Book Reviewing online is becoming quite the business for both writers and web owners. Not everyone loves reading, nor loves reading books, but one facet of the continued reading public is that those who do often cannot get enough books. While TV and films have been the kings of entertainment in the past 50 years, for much of the past centuries reading short stories and novels was a major pursuit. It still is. Readers write, writers read.
One answer to the decline in reading is to encourage reading online. Sites that publish book reviews number in the thousands, and book sellers like Amazon and AbeBooks are using formats like eBooks (and the Amazon “Kindle”) to profit from books in other ways. This is all good for both authors and book reviewers.
The market is coming back. So let this short piece guide you toward being book reviewer. It may not be a career, but it often starts and ends with creative writing profits.
Books Are Still Important!
Again, books may be secondary to TV and films, but they are still quite important. They influence the entire literary world and entertainment world. There would likely be less films if there were less books, and the same is the case with graphic novels. Books take a bit more work to read, but as a book reviewer your job is to find the golden ways that are powerful. Books are important, books are fun, and sometimes you don’t have to pay for them. In the online world, free books for reviewers is a reality.
Get Free Books:
Free books are hot! For example, I’ve received hundreds of books, in all genres, from top publishers. I am not exactly a famous book reviewer, but publishers need to get exposure on all books. If you sell one book because of your online book review, they break almost even. If you sell two or more, publishers are turning a profit.
Writing Online Book Reviews is Often Easier:
No book review is easy to write, but typically in the online world you have more room to work with. You can write shorter reviews of books, or go as long as you want. Since there are no printing costs, and word limits vary, just about any length of book review works for many sites.
Publishing Online Book Reviews Is Easier:
Now, most online sites publishing book reviews don’t pay, and if they do, don’t pay much. Some pay over $100, while others simply publish your review and let you publish a bio of yourself. Why a bio? A bio, the short synopsis of who you are, is quite valuable. You can link to sites you own, like your blog. This may seem small, but backlinks to sites are one of the hallmarks of how online writers make money online.
Make Money Online:
To offer myself as an example again, book reviews I’ve sold weren’t for big paychecks, but you can make money online with them. If you get a review copy of a book (a free book), then get paid for it, then still own the rights to the article to publish across the net, you can make money in countless ways. The trick is to maintain rights to the article. Some of the top paying sites for online book reviews include Salon.com, Slate.com, and the Christian Science Monitor site.
The Write For Smiles Job writer would say make more money with book reviews. Never stop looking for markets. Every word is powerful. You must make money here. You might be able to sell the hardcover. You might get ideas for your novel. You may be able to get an interview from the author. You might be able to sell some of these ideas to a magazine. You might be able to sell to a web magazine or to a powerful site like Salon. If you review history, as an example, there are dozens of magazines, both online and in print, who need book reviews. This supports everyone, but it should support the writer the most.
