How To Make Money Reviewing Books Online
Reading is my favourite hobby, so when I stumbled upon a Pinterest post saying that I could make money reading books, I jumped right in and signed up at the onlinebookclub.org.
I made over a hundred dollars with them, and I am here to tell you how you can make money with them and others like them too. Admittedly reading and reviewing books may not make you wealthy, but for passionate readers, it is a passive income that has its perks.
The most significant plus points of reading and writing reviews are that you get a free book, you are paid to do a hobby and for aspiring writers and college students reading and writing reviews will significantly improve your overall writing skills. For me reviewing books was a dream job!
This site contains affiliate links, which mean that I will earn a commission from some links that you use without any extra cost to you. In fact some links that I upload may have a discount. So stay tuned!
#1 onlinebookclub.org
I have to make them number one on my list for a multitude of reasons. To begin with, the onlinebookclub.org was my first job online that paid me money for work as an unemployed undergraduate student; a paying job can be hard to come by. The sign up for this site was straightforward.
Once you have read and reviewed a book of your choosing, an editor will review your review. You are now on the team unless your writing skills are incredibly poor; this is easy. After your first review, you are eligible to earn money, and according to how well you write, you will have access to higher-paying books for review.
The pay ranges from 5 to 60$ per review and higher if you are an editor level reviewer.
There is a terrible misconception about the onlinebookclub.org, which is that the forum moderators are rude and unhelpful. Some people have written about how it takes time to get used to surfing the website.
Firstly the forum moderators are not harsh, but they handle the forums similar to the WordPress forums. I can only assume that Scott Hughs, the webmaster and creator of the onlinebookclub.org, was working for WP at some point in time.
The forum of this site is a place where you can ask questions, start your topics and moderators and reviewers alike can respond and help you with whatever your queries are. However, if you join someone else’s topic and ask or talk about something off-topic, a moderator will lock the thread. Newcomers like myself can find this to be akin to rudeness, but it is a way of keeping order in the forums.
Secondly, it does take time to get a handle of the site. Not because the site itself is faulty but more because one has to get used to certain criteria that have to be met.
For example, once you have selected a book to review, you must confirm that you downloaded it in the update section. There are other things which have befuddled many a book reviewer take my advice, have a little patience and stick with them.
They always pay whatever is due, and you can also win up to 40$ prize money if you enter their daily raffle. It is not a scam as I have won a twenty-dollar prize twice. The payment method is PayPal, and the email address that you use for the account should be the same as your PayPal account. With over a million members the onlinebookclub.org is bigger than you may think.
#2 Kirkus Reviews
Virginia Kirkus started Kirkus reviews and now about 80 years later, a freelance book reviewer can earn up to 40,000$ annually from Kirkus Reviews. The starting pay rate is at a 100$ per review.
To get accepted you have to submit your resume, writing samples and a list of your reviewing specialities to drapp@kirkus.com. If you have a website or additional skills in the world of writing, make sure to mention them in your email as it will give you a higher chance of being accepted.
Kirkus has a wide range of books to choose from. You can read anything from a romance or science fiction, so do not worry about reading books you do not like.
After receiving the book for review, you have two weeks to read and review the book. The review must be 350 words long, and there is an editorial team that you will have to communicate with for possible adjustments to your review.
If your reviews are well written with little to no adjustments needed, then you can ask for a raise in salary or payment per review. Furthermore, you can be hired as a copy editor or an editor as well.
You can receive books in hardcover, paperback and digital copies so have fun!
#3 Publishers Weekly
The pay starts at 25$ per 250 word review. Again there is a lieu of book genres at Publishers weekly. You can review books about the occult, romance, graphic novels, and so much more. You can check out their job offers here.
#4 The U. S. Review Of Books
To apply, you will need two professional references, a sample of your work and your resume. You can go here to there contact page.
The review should be 250-300 words long, and the deadlines are two to three weeks for you to read and submit the reviews.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can ask to write a guest blog for their site.
#5 Women’s Review Of Books
As the name suggests, this is a site for books written by and about women. To apply, you have to send them a copy of two published reviews, a cover letter and your resume although you can apply without having previous experience in reviewing books but if you have be sure to add them in your resume.
They pay 14 cents per word, and they welcome book suggestions as well. If you are a feminist at heart and an avid reader, Women’s Review of Books is waiting for you.
#6 Upwork
This is a site similar to Fiverr and Gigbucks in that they also are the middlemen setting you up with writers who will pay you for a review. The review can be for a website, blog post or book.
As it is with all such sites jobs come and go. The pay rate differs as to how much people are willing to pay you. I strongly suggest that if this is an avenue you are looking into, consider starting your own website and freelancing from there as you will be able to set your rate of payment etcetera. Upwork is good for beginners but in the long run, think big!
Final thoughts
For an avid reader like myself, reading and being paid for it, does not seem tiresome at all. I know many of you will have similar feelings towards this topic, so I honestly hope you found something of use in this post.