CJ Brightley’s Kindle Giveaway. Besides the opportunity to win a Kindle, CJ gives readers a chance to win free ebooks, including the box set version of I Bring the Fire, a $7.99 value. She also gives readers a chance to opt out before receiving offers from the various authors.

For a long time as an author I avoided Kindle promotional giveaways.

Here’s how they usually work:

• Authors collaborate to pay for a Kindle and raffle hosting.
• All the authors in a giveaway send an email to their mailing lists and post the offer on their blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter, and other social media accounts.
• Readers enter the giveaway by entering their email address.
• At the end the organizer contacts the winner(s), and shares all of the collected email addresses with the various authors.

I was worried that by participating in these giveaways I was spamming my readers and betraying their trust.

What changed my mind? An author posted on a public board about how her computer died. She couldn’t write, and at the time she didn’t have money to buy a new one. She also has kids, so she couldn’t easily just take a second job to save for one. She began entering every single laptop giveaway she could find. She eventually won one, got her free laptop, and was able to resume her writing. She is now a full-time author.

Kindles are terrific for people who don’t have a lot of funds. eBooks by indie authors are cheaper than paperbacks, and traditionally published eBooks are becoming more common in libraries. Also, traditional publishers are more likely to put the eBook versions of books on sale.

Kindles and other eReaders are also great for people with various disabilities. First, the text can be blown up to accommodate poor eyesight. Brightness can similarly be adjusted. Kindles are also lighter, which is great for some muscular disorders. Finally, because eBooks can be bought and borrowed online, there is no barrier for people who are housebound .

I’ve begun participating in Kindle Giveaways, and I may host one myself in the not too distant future. They give my fans opportunities to win free books, and Kindles. They give me a chance to network with other wonderful authors, grow my mailing list, and hopefully make some new dedicated fans.

I have noticed that they vary in quality. One organizer of a giveaway I subscribed to (because I subscribe to all the ones I participate in) emailed readers three times afterwards. It may have been an error in mailing list management, but I had to unsubscribe from her list 3 times before she stopped sending me emails, and it was frustrating! To protect my fans from that sort of annoyance, I won’t participate in one of her giveaways again. But I will participate in ones like CJ Brightley’s and e.b. browns. E.b. limits mailing list signups to just authors readers chose to be contacted by, not all of them. CJ sends a welcome email and lets readers unsubscribe just once before getting a deluge of emails from participating authors.

So, if you need a Kindle, or know some one who does, try them!

CJ Brightley’s Kindle Giveaway

e.b. browns Kindle Giveaway and mega ebook sale.