How To Fill Your Home With Free Books, Magazines,
And Computer Software

There are plenty of freebies out there, if you like magazines, computers and books. These opportunities exist in their own little worlds, and while they often seem invisible to the average person, there is an active industry in all three areas.

Take trade magazines and trade journals for example. Many of these are controlled circulation magazines that give free subscriptions to people in the field. Their interest is in building a documented subscriber list; the larger the list, the more they earn in advertising rates. In many instances, this makes it easy for you to be put on the list of subscribers, even if you are not in the industry.

Controlled circulation magazines are especially prevalent in mature industries continually undergoing change in products and methods. They are a way of keeping their readers up to date in the industry. Electronics, computers, plumbing, trucking, aviation, foods, energy, fishing, foristy and landscaping, home furnishing, industrial operations, marketing, management, medicine, animal care, sports, sales, and many other industries feature their own controlled circulation publications. One source for uncovering such controlled circulation publications is the Writer's Market, a thick volume that comes out each year and is found in most libraries

Do you like books? Book reviewers receive their books free from the publishers. And this doesn't mean you have to review for "The New York Times". Publishers will send review copies to you even if you're doing short reviews for small local publications, or if you are writing about the subject of the book and want to refer to the book in some way. Publishers will respond positively if you have any way of making their book known to more people, so don't feel limited if you aren't doing a book review.

Also, the United States Government provides a number of free books on consumer topics through its clearing house in Pueblo, Colorado.

For free software, you can use your personal computer and modem to download software known as public domain software and shareware from the bulletin boards that dot the country. Shareware gets its name because you are encouraged to download a copy to try out; if you like it, you are supposed to send the fee requested by the program's author, who will in turn send you printed documentation on the program. Much of this software is so sophisticated and so inexpensive compared to their commercial counterparts that even if you choose to pay the fee you are getting a great deal.