When I was younger, my ultimate dream was to become a professional reader, spending my entire workday reading books, analyzing their merits and flaws, and sharing my insights with others. I longed for it to be a full-time job, but unfortunately, there's no degree or traditional career path for becoming a professional book reader.
However, there are several ways to earn money by reading books online and offline. In fact, I've compiled a list of 10 different ways to monetize your reading passion. These methods range from typical to unconventional, but all have the potential to generate income.
I've grouped them into four categories - social media, jobs, review sites, and other opportunities - so you can easily find the options that align with your interests and skill set.
Earning Money through Social Media by Reading Books
Creating a social media profile, where you share your love of books and offer engaging insights is a popular and enjoyable way to earn money through reading.
To begin, all you need is a platform to post your content, and you can even start without purchasing books by utilizing free resources like a library card or a Hoopla account.
As you gain a reputation for your thoughtful book reviews and recommendations, you can leverage your social media presence to earn money in various ways. Here are some of the most effective methods for making money by reading books on social media.
1. Share Your Book Reviews on BookTok, BookTube, and BookStagram
TikTok is actually contributing to higher literacy rates in America. I have personally discovered and enjoyed many books, thanks to BookTok, such as The Hating Game, Emily Henry's works, and The Song of Achilles.
The good news is that BookTok provides an excellent opportunity to earn money by reading books.
Here's how it works: Start by creating an account and making it clear that your content focuses on book reviews. Be specific about your preferred genres. Next, craft engaging book reviews that set you apart as a thoughtful and trustworthy Bookfluencer.
Although TikTok's creator fund only pays between 2 to 4 cents per 1,000 views, you can still earn money through sponsorships. To maximize your exposure, cross-post your videos on all three video channels: BookTok, BookTube, and BookStagram. While it may take some time to build your audience and earn a substantial income, sharing your book reviews on these platforms is a fun and potentially lucrative way to make money by reading books.
2. Make Money Reading Books by Writing Reviews on Your Blog
Writing about books is one of the best ways to earn money while indulging in your passion for reading. Creating a blog where you can share your book reviews can be a great option for making money by reading books. Unlike creating video content, maintaining a blog can be less time-consuming, allowing you to post your thoughts on books once or twice a week while building an audience gradually.
You can monetize your blog by placing ads on it, which may take some time to gain traction, but can be lucrative in the long run. If you're already reading books and writing reviews on Goodreads, why not post your reviews on your own website and earn some money for your efforts?
3. Write about books on Medium
The medium offers a unique payment scheme for writers, allowing them to earn a portion of the monthly membership fee paid by readers who engage with their content. But, even without focusing on making money, posting your book reviews on a platform like Books Are Our Superpower is a great way to share your thoughts on books with a community of readers who are interested in your opinions.
With this approach, you don't need to worry about SEO or hosting your own website, just share your reviews, gain followers, and connect with like-minded book lovers.
4. Start a book review podcast
Podcasts offer a great way to share your thoughts on the books you read and potentially build an audience, without the pressure of video content. Whether you choose to host solo or with a cohost, sponsorships can be a source of income.
While most podcasts currently rely on ads for revenue, with a growing audience, you may be able to explore additional monetization options such as Patreon support, selling bonus content, or securing an exclusive deal with a podcasting company.
5. Maximize Your Earnings by Utilizing Affiliate Links
Affiliate links are a common thread among many of these methods, and they deserve a category of their own as one of the most effective ways to earn money by reading books. Here's how it works:
1. Sign up for an affiliate program, such as Bookshop
2. Read a book.
3. Find the book on Bookshop
4. Recommend the book to a friend, and post it on your blog, podcast, social media, or newsletter.
5. When someone buys the book through your recommendation, you earn a 10% commission on the sale.
It's that simple! This method is highly scalable, so you can start earning a few bucks with just one sale, and your platform grows, and your earnings will increase too.
6. Become an Audiobook Narrator
We've all been enchanted by an audiobook reader's voice, haven't we? (Personally, I'm a fan of Moira Quirk's reading of Gideon the Ninth.)
If you possess a captivating voice of your own, you're in high demand as an audiobook narrator. Audiobooks have become increasingly popular over the last decade, with the proportion of U.S. Adults who have read an audiobook doubling.
So, it's no surprise that you can earn money by reading books for Audible.
Here are two programs where you can upload samples, get contracts, and get paid for narrating books:
ACX, Amazon's/Audible's program, allows you to choose between a royalty share or a per-finished-hour rate. Rates typically start at around $250 PFH or more.
Findaway Voices is a similar program with similar rates. You can sign up, upload samples, and get selected based on your accent or liveliness. One thing I like about Findaway Voices over ACX is that it helps authors get their books into libraries, which can earn you extra money. Plus, who doesn't love libraries?
7. Become an editor and indulge your inner grammar nerd
Editing is a potential career choice or freelance opportunity that involves both grammatical and structural editing. Depending on your educational background, you can apply for full-time editing positions or offer your services on freelance platforms like Upwork or Fiverr.
If you're an avid reader, editing books can be a rewarding way to earn money while enhancing your writing skills. As an editor, you'll have the chance to provide valuable feedback to authors, helping them to refine and improve their work.
8. Enter the Publishing Industry as a Literary Agent
Becoming a literary agent is a career path that combines passion and expertise in the book industry. As a literary agent, you have the opportunity to discover and develop hidden gems in the form of unpublished manuscripts. You will be responsible for reading, evaluating, and polishing manuscripts before pitching them to publishers.
If you are interested in becoming a literary agent, but lack the necessary qualifications, you can start interning at a literary agency. Networking is key in this field, as connections are crucial for success. It is also essential to have a deep understanding of the publishing process.
If you want to learn more about how to become a literary agent, TCK Publishing offers a helpful guide to get started.
9. Make money by translating books
If you know more than one language, there's good news for you – you can earn money by reading and translating books into English, Spanish, or any other language. As someone who loves reading books in Spanish, German, and English, I'm grateful to the translators who help make works in other languages accessible to me.
You can also earn money by proofreading books in another language. Websites such as FlexJobs, Fiverr, Upwork, Babelcube, and Ulatus are excellent places to find these types of jobs.
Whether you want to turn this into a career or just do it as a gig, it all depends on your level of passion for the job.
10. Create book covers
If you have an eye for design, designing book covers can be a great way to earn money while also indulging in your love for reading books.
Whether you're a graphic designer or simply have good design instincts, you can read books, conceptualize how to visually convey the essence of the book, design a cover, and get paid for it.
You can choose to work as a freelance book cover designer or apply for in-house jobs with publishing houses. Regardless of which path you choose, you'll have the opportunity to read nearly finished books and create a cover that will have a big impact on the book's success.
0 Comments