Chances are you have heard Amazon’s plan to end its support for mobi format for reflowable layouts. Are you wondering what this means? Is it even true? Well, to answer your second question, it is true. As for what it means, this article will tell you all you need to know.
Before diving into the main subject, let us talk about reflowable layouts.
Reflowable Layout
A reflowable ebook gives a reader the option to resize the contents of their ebook to match the size of the screen they are reading on. The reason for this is to give readers the best reading experience.
Now, back to the main subject.
Why is Amazon Ceasing Support for Mobi Reflowable files?
Amazon is a platform that makes constant changes to its product and service offering to meet the needs of authors and publishers. It is safe to say their decision to stop supporting mobi reflowable files is mostly customer-oriented.
After going through a ton of feedback from authors and publishers, Amazon has decided to make it possible for both authors and publishers to create reflowable files by removing overheads associated with creating mobi files. This means that publishers will now be required to provide EPUB, KPF (Kindle Package File), or DOC/DOCX (Microsoft Word) files for reflowable eBooks.
Preparing for the Change
EbookEnhancers advises publishers and authors to start submitting EPUB or KPF files as soon as possible to get updated versions of reflowable ebooks. This is because Amazon will officially stop providing support for MOBI files for reflowable eBooks on the 28th of June, 2021.
It is also important to note that the new development applies to only new uploads. You do not have to make any adjustments to previously published ebooks that you are not looking to update. And there won’t be any change to the guidance for fixed-layout files. You can continue to publish both MOBI and EPUB files created with Kindle specifications.
Note: Kindle will continue to process both MOBI and EPUB files as before, and customers will continue to receive files based on the capabilities of the devices they use for reading.
EbookEnhancers understands that there will be no change to the royalty calculations for authors and publishers.
Now that you know what Amazon’s new approach is all about, do well to make adjustments wherever you need to, so you can get the most from the platform.
To learn more details about Amazon Kindle’s new approach and how it can affect you, contact [email protected]
