by Phoenix Desertsong, Parent of Three
Ebooks are a hot commodity on the internet. Many of them are given away for free to promote products and in marketing for companies. But, best of all, free ebooks are a great way for up and coming authors to gain an easier chance of discovery and name recognition. So, it's often possible to find great free ebooks for kids. Still, witheverything that comes for free, there will be some that won't be worth your time. So, here's how to find the best free ebooks for your children.
Find Free Ebooks from Up-and-Coming Children’s Authors
It’s quite common for aspiring book writers and novelists to turn to distributing free ebooks online to get their work out into the world. There are many reasons authors do this. Some are sick of being rejected by literary agents and publishers and decide to self-publish their work. By giving out a free ebook or two, up-and-coming authors can get people to visit their website and sign up for mailing lists. Many self-published authors have done extremely well this way.
Despite what some people may think, many authors who put out free ebooks are actually publishing quality work. Keep in mind that publishers tend to reject books before they even see anything of the actual manuscript. Publishers will typically reject anything that doesn’t fit in a certain genre or doesn't have an obvious market.
In particular, many children’s book writers have turned to giving away free ebooks for their first couple of books in order to build their audience. Sometimes, small presses and literary agents who are happy to take a chance on indie authors will discover them this way. Most of the time, these authors are happy to just build their own book business. So, if you discover a quality free ebook from an up-and-coming children’s author - or any author for that matter - be sure to share it with your friends and family.
Free Children’s Ebooks Are Easy to Find, But Which Are Good?
There are so many websites on which you can find free children’s ebooks. Of course, the major online booksellers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble are a great place to start. Kindle and Nook are happy to let authors offer ebooks for free just to build their sales rankings.
But, there are also plenty of independent websites that exist almost entirely for the purpose of distributing free children’s ebooks. One good way of getting free kids’ ebooks is to join kids clubs online. These clubs tend to send you free children’s ebooks monthly or even weekly just by signing up by email.
Most sites that let you download free ebooks will require that you register with the site by email. While most sites are safe, be aware that you may receive a lot of unwanted email due to sites that will sell your email to mailing lists. How sites plan to use your email address should be in the fine print so look at this before you sign up with any sites.
Don't pay subscription fees to any free ebooks sites because authors typically give everything away for free. Always beware of sites that ask you to sign up for a free trial to download any books. While many of these are also legiitate book clubs that are actually no obligitation if you cancel before the trial period ends, read the fine print.
Beware of educational websites that will be sneaky by asking for your PayPal email address. Do NOT sign up for these as they are trying to subscribe you for auto payments, which may still remain active even if you cancel. While PayPal is good about getting you your money back if you have proof of cancellation, it can take ten days for that money to be returned. Save yourself the headache and avoid them. it's a common scam, and even if you are willing to pay, they often don't provide what they promise.
Find Free Ebooks from Up-and-Coming Children’s Authors
It’s quite common for aspiring book writers and novelists to turn to distributing free ebooks online to get their work out into the world. There are many reasons authors do this. Some are sick of being rejected by literary agents and publishers and decide to self-publish their work. By giving out a free ebook or two, up-and-coming authors can get people to visit their website and sign up for mailing lists. Many self-published authors have done extremely well this way.
Despite what some people may think, many authors who put out free ebooks are actually publishing quality work. Keep in mind that publishers tend to reject books before they even see anything of the actual manuscript. Publishers will typically reject anything that doesn’t fit in a certain genre or doesn't have an obvious market.
In particular, many children’s book writers have turned to giving away free ebooks for their first couple of books in order to build their audience. Sometimes, small presses and literary agents who are happy to take a chance on indie authors will discover them this way. Most of the time, these authors are happy to just build their own book business. So, if you discover a quality free ebook from an up-and-coming children’s author - or any author for that matter - be sure to share it with your friends and family.
Free Children’s Ebooks Are Easy to Find, But Which Are Good?
There are so many websites on which you can find free children’s ebooks. Of course, the major online booksellers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble are a great place to start. Kindle and Nook are happy to let authors offer ebooks for free just to build their sales rankings.
But, there are also plenty of independent websites that exist almost entirely for the purpose of distributing free children’s ebooks. One good way of getting free kids’ ebooks is to join kids clubs online. These clubs tend to send you free children’s ebooks monthly or even weekly just by signing up by email.
Most sites that let you download free ebooks will require that you register with the site by email. While most sites are safe, be aware that you may receive a lot of unwanted email due to sites that will sell your email to mailing lists. How sites plan to use your email address should be in the fine print so look at this before you sign up with any sites.
Don't pay subscription fees to any free ebooks sites because authors typically give everything away for free. Always beware of sites that ask you to sign up for a free trial to download any books. While many of these are also legiitate book clubs that are actually no obligitation if you cancel before the trial period ends, read the fine print.
Beware of educational websites that will be sneaky by asking for your PayPal email address. Do NOT sign up for these as they are trying to subscribe you for auto payments, which may still remain active even if you cancel. While PayPal is good about getting you your money back if you have proof of cancellation, it can take ten days for that money to be returned. Save yourself the headache and avoid them. it's a common scam, and even if you are willing to pay, they often don't provide what they promise.
Always Look Over Free Ebooks Entirely Yourself Before Reading Them With Your Child
Before reading any ebook with your child, definitely be sure there will be no unwelcome surprises. While discovering a book together can be fun, you never know what you'll find in something you downloaded for free from the internet. Unless you know the author, even if you got it from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, it's better safe than sorry to know the entire book’s contents before sharing it with your child. Most of the time it will be fine, but you never know what strange things a free ebook will have.
Be aware that some of these sites have educational ebooks with certain political or religious slants. You will want to review ebooks carefully before actually showing them to your children, of course. Sometimes these slants and agendas are hidden within the book and aren’t openly advertised. Keep this in mind when downloading free children’s ebooks, even from major retailers.
Free ebooks for kids are an awesome resource for homeschool or reading time. Just be careful what ebook sites you use and look over what you download carefully. You can find some great educational and entertaining resources for your child thanks to free ebooks.
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