BookBub, a site for readers and writers

I discovered BookBub by accident and can’t get enough of it. A daily e-mail notifies me of discounts on e-books in every genre, fiction and non-fiction. Among the choices are action and adventure, biographies and memoirs, chick lit, Christian fiction, contemporary romance, cookbooks, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, parenting, spiritual and inspirational, and much more.

I select the categories of books I like to read and each day I receive a list of books available for download. Sometimes the books are free, but most often they’re .99 to $3.99.

BookBub isn’t a bookseller, although it does take a commission on each sale. It’s a vehicle for alerting readers to limited-time offers that become available from retailers like Amazon's Kindle store, Barnes & Noble's Nook store, Apple's iBookstore, and others. Book publishers offer deals at these sites for promotional purposes, and BookBub works with them to determine the best books to feature to its members.

According to the BookBub website, founders Josh Schanker and Nicholas Ciarelli realized that with hundreds of thousands of digital books being published every year, and an exploding number of older titles becoming available in digital format a twofold problem was emerging: readers were having trouble sifting through all the titles to discover great books matching their interests, and publishers and authors were finding it difficult to get the attention of new readers. Out of these needs, BookBub was founded in early 2012. Today the service helps millions of readers discover great books with thousands of leading authors and publishers. 

In September 2014 BookBub was featured in Readers Digest’s “33 Ways to Get Great Deals on Anything,” and in May 2014 The Economist wrote, “… BookBub, a discovery and marketing service of e-books, is two years old. It has seen rapid growth that has allowed it to help sell millions of e-books, says Josh Schanker, the firm’s founder. It sends out a daily email to three million subscribers, which list the best (and best-priced) e-books. A team of editors picks and chooses titles they enjoy. It also charges publishers and authors for placing books in front of its audience. Commissions vary, but BookBub generally takes around 25 percent of each sale. Both revenues and the size of the company have tripled since January 2013. Today more than 30,000 e-books a day are bought by BookBub users—one in 50 e-books sold in America, the company claims." 

I find BookBub has also introduced me to authors I wouldn’t have read otherwise. Right now I’m reading The Leigh Koslow Mystery Series, Books 1-3 by Edie Claire. The main character is quirky, funny, honorable, and can’t seem to stay out of trouble. I’m also over-indulging on Christmas themed books. It is that time of year, after all. Without Bookbub I would never have discovered these writers. Subscribing is free and downloading is simple. Since most of the books are older titles you might not be getting current bestsellers, but you will frequently see books by best selling authors.