Because they are better! This rather odd fact is hard to understand. It took me by surprize, the first 6 ebooks I read were all better than any published book I'd read in the last 12 months. Obviously not all free ebooks will be great, but with free ebooks no one is being paid to lie to you about which ones are good, particularly on this site as we don't accept advertising bribese from anyone. So if the book has a good review rating by lots of people, then it probably is good.
This bias is perfectly sensible from the publisher point of view. As the readership of an author grows the profitability of each successive book increases (particularly if the books are in a series). So a new 'one off' book by an amatuer writer has very little chance of being published.
This is a pity as a full time scientist or someone else with an indepth knowledge of some new field is much more likely to come up with a really new original work.
Authors who wish to distribute their ebooks for free submit them onto this site. Users who find free ebooks can also add them to this site.
Readers are encouraged to review or 'rate' books they read so that each book has a reliable rating from a large number of readers.
Well I couldn't find a reliable independent web site collecting and rating free ebooks. Most ebook sites are covered in advertising and are really trying to sell you something.
Disclaimer: It should also be noted that I am the author of 'one' of the books on this site (The Sentient Advantage) so at least partly this site exists to promote and distribute my own book :-).
The logic of this is fairly simple. Any writer gains more by giving away the ebook version of their book than they do by selling it.
For any writer (unknown or famous) the goal is to increase the number of 'readers' who have discovered your books. A person will only buy a book if they have previously read and enjoyed a book by the same author. People discover new authors in limited ways, usually when some friend lends them a book. So people almost never 'purchase' the first book by an author they haven't read before. Free ebooks are your best marketing tool as it lets you get your book to 'new' readers at no cost!
A lost sale only occurs if someone who 'would' have purchased your book in a bookshop instead gets it free online. Only in the case of number one best selling authors is there any reasonable chance of these two groups overlapping. And even in those cases people buy hard copies of books from authors they really like so I suspect it will still increase sales to give away the same books free.
As one of the first authors providing your work free in this format you will gain a headstart on other authors. Soon millions of people will have portable gadgets with good screens and book reader software, as this happens they will discover ebooks en masse.
We really need web links to increase traffic and make this idea work, please post a message to an appropriate blog, news group, mailing list, or web page describing this site.
http://only-free-fiction.com
I used to think no sane person would read an entire book on their pc. But there were two things I didn't know. First many people will read several chapters of a book and then once they are 'certain' they like it will order it. But they won't even start if the entire book is not available free online.
Secondly, and more importantly, 'pocket pc's are getting very cheap (from ebay you can probably get a perfectly good one for $100) and reading a book on a pocket pc device is a 'joy' I finally got one a few weeks ago and I now prefer it to reading 'real' books. These devices are superior to real books in several ways:
The publishing game is a business who's purpose is to make money by printing books. The publisher must choose writers who will sell. And since readers choose books mostly by authors they know, this means known authors are the only ones who can get published.
You are probably still thinking "But I'm really good, I can be a best seller..." well you are more likely to win Lotto. Lets look at the figures...
Consider the publisher presented with a new work of fiction by an unknown author... He knows the book shops won't carry it until the author is well known, and he knows the reviewers wont review it unless it's in the bookshops (they are writing reviews for the public and the public are not interested in reviews of books they can't buy)
I'm not trying to be negative here, these are just the facts of life. A lot of people in the writing industry try and perpetuate the fantasy that if you are a good writer you can become successful, this just simply isn't true and mathematically cannot be true. So don't feel down if you can't get published, it might mean that your writing is no good, but it might just be you aren't lucky :-)
Yes this is great, and I recommend it. It's a cost effective way of getting a nice copy of your book for yourself, friends and family. It allows people who read and enjoy the ebook version to purchase a hard copy for their own collection, however, be aware that the places that sell you this service will offer you some 'marketing' extras that cost more. I suggest you turn all of these extras down, marketing doesn't work so paying another $1000 to get in their 'brochure' or to be shown at a 'book fair' is money down the drain.
We are not a publisher, so make no claims to your book, you can submit it on as many sites like this as you like
http://www.independentbook.com Online publisher run by authors for authors, highly recommended.
http://www.lulu.com Ebook and Print On Demand publisher with very low (or no) setup cost.
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php FREE PDF viewer, it also has a plug in to convert files to PDF format.
Hunt's Ebook Directory - Ebook & Writing Related Links.
http://clik.to/pankrator - Some free ebooks
Link2Me Link Exchange Directory - The Professional SEO Link Exchange - Quality directory of webmasters actively seeking link exchange. Improve your search engine rankings and link popularity the easy way. Work clever not hard.
Best Dragon Guide - This is your #1 site for information, articles, and resources regarding dragons.
Ebookspot.info, Free Ebooks, Cheap Ebooks, Free softwares, Cheap Softwares, Free Books, Cheap Books - Ebookspot . info - Your source to ebooks of Adsense, Auctions, Marketing, MLM, Site Promotion, Business, Recipes, book, ebook, e-book, Ebooks, E-Books, eBooks, software, softwares, cheap ebooks, cheap e-books, free ebooks, free e-books
Pop Report - Vist the Pop Report Website to get all the latest news stories and gossip on your favourite Pop Stars.
Fiction Zone - Fiction Zone, a site for writers and readers alike. You can just read the stories submitted, or join in and submit a story or poem, anything fictional will be accepted, as long as it is good enough.
Raconter.net Community for authors and readers - On Raconter.net members can tell eac other short stories, cheerful anecdotes, profound poems, or whatever. Their published texts can be read and commented by every visitor.
Writers United - A forum for freelance online series, stories, and even poetry. Animal talk, gaming, and general chat welcome as well. Forum newsletter is sent out weekly with updates and upcoming events.