This year I’ve done several contests and offered review copies to readers. I’ve been surprised by the number of people who don’t know how to side load a file to their Kindle.

So, if you win an e-book in a contest, follow these instructions in order to start reading.

Side Load a File to Kindle

To Find Your Kindle email address

1. Go to Amazon and log into your Kindle account
2. Click on the Digital content link
3. Click on Manage Content and Devices
4. Click on the settings tab, on the far right of the page
5. Scroll down the page quite a way until you see Send-to-Kindle E-Mail Settings
6. You’ll see your Kindle email address.

To Send the E-book to Your Kindle

1. Save a copy of your e-book to your hard drive
2. Email a copy of this e-book to the Kindle email address – the one you found above
3. The e-book should appear on your Kindle. This may no occur instantly, not in the same way when you One-Click on Amazon. Give it a few minutes.

If This Doesn’t Work

1. Check that the email address you’re using is an approved email address.
2. To check this scroll a bit farther down from where you found your Kindle email address and you’ll see “Approved Personal Document E-mail List.”
3. If your email isn’t one of the approved addresses click on the link to approve it and repeat the process above to send your e-book to your kindle.

In no time at all, you’ll be reading the newest addition to your e-book library.