Frequently Asked Questions

At Holloway we offer a unique selection of books with high-value knowledge. Our titles are fully digital and aspire to be both useful and beautifully crafted. This covers the most common questions about purchasing or reading Holloway titles.

General Questions

  • What exactly am I buying?

    By purchasing a title on Holloway.com, you get full digital access to the book and all other resources that come with it, for unlimited use by you. That means you get lifetime access online for that title on the web, using the Holloway Reader. In contrast with Kindle and other ebooks, this also includes future updates from the author or editors. Finally, depending on the title, you get additional digital resources like PDF downloads, documents, spreadsheets, or audio clips! If you purchase a bundle, you get all additional resources for each title in the bundle.

  • What is the Holloway Reader?

    The Holloway Reader lets you read and engage with books bought on Holloway. Many of our readers call it the best reading experience for books on the web—you use it right in your browser, on desktop or mobile. In contrast to ebooks and paper books, online content in the Holloway Reader is always up to date, including updates when changes to the content are made, like responses to reader questions, new data, or new developments. It also lets us experiment with what the future of the book should look like, offering features you won’t find in Kindle or Apple Books.* It includes expert commentary in the margins and offers bookmarks and highlights, instant definitions of technical terms from a glossary, instant previews of links and footnotes, and a powerful search capability only available on Holloway titles—and we have a lot more on the way.

  • Are there any discounts?

    We do offer discounts if you select a bundle or more than one title during checkout. We also offer student discounts to individuals with a valid .edu email address.* Before a book is released, it is available for pre-order at a discount. By pre-ordering a title, you’re supporting us and our authors in their work and you may get a note from the author, early access, or other perks.

    Finally, if you sign up on our email list, in addition to excerpts and updates about our titles you’ll get any occasional special offers (infrequently—we don’t want to spam folks!).

  • Do I have to be online to read?

    To access the Holloway Reader, you need a connected browser. It works for desktop and mobile (iOS and Android) browsers. For titles with a PDF download, you can save and use the PDF on your device or laptop. PDFs also work on Kindle.

  • I am unable to access a book I’ve purchased. What happened?

    When you purchase a title, you log in with Twitter, Gmail, or GitHub to create a Holloway account. If you log in via a different platform with a different email associated—for example, you create an account with Google but then log in with Twitter, and your Twitter account has a different email address associated with it—you may not see your purchases on your bookshelf, or saved data, like bookmarks or highlights.

    But don’t worry! Your purchases are safe.

    The quickest solution: Log out and log in again with the same platform and account used when purchasing.

    If you still have problems, are not sure which account you used, or have multiple accounts that you’d like to merge, let us know at hello@holloway.com and we can help.

  • What payment methods do you accept?

    We accept online payments using all major credit or debit cards from almost every country (via Stripe), Google Pay (in Chrome), Apple Pay (in Safari), PayPal, and Venmo. All prices are in US dollars. Note that to pay with a debit card from certain countries (such as India), you may need to contact your bank to ensure your debit card will work internationally.

  • I have more questions!

    Don’t we all. We’d love to hear from you at hello@holloway.com.

Logins and Accounts

  • How do I create an account and log in?

    You create an account and log in via Google (personal or work account), Twitter, or GitHub. This makes account setup easy, and you don’t need to remember a new password. If you use the same email address on two different platforms, you can log in with either one. If you have different emails you use on different platforms, we suggest you pick one to use consistently.

  • Do you access my information on Google, Twitter, or GitHub?

    We use these platforms to streamline login (via OAuth), but not to access additional data about you. When setting up your account, we only ask you to grant basic permissions for login, so we know your name and email address. Holloway does not (and cannot) access other personal data like your tweets or email contacts.

  • Can I log in with a username and password instead?

    Currently, we only support login via Google, Twitter, and GitHub.

The Holloway Reader

  • Can I share my account?

    No, each account is for personal access only. But if you buy a title, you can share any chapters or sections with anyone for free. And it’s easy to purchase gifts or invitations for a group or team.

  • Can I share content from a book I’m reading online?

    Yes! We know that part of the experience of reading is discovery.

    Each chapter or section of a book is also on its own URL, which you can share, which means anyone can search for parts of a book in Google search and find or share those pages.

    So you can share sections or chapters with anyone you wish. Note previews of chapters are free, but we do ask free readers to log in and pay if they want full access.

