Ways to Get Free Books

As a book reader for much of my life, I had always wanted to write them as well, not just enjoy them. I began to study the books and found perhaps I could dream of getting published. In the meantime, I voraciously read book reviews from periodicals like the New York Times and The New Yorker.

I learned the basics of writing a book review in a boiled down fashion. I began to peruse the internet and found that book reviewers were almost always needed on websites, even some major ones needed book reviewers. At first, I wasn't getting free books. It was never my intention to really get stacks of free books, but that mindset changed. I discovered a lot of talent could be found in the books I hadn't heard of. As I wrote the reviews for the websites, I began to submit review copy requests for further books from publishers. That is key to getting free books: You will need a professional looking letter you can fax to publishers, otherwise they won't regard you as worthy of their book. But, I found that most of the free books I received came from a simple email query. All I did was state where I had been published, what books I was interested in, and stated where I intended to publish the review of the book. In the books came, and now I own over thirty free books, with more coming in on a weekly basis.

Many of the review sites need reviewers for books that were sent to them as well. If you write say a review or two a month, and can deliver with a review, they will often send you books to review. It saves the editors of the publications much time. I initially wrote for Compulsive Reader (compulsivereader.com) and then through some searches found a few other sites to write reviews for.

This isn't to say you will always get the free books, but a simple email query can take you a matter of minutes, and a hardcover book can be as high as $30. So if you're a fan of books, this is the way to get the free ones, by reviewing them for major sites.

As I write this, I am getting too many books to read. I work full-time as a freelancer so reading books isn't high on my priorities. But much can be done with a quality book, from ideas on articles to ideas on your own works of fiction-if you so desire.

So the next time you don't want to shell out $7-$30 for a new book, and want to own a book instead of checking it out from a library, consider writing book reviews. You won't get paid initially, but you will get the free books.