Make Money Reading Books

 

By now you all know that I just finished writing a book. Well, when I made my author page for Amazon I actually wrote: “If I could get paid to read and take care of my grandchildren, I would probably think I was in heaven on earth.” I don’t think anyone is going to pay me to take care of my grandchildren but now reading, that might be a different story. I do believe it is possible to make money reading books.

 

I decided to research the subject and I found that there actually are ways to make money reading books and leaving reviews. It does not seem like the pay is substantial but as much as I read I just might be able to make enough to make a real difference in our household income. Besides that I would get the books for free.

 

Now one thing that you may not know about me is that I love to read. I read through the entire fiction section of our library in the town where I live and had to get permission to use the one in the next town over. So the good news is that I am already reading a lot of books a month. Add to that the fact that I write reviews all of the time for my other blog and I already have what it takes to do this. I am positive that you do too.

 

The first idea that may pop in your head is to make a blog to do book reviews and the people will just come to you in droves. Don’t count on it. The odds that the money you are going to make reviewing books on your website will be more than the cost of operating your blog are pretty slim. Many authors want you to review their book, that is true. But they want you to do it in exchange for the free book. They don’t realize that you have expenses associated with your blog and they think you should just be happy to receive the book free that they worked so hard to get just right.

Okay so if blogs are not the best idea then what is the alternative?

There are several websites that will pay you for your reviews and some of the best ones are as follows:

• Kirkus – This is probably the most popular site when it comes to hiring book reviewers. The reviews should be submitted in two weeks of agreeing to do them. Reviews must be around 350 words. The payment can vary depending on your experience. They want a resume and some writing samples to apply.
• Online Book Club – It pays and gives free books to the book reviewers. One can earn $5 up to $60 for every review depending on the book that is being reviewed.
• Any Subject Books– Right now they are not accepting new reviewers but they are worth keeping on the list and checking periodically.

 

The follow site provides books free in exchange for a review but no compensation of any kind:

BookLook Bloggers – reviews only need to be 200 words and there are posted on any consumer retail website.

You might also try making a gig on Fiverr to do reviews or signing up with a freelancer  or Upwork. Be sure you don’t fall for the people who want you to write a review without ever reading the book or that insist on a 5 star review. Your reputation is everything and in the long run you will do much better to do your work with integrity.

With the availability of the internet today, there is now a chance for book lovers to make money reading. To me this would be one of the best ways to earn some extra income where you really get to do what you love to do and love what you do.  I signed up with all of the ones that were available right now. Let’s see what happens.

Do any of you get paid to read? Tell us about it.