How to Edit the Metadata on a Kindle
By Jason Spidle
Metadata is the organizational backbone of your Kindle. It allows you to sort your ebook library by author or genre and helps you find specific books if you have a large ebook library. Because different ebook publishers use different metadata formats, keeping your library consistent and tidy requires that you manually edit metadata to fill in gaps and correct mislabeled tags. While you cannot edit metadata directly from the Kindle, you can make changes on your computer using a free ebook management application called Calibre.
Step 1
Download and install Calibre (see Resources for link) following the simple installation wizard.
Step 2
Connect the Kindle to your computer using the standard USB cable and open Calibre.
Step 3
Click the "Device" button in Calibre to view the books on your Kindle.
Step 4
Right-click the book you want to edit and select "Add books to library."
Step 5
Click the "Library" button, select the book you want to edit and then click the "Edit metadata" button.
Step 6
Edit metadata as per your preferences and then click "OK." You can change the author, book title, genre, cover image and a variety of other data. You can also download metadata from editions available on Amazon to expedite the tagging process.
Step 7
Right-click the editing book, select "Send to Device" and then select "Send to Main Memory" to sync the book with your Kindle.
References
Tips
- Calibre can edit metadata in bulk if you have similar changes to make across several books. Simply select all the books you want to edit and then click the "Edit Metadata" drop-down menu and select "Edit metadata in bulk." This tool is particularly useful if you are assigning a genre for several books or updating the author name for books by the same person.
- If you have individual edits to make on different books, you can cut down on mouse clicks by selecting all the books you want to edit and then selecting "Edit metadata individually" from the "Edit Metadata" drop-down menu. This setting will allow you to cycle through the edit screen for each book without having to continuously select books from your library.
Writer Bio
Jason Spidle is a technology enthusiast and writer. His writing on computers, smartphones, Web design, Internet applications, sports and music has been published at a variety of websites including Salon, JunkMedia, Killed in Cars and The Columbia Free Times. Spidle maintains a number of blogs featuring poetry, short stories and other fiction.