How To Make Money By Reading Books At Home by Eliza Brooks

Today's guest blog post from Eliza Brooks:

There's nothing like working from home to really motivate us to become productive. There's no need to set an alarm when to wake up. The hassle and headache of commuting are taken out of the picture completely. We can start working anytime we want thereby giving us the ability to work at our own leisure and pace. It's no wonder that so many young adults just starting with their professional careers are exploring the option to be able to work from home.

There's nothing like working from home to really motivate us to become productive. There's no need to set an alarm when to wake up. The hassle and headache of commuting are taken out of the picture completely. We can start working anytime we want thereby giving us the ability to work at our own leisure and pace. It's no wonder that so many young adults just starting with their professional careers are exploring the option to be able to work from home.

As an avid reader and self-professed writer, I look for jobs where I'm able to inject a little of my hobby. But the thing with jobs that pay people to read, they are hard to come by. With a little perseverance, you can land yourself a reading gig. Here are a few tips you can get paid just by reading.

1. Becoming a Narrator

Audiobooks are becoming a huge industry especially now that digital file storage is becoming increasingly miniaturized. Unlike a couple of years back when audiobooks came in several volumes of tapes, you can easily listen to any book with your phone, tablet, or MP3 player from start to finish. Services like Audible and Audiobooks.com are seeing a spike in revenue and even self-publishers have turned to narrate their written works to get a slice of that trendy audiobook market. For you to break into the industry of audiobook narration, you'll have to have a great voice and ability to perform in multiple voices for different characters. You also have to have a knack for editing as most narrators do their own editing. But if you fulfill all these requirements, you'll realize that narration is a lucrative business and could bring in the dough.

2. Copyediting

This might come as a shock but most major and minor publishers - including magazines and websites, often outsource many of their copyediting jobs. But in order to get into the business of copyediting, it's likely that most businesses and corporations will require a professional copyediting certificate which you can easily acquire by enrolling in a copyediting course. These are usually offered at universities and some are even offered online. But if enrolling in a course is not something you can do at the moment, there's no need to panic. You can still land a few copyediting jobs from websites or corporations who focus more on skill and experience rather than certification. You will have to prove your outstanding grammar and spelling skills before you can apply.

3. Proofreading

If you are lucky enough, your search will land you a proofreading or editing position. Although not that common, landing one will mean consistent work coming from websites, magazines and other online publications that are looking for assistant editors or managing editors. You can sign up for several career sites to advertise your services to prospective publishers and clients. You could also stay ahead of the competition by selling your services to authors looking for a professional to evaluate their manuscript. This will need some time to build up, though. You'll have to set your rate, create an appealing website, and get enough customers to post testimonials and reviews about your services.

4. Layout Design

If you lean towards the creative side, then you can put your skills to good use by going into the layout and design of book covers. There are a lot of self-published authors who are always looking for creatives to handle the cover and layout of their books. This will require you to be competent when it comes to design software like Adobe Indesign, Photoshop, Microsoft Publisher, or QuarkXPress. You can step it up a notch by creating a website to advertise your service or use social media to get the attention of prospective clients. Independent publishers might also look to freelance designers to take on some of their book cover design which means a lucrative business potential for you.

5. Publishing

If you really want to get paid purely by reading books, then you might want to consider becoming a publisher. This will require a lot of preparation though; you'll have to master all the things I mentioned previously. First, you'll need to be an excellent copyeditor and able to recognize good writing when you come across it. If you happen to be a writer yourself, you can start by publishing your own work. Once you get the hang of publishing and building up a good network of contacts, then you can reach out to other authors and offer your publishing services. You will, however, need to have a substantial capital investment but if you are confident with your skills, it could mean the start of your publishing career.

So there you have it, just a few examples of jobs that pay you to read. You can treat these options as a part-time job, although many have made a living just by pursuing their careers in these fields.

Author Bio:

Eliza Brooks is a passionate blogger who loves to write about travel, books, personal development, lifestyle, productivity, and more. She is currently working with CreedGriffon, the best teen fiction books for boys and girls.