8 Ways to Earn Money Reading Books

Last updated on September 21st, 2024 at 10:28 am

 

People get paid to write content, and another interesting part is they also earn money reading books yet to some it’s just a hobby. When you’re paid for something, you do every day it’s free money on the side and many get paid.

If you’re among those good at reading novels, online content, and other formats, let this be an eye-opener. Sincerely, reading takes time and commitment but if there are ways to make money reading books doing it then it’s a game changer.

Reviewing and reading books aloud are common paying practices these days just in case you didn’t know. Yes, there are different companies and websites into it that want to use your time then they pay you.

I don’t know about your reading culture, but it’s a paying side hustle job that can change your life financially. To earn money reading books, you don’t have to wake up early to go to work, it’s something that you can do at your convenience.

It’s a work from home job, you can work from wherever you’re around the world connecting through online platforms.

Some people start this as a side hustle but later on, find it more rewarding and decide to hustle full-time to make money reading books. And if you have a 9 to 5 job interested in supplementing your earnings this can be a great way to fatten your wallet.

It sounds like a lazy way to make some extra dollars but there’s real money here when you know what you’re doing.

Imagine reading a type of book you want or different types you never had access to but now you’re getting free access. Before, I heard that people get paid to read books and later took a step ahead to read about it.

I didn’t stop there after doing the research, writing about making money is my thing, to be honest, and now here we are. Let’s get into it to explain the different ways in which to read books for money with best practices.

How To Make Money Reading Books

If you’re not good at reading, this might be a hard way for you to make money but for those doing it as a hobby, it’s almost free money.

1. Proofreading

When a book is not yet published someone has to go through it to check for grammatical errors, spelling, and so on. And then, all that is identified is taken care of by the author to produce quality content for the public.

Proofreaders are playing a big role for content creators in making things perfect for end users. There are many people out there employed as proofreaders earning a full-time income working from home.

You need to be computer literate with some experience in identifying grammatical errors and spelling in written content. Whether you need to be a literature student? You don’t need to be a literature student to make money as a proofreader.

As a live example, I used to do proofreading work for some people yet am not a literature scholar and I got paid for quite some time. Here’s a free walkthrough about how to become a proofreader to be able to make the most out of reading books for cash.

2. Translate Books for Money

Do you know that speaking two or more languages can make you money? it’s also one of the ways to get paid to read books. In most cases when you want to get employed in some places, you must be able to speak more than two languages.

Places like Publishing companies and NGOs, mostly employ people who can speak and write in more than two languages. And this is where translation makes more sense hence, you might not be easily considered when you’re not multilingual.

The best way writers can reach out to people in different places is through content written in several languages. Sure, you can get paid to translate books into English and other languages.

Honestly, people who speak more languages have an edge over those with a single language in the job market.

If you’re in a career where it requires knowing more languages then take on language lectures to make things come your way. Whether you’re learning a new language or polishing, lectures make you fluent in both writing and speaking.

When it comes to earnings, most book translators don’t receive standard pay since there are more freelancers than full-time workers in the industry.

Make use of platforms like Ulatus, Fiverr, Guru, and Upwork to advertise your services to make more money. It shouldn’t be just about translating books but there are lots of ways you can diversify income streams for the best.

Heard about the American Translators Association (ATA)? The body certifies people in language pairing through fluency tests. As said before, some companies need employees with the potential to speak multiple languages and would also require certification from ATA.

Therefore, Research shows (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) that translators make about $20 to $23 per hour which is quite some good money.

3. Make Money Writing Books

Most people who are good at reading books also pick an interest in writing to share the experience. Being good at reading books helps you to easily diversify your income through writing books for sale.

And when you write your book it’s easier to do the proofreading yourself to publish quality content. Yes, there’s no way you’re going to produce content without reading through it since it’s best practice.

Some people started their publishing journey as readers and then decided to share the lessons learned through writing books.

Writing books, it’s a paying gig when you put in the time to write great content applying all the strategies that work. Anyone can make money depending on the type of topic he or she selects to share with the public.

Looking for a job where you can work from the comfort of your home? Reading and writing are among the best options.

If writing is not your field, it’s hard to believe that people get a decent income selling books making thousands of dollars or more.

And some of the platforms where people make money selling books include Amazon, ShareAsale, and MaxBounty. Reading books is a great way to start when you have plans to write books for sale in the future to get paid.

