Best Ways For Making Money By Reading Books in 2024

Are you a voracious reader and an excellent storyteller? Have you ever thought of getting paid for reading books aloud? 

If not, then this article is for you.

There are many websites for making money by reading books. Interesting, isn’t it?

And it is not difficult, people have made careers out of it.

So, whether you want to do it full-time or just looking for a fun side hustle to make money while expanding your knowledge horizon, this can be a perfect option for you.

This article lists the best sites that can be used to get paid to read books aloud.

There are many ways you can make money from your hobby of reading books. For example:

1. You can review books
2. Become a voice-over artist and read books aloud for money
3. Start a Blog or YouTube channel around books
4. Become a proofreader or copy-editor
5. Teach or help others with reading
6. Write your own book and publish

Scroll down to know the ample opportunities that are open for you to get paid reading books!

Best Websites to Make Money By Reading Books Aloud

These are the websites where you can find the work of turning books into audiobooks. These jobs typically pay well and offer many opportunities.

1. ACX

The largest website for book narrating jobs is, by far, ACX.

Here, you would read books for Audible, an audiobook service developed by Amazon.

Because it is an Amazon product making, it reliable and trustworthy. It is like a huge online book club where authors lend you their books to read.

The website provides you with all the initial instructions required on its help page.

Once an account is created, the next task is to upload high-quality samples of your voice to attract clients.

The higher the number of samples, the higher the probability of getting noticed by potential clients.

You get paid to read books aloud at a fee per hour that you agree upon with the client, and you may also be eligible to get a percent of the royalties from each audiobook you have narrated that is sold.

Since its launch, ACX has been the highly used audiobook narrator with the highest earning potential.

This is a must-try website if you want to make money by reading books.

---

2. Voice123

Another website to get paid to read books aloud is Voice123.

It was launched in 2003 to assist clients in connecting with voice actors for

• Book narration
• Voiceovers for advertisements, and so on

Their clients include Coca-Cola, NBC, and The New York Times.

The unique feature of this website is the absence of middlemen and zero commission fee taken from the narrator’s pay which makes this a great platform to get paid to read books aloud.

In other words, it costs nothing to sign up for an account, and you get paid in full for every hour of reading you complete without any agency fees that could be present on other websites that provide this online job.

Before signing up, you have to answer some questions so that they can evaluate your experience.

---

3. Bunny Studio

Bunny Studio is another widely known and used website for making money by reading books.

Apart from the read books and get paid option, this website is a creative exchange that connects voice actors with potential clients for job opportunities.

Since you would not have to spend your time looking for clients, this saves time for you and the clients. The quality and professionalism of the audio are expected to be high.

It would be better if you are equipped with standard voiceover equipment.

The process starts with registration.

After successfully registering, you will be assigned a test project, like providing a recorded book review.

You must finish the project within two days.

If your review is accepted, Kudos! You are marked as a professional narrator, and tasks will be assigned. Then, start getting paid to read books aloud. 

Here are their calculations for finding the approximate compensation one can expect.

---

4. Findaway Voices

Findaway voices is a book reading job website in which authors readily connect with audiobook narrators.

It is the best option for beginners with a passion for reading books and getting paid, as their primary focus is small and independent authors.

As soon as you join Findaway Voices, your profile will be shared with the casting teams at Audioworks and Orange Sky to help them match narrators to projects, opening many prospects.

---

5. Voice Jungle

Voice jungle is another great option to get voiceover work.

You should meet two key requirements if you wish to start reading online. They are:

• You should have a professional setup like a home studio to meet the standard quality requirements
• You would need to finish your work within 24 hours of getting it in order to be paid to read books

The books that are given to you will be of different genres.

This helps you get paid to read books and discover the genre of your interest and taste, evoking curiosity.

It is very easy to apply with Voice Jungle. The first step is to upload an MP3 demo of your work and then fill out the form on the website.

---

6. Spoken Realms

A twin of ACX, Spoken Realms has a variety of audiobook narration jobs.

If you create an account, the website directs you to Amazon, Audible, etc.

There is a lot of audio work on this page, from podcasts to graphic novels. However, your work will be highlighted on the websites like Audible and iTunes.

The payment structure is like if you have completed one hour of reading, you will be paid for that hour.

Apart from this, you will also be paid if you have chosen to opt-in for royalty payments if anyone purchases your audiobook.

