From Passion to Profit: How To Get Paid To Read Books
If staying up at night, reading your favorite book, or listening to audiobooks is your hobby, you can quickly turn it into a side hustle and start making money. You may be surprised by how many ways there are to get paid to read books.
From becoming a book reviewer to a proofreader and an audiobook narrator, there are endless ways to earn money while indulging in your favorite pastime – reading.
Become a Book Reviewer:
If you love to read and at any age, you can become a book reviewer. To find work, you can look into the following:
- Companies that hire book reviewers
- Reaching out to websites that write book reviews and ask for work, and
- Working with magazines and newspapers that cover books
Besides this, you can also join book review communities, book clubs, etc., to find more opportunities and network with the right people. With some extra work, making money with books will get easier over time.
Book reviewing will mostly be a part-time job to earn extra money. On average, you can expect to earn $30-50 per review. That means if you get 20 reviews, you will make at least $600 each month.
As a book reviewer, however, you should always be open to reading new authors, genres, etc. Here are a few platforms or websites to start with.
Kirkus Review
As the name suggests, Kirkus Review is a popular forum for book reviewers. As of today, they are looking for English and Spanish title reviewers for Kirkus Indie (the book review magazine section dedicated to self-published authors).
If you’re interested, you can send a resume, and writing samples, to Kirkus Indie’s Editor, David Rapp, at [email protected].
In any case, Kirkus Review is almost always hiring book reviewers in different spaces and niches, and you can find the details here. We cannot find any official figures, but if we research the internet, most claim to have made between $40-50 per review.
Reedsy
As a Reedsy book reviewer, you will get hundreds of books for free before they are launched in the market.
You must apply for the book reviewer position here, start working and create an impressive profile. When readers enjoy your work, they can send $1, $3, or $5 as a token of thank you. You can receive tips via Stripe.
However, Reedsy doesn’t pay you for the reviews separately. So, this is something you can pick up in your spare time.
Booklist
If you want to work with Booklist, you must be familiar with books and libraries. You can start by filling out their application and familiarizing yourself by reading Booklist Online reviews.
Once you’re accepted, you’ll be expected to write well-summarized reviews in 150-175 words doing justice to the book’s plot. You can expect $15 for each study. If a title is allocated, you’ll get a reject fee of $5. You can find details here.
The U.S. Review of Books
Your job is to write a review of 200-250 words that summarises the book well. Reviewers are paid monthly for reviews that you did in the previous months.
You can contact the editor with sample work, a resume, and references if interested. Find details here.
Book Browse
To work with BookBrowse, all you need to do is apply with a good quality sample of 300 words and fill out this form. You can start by reading reviews here and proceed if your review fits the quality.
They review genres like young adult, adult fiction, and nonfiction with exciting storylines. Another thing differentiating BookBrowse from other platforms is that the reviewers here write a ‘beyond the book article, along with the book reviews.
The reviewers write one review monthly, earning them a modest payment with a byline.
Upwork
At Upwork, you need to create your reviewer profile, as that’s how the authors and relevant clients can contact you to have you read and review their books.
The best part of being on the platform is that, as a freelancer, you can set up your price and decide the clients you’d like to work with.
Similarly, you can also check out Fiverr.
Publishers Weekly
They frequently hire book reviewers and pay them $25 for each. If you are interested, you can send a resume and a sample review of a recently published book to [email protected].
You can find all other details here.
Online Book Club
On the Online Book Club, you get a book as a reward for your review. Only after your first approved review are you eligible to get paid for your reviews. The pay scale for a review can vary from $5 to $60 for the books you review. Find more details here.
Become an Audiobook Narrator:
Another way to get paid to read a book is to become an audiobook narrator and sell your voice.
Your work includes using your voice to bring the book and the story to life. Your work includes providing different voices for different characters and bringing out the required emotion in it.
As an audiobook narrator, you will get paid by the hour or have a royalty share. While the sky’s the limit, the amount you earn will vary depending on your experience, length, agreement with the publisher, etc.