4. Reviewing Books Online

Working with online platforms reviewing books for money is common nowadays and people earn money reading books online. And there’s no way you can review a book without reading through it to understand the context of the content.

You can work with different online platforms depending on your schedule and level of expertise to earn money. And every platform or website uses its preferred payment means for convenience.

It’s therefore better to work with a website that meets your needs in terms of convenience with payment and reliability.

Looking out for websites that can get paid to review books online, right? Let’s now dive deep into websites or platforms where reviewing books pays.

• Booklist

This is a recognized body in the United States used by public libraries and other educational institutions in selecting books to buy for use. Booklist employs people who can do the work and in case one is interested has to apply to offer service.

When working with Booklist, expect to make about $15 for reviews that you make ranging between 150 to 175 words on average.

• UpWork

Another platform through which to make money reviewing books is UpWork. This is one of the longest-serving freelance sites where people find gigs reviewing books for cash.

On UpWork there’s demand for book reviewers but the requirements for one to get approved for an offer differ among clients.

You need to Sign up on the platform to easily get clients since your service is fully advertised and displayed to a large audience online.

• Kirkus Review

If you’re good at Spanish and English but with competence at reviewing books, Kirkus is another platform that you can work with to get paid.

Working here you need to have some professional experience to get approved to offer service. And this means at the time of application you’re to present a detailed profile about your level of expertise.

Normally people with strong profiles easily get approved to offer services to start making money with the website.

• Findaway Voices

On this platform, you get paid for creating audiobooks for authors at an agreed-upon fee. Findaway Voices connects narrators with authors creating hence convenience in finding one another.

When you want to make use of the platform you need to sign up to profile yourself in the best way possible to get found by authors interested in the service.

• Online Book Club

Also, here people get rewarded to review books but in the first-place payment is made in kind not cash and normally it’s a book nothing else.

Reviewers on this platform have the liberty to decide on which titles to read about to get paid. Expect to make up to $60 reviewing books here, but like said at the start normally payments are in kind.

It’s one of the easiest online platforms where one starts working without any previous experience. Therefore, if you’re just getting started this is a great option to get along with to make reviews for money.

• Reedsy Discovery

Reviewing books on Reedsy discovery pays but there’s no fixed amount made to reviewers. Members earn tips, just thank them for work done for that period making reviews.

The platform shares tips of up to $5 or less depending on the situation and like said there’s no guaranteed amount to reviewers. And the tip is gotten from people that read the reviews that you wrote on the platform.

When you’re just getting started with writing reviews for cash, it’s a good platform for developing writing technics. But before starting to write you must create an account on the platform to get approved.

And compared to some other platforms, the sign-up process is very simple since you’re only required to use an email address, first and last name and you’re good to go.

Yes, there are a few things you need to include in your profile and that’s not a big thing it’s for your benefit, creating an account here isn’t stressful at all.

• US Review of Books

Freelance writers get paid here making reviews of about 250 to 300 words long on average. And there are many books that this platform wants freelance writers with expertise to make reviews about.

There’s a lot of flexibility working with the platform, you can work on a title of your choice from a list. US Reviews of Books has a lot of work on the platform for reviewers to get paid when they do things correctly.

• Voices

Like the name of the platform, if you’re pursuing to become a voiceover artist or already doing it for cash you can start making money here too. It’s among the best voiceover platforms where you can find over 3000 job posts in a single month.

However, you need to have some experience in working on audiobooks to get approved for gigs on the platform to get paid. Freelancers here can make up to $300 per project but this only happens when you deliver with practices as agreed.

Create an account with Voices to get approved for available offers to start earning through your PayPal account.

• BookBrowse

Working with BookBrowse also gets you paid to review books of different genres for example about adult-fiction and non-fiction when assigned. I don’t know about you but there are many books to be read, meaning there’s work to be done for cash.

To work with BookBrowse you need to have some experience on account of past sample reviews. Create an account with the platform for approval to get gigs assigned to you to make money.

• getAbstract

Another platform where you can make money reviewing books for people online is getAbstract. Many people use it when looking for summarized versions of books they wish to read about in just a short period.

You find book summaries on history, personal development, politics, and more that you would wish to read about. And if you’re a freelance writer getAbstract is a great platform to make money with, but you must sign up to create an account for approval.

