4 Great Ways To Get Paid To Read Books In 2022

Employment is way up lately but unfortunately, that doesn’t mean everyone is making as much money as they’d like and the thought of being able to get paid to read books is extremely appealing. Whether it’s simply because bills are too high, the need to have a bigger savings account cushion, paying off debt and repairing credit, or any of a multitude of other reasons, a lot of people would love to earn a little extra cash.

However, between work and personal life, even thinking about trying to carve out a slice of time large enough to devote to a new venture can cause heart palpitations. Luckily, when it comes to personal finance tips, we’re always on the lookout for great ways to earn extra cash and as it happens, this time we’ve found some simple ways that you can get paid to read books.

Whether you’re an avid reader or only occasionally pick up a book, as long as you don’t despise the beloved pastime, you’ll definitely want to check these opportunities out.

1. Five Places to Get Paid to Translate Books 

If you’re fluent in another language, you may be able to find a work-at-home job where you can get paid to read books and translate them. A few places you can look for this opportunity are:

• Babelcube – partner with published authors to translate their works in one of 15 different languages.
• Ulatus – with over 200,000 clients around the world and the fact that they specifically focus on translation services, this could be one of your best options.
• Today Translations – almost always looking for freelance translators.
• Guru – if you’re highly skilled, especially if you’ve worked as a translator or speak multiple languages, you’ll definitely want to check out this website.
• Fiverr – a great online marketplace where you can post a profile listing your translation services and pricing structure.

You can also check sites like FlexJobs, Indeed, and UpWork to look for freelance opportunities to translate books.

2. Get Paid to Record Audiobooks

Audiobooks are extremely popular and if you want to get paid to read books and have a strong reading voice, narrating books could be a way to make some cash. However, recording an audiobook isn’t just about reading the words on the page aloud, you have to be able to bring a book to life for the listener.

However this isn’t just sitting, reading, and talking. It takes skill, empathy, a good imagination, breath control, and knowing when to be loud and when to quiet things down. So, just because you love books, audiobooks, reading aloud, and think you have a good audiobook voice, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be the right choice for the job.

Before you decide to go all in on this option of getting paid to read books, you need to be able to: 

• Differentiate accents, dialects, and character voices
• Read/record up to six hours a day
• Research when necessary (words/countries/etc that you aren’t familiar with)

Since narration is literally an acting gig, a background in acting and having a foundational knowledge of acting can be a huge advantage.

There are several places where you can look for voiceover work, including Fiverr, UpWork, and the other sites listed above, but work of this nature can be few and far between on them. If you truly want to start at least a part-time career reading audiobooks, work on a portfolio and look at:

• ACX.com
• VoiceBunny.com
• Voices.com

Having sample portfolio that potential clients/employers can refer to, with as many examples as possible, is always a really good idea.

3. Become a Proofreader

If you want to get paid for reading books and you’re really good at spotting errors, 2022 may be the year to start. Online proofreading jobs are in demand, and all you need is an internet connection, a laptop or tablet, and the ability to spot mistakes.

If you’re multilingual, you can also find work proofreading/editing translated books in order to verify that they actually read well.

Along with Fiverr and UpWork, there are a few other places you can look for proofreading gigs.

• The Editorial Freelance Association – requires annual dues but you can bid on job postings and be listed in their directory.
• ProofreadingPal – requires a graduate degree and a minimum of five years of experience.
• Scribendi – really only recommended if you have a prior work history in proofreading because there is a rigorous application process which includes a skills test and references.

4. Earn Money as an Online Book Reviewer

While there are sites and companies out there where you can get paid to read books and post a positive review, you should utilize ones that want your actual genuine opinion. If you’re interested in making money reading books, a reviewer could be a great place to start.

Here are a few websites to check out:

• Kirkus – prefers reviews that are at least 350 words and they have assignments for both English and Spanish language books.
• BookBrowse – uses freelance writers to provide reviews that are around 150 words and they pay $15 for each review.
• The US Review of Books – uses freelance reviewers to write 250 to 300 word summaries that provide your real insights about the book.
• Women’s Review of Books – An actual print publication that will pay you to review books.
• OnlineBookClub.org– doesn’t provide any cash compensation at first but provides payment opportunities for continued reviewers and you can earn  $5 to $60. Plus you do get a few book out of the deal. 

The ability to get paid to read books is a dream for millions of people all over the world and as you’ve seen today, there are indeed legitimate options available these days. Whether you’re a great reviewer, an excellent proofreader, record audiobooks, or work as a book translator, the companies and websites above could be your ticket to making some money doing something you love to do.

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