---

7. Backstage

The working of Backstage requires the voice actor to pay a monthly fee. The amount ranges from $19.99 per month to $150 annually. 

The trick is that you need to secure at least one job every month to make it worthwhile.

This can be less expensive than having the platform take a percentage of your income.

The target audience of Backstage is the film and performing arts industry, as they hire voice actors for screenplays, TV, and documentaries.

They also post vacancies making it worth checking for openings that match your skills.

---

8. Fiverr

If you want to get paid to read books aloud, Fiverr is a perfect choice for any kind of freelance job.

The steps are as simple as creating an account and searching for the job you are looking for or waiting until the company hiring voiceover actors notices you.

If you want to upskill your skills and are a curious learner, Fiverr serves many opportunities that meet your standard and pay.

---

9. Bodalgo

A website to read books and get paid for them, Bodalgo has the voiceover of books in multiple languages. If you want to read a book in your native language, then you are in the right place! 

Bodalgo has multiple vacancies for voiceover artists that are fluent in their native language, and they will recruit artists from all over the world.

The first step to getting started is to create a profile.

Then you have to upload your sample work and start looking for a suitable job on the website.

---

10. Mandy Voices

Mandy Voices was initially known as Voices pro. They changed its name after providing more services than voiceover work.

Mandy provides numerous freelancing jobs such as:

• Voiceover actors
• Audiobook narrators
• Actors
• Musicians
• Dancers
• Entertainers, etc.

An attractive feature or opportunity that it offers its users is the 30-day free trial to identify whether you have landed in the right place.

Getting started to explore Mandy is relatively easy.

First, you must create a profile for yourselves, then search for jobs of your interest and apply for the work that resonates with your skills and interest.

---

11. Voice Crafters

Are you someone who has five years of experience as a voiceover artist and has a studio?

Then, without a second thought, sign up on Voice Crafters website for: 

• Book reading jobs
• Narration for podcasts
• Recordings for Interactive Voice Responsive (IVR) phone systems and providing voiceover services to various industries

They provide talents for commercials, audiobooks, e-learning, and other projects.

Being a professional, you are expected to complete your project within 24-28 hours for a word count of 300-500 words.

---

12. VO Planet

VO Planet hires voice actors for various projects such as audiobooks, video games, animations, etc.

If you are a professional who can record quickly and efficiently, then VO planet is your cup of tea.

Before signing in, ensure you have a recording studio and equipment.

After meeting the requirement, create an account and upload high-quality demo audio for the clients to review and choose you.

You have to pay an amount of USD 199 per year to be a part of this site.

VO Planet doesn’t cut off your remuneration from clients as any maintenance, advertising, or promotion fee. All are included in the annual subscription.

---

13. Voices

Voices is one of the market’s top voiceover and audio production websites.

Their clients include many reputed names such as Spotify, The History Channel, etc., making it the best platform to start your career as a voiceover artist.

This platform has projects not only in English-speaking countries but also in other countries whose base language is different.

This opens opportunities for those who want to record in the language of their choice. 

Begin by creating several high-quality demos and audio samples.

Then, create a Voices profile to post them and search for available openings.

If you find a job that interests you, apply for it online.

---

14. Brilliance Audio

Brilliance Audio is open for both experienced and new voiceover artists.

The website provides tips to freshers to improve their narration qualities.

The unique feature of Brilliance Audio is that they have a platform for the new voiceover artist to record for 6-7 hours a day and listen to their narration for improvisation and practice.

This helps the artists find flaws in their work and find tips to give life to the characters.

---

15. Upwork

Upwork acts as a middleman to connect freelancers and clients across the globe. If you are a beginner, this website helps create a professional identity to attract clients.

Many jobs, such as audiobook recording, and book review jobs, are regularly posted here.

You can search the keywords on the platform and find suitable jobs.

---

16. People Per Hour

People per hour is a get paid to read books website with the most freelancers opportunities.

This website has projects not only for voiceover artists but also for graphic designing and copywriting professionals.

Since it uses an AI system to connect clients and freelancers, it is important to have an error-free and excellent profile.

Tips For Beginners To Get Paid By Reading Books Aloud

1. The first step is to explore your interests and find the genre that interests you. It is challenging for an artist with no prior experience to find a niche. Eventually, with practice, you will get an idea of the types of books you like to read and then look for opportunities in the genre.
2. Invest in quality equipment such as good microphones with the latest feature and headphones for voice-over work. This helps you to record quality demos to attract clients.
3. Find a place with zero noise to record the audio. Since many websites are time-bound, recording in a quiet area saves your time from editing the file and improves the audio quality.
4. Next is the most important part. Practice recording until it’s perfect. Once you have the best audios that meet all the requirements, create an account on the websites mentioned above and upload the demo.