All you need to have is a good voice, the ability to modulate your voice, and the ability to record and edit work professionally. You will most likely find freelance work with a production company or a publisher.
You can find jobs on websites like:
ACX
Are you a voice actor and want to get paid to read books? You can look into ACX. Through the platform, you can find an unlimited number of gigs. The audiobooks you produce will be available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.
You can start by signing up here and uploading samples. When it comes to payment, you have two options
- Choose a per-finished-hour rate, or
- Choose to share 50% of the royalties.
Once you create an account, you can select a title and record a few minutes of the manuscript. If the right holder likes you, they will make you an offer, which you can accept.
Voices
Voices is one of the best marketplaces for voice-over jobs. You can create a free account with them and look for audiobook narration jobs.
If you upgrade it to premium membership, you will get access to all jobs, and they will also email the best-suited jobs to your email. We didn’t find the exact payment rates for the voice actors, but the average cost of the audiobook gigs is $250-300.
Voice123
Just like Voices, Voices123 is another marketplace for voice-over artists. You can create a free account and search for relevant audiobook jobs.
Bunny Studio
Bunnystudio is another excellent place to find audiobook narration jobs. It is free to join in, and you will get access to the available jobs. Right now, they have closed down applications for new artists. However, it is a good option, and you should check them out frequently to grab the opportunity when they open up.
Become a Proofreader:
As a proofreader, you’ll get paid to read books and by working for publishers or authors who need their manuscripts checked for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting errors. Your work basically aims at making the final product error-free and polished.
To become a proofreader, you must have a command over language and grammar skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently. Besides this, you should also select a niche for yourself, as it will help you become profitable sooner.
There are different ways to find proofreading jobs, such as applying to job postings on job boards or freelancing platforms, reaching out to publishers and authors directly, or working with a proofreading agency.
Last but not least, proofreaders can earn a competitive hourly rate or a flat fee per project, depending on the type and length of the book and the level of editing required.
Polished Paper
Polished Paper has many opportunities for editors. If you want to consider that, go here, register for a user account, and upload your resume.
After this, you will be taken to their 35-question test, and you are also encouraged to use outside resources to complete the test (for example, MLA, APA, CSE, and Chicago formatting guides).
Proofreading Services
Proofreading Services is an excellent website for finding full-time and remote proofreading jobs. You can expect $19-46 per hour with them.
To sign up, you will need to take their 20 mins test, and once you pass that, you will be provided with relevant opportunities.
WordVice
You can find many remote proofreading jobs on WordVice. If you apply, you must send in an application, resume, and editing samples, and they will also ask you for an expected pay rate.
Gramlee
Gramlee is almost always looking for exceptional editors. You have the flexibility to work from home and create your schedule. If you want to work with them, you will have two editing positions – one for content and another for dissertations.
Start a Blog Focused On Books:
Blogging is our favorite and the most lucrative way to make money from home.
Running a book review blog can be a great way to earn money by sharing your love for books with others. There are many ways to monetize a blog, and you can look into affiliate programs, sponsored posts, ads, digital products, etc.
- By partnering with book publishers and using affiliate links, you can earn commissions on sales generated through your blog.
- Writing sponsored reviews can also provide a steady source of income.
- Building a loyal audience can attract advertising opportunities, with brands willing to pay for exposure to your readers.
Besides this, you can make extra cash with ads on your blog. The top-rated companies to work with are Mediavine and Adthrive.
In addition to monetary benefits, a book review blog can provide access to advanced reader copies and other exclusive content from publishers.
Blogging is one of the only side hustles on the list that can help you build passive income, and that means you can become a blogger and make money alongside your day job.
Are You Ready To Make Money Online?
There you go. There are so many ways you can get paid to read books. While it may take time to establish yourself in any fields we discussed, remember that the return is significant, and you can earn money with it.
If you love reading and want to earn extra money, getting paid to read books could be an excellent opportunity to explore. You can make it your weekend job or take it up as a full-time job.
Get started now.
This article originally appeared on Savoteur.
