Friday, July 20, 2012

Find Free & 99 Cent eBooks You'll LOVE!

Tip of the Day: Today is the last day to enter my Big Bash on my blog!

Source
I hear it over and over and over and over again: "Free ebooks suck! I wouldn't ever buy an ebook for 99 cents because, clearly, a cheap book is terrible and a waste of money!"

I'd venture to say this isn't true.

I can tell you exactly how to find a free and/or cheap ebook you'll have a great chance at loving.

1. Don't download an ebook that has mostly 1-star ratings. It's a logical statement, but you'd be surprised how many people see the word "free" and can't stop themselves from taking it anyway. Imagine you were at a food fest and some random dude walked up to you and said, "Would you like to try this deep-fried goat tongue, sprinkled with the essence of eel farts?" Would you take it? Doubtful. So don't download the ebook with all 1-star ratings.

2. But if you like deep-friend goat tongue, sprinkled with the essence of eel farts, then go ahead. Look, here's the thing - not everyone is going to like everything. Read the reviews. They are there for a reason. If everyone hates goat tongue, but you have an affinity for essence of eel farts, then give it a try.

3. Don't blame the author if you don't like the subject. I write YA fantasy. It's a little bit of romance, a little bit of snark, a little bit of silly, a little bit of mystery, and a little bit of adventure. It's NOT Lord of the Rings. It's NOT classical literature. It's NOT for everyone on the planet. I want my books to find their audience, but that target audience isn't every breathing human who knows how to read. Only download ebooks with decent reviews that speak to the topics you like. Don't blame me if you wanted erotica - you're not getting it from my books. ;)

4. Ask your friends for a recommendation. Want a new book to read on the cheap? Ask your friends what cheap books they've read and enjoyed lately. Word of mouth is the BEST way to figure out what to read next. Just ask on Facebook. Trust me, you'll get a ton of responses.

5. Sample, sample, sample. Before downloading an ebook, sample it. Yes, most ebooks (at least the cheap ones, which are quite likely self-published or from small presses) allow you to sample the beginning for free. Read the first chapter or two. See if you connect with the writing and voice. If you hate it, don't download the ebook even if it's free. I think I'm back to that whole goat tongue/eel fart concept here.

So, there you go. A simple, but succinct, guide to navigating free and cheap ebooks. Are some of them terrible? Probably. But I'd wager the majority of them ARE NOT. Take a risk on a new author. You never know what you'll find!

*If you like romance, adventure, and magic with a teen protagonist, then try my first novel, Anathema. You got it, Anathema's free. ;) If, however, you enjoy high-brow, sophisticated, or contemporary romances or intense fantasy with a journey and many weird, magical creatures, then Anathema is not for you!

Want a free book from another genre? Take a look at this list on my blog and enter to win a $10 Amazon.com gift card while you're there.


Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

3 comments:

Andrea Lipomi said...

A new cover? :)

Megg Jensen said...

Yep! All three of my Cloud Prophet Trilogy books and the compilation ebook all got new covers last week. :D

DeenaML said...

Great new covers, Megg!
Also, I've learned free/.99 can sometimes mean a sale -- like getting a designer sweater at the TJ Maxx price. :)