5. Get Employment in A Publishing Company

Working in a publishing company, you need to be able to read and write content to qualify for most professional posts. Such companies employ quite several people for different posts like book editors, book publicists, copy editors, and book contract managers.

But with all such positions, one must be able to read and write to qualify for the available post. And when looking for employment in publishing companies, make use of online job listing platforms to find available offers to put in your application for consideration.

6. Start A Book Blog

Blogging is a great way to make money reading books online during your free time nowadays. For a book blog, you’ll write about things you feel your audience will want to read about, which you can later monetize.

People are surely getting paid through book blogs but you need to put in the time to write helpful content for the public. There’s a steady income to make with book blogs when you do things correctly putting out content that interests the public.

Compared to a 9 to 5 employment, what I know about blogging is that you’re not limited to earnings. Putting out content continuously is what keeps the blog going and earning more as time goes by.

To make the most out of the book blog you need to diversify earnings through Ads, affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and selling courses.

• Ads – companies use your platform to advertise their products to your audience to increase their client base to make more sales.
• Affiliate marketing – you promote products for companies to your audience and when people buy using your special link you receive a commission.
• Sponsorships – here businesses pay you to write about content in your niche but are most focused on promoting their brands to get exposure.
• Selling courses – you teach people about how to make money with a book blog in-depth for those who want to get professional about the business.

Therefore, starting a book review blog you need to have read about several books to give you the confidence to get started.

7. Book Podcasting

Starting a book podcast, you need to read such that you’re up to-date and clear about different topics. There’s money in podcasting but ensure to offer the best while sharing with your audience.

With podcasting you still need to have a large audience to make money through affiliate sales, sponsorships, and Ads.

Like any other business, podcasting takes time to turn into a profitable business but consistency in creation is key to success. However, it requires some investment in terms of equipment to use for the production of content.

But don’t wait to have it all, you can start with what is available as you get more skills and exposure to the business. Like bloggers, with a diversified approach, podcasters are also making quite some good money.

8. Book Cover Designing

If you have a skill in Artwork and are passionate about reading, it gets easier for you to design perfect book covers. Yes, you can easily tell what works or not and with that, you can help out authors in designing book covers to get paid.

Compared to other Artists, reading books gives you an edge in the Art business through designing book covers. It’s a great side hustle and when it turns out to be a constant income source you can work it out full-time.

However, you need to advertise your service on freelance platforms such as UpWork and Fiverr for more and better deals to make money.

Take time to learn about what works best when it comes to book cover designs to offer quality to make the most out of the side gig. And this will also help you in determining the right charges for specific designs for clients.

So, you can’t easily come up with perfect wordings on book covers when you’ve not seen different designs for a while through reading. Where to find work, right? There are private individuals and publishing companies ready to pay for the service.

On average designing book covers pays about $12 per/hour or even more depending on the type of work you’re doing.

To Make the Most Out of Reading Books, Read About These 4 Finance Books

To make money reading books, also you need to look out for content that can positively impact your life financially.

• Quit Like a Millionaire – It’s a book by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung talking about early retirement.
• Millionaire Next Door – it’s a wonderful book by J. Stanley and William Danko with amazing insights about millionaires and why they get to be millionaires.
• Automatic Millionaire – In this book David Batch talks about changing your financial situation using a one-time process continuously.
• Love Your Life, Not Theirs – Life is not just about money hence there’s more to it than money, Racheal Cruze talks about a mindset change.

FAQs

• How Can I Make Money Reading Books?

How much you earn reading books depends on the kind of work you’re doing and that’s why most times earnings differ especially with freelance readers. However, there are side hustles where book readers make thousands of dollars or even more per month for example through book review blogs and writing books.

• Which Jobs Pay More Money Reading Books?

Most jobs can pay you well for reading books but to make the most out of the side hustle you need to be creative.

Yes, some jobs pay quite some good amounts for example reviewing books, proofreading, author, book publicist, book editor, and more. And there are lots of other jobs in line with book reading where you can make money fast for a living.

• Can I Easily Find a Job Working as a Book Reader?

Yes, finding work to do is easy but you must have what it takes to qualify for one where it’s available. And on the other side, it can be hard to get one when you don’t do things correctly.

There are people and companies ready to pay for your service at any one time when there’s a need.

Closing – Earn Money Reading Books

It’s quite lengthy going through the different ways to make money reading books, but I hope you find one that meets your demands. And many people are getting paid freelancing to read books and earn a full-time income.