    However, if you’ve purchased a book, you can give others full unlocked chapters with no paywall on any section. If they purchase the whole book from a link you shared, they get an additional 10% off, thanks to you.

  • Can I adjust the fonts or font sizes?

    Not in the app currently. But you can control this in your browser! On desktop, we suggest using your browser’s font size setting. On mobile, it’s the same process. In iOS Safari, look for the font size icons in the URL bar.

  • Is there a mobile app?

    Not yet. For some titles, we offer a downloadable PDF you can load into Kindle or other apps. We are planning to add new formats in the future (and if you purchase, you get these future formats, too).

  • Can I use commenting features on mobile?

    Not yet. We support highlights but not comments and suggestions on mobile web.

Gifts and Team Access

  • Can I buy Holloway titles as a gift?

    Yes! You can purchase and instantly share lifetime digital access for any title in the catalog. You can do this for a friend or a small group by selecting the number of invites you want to purchase during checkout. You’ll get an invite link in an email that you can share with the recipients. You’ll also get a receipt, so you may easily expense it if it’s a business purchase.

  • Can I buy Holloway titles for my team or my company?

    Yes! It’s just like a gift for a few people, as above. For example, if you purchase 5 invites, you can forward the invite link or invitation email to the 5 people on your team.

    We also offer additional options for team access for companies, groups, and classes. Use the team access form (just 3 questions) to set this up and get full pricing information or contact sales@holloway.com.

  • I want people in my team/group/class to have access but I am not sure how many people are interested.

    Just use the form and tell us the initial number of people who need access, and if desired, also a maximum number. You get the flexibility to grow beyond the initial purchase to a larger team as needed and we will invoice the additional copies later. We’ll also apply volume discounts.

  • How do I know the recipients got it?

    You can see all your invites under Gift and Team Access, available in your profile menu when logged in.

Downloads and Formats

  • Can I get a Holloway title as a download?

    A majority of our readers take advantage of the Holloway Reader because of its power and convenience, and to access additional digital resources. But for some titles you also get a PDF that you can download and keep to use on any of your own devices—or even print it if that’s your thing. If you care about design, you’ll be pleased that it’s formatted using the same quality of typography you’ll find in books. Downloads are licensed for personal use only; please don’t share or republish them.*

  • Where do I get my PDF download?

    If your title is available as a PDF, you can find it in the Download section of My Bookshelf, which you can find in your profile menu.*

  • Does the PDF download contain the same as what I read online?

    Mostly, yes! We do our best to make a beautiful and readable PDF. Technical constraints however mean a PDF may not include every resource that appears in the web version, and large tables or infographics may be simplified or omitted. Also, downloads are recent but may not be as current as the web version. You can find a version indicator like e1.1.0 on the web and in your PDF if you wish to know what version you’re reading.

  • Can I read on Kindle?

    PDF downloads do work on Kindle. We suggest you download and use the Send to Kindle apps from Amazon to send the file to your Kindle app or device.

  • Are other formats available?

    EPUB is available on some titles, and paid customers get future formats as they become available. If you want a specific format, do let us know!

  • Do you sell print books?

    Yes, there are print editions for most Holloway books. Currently they're available as an upgrade if you've previously purchased a digital edition from Holloway, or as part of a combo print+digital edition. You can also find print editions of most Holloway books on Amazon and other online booksellers, such as BN.com and Bookshop.org. Your favorite bookstore can also order Holloway books through our distributor, Ingram. You can find out more about getting Holloway books in print.

  • Do print versions have the same version of the book as I get when buying on Holloway?

    Mostly, yes! We put a lot of care into making a quality paperback edition that a book lover will appreciate. But paper has other constraints; print versions may not include resources like infographics or large tables that only work online. And importantly, books on Holloway are often updated or improved, and the Holloway Reader always provides the most up-to-date version. A digital purchase includes future updates!

    You can always find a version indicator like e1.1.0 on any book to be sure you know what version you’re looking at. Because of the process involved, print can sometimes lag a few months behind the digital version.

  • If I buy print, can I get a discount on digital access?

    Yes. When you buy a print copy from Amazon or another retailer, you’ll find a page in the front of the book with a link and instructions.

  • If I buy digital access, can I get a discount on the print edition?

    If a print version is availble, yes, we offer a special price on print upgrades. You can find out more about our print upgrades here.

    We also offer print+digital combo versions on select titles, which include the print version and free shipping.

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