Neither of those is a reason not to do it. It is a reason to be sceptical of any service quoting authors a predictable number of reviews from free copies, because the part that decides which reviews survive is not theirs to promise.
And nobody pays you for this
The book is the whole of it. Any service offering money per book, or points that turn into money, is describing an arrangement Amazon removes reviews over. The reader usually walks away fine. The author does not.
Frequently asked
Why is the ARC not just a free Kindle download?+
Because the book usually is not on sale yet. There is nothing on the store to download. Authors distribute a file directly, which is also why advance copies often carry a watermark with the reader's name.
Is a watermarked copy still mine to keep?+
Yes. The watermark is not a time limit or a licence check, it is how an author traces a leaked manuscript back to a source. The file does not stop working.
Will my review show the Verified Purchase badge?+
No. That badge comes from buying the book on Amazon, and no purchase happened. Unverified reviews still appear and readers can still read them, but they are weighed less and filtered harder. Anyone guaranteeing an author a review count from free copies is guaranteeing something they do not control.
Does reading an ARC affect Kindle Unlimited or my page reads?+
No. A sideloaded document sits outside the store entirely, so it does not touch a Kindle Unlimited borrow, and it generates no page reads for the author. Free copies help through reviews and word of mouth, not royalties.
Do I still have to disclose that it was free?+
Yes, in the review itself. One sentence at the top. We wrote a page on how to word it, including the common phrasing that is better avoided.
Can I read it in the Kindle app instead of on a device?+
Yes. Send to Kindle delivers to the app the same way it delivers to hardware, as long as the app is signed in to the same Amazon account.
Reading for free, not for pay
iWrity gives readers free copies from indie authors. No payment, no review required, nothing owed in return. Amazon bans paying for reviews, so we do not pay.
See the free shelf