Ascension sells ebook versions of some of our titles. There are some important details you should be aware of when buying an ebook.
What is an ebook?
An Ebook is an electronic version of a book, containing the same information included in the paper version of the book. It can be read on electronic devices, such as ebook readers (like Kindle or Nook devices), or by using special apps on tablets, phones or laptop computers. Unlike other electronic documents, such as Word docs or PDF's, these are designed for on-screen only use and can not be printed. These Ebooks also require certain software to be read, though the software is usually free, and often already loaded on most electronic devices.
Does the format matter?
Previously, there were two popular formats of ebooks: MOBI files, which were viewed on Amazon Kindle Devices and EPUB, which was used in all other readers. As of 2022, Amazon now allows EPUB files to be added to your library, so we only sell these types of files, to keep it simple.
After I buy the book, how do I open it?
The first step to reading your book is to download it to the device on which you'll read it. After your purchase, you have a few opportunities to download it. First, after you complete your payment, the order details page has a link from which you can download the ebook file. Click this link to download the file straight to your device. If you don't download it then, you can always return to https://ascensionpress.com/account (you may need to sign in), and click on the order number to go back to the details page and download it. Thirdly, we'll also send you an email with a link to the file in the same way as the order details screen.
Once you download the file, there's one more step. When you buy an ebook directly from Ascension's site, it is not the same as when bought (for example) online in the Kindle Store, or the Apple Books Store, or the Barnes and Noble Nook Store. If you are used to buying books in those environments, you may know that upon doing so, it is automatically added to your library to read using that software. But if it is not bought in that environment, your device may not know how you want to read it.
Depending on your device, the details of how to open it may change. On most phones, you just need to click on or select the file, and it will open automatically in your device's default ebook software (on iOS devices, this is a piece of apple software called "books"). It may be a challenge knowing where your phone places downloads, so you know where to find it to click. On iOS devices, you can click on the folder labeled "files" and use the search bar at the top to type in the name of your book.
If it is on a laptop or desktop computer, your machine should ask you what software you want to use to open it once you click on it to open. If you don't have any e-reader software installed on your computer, you may want to download software, such as "Calibre" to read it.
If you have a Kindle device, or app, as mentioned above, it does not automatically upload to your Kindle library. To do so, you will need to add the file to your Kindle library; once you do this, it will be viewable from any Kindle device. The link below leads to an external article that will show you how to add this file to your Kindle library.