Best Websites to Reviews Books For Money

You can make money by giving honest reviews. Many websites pay you for book reviews.

You may get a free book for review or get paid cash as compensation. Make sure to read the terms if you just want to earn money.

To be able to review books, you need to have a good understanding of the literature, writing, and critical analysis skills.

It may be a time-consuming and long hustle to read and write thoughtful reviews that may help users.

Though, it might be worth it for a few people who love reading. Here are a few of the best websites you can try for book review opportunities.

• Kirkus Media: They hire people for English and Spanish reviews. Their timeline is generally two weeks, and the required reviews are only a few hundred words long.
• Book Browse: You can apply with a sample review of 300 words to work for them. They have limited books available, if selected, you can start writing reviews.
• Reedsy Discovery: They provide you opportunities to read books pre-publication and write a review. Authors can contact you for their book reviews. Book buyers pay you tips for your insightful reviews.
• Online Book Club: Here, you can find thousands of books for review. You always get the free book after a review, and in a few cases, you can get paid $5 to $60 per book review.
• Bethany House: If you are into Christian books, fiction or nonfiction, you can join this website for book reviews. For giving a review, you will get a free book. They give preference to reviewers with a following, like a YouTube channel or a blog, for the purpose of promotion.
• Publishers Weekly: It is a news magazine that has both publisher-house books as well as self-published books for reviewing.
• Women’s Review of Books: A feminist book review website and print publication that write reviews on fiction books, stories, and other kinds of books by females (mostly).
• The US Review of Books: You can become a paid reviewer for this website and write reviews for different genres of books. They accept around 300-word long reviews that summarise the book in an honest opinion. You get 2 to 3 weeks to submit a review and get paid monthly.
• Booklist Online: They hire people to write 150 to 175-word brief but impactful reviews. It’s a recommendation-only journal, so you need to have an understanding of the type of books that are popular in library settings. If your review is published, you will get $15, and you can get $5 for rejected titles.

Try to write an honest and unbiased review in clear language that is easy to understand and free from any grammar mistakes. Submit reviews within timelines to get paid.

Other Ways to Make Money By Reading Books

Other than reviewing books and reading them aloud for audiobooks, there are more options to read books for money that can even be turned into full-time careers.

Become a Proofreader or Editor

For people who have an eye for details, there are possibilities to make money while finding others’ mistakes.

An editor’s job is to read others’ work and make the proper editing, such as rearranging the sentences for proper reading flow and correcting grammar mistakes and other mistakes.

The proofreader also does similar work of making sure that the content is error-free and easy to read.

You can develop your skills of proofreading and editing by reading a lot of books.

Regular reading helps you get the experience and skills required to be successful in this business.

Taking help from professionals through coaching or courses can help you get your business up faster. Here is one professional who has taught proofreading skills to thousands.

You can start small by helping friends and family with their writing.

Once confident you can contact agencies and publishing houses for work.

You can also take the freelance route and use websites like Fiverr to scout the work.

While doing such work make sure to have clear communication with client about your rates, payment schedules and time frame.

Sign a contract before starting the work that includes all these pointers so that everything goes smoothly.

Start a Book Oriented Blog or YouTube Channel

One of the other options to get paid to read books is by opening a YouTube channel or Blog that caters to book readers.

You can create content like:

• Discussing different genre
• Detailed book reviews
• Summaries of different books
• Recommendations for reading in different genre
• Taking interviews with book authors

To start a YouTube channel, you just need a Gmail account, and a blog can be easily set up on the WordPress platform with my step-by-step blog starting tutorial.

Once you are set up and start posting regularly, you can expect to increase your audience over time.

There are many ways to make money on your blog or YouTube channel.

You can promote sponsored books where you get money from authors or publication houses for discussing and recommending their books.

Then there is affiliate marketing, where after giving your honest reviews and analysis of a book, you are posting a link to Amazon or another book store.

When someone buys from your link, you get a commission.

Another simplest way to make money is by showing ads on your YouTube channel and blog. The earnings will vary based on your audience size and geography.

Translate Books For Making Money

If you love reading and know more than one language, you can make money from this hobby by translating books into another language.

Translators generally get paid on per word basis.

Here is how you can successfully start a book translation business:

1. Develop your skills: First, you need to get a good command of both languages. Even if you understand both languages well, you need to read, watch movies and talk to people in both languages to get a good sense of how words are used in both. It is important to understand word nuances, idioms, and cultural references while translating a book.
2. Get some training or certification: It is not a must for this job, but if you have some sort of certification, it will be easier to get clients. You can look for certification from translation organizations or a degree from a college or university.
3. Build a strong portfolio: To be successful in any freelance business, you need to have a good portfolio. In the starting, your portfolio may include sample work to showcase your skills. As you get more experience, include your client’s testimonials to show your experience and expertise.
4. Find clients and set rates: Then the final step will be to find clients. You can contact agencies and publisher houses for work. Network with other people in the business at conferences and workshops and look for work on sites like Fiverr. Once you have clients, make sure to set contracts for rates and timelines.

If you follow these steps, you can grow your translation work as a full-time job or a side hustle.

Publish Your Own Books

Those who love reading and writing can make money by publishing their own books.

Start by developing your skills or writing. You need to have a unique voice in your writing and be able to tell engaging stories.

You can develop your writing skills by:

• Reading a lot of books
• Attending writing workshops
• Through practice

Then you need to come up with an idea. It can be fictional or nonfictional, but make sure that it is marketable and can resonate with a lot of people.

Take some time to research your ideas. For example, if it is working for others, then there are audience base for that.

Create an outline and write regularly. You need to revise it many times before it is final. The next step will be getting feedback for language and stories from friends and family.

You have two options for publishing:

1. Self publish
2. Publisher houses

For new authors, the best way to publish will be publishing on platforms such as Amazon, where you can earn royalties and publish without any hassle.

Reputed authors can use the services of traditional publisher houses to get their work out.

After publishing, promotion is a key part of the process of making a profit. You need to get the word out to make more sales.

Publisher houses can help with promotions, but if you are self-publishing, you need to do all the work yourself. You can use social media platforms to showcase your work.

How to Earn More For Reading Books

• Specialize in a genre: To make more money while doing book reviews, voice-overs, or translation work, specializing in a genre can help. If you are working more often in a specific genre like crime, fantasy, or romance, you can show yourself as an expert and get paid more.
• Combine multiple services: When you work as a book reviewer for a publisher, you can offer them other services as well, like proofreading. It will take you almost the same time, but you can earn much more money.
• Invest in your skills: The saying that the best investment is in yourself is true here also. The more you upskill yourself more money you can make. So, don’t shy away from spending some money if you think that can help you get more clients or money. Courses like proofreading anywhere for proofreading help many people shorten the learning curve and make money faster.
• Make an online presence: In today’s world, where everything is on social, so you need to grow your presence on these platforms to get ahead in business. Your colleagues and potential clients are all on these platforms. You can increase your chance of success by showing up there and making relations. You can simply start by commenting and asking basic questions.

Get Started To Make Money By Reading Books

So, whether you want to do it full-time or make some cash on the side, you can make money reading books in different ways.

Turning your hobby into cash flow can be rewarding and enjoyable at the same time.

So, whatever you choose to do, be a book reviewer, translator, or publisher, take the first step and keep improving your skills to be successful.

Here are more ways to make money:

• How to become a freelance writer
• Get paid as a social media manager
• Best places to get data entry jobs
• Best places for proofreading jobs

FAQs

How Much Do Book Readers Get Paid?

Voice actors, or those who are paid to read aloud, receive a wide range of wages. For their initial tasks, prospective freelancers may only earn $5 to $10 per hour. However, experienced and skilled voice actors might charge more than $50 per hour for projects with major companies.

Do you need experience for book reading jobs?

Some book-reading and voice-acting professions require prior experience, but not all of them. Jobs that do not require experience are unlikely to pay well, but everyone has to start someplace. Higher-paying work will be simpler to come by after you have a portfolio.

What is the equipment needed to get paid for reading books aloud?

Although making an audiobook may appear complicated, with the correct recording gear, you may begin earning money by reading books aloud from the comfort of your home! These tools will be your best friend when producing high-quality audio.

The first three requirements are a functional computer, a good internet connection, and a calm environment. You should also have a microphone, a shock mount, and a digital audio